That Thing at the Zoo

A Deacon Chalk: Occult Bounty Hunter Prequel Novella

By: James R. Tuck

Narrated by: Jim Beaver

Length: 1 hr and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

Shredding monsters is his stock and trade. He sniffs them out, tracks them down, and corners them. End of story. But when the tables are turned, expect the unexpected . . . Knowing his enemy is a rule that Deacon Chalk swears by. But he's never seen anything like whatever is leaving the Atlanta Zoo's most dangerous predators bloodless, skinned, and hanging high in the treetops. And he’s only got until sunrise to keep it from turning the entire city into a slaughterhouse.

Now Deacon is in zoo lockdown with a handful of staffers to save. His zookeeper backup has more guts than monster-hunting experience. The only chance Deacon has to run this thing to unholy ground is to risk unleashing his darkest, most uncontrollable instincts. . .

©2011 James R. Tuck (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Definitely not monster hunter

If you are a monster hunter fan by Larry Correia you will be very disappointed

Pleasantly surprised!

What made the experience of listening to That Thing at the Zoo the most enjoyable?

Exciting from the first word! Narrarator was awesome!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Deacon

Have you listened to any of Jim Beaver’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I love Jim Beaver as an actor, he was perfect for this!

Any additional comments?

Excellent story, great narrarator! Definately finishing the series

Not my typical read but I really liked it!

I do not like horror movies, I do not read horror books… having said that… This author is scheduled to attend the 2022 Coastal Magic Convention in February in Daytona Beach Florida. As part of the reading challenge, I’m trying to read at least one book by each author. I choose this book because it was available in audio format and it was fairly inexpensive.

Oh, my are there ever some gory descriptions in this story! I think it’s kind of funny that listening to this didn’t bother me at all but I think if I would have read it with my eyes, it might have freaked me out a bit.

This is a prequel to a series about a monster hunter. Read the blurb for a great description of the story. I liked it because it was different from my regular go-to reading material and also because I enjoyed the mellow voice of the narrator, Jim Beaver. If my TBR list wasn’t so unmanageable I can see myself listening to more books in this series.

Great Story Bad Starting Point

Would you consider the audio edition of That Thing at the Zoo to be better than the print version?

I don't own the printed version only the audio one.

What did you like best about this story?

How all the action scenes had great emotional weight because of Deacon having to make choices that require moral courage.

Have you listened to any of Jim Beaver’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Poorly. Don't get me wrong Beaver did an amazing job but this was my first story with him and didn't get into the series because this is a bad starting point despite it being a prequel. Here is an example, there is only one female voice Beaver does in this and it sounds masculine. In my mind this showed he can't do female voices but in the proper first novel we learn the female character is SUPPOSE to have a deep masculine voice. In that novel there are other female characters and Beaver nails it. The prequel story is littered with that because it's such a short but powerful fun story. I strongly suggest reading the first novel as originally intended where you fall in love with the characters and enjoy the world building which isn't here. The length means you just get to the heart of the story which is great, I listened to it again after listening to the first novel and fell in love with the short story whereas before I was lukewarm to it.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Twice.

Any additional comments?

This is not a negative review. This is a very positive review. I just want to point out to readers the story much more enjoyable if listen to the prequel after you listen to the first novel.