Eight, was an action read, I devoured it in two sessions. This is not a book offering something new or unexpected. It reads more like your run-of-the-mill, creature feature. But it does keep you at the edge of your seat.

The protagonist are three dimensional characters, unlike the antagonists.

The story doesn't offer something new, but if you want to have a good time reading a creature feature, this is a great book to do so.

For me it was, not only well written, it was a lot of fun.

Thank you for the early copy!

This book would make a great horror/archaeology movie. Kept me clued to my kindle wondering how in the world they were going to get out of this mess alive. This is not for the faint of heart to read, especially if you have a problem with spiders. Very fast-paced, especially the last half. The only problem I had was with the characters, I really didn't like them or dislike them except for De Sousa. They struck me as being immature and selfish, but I was glad they survived.
I received this from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review.

Great thriller. Fast moving but not super scary. Easy to recommend to library patrons.

This was SUCH a fun read. I was in the mood for a bit of a sci-fi story but nothing too fantasy/"space'y" driven - this was just what I was looking for. I love that this is set in the Amazon - an extremely creepy environment in its own right. While it does feel like a long book, and you don't think there is any way possible for these characters to survive their many, many predicaments, the book somehow manages to keep a relentlessly fast and exciting pace. One thing I was disappointed in was a handful of unanswered questions... does this mean a sequel, perhaps?
Without giving away what "IT" is, I can definitely say it gave me real nightmares!

Thank you Netgalley for my advance copy!!

I received this book months ago from Netgalley. Then I realized it was over 550 pages and the Prologue did not "grab" my attention. I kept it on my Kindle and was often reminded that I needed to read this book. Two days ago I re-started and this time I was engrossed in the story. The first 50% of the book was interesting and kept me reading at a usual pace. The second half was an intense, edge of the seat, non-stop drama reading rate. This book read like an exciting adventure movie. You have the build up and then POW you are hit with the action you have been building up for. We follow Rebecca as she ventures off to the Amazon to meet her ex-boyfriend, who has made a huge discovery in both of their fields of study. This adventure leads them right into the middle of a spider species (hence the title, Eight) no one has ever encountered or at least never lived to tell about the encounter. There is a side adventure story of Owen and Sanchez which keeps you wondering why they cannot catch a break. And of course, we have a cute and cuddle monkey whose life we worry about along the way also. When I see a book is 500+ pages, I often wonder if it really needs to be that long, looking back, yes would be my answer in this case. I am so glad I kept this on my Kindle constantly reminding me of its existence. I am giving this a definite 4 star review. In fairness, I hardly rate books a 5 star. Kudos, Mr. Mortensen you sure know how to end a book with a bang!

I am always on the lookout for a book about spiders and I am so very glad I found this one!! Action, adventure and spiders, my ideal trifecta! I hope this turns into a series as I need more spider goodness!!

Eight had me from the first plane ride until the final crash landing...

There's a lot of things to love--and squeal over--in this book. The tension of lost romance and non-stop action lulls you into safety right before the featured creatures knock you out cold. Bodies fly apart, world-views get tossed upside down, and indigenous peoples team up with crazy making arachnids--making this a great summer read.

Mortensen does a great job of infusing lots of fun facts into his story world. I learned more than I thought I'd be interested in about the Amazon and its inhabitants. His descriptions made me feel like I was wearing a pair of 3D Google glasses. He masterfully mixed his imaginary monsters and dangerous real-life Amazonian animals with reckless abandon--all the more fun for the reader.

I rated it a four instead of a five as I thought the book could be condensed and could be a bit tighter overall.

This book should definitely be made into a movie. I really enjoyed the read--and I'll be watching for the sequel.

I'm a big fan of the cryptid, nature thriller and this was awesome. There are too few books in this genre, and it's often a challenge to find a good one. Eight gave me all the creepy chills I wanted. Highly recommend for fans of Lincoln and Child and Crichton.

