Dane Hatchell

We’ve all heard the biblical quote of “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” [Luke 6:31]. Well in this exquisitely written short story the author, Dane Hatchell, makes this come alive, as this is essentially what happens to the antagonist, Captain John Hampton.

Captain Hampton is a merciless plantation owner and task master with a fondness for the young Haitian slave girls he owns. Everything is fine, fine that is until a spirited Darque Wight comes upon the scene and proves to be his undoing as she’s unwilling to capitulate to any of the captain’s wanton needs and fights back. Unfortunately, for his sake, he’s forgotten about his slave’s traditional art of voodoo; an art which includes the raising of the recently dead to help seek revenge against an oppressor, like himself. Will the walking undead become the salvation for Darque and the rest of his slaves?

For giving his readers and myself a page turning short story, which is best read with the lights on, I’ve given Mr. Hatchell 5 STARS.… (meer)

This quick read book by Dane Hatchell about a typical hand craved cypress tree garden gnome that becomes alive to avenge the death of the grandchild of a shopkeeper makes for a perfect book to read aloud in a totally darken room with a huge candle burning in the center and people gathered around it for Halloween.
Halloween is the perfect time for stories with things which go bump in the night. And a vengeance seeking gnome totally fills the bill here. Once it sets off on its quest there’s no stopping it until it’s goal has been reached and the hatred for the guilty party for the murder has been satisfied.
For giving his readers a wonderful story for Halloween night or anytime you’re in for that kind of story, I’ve given Mr. Hatchell 5 STARS.… (meer)

Many people believe that there are creatures out there that exist where science says it’s not possible. One of those people is Cryptozoologist and university professor, Alex Klasse. Alex has learned of a place where dinosaurs still exist and he has received a grant from the Ace corporation to lead an expedition to find them. Alex will be accompanied by students from his university and a band of mercenaries who are in search of rare jewels. The team is taking two nuclear powered all-terrain vehicles into the unknown where danger lurks around every corner.

Lost World Of Patagonia by Dane Hatchell is an action adventure story complete with man-eating dinosaurs that really did exist at one point. It seemed like the author did his homework on what archaeologists and paleontologists believe dinosaurs looked like, complete with some of them having feathers. It also gets into the idea that mammals may have evolved from lizards. One of my favorite scenes in this book was when the explorers send a drone with a camera attached to explore Patagonia and we get to see the dinosaurs in their natural habitat, If you are into dinosaurs and the science behind their existence this is a good book to pick up.

While Lost World Of Patagonia maybe more science fiction than horror it does have some moments that are pretty terrifying. The book opens with two people running through the wilderness being hunted by dinosaurs. Dane does a great job building suspense as you see these two try to survive in a desperate situation. I don’t want to give anything away, but I loved how the beginning was set up with one character, surviving several cliffhangers. I had figured this character would be the hero of the story but then it goes into a different direction. From the beginning this book had a real anything goes feeling to it.

The action scenes in this book were great and I liked hearing about the dinosaurs, but a lot of the characters came across as one-dimensional. There is a love triangle going on here that had the feel of something out of a bad Syfy channel movie. The way they wrap the love story up made me want to stop reading and the ending to the book was enough to make you yell “what the hell?” I think the story should have spent less time on the characters and more time on the dinosaurs because I didn’t care about these people. Where this book really shines is with the focus on a world that time has forgotten.

Lost World Of Patagonia is a book that starts with a gruesome bang, slows down and then has a crazy ending. I love the concept here, as I was reading I kept thinking it would make a great Science fiction/horror movie. It’s like Jurassic Park but with a lot more detail on the creatures that live in this world. Patagonia is a fascinating place to explore and I’m happy to see that there is a second book available.… (meer)