Vicious: A Novel Of Suspense by Bryan Alaspa- Review

Bryan Alaspa
Publisher: SalGad Publishing
Publication Date: September 30,2012
Page Length: 193

IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A QUIET, RELAXING, WEEKEND GETAWAY...
The cabin is not deserted. It is the summer retreat of Jeremy Liden, an author who has just started to taste the fruits of success and the good life, which includes the summer cottage in Wisconsin. The same weekend Jeremy and his friends decide to get away from it all two dogs seek shelter beneath the summer house porch. Two dogs who have been trained to fight. Trained to Attack. Trained to kill.

What Jeremy and his friends find at the house is sheer, snarling terror, and as things get desperate, they begin to wonder if they will ever get out alive.

Nature made these dogs, but man made them VICIOUS.

I picked up this book on Amazon one day on a whim with the intent of reviewing it as one of my Halloween reads. Long story short that didn't happen and the book was tucked away for another day. A month and a half later I was scouring my Kindle for something quick to read and Vicious caught my eye. Determined to not let the book go back on the TBR pile I sat down to read it. Here is my Review: Demon and Delilah have had a very hard life raised as fighting dogs. Beat mercilessly by their human master Dillon and exploited for their skills all they've ever known is cruelty and pain. Demon who is Delilahs mate finally has enough and sets out to give Delilah a life of safety away from the pain and misery they've endured up til now. Jeremy and Amelia are getting ready for a weekend in the country with friends Stephen and Veronica. This weekend was supposed to be fun, it was supposed to be stress free but unfortunately for all involved it turns out to be anything but. Vicious by Bryan Alaspa might be the best Killer dogs book since Cujo and I don't say that lightly as Cujo is a classic. I had never read this Author before but I am definitely a Fan now. It is so rare that a book can make you root for the Predators yet still feel sympathetic to the victims plight as well. I found myself waffling between wanting to kill the dogs and hoping that in the end they were saved and the dogs rehabilitated and given the proper home they deserved. I won't give away how this ends but I will say that the body count is high and their is plenty of blood and gore to go around. This book is not for the faint of heart and die hard animal lovers might want to pass this one by as it involves vicious acts by humans and animals alike. The dogs Delilah and Demon are sympathetic characters and can't be blamed for how they react to the intrusion of Jeremy and his friends. Any caged and brutally tortured animal would react the same way when it comes to defending its territory. On the other side of the coin you have the innocent humans. You can really feel the struggle with the characters hoping they don't have to harm the dogs but in the end its you or them so what can one do. I thoroughly enjoyed the conscious mind of the dog Demon. It was so interesting seeing his thought process versus that of the humans trapped inside the house. Demon reminded me of an old salted general planning war strategy on the battlefield. He was very fun to watch. Delilah on the other hand just wanted to be safe. I don't think she was vicious even with the cruelty she endured. I felt she just followed Demon's lead and could probably be rehabilitated given enough time. Delilah was a very sad,quiet dog in comparison but she loved Demon and understood the natural pecking order of a pack. The human characters were interesting enough and the back story and dialogue provided set the pace for the novel but to me the dogs were really the stars of the show. I liked that Jeremy was an Author, it would of been interesting if the story turned out to be all in his head but sadly it didn't end that way. Would of been cool though. Overall Vicious was a great, quick read. I highly recommend picking this one up and giving it a shot. I will be rating Vicious: A Novel Of Suspense ★★★★.