I'd like to thank NetGalley for supplying a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Eight: A thrilling ride that combines the legend of Atlantis with arachnophobia. Although parts of the tale seemed far-fetched, this was a fun read nevertheless. If you like reading about adventures set in the Amazon like I do, go for it. I heard there's a sequel in the making!

A rollicking story with Rebecca and Ed written in a way that you feel like you are with them. If you are fear spiders, read this but expect to get your FEAR ON!!!

Brisbane author WW Mortensen delivers a rollicking creature story set in the depths of the South American jungles.
A well-written story that clicks along at a frenetic pace, it’s a fun “b movie” style adventure with splashes of lost civilisations, military gunfights and some very dangerous spiders.
It’s an impressive debut with short, sharp chapters that give it a fun cinematic style.
However, clocking in at over 500 pages, the frantic pace does grow a little weary by the end and you can’t help but feel it may have benefited from either trimming 100 pages or providing a few more moments to breathe between the non-stop thrills.
Eight is not perfect but it’s a heck of a lot of fun and well worth a look.

Another new to me author with strong skills as a wordsmith and ability to spin a great story, creating and building on the suspense at every turn. A must read if you like high adventure and terrifying action.

Give me a book about people in a thick jungle filled with hidden dangers including horrific beasts and I am sold.
"Eight" by W.W. Mortensen was an enjoyable read. Rebecca Riley is an entomologist who travels to the Amazon after seeing incredible photos she has been sent. She joins a group of scientists which includes her ex partner, Ed Reardon but little does she know that there is even more to discover in the jungle and she will end up in a desperate fight for her life.
The story was fast paced from the beginning and I found the book hard to put down. The author describes the Amazon so well that I felt as if I were there too and I loved the atmosphere of the book. The only gripe I have is that there seemed to be a bit of overkill. The horrific creatures were more than enough and I found the added "bad guy" to be a bit too much for my taste. I didn't feel it was necessary and detracted from the story line. Otherwise than that, I really enjoyed reading the novel very much.
I received a copy of this book from the publishers via Netgalley for free in exchange for an honest review.

Deep in the jungles of South America, an expedition searches for a lost city and a new source of potentially limitless power. But something is stirring in the ancient ruins – something ancient, dangerous, and hungry.

Rebecca Riley, an entomologist, joins the expedition at the request of her former partner, facing her deepest fears in search of his deepest desire. What was promised to be a journey of scientific discover quickly becomes a desperate struggle for survival.

It’s a monster story. There are all the typical elements – exotic settings, an ensemble of highly-qualified protagonists, worrying signs and gruesome deaths. It doesn’t deviate from the formula much, but it’s competently done. There aren’t enough solid monster books, and this is one of them.

The author knows the rules of the genre – don’t show the monster too early, expand on the setting, kill characters in the right order. That’s a good thing – it allows for building tension and for a real sense of menace. Despite Jaws giving a clear lesson in how to make a monster scary, authors often mess it up. The danger in Eight is teased out slowly enough that it doesn’t become commonplace.

The major strength of this book is the detail. Mortensen has clearly done a lot of research into the setting and the relevant wildlife. You get a real sense of the jungle as the characters trek through it, and there’s lots of space little details and diversions that bring the setting alive. The science, too, is mostly convincing – not plausible, because that’s not really on the cards in monster books, but it hangs together and there is a coherence to the ideas and to the monster as a realistic species.

It’s a big plot, with lots of different characters and moving parts. I would preferred a tighter focus really, with a couple of minor twists and supporting roles removed. Still, the plot hangs together and makes sense without any gaping holes. One downside of the extensive cast, coupled with the detail in the book generally, is that there has to be a lot of exposition. There’s a lot of information that needs to be absorbed, and that’s never the most gripping part, regardless of how interesting the information is in itself.

I have a couple of other quibbles, but they are relatively minor. I would have liked more detail on the action – at points, key dramatic moments are cut short, dismissed in a single line. If a helicopter explodes or a boat gets impaled, you want to see it, to have enough detail in the text to make the event as effective as it can be. And the author does have a noticeable habit of relying on unnamed objects; a character will pick up something that isn’t named in one chapter, only to use it to solve a problem in the next. As a narrative device, withholding specifics is effective, but you can’t do it too often.

