All finished! I don't count this as the first book of 2020 cause I could have finished it yesterday had I not partied too hard.

Overall, I enjoyed this one. It was a good exploration of the similarities between different monster sightings in America. I learned about creatures I hadn't heard of and there were some good stories shared. Godfrey is a good writer and I'd read her other books based on this one. If you enjoy cryptids, this is a good collection to read through.

I'd say the biggest downside to the book is there didn't feel like there was a lot of diversity among the monsters discussed. In fact, the majority of chapters were about dog men or similar beings. And despite the title including "new" monsters, there was little "new" stuff. Most of the creature had been told about since the early 1900s. I was hoping she'd discuss Slenderman and the shadow people, black eyed kids, and creatures like the Rake and Jersey Devil. But again, mostly dog people stories. So that was kind of a bummer.

Final Rating: 4/5 stars. A good collection and exploration on connections between different monsters.

In a trilogy pertaining to cryptid monsters, I find it fitting that the final book in the series centers around the most horrible monster of all - man. The evil that man has inflicted on each other is astounding to think about. Hatred and bigotry come front and center in Schweigart's The Devil's Colony. Ben and Lindsay are once again called on by billionaire cryptozoologist, Richard Severance. This time, it's to infiltrate the compound of neo-nazi Henry Drexler. Henry is the son of a former Nazi SS officer and scientist who was assigned by Hitler to find proof of the dominance and superiority of the Aryan race throughout history. Now Henry is using his family's fortune and remote camp location in the Pine Barrens Woods of New Jersey to welcome all neo-Nazis and white supremacists who want to join him in continuing his father's dream. But what else has Henry unearthed in his research of his father's past?

The Devil's Colony is different than the previous two entries in the trilogy. The first two, The Beast of Barcroft and Northwoods centers around the cryptid monsters that are unleashed and causing havoc. In The Devil's Colony, the story focuses mainly on the horror's of man and the cryptid monster is a side dish to come in during the last act. According to some reviews I've read, this difference may have tripped up a reader or two. However, it didn't spoil the story for me. I enjoyed Schweigart's tale and thought it hit many of the right notes. Perhaps, the cryptid portion of the story could've been sprinkled a little more throughout so that it didn't seem like two different stories trying to be mashed together. All in all, I enjoyed the trilogy and look forward to more from Bill.

4 Nazi SS Swords out of 5

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Razorbacks is a decent "nature-gone-wild" tale of a bunch of people caught in a sand-storm in the wrong part of Texas - specifically the part of Texas where wild pigs grow to be 800 pounds, travel in packs, and have developed a taste for human flesh.

The positive elements of Mahaffey Jr's work is that it's short and relatively fast-paced. The attacks by the pigs are also sudden and nasty when they occur and numerous people are eaten alive as they are taken down. All of that works for me. Some high quality writing also shone through, with a few very nice turns of phrase and cleverly concocted sentences elevating the "creature-feature" nature of the plot.

But - and this is a big but - the characters were far from arresting. I can honestly say that aside from our main protagonist, a 13 year old boy who has led a very tough life, there is not a one of them I came to care about, and in most cases, even get a feel for. They were all just Razorback-fodder, and may as well have had the same tattooed upon their foreheads. Some novels should be novellas, but this was one novella that needed longer to breathe and for the characters to be filled in, so that when they died, my care factor might actually have been tweaked.

Then there is also the fact that Mahaffey Jr frequently jumps POVs with each paragraph change - something which is an absolute pet peeve of mine ...

So, all in all, I give this story about a bunch of people stuck in the middle of a road while hungry wild pigs encircle them, a very appropriate middle of the road score.

2.5 Roadblocks That Exist for a Reason for Razorbacks.