Prip'Yat: The Beast of Chernobyl

I didn't know what to expect when picking this book up in the Kindle store, but I was pleasantly surprised. Set against the backdrop of the Chernobyl disaster area, this turned out to be a quite entertaining little horror story. It was a nice detour from my usual dry, not-at-all boring reactor schematics books, reports and the like. If you want a well-written horror/suspense story set in the Exclusion Zone, this would be a good choice. Don't expect any technical information about the disaster or the RBMK reactor because it's not there, but instead enjoy a good horror story that will keep you reading from Page One.

Is it of this world? Is the beast of organic material, or maybe it was something of another origin than Earth. None of these questions touched on by the author, but the description of the beast's workings make you wonder.I enjoyed this book a lot. The author followed the layout of the town and reactor site very well, and after doing some research on them online, I could imagine the story almost as a cinematic in my mind's eye. I found myself reading this with the lights off at night and getting spooked from the very beginning. Icould almost feel the dust particles, smell the abandonment of the city, and taste the radiation. This was very easy to follow, and based on many facts. (Not the beast part, obviously, but the history of the explosions and of Pryp'Yat.) The way this was written, it moved quickly due to the author not using four pages to describe just one thing. It reminds me of how someone would tell a ghost story if they were telling their friend.Unlike some previous reviews, I enjoyed the description of the beast as it allowed me to get, most likely overly so, creative with wondering about its origins. Also, I did not see an excessive use of short sentences; they were no shorter than the sentences I'm using to write this review. There are some mistakes in the book that remind me of perhaps someone in the beginning stages of learning how to write published work, but nothing worth ripping him apart over.I gave it four stars instead of five because in some areas the author was too repetitive (I don't need to be told 6 or 8 times within a few pages apart that Dimitri talked Yuri into going, or that the red eyes glow), and there were several times it seemed there was perhaps no editor for the book and thus several mistakes were made regarding missing words and incoherent sentences. These are all things easily fixed, though, and the hardest part is having a talent for story telling, which Mr Kraus clearly does.Having only paid $0.99 for the kindle version, I'm extremely pleased and would certainly recommend this to someone looking for a simple spooky story.

"Prip'Yat [don't really know why the author chose the wrong orthography of the Ukrainian site]: The Beast of Chernobyl" is recommendable to fans of military vs monsters stories, or better: horror stories where the protagonists take up the glove and fight back instead of just being there to die horribly. If this were a movie, it would be more "Commando" than "Aliens". It is written in a matter-of-factly style that makes the story flow very well and readers will find it hard to put the book down. definitely one of the better, even the best, of the recent attempts to use Chernobyl as a new setting in the horror/action genre.On the downside, there's a few goofs about military terms and equipment. For example, the Dragunov rifle is prominently featured but fires HE ammunition that doesn't exist in reality (and using a scoped sniper rifle in close quarter fighting would be suicidal anyway), thermal and infrared vision are described as different night vision devices while are practically the same, face masks are supposed to stop assault rifle calibre rounds, and contingency/emergency exfiltration elements are ALWAYS planned into a mission even if black-ops. There's some almost sci-fi features too like combat suits offering full protection even against the most lethal doses of radiation but since the book plays in the near future, one could imagine that such suits will exist in a couple of years. Still, these minor flaws will probably not spoil a reader's enjoyment, save for the gun-savvy ones, because the story is a very decent read.

For those of us old enough to remember Chernobyl, this may be an even darker read than for people too young (or not born yet). While young at the time I still vividly remember. First it was nothing, then a fire- but contained. Then came reports of radioactive dust falling on other countries. The truth, if not the whole truth, came later. While I'm not really a conspiracy buff, I am certainly old enough to know that the whole story about situations like this will never be known by the general public.I found a large proportion of this story very believable. The writing was, for the most part, spare and gripping. The impromptu field trip by the two boys and their subsequent mistakes were highly believable. I would never have given a second thought to walking through high grass- never knowing how much more radiation was attached to it. The author did a good job of making their innocence seem normal. They were kids.The soldier's undercover mission was also believable. Like a few other reviewers, I would have liked more details about the beast. Mostly because, well, BEAST! And while this particular monster might be fanciful, the idea of possible mutations and unconscionable scientific arrogance are not.

This is not the sort of thing I would normally read as it leans towards Science Fiction.That said, I love the mystery of Chernobyl, a truly terrifying man made no go area.I read this book in just over a day. I found I wanted to know what happened to the people in the book and wanted to know what was happening - so I found it quite hard to put down. I could see this being made into a film.The 4 stars are because I didn't really like the ending as it seemed rushed. It was hard to decide whether to give the book 5 stars as I only paid 99p for it but I have chosen to write this from the view of full price as other people might be making decisions from reviews that mean them paying full price.Mike Kraus is definitely on my "Lookout to read" list.

Even the name sends chills up your spine. I was 18 when it happened and having watched the news at the time I have always felt unease about the subject. This amazing book pulls the reader into the creepy darkness that is Chernobyl. I loved the book. It would be great to see a sequel. Five stars.

This was a very good scary book! not what I expected at all! It narrates the story of 2 inquisitive young men who want to have a nosey around a forbidden zone and 2 hardened special services soldiers sent in on a mission to investigate some strange reported events. The story switches between the two groups until tragedy strikes. The suspence keeps going right to the last page-very good-not telling you any more ,read it and find out for yourself!

An insight of what could happen with these plants, and how horrific the outcome could be. Putting aside the appearance of the Beast, it outlines the ramifications of these plants. Cannot say I enjoyed it, but interesting to read. Can we get back to apocalyptic stuff ????

Short but impressed from the beginning. Who in their right mind would be organising trips to Chernobyl years after a nuclear explosion and who would want to visit the area, not me. Two teenage boys decide to visit the area as they have heard so much about it over the years and want to see for themselves. Two special op soldiers are given a mission to explore the area for what .... read the book!