In all, this is a decent monster book. It’s got the adventure and the characters and the tension. The closest comparison to it would be Alien vs. Predator, so if you liked that, you’ll like this. I’m always on the lookout for good monster stories, but they’re quite hard to find – I’ve mentioned before that it’s a genre with more than its share of bad books. Eight is a good monster book, with everything in working order. If you’re looking for a story of exploration, adventure, and mortal peril, this is a good pick.

As a long time fan of horror and paranormal, it’s not surprising the blurb grabbed my attention. An ancient ruined city that shouldn’t exist? Check. Isolated jungle location? Check. Cryptic references to a mysterious and terrifying new species? Double-check. By any measure, this book was tailor-made for me. I went in with high hopes and for the most part, came out the other side with few disappointments.

One of the biggest strengths to the story was the level of detail in the scientific explanation behind the absolute shit ton of crazy stuff happening throughout this story. The minutiae got a little tricky to follow every so often but it provided an element of plausibility that allowed the reader to suspend disbelief and simply enjoy the ride.

Mortensen also had a knack for ending chapters in mini cliffhangers or mysteries that often kept me reading well past my normal bedtime. Here’s an excerpt from the beginning that left me thinking “Oh yeah, I’m in. Sign me up.”

(Excerpt)
"Pistol in hand, he managed to force the door open and peer out.

Despite expectations, nothing could have prepared him for what lay beyond.

‘Meu Deus…’ he whispered, crossing himself.
My God.

At that moment, he sensed a presence in the shattered window beside Maria. She didn’t get the chance to scream. Nor did he.

Outside, the scurrying became more frantic, thunderous above the drumming rain."

As always, I do have a few small things that bothered me ever so slightly and feel an obligation to point out:

The majority of the action didn’t really start until the main characters arrived at the central location in the story.
In my opinion, it took a little too long to get there. Up until that point, the story was moving like the Chrysler K-Car I drove in college. You get where you want to go but it takes longer than it should.

In some places, there was a little bit of the classic “telling instead of showing” that got a teensy bit tedious.

The number of improbably narrow escapes was a little too high for my taste. I can buy a few but these people were pulling MacGyvers over and over. There might have been a few eye rolls involved. Just sayin’.

Despite these nitpicky issues, I honestly enjoyed this book overall. The idea is original and the plot’s complexity keeps things interesting all the way through. Once the pace picks up, the story becomes a wild roller coaster-ride-from-hell that keeps you guessing to the very end. If you’re looking for something outside the run-of-the-mill horror genre you could do much worse than Eight.

Eight by WW Mortensen was received direst from the publisher. The tagline for the lengthy novel is "Terror Has A New Species," which is an interesting take on things The book, which mostly takes place in the Amazon jungle moves along and rarely bogs down. This however, is also not good as the constant action gets kind of boring and/or monotonous. If the author had chopped some pages out I would have liked this 500 + page book more, though others love the lengthy tome,I get it, you cant please everyone. If you, or if someone you know likes books about lost cities in the Amazon that possibly contain a yet unknown power source and hairy creatures all around, this may well be the book to read.

4 stars

I feel horrible because just before I started Eight, I somehow ended up in a random romance phase (where I only crave/read romances) and I couldn't get into this as much as I wanted to.

I wish I started it a week before I actually did (in my horror phase). Damn it!!!

I will probably pick it up again when I'm back in the right frame of mind so for now I'm putting it on hold.

This was a DNF. The author could have used a good editor to help him trim the story down - there were two many irons in the fire. In addition, large blocks of exposition are a definite turn-off for me.

Good Book. Non stop action from start to finish. Not sure I will visit the amazon anytime soon after reading this book :-)

thanks you.
enjoyed it.
will get copies for family and friends.