Wildlife: Reckoning

By: Jeff Menapace

Narrated by: Jeff Hays, Annie Ellicott

Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

Life in the swamp just got wilder....

"The Swamp Massacre." That's what the media dubbed it. A family on a boat tour through the Florida Everglades. Abducted by the infamous Roy family. Forced to endure hell.

Five years later, an aspiring filmmaker and her friends are keen on making a documentary about the incident and to venture into the isolated wilds of the Everglades in hopes of capturing footage that will stun the world silent. They're going to get their wish. Unfortunately.

This terrifying follow-up to the critically acclaimed Wildlife, Wildlife: Reckoning plunges us deeper into the darkest corners of the swamp...and reminds us that man is the deadliest animal of all.

Soundbooth Theater is proud to work together with Jeff Menapace once again to revisit a classic horror/thriller, originally narrated by Jeff Hays - Wildlife! This time, Annie Ellicott joins in to play the documentary filmmaker and protagonist, Stacey, and the adorably psychotic and horrifying Darla Roy! The Soundbooth Theater team for this production:

• Jeff Hays - Narration, Music, Sound Design
• Annie Ellicott - Stacey, Darla Roy, and the rest of the female cast
• Emily Labes - Editing and Proofing
• Griffin Malnar - Editing, Mastering, and Sound Design

©2018 Jeff Menapace (P)2018 Jeff Menapace

Jeff Menapace is a genius.

Jeff Menapace is an amazing writer. With him writing and Jeff hays narrating it’s phenomenal. Lol I told Jeff Menapace that I was mad at him for who he kills off in the books and he laughed and said” I love that it angers you.. it’s my job to f*€k with ur head” my answer .. no one does it like you! DO NOT MISS THIS BOOK AND ALL OF JEFFS BOOKS!

Entertaining

Good all around listen. No major plot twists but lots of action and a fair bit of gore. Listened to it twice so far.

Wow!

That was intense and an amazingly wicked sequel to an already wild story. Wildlife reckoning is filled with far more thrills than its predecessor. Great characters with sick minds doing what sick minds do and it’s glorious!

Good horror story

Really enjoyed this book. Maybe even more than book one. My only issue is with the female voices. Occasionally it was like nails on a chalkboard. However, still was an entertaining listen.

Job well done!

The Wild life books keep you on the edge of your seat with morbidity and excitement. Jeff Menapace horror novels never disappoint. Looking for his future books to be released! So good I listened to this audible book twice as I could not get enough!

This Dude is Ruthless!

This author does not hold back. If you are looking for a depraved hopeless situation of a book, then this is for you. If you are a fan of Jack Ketchum, this is even crazier. Perfect narrator for the book, he is creepy!

AMAZING x 100000000000!!!

The narration and sound effects are superb!! Jeff Menapace has the most warped & creative mind ever known!! I've read every book by him and none of them disappoint!!

NO! NO! NO! Annie Ellicott!

I gave 5 stars across the board because Jeff Menapace is not only the greatest storyteller ever, and with Jeff Hays as the narrator, you simply CANNOT get any better! However, the voices expressed by Annie Ellicott was like glass shards in my brain and in my eyeballs. It was, at times, really hard to get through. Jeff, if you're listening, please, no more Annie Ellicott. Jeff Menapace and Jeff Hays can conquer and shine, all by themselves. ❤

Dark and Creepy But Oh Sooooo Right!

If you are a person who likes your horror more on the disturbing side of the fence, and you find yourself drawn to movies such as Saw, Friday the 13th, etc., “Wildlife: Reckoning” the latest work published in audiobook format by Jeff Menapace might be just what you are looking for in your next listen. This is only the second work from this author I have both listened and reviewed, and I will say this one is quite dark, rather gruesome, and overly horrific from a story perspective; unlike the first I listened too. Definitely, a work that is outside of my comfort zone or preferred listening genre, but I wanted to give it a listen because the audiobook is exceptionally performed by the wonderful team at Soundbooth Theatre with narrations by both Jeff Hays and Annie Ellicott. This audiobook is actually a continuation, or follow-up, to a previous work call “Wildlife”, yet this story can be listened to as a stand-alone piece as I did. The previous book’s activities are referenced in this one, but it does not require you to have knowledge of it to enjoy this one. If this sounds like your type of books, I would recommend it based on its fluid and descriptive writing along with the superb narration team. Be aware, it is not intended for younger readers.

As stated above, the horror genre is not really something that I seek out, but I have read another book by the author (more dystopian) and I think very highly of the narrators. For me, the writing and flow was done very well. The plot flowed at a decent speed and there were times I was wondering what was going to jump out from behind that closed door. Was it going to be that stupid cat, or a crazed murder like in the movies? More than not, it was the crazy person. If this is the type of story you enjoy, I think you will not be disappointed by Mr. Menapace’s follow-up to the Wildlife book. Even though the characters were very dark and creepy, especially their younger daughter, they each felt right in the story’s context. They had distinct motives and personalities, as bizarre as they were. Upon finishing the book, it made me think of those “Girls Gone Bad” videos from the 80s but the main characters are replaced with swamp people from the TV show. I would best describe the audiobook as a piece of dark gritty horror noir on steroids. Again, some may think it tame and calm, but I found it mostly disconcerting; which I think was the author’s intent.

Let me turn to the audiobook’s narration. From my initiation into audiobooks, the name Jeff Hays has always been the one who was setting the bar for production quality. Now that he has formed Soundbooth Theatre, he has brought in some of the best of the best narrators to help out. I do enjoy Annie Ellicott’s ability to voice the female roles in this book, including the very creepy little daughter. She will forever be in my nightmares, thanks for that! Mr. Hays did a wonderful job with the male parts, and the blending of the two narrators really helped to enhance the audiobook for me. The audio itself was clean of any artifacts and the volume remained the same from start to finish. The team added some sound effects to the production which mostly added to the ambiance and overall feeling of the book. If this is not your type of book, I would recommend you look for other audiobooks the team at Soundbooth Theatre have performed, as I’m sure there are many you will be interested in.

For parents and younger listeners, I would say up front that this audiobook is not at all appropriate for non-mature listeners. There are graphic scenes of violence, heavy use of profanity, and mature sexual topics or subject matter that just would not be good for a younger reader. Some or all of these are on nearly every page of this book. If you are at all one who gets squeamish when a person steps on a bug, I recommend steering clear of this book. It is hard-core horror in my classification.

In summary, if you are one who enjoys very dark and alarming stories, I think you will like listening to this audiobook. If you often shy away from this genre of material, like me, you may want to give it a pass. The people are rather strange, the situations are over the top, and the horror is rather graphic and descriptive. The writing was good, the narration and audio effects were great. If you are one who likes other works by Mr. Menapace, I think you will feel right at home with this audiobook.

Audiobook was provided for review by the author/narrator/publisher.
Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog.
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excellent

Well read. Good storyline. Highly recommend, but does have a lot of bad language. Will read more of his