A fun and fast paced creature feature.
I'm a huge fan of this sub genre and thoroughly this quick read. Don't get me wrong, this story wasn't genre defining or setting any new trends, but its still an enjoyable read.

“It Came From the Lake” by Glenn Rolfe is available now in paperback and on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited.

Belgrade, Maine is home to a secret protected by a Vietnam vet. When a runaway foster child and a local teen stumble into the area around the lake, the secret is not the only danger awaiting them.

It’s a Glenn Rolfe book. He’s always worth reading.

This was a great, retro feeling punk rock creature feature, with shades of Monster Squad, Black Lagoon and Cycle of the Werewolf. A great fun read. Highly recommended.

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4 Stars!



Glenn Rolfe had me hooked with Blood and Rain, still one of my favorite werewolf novels of all time, and has not let me go since then. Every book I have read by him has lived up to the horror that I found in that novel and each is a unique rollercoaster ride of violence and mayhem. It Came from the Lake promised the same scares as the books that came before it and I could not wait to jump into this novella to see what new terror Rolfe had in store for me.



Belgrade, Maine, was a typical small town in most regards. The only thing unusual about the town was the lake. The lake was not a problem for the most part, for the people of the town knew to stay away. They knew the legends of the monster that lived in the lake. They knew the eccentric Vietnam War veteran that lived by the lake and protected its secret. Or, more correctly, protected people from stumbling upon the secret the lake held. When a runaway teen and a local teen approaching juvenile delinquency get to close to the lake, it is impossible for the secret to remain hidden. The lake holds a monster and the monster must be fed. But the two teens are also about to learn that there can be worse things than the beast that lives in the woods by the lake.



There is not a whole lot to It Came from the Lake as far as depth of story, but that is fine. This novella-length story gets right to the action, with only a little bit of background in the beginning to keep it from being too shallow, and then it is off to the races. Rolfe keeps the action coming the beginning and carries it through to the very last page. If you are looking for a meaningful and thought-provoking story, this is not the book for you. That is not the intent of the story at all. If you are just looking for a fun read from a master of the horror genre who is not afraid to throw a monster and madman at you with every page, then you are sure to enjoy this novella. Rolfe gives the readers an all-action horror story in It Came from the Lake and his fans are sure to rejoice. I know that I enjoyed this one from the first page to the last. It is not Rolfe's best work, but it is still a great way to spend a couple hours and is a must read for monster fans.



I would like to thank Alien Agenda Publishing and NetGalley for this review copy. It Came from the Lake is available now.

This was my first Lake Creature book and it was an interesting take on something that’s reminiscent of The Creature from the Black Lagoon. The creature in the book had me picturing the creature from the 1954 movie throughout, though in an updated version. I really liked the character Leilani, and how this book had an underlying “eat the rich” feel, in the sense that their greed and power got them in these circumstances. It was a fun novella, thank you for sharing it with me!

Got ARC from Netgalley in return for this review.

Get ready for page turning excitement, especially beyond Chapter Eleven. While it doesn’t start gradual, there are several characters introduced in quick succession separated by chapter which slowed the pacing a tad. Once it gets going, the intensity doesn’t let up.

A somewhat unique creature feature, the monster within is called by the improbable name “Nietzsche Anathema”. It somewhat reminded me of “The Creature from the Black Lagoon” although it didn’t have the exact same appearance or form of attack, of which the attack is both bizarre and gross.

Not a literary masterpiece discerning the meaning of the cosmos, but it is a quick read if you’re looking for a monster infused blast from this novella. Definitely would read this author again. Really good B-movie material, I recommend it.

Right from the beginning, I knew this was going to be a doozy. Belgrade, Maine, is the home of a large manmade lake, owned by rich a$$hole Henry Owens. His brother, a Vietnam Vet named Francis, lives on the lake and keeps out trespassers, while covering up the incidents of their little friend. You see, it's not just furry little friends that wander the woods around the lake. There is something much bigger and nastier than most of the creatures, and he goes by the name "Nietzsche Anathema."

Who doesn't love a lake monster? Nessie, Champ, and Nietzsche. I must confess - I kept imagining the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Just me? But ol' Nietzsche was much much nastier. This felt like reading a wonderful B Horror Movie, and I loved it. The end was a lovely touch.

This was a fun little read. Not too long, but a good creature feature.
It explored more water creatures, which I don’t see too much of. So it’s nice to actually see. The only reason I’m not giving full stars on this is because I wanted to know a little more about the creature itself. I overall enjoyed it and will happily read more from this author. Nice little pinch of horror.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a review copy

I enjoyed the splatterpunk element in this horror novel. It had the creature feature element that I was hoping for and I really enjoyed the concept overall. I enjoyed the way the characters were written and how well everything worked with this concept. I enjoyed the way Glenn Rolfe wrote this and enjoyed the overall feel to this. The cover and description is what drew me in and I'm so glad it worked with everything that I was expecting.

A quick read about a murderous lake monster. It’s action packed from the first paragraph. A bit of gore, an outrageous monster leading to a fun read.

