Animal horror is alive and well — but this tale is of a creature far from it. Behold the Aroughcoune, a rabid trash panda fit for a 50s sci-fi movie screen. Pages of non-stop action, author Mark Berton’s novel will make you salivate with the thought of escaping such a fiend of the forest.
Zin and Bill’s quiet camping weekend turns into a deadly nightmare when they’re hunted by the “aroughcoune,” a genetically engineered monster created in a secret government lab. Guided by an unreliable game warden and aided by a no-nonsense park ranger and a Native American herbalist, the teens uncover the creature’s classified origins while fighting to survive. Blending government conspiracy, folklore, and creature-feature chaos, Aroughcoune throws unlikely heroes into a bizarre fight for their lives.
Aroughcoune
As the synopsis explains, we’re in for a fast-paced survival story filled with dark surprises, heroic teamwork, and one monster of a racoon. Extraordinary but somehow still semi-believable, the Aroughcoune’s creation is a thing of legend; no matter how ridiculous a conspiracy sounds, once it’s put into words on a page, the story takes flight and transports you right into the action with it. From beginning to end, Aroughcoune had me in a vice grip.
Many times did I flip a page, mouth agape, reading faster and faster as characters sprinted through the old growth with broken limbs or treaded water while being pelted with whole tree trunks. Berton had managed to make a cuddly rodent a thing of pure horror when grown to extreme sizes and developing hydrophobia. As we are leaving the life of technology for more wholesome natural settings, Aroughcoune reminds us that there is still something to be feared in the woods.
I can go on and on about the endless action and genuine frights in this book, but I want to hit on specific pieces throughout the story. Aroughcoune obviously is told through third person, based around this small group of people. But during the action, Berton writes from the perspective of the Aroughcoune itself — how it feels, how unjustifiably angry it is, how hungry and thirsty it is, and how all of this confusion is driving it mad. It doesn’t know why this is happening, only that humankind has somehow caused it… but humans are also the only ones who might be able to save it. The Aroughcoune is more than a monster, it is a thinking being, unfortunately marked for death… but not before causing a shit-ton of destruction!
Filled with blood and viscera, anxiety-inducing tension, heart-racing imagery, and a description of smells I hope to never encounter, Aroughcoune is the next level of creature feature. More than enough to keep you guessing and turning those pages, Aroughcoune is a showstopper you’ll definitely want in your library.
Check out more about Aroughcoune and author Mark Berton on his website and Instagram. Aroughcoune is also available on Amazon.