It Came From the Lake by Glenn Rolfe is a one of those truly fun horror books that simply flies by. Old school horror, brought into a modern age. The cast of characters Rolfe creates is vast, but even so are fun and developed. There’s elements of vintage horror, hard boiled crime, teenage angst and so much more. Felt like I was reading a movie I would have watched on late night Monstervision! The perfect way to jumpstart yourself if you are in a reading slump.

It Came From The Lake is fast paced and very quick read. Don't let the short page number turn you away, because what it lacks in pages the read makes up for in atmosphere and thrills. This one is perfect for all of the fans of the creature features, making sure you never look at a lake the same way ever again. Thank you to NetGalley, Alien Agenda Publishing, and Glenn Rolfe for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. This one is available now.

Having previously read Glenn Rolfe’s werewolf novel Blood and Rain, I was excited to see his take on a lake monster.

The book immediately drew me in with the first chapter starting with that great first line. I also love a horror novel that delivers a cold open kill and introduction of the monster in the first chapter.

Then we meet Leilani. She’s a great character and caught my interest right away. I especially loved that her foster parents deviated from the stereotype. They were good people that genuinely wanted to help Leilani. I also liked that they had tattoos–again breaking stereotypes.

After Leilani’s introduction the story began to lose me. There were too many point of view characters introduced and I cannot remember any of their names. I think I would have enjoyed the story more if it stayed with Leilani. The boy she meets wasn’t a bad character but he didn’t need his own perspective. I was not at all invested in the detective who read as a stock caricature of a film noir gumshoe. A few other characters also received chapters from their perspective that weakened the story.

Another thing that took me out of the story were the pop culture references that seemed out-of-place. References to Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Thor. These appeared in multiple character perspectives. This made it even more difficult to differentiate the characters. They use the same pop culture references, they swear the same, and the reacted to events in similar manners. Essentially, they were all the author. What was the point of having so many characters if none of them have anything new to add to the story.

The characters also took away from the real draw: the monster. The monster was not in the story nearly enough. When it did appear it did the same things each time. More time was spent on the crazy old Vietnam vet than on the monster. I could have done without that character too.

My final take away is that this story was too unfocused and didn’t fully deliver on the premise. Had this been about a foster kid that runs away and has to fight a lake monster, it might have been fun. Unfortunately, this story wastes it’s limited page length on also trying to be a detective story and a crazy killer in the woods story.

I’m still a fan of Rolfe and would be interested in reading more from him, but this book was not for me.

Very atmospheric & dreadful! Love his writing style, he’s so good at setting a scene that it makes you feel present in the story! This is another short fun horrific tale from this author! Definitely I’ll read anything he puts out next!

This was a new author for me, and I was pleasantly surprised that I finished it quickly during a short flight.
I was a little nervous with the pov changes as they can easily become too much, but found that it really was easy enough to keep everyone straight. Also, you were able to pick up on who was important and who was just adding a bit of action scenes.
I would call this more creature feature, but also I enjoyed the urban legend feel of it.
The gore wasn’t over the top, nor did it feel like it was used for shock factor. It felt like it fit in nicely.
I’d be interested in picking up more from this author.

Very good writing. I was worried about the introduction of a lot of characters in the beginning but it really worked and it was easy to remember who is who. I loved the twist in the end. I would definitely read more of this authors work! Thanks NetGallery!

A great short story to get your blood pumping. Nice mashup of murder mystery and creature feature. An added bonus was that location 666 on my kindle was the start of chapter 13.

This was a fast paced and quick read that was so easy to get lost and immersed into. I always love it when short books like these are so fantastically written that it feels like a full novel.

This gave me massive Stephen King vibes, particularly some of his older work and it felt quite nostalgic.

This was my first time reading from this author and I can’t wait to check out more of their work.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alien Agenda Publishing for providing me with this ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of It Comes from the Lake! I had a great time reading this short book. It really reminded me of Stephen King in that every sentence oozed each individual character’s personality, which is so fun to read when done well and is necessary in a shorter-length book with many points of view. As a Mainer, I loved each little tidbit about my home state that made its way into this story. Leilani was one of my favorite characters and a nearly perfect final girl, and I honestly think I would read a book just about our short-lived characters Deana and Kevin and their story. I haven’t read much creature-horror, but this book was really fun, and delivered on the creep-factor for me! I look forward to reading more Glenn Rolfe!

This book turned out to be better than I thought it would be. I got a little confused with the first couple of chapters, but I promise the way it’s set up it does make sense. I honestly thought it was gonna be like a mix of short stories, but somehow it all came together cohesively. I very much enjoyed this book and the twist ending was just perfect!! I would be happy to let everyone know to buy this book, and to buy a copy myself for my physical shelf.

It Came From The Lake by Glenn Rolfe was a quick read and a book for a windy rainy night whilst snuggled under your quilt or sitting round a camp fire in the woods. It was a creepy and gory read. It was a quick read and once I started it I had to finish.
I really enjoyed it and will not be my last book from this author

Big Thank you to Netgalley and Alien Agenda Publishing for my Arc