What do you think?
Rate this book
Razorbacks
A terrible pile-up on a deserted West Texas highway. A massive dust-storm cutting off communications and obscuring visibility. A father, his estranged son, and a small band of survivors marooned, waiting for help, unaware of the things that are out in the dust, waiting, watching, drawn by the scent of blood.
100 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2014
73 people are currently reading
130 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
May 11, 2016
Razorbacks is a decent "nature-gone-wild" tale of a bunch of people caught in a sand-storm in the wrong part of Texas - specifically the part of Texas where wild pigs grow to be 800 pounds, travel in packs, and have developed a taste for human flesh.
The positive elements of Mahaffey Jr's work is that it's short and relatively fast-paced. The attacks by the pigs are also sudden and nasty when they occur and numerous people are eaten alive as they are taken down. All of that works for me. Some high quality writing also shone through, with a few very nice turns of phrase and cleverly concocted sentences elevating the "creature-feature" nature of the plot.
But - and this is a big but - the characters were far from arresting. I can honestly say that aside from our main protagonist, a 13 year old boy who has led a very tough life, there is not a one of them I came to care about, and in most cases, even get a feel for. They were all just Razorback-fodder, and may as well have had the same tattooed upon their foreheads. Some novels should be novellas, but this was one novella that needed longer to breathe and for the characters to be filled in, so that when they died, my care factor might actually have been tweaked.
Then there is also the fact that Mahaffey Jr frequently jumps POVs with each paragraph change - something which is an absolute pet peeve of mine ...
So, all in all, I give this story about a bunch of people stuck in the middle of a road while hungry wild pigs encircle them, a very appropriate middle of the road score.
2.5 Roadblocks That Exist for a Reason for Razorbacks.
The positive elements of Mahaffey Jr's work is that it's short and relatively fast-paced. The attacks by the pigs are also sudden and nasty when they occur and numerous people are eaten alive as they are taken down. All of that works for me. Some high quality writing also shone through, with a few very nice turns of phrase and cleverly concocted sentences elevating the "creature-feature" nature of the plot.
But - and this is a big but - the characters were far from arresting. I can honestly say that aside from our main protagonist, a 13 year old boy who has led a very tough life, there is not a one of them I came to care about, and in most cases, even get a feel for. They were all just Razorback-fodder, and may as well have had the same tattooed upon their foreheads. Some novels should be novellas, but this was one novella that needed longer to breathe and for the characters to be filled in, so that when they died, my care factor might actually have been tweaked.
Then there is also the fact that Mahaffey Jr frequently jumps POVs with each paragraph change - something which is an absolute pet peeve of mine ...
So, all in all, I give this story about a bunch of people stuck in the middle of a road while hungry wild pigs encircle them, a very appropriate middle of the road score.
2.5 Roadblocks That Exist for a Reason for Razorbacks.
November 24, 2022
A terrible pile-up on a deserted West Texas highway. A massive dust-storm cutting off communications and obscuring visibility. A father, his estranged son, and a small band of survivors marooned, waiting for help, unaware of the things that are out in the dust, waiting, watching, drawn by the scent of blood
: what did I Think:
5 stars
Ok so first off this was a cover buy, but I have to say that I'm glad that I picked it , its the second book this month that I've read that's the type of book that you need to read doing October , its alarming ,terrifying, hair-raising , spine-chilling blood-curdling , horrifying , plus nerve-racking, AND unnerving all rolled up in one, it'll have you setting on the edge of your set, all the time I was reading it , it remind me of a movie that I grew up watching with my Dad called Razorback that came out in 1984. In the film Razorback you find out that there's a vicious wild boar that's terrorizes the Australian outback, I would have to say that the author might have been thinking about that movie when he wrote this book , even though its takes place on a deserted West Texas highway .And right now let me tell you after reading this there is no way I'll ever go to West Texas think you very much, so with that said I will all so say that there are a lot of gruesome scenes in this book and if your not into that then this might not be for you , other than that I say you still need to check it out
June 2, 2020
A bunch of people are stuck on a west Texas highway amid a giant pile up of vehicles. A massive sandstorm is blowing in. A pack of giant feral pigs has caught the scent of blood. Carnage ensues. If you like straight to the point stories, this one throws you right into the mix and doesn't let up.
March 6, 2021
This is actually 1.5 stars, but I rounded up for creativity in the plot, but that's as far as I'm taking it. If I had a dollar for every single cliche or stereotype in the world mentioned in this book, I would not have to go to back to work for the next month. For real..it was shake my head bad. The only thing believable in this book were the big ass feral hogs that liked to ear people. Anything after that and you just sat and questioned the writing. Why you ask...
1. Dust storms - I've never been in one, but everything I have ever heard, read, or watched on the subject indicates that during a really bad one that you hunker the hell down and don't run around in it. And if you do venture out in the middle of one that goes on for hours don't you have to cover your face to keep the sand and grit out of your eyes, ears, nose, and mouth? What about animals? They have the same orifices. Wouldn't they get the crap in their orifices? Maybe these are super pigs and humans. I mean they are in Texas...
2. If you have the ability to ride out the storm in a tractor, why would you get out of safe place just to move the dead people in the middle of the road to the side of the road? How would one do so in the middle of said storm? Ahh that's right you stick the only female in the story on top of the truck so she can be the lookout for the pigs in the middle of a dust storm that supposedly obscures your visibility. So when she sees these pigs, she can radio the people down below that the pigs that they can't see on their own are coming from them. Now remember all these people were involved in a major highway pileup.
This is how the story goes on. I now know why this book was free. According to the what I found on the author, I discovered that he is a lawyer. If this is the same individual, please sir, I beg of you..don't give up your day job.
1. Dust storms - I've never been in one, but everything I have ever heard, read, or watched on the subject indicates that during a really bad one that you hunker the hell down and don't run around in it. And if you do venture out in the middle of one that goes on for hours don't you have to cover your face to keep the sand and grit out of your eyes, ears, nose, and mouth? What about animals? They have the same orifices. Wouldn't they get the crap in their orifices? Maybe these are super pigs and humans. I mean they are in Texas...
2. If you have the ability to ride out the storm in a tractor, why would you get out of safe place just to move the dead people in the middle of the road to the side of the road? How would one do so in the middle of said storm? Ahh that's right you stick the only female in the story on top of the truck so she can be the lookout for the pigs in the middle of a dust storm that supposedly obscures your visibility. So when she sees these pigs, she can radio the people down below that the pigs that they can't see on their own are coming from them. Now remember all these people were involved in a major highway pileup.
This is how the story goes on. I now know why this book was free. According to the what I found on the author, I discovered that he is a lawyer. If this is the same individual, please sir, I beg of you..don't give up your day job.
October 8, 2017
This book proved to be even more interesting than I was expecting it to be. Tension ran high almost from the very beginning, and never let up once things got going.
A Father and son are traveling on a lonely stretch of road in Texas when a sandstorm comes up and suddenly visibility is zero and the cars and trucks start crashing into each other and piling up. As the people start emerging from their vehicles, assessing the situation, a band of feral hogs begins to smell the blood of those injured and dying or dead, and home in on them. Finding a way to survive while waiting for help to arrive drives this story to it's conclusion. Very hard to put down once things start rolling. Loved it!!
A Father and son are traveling on a lonely stretch of road in Texas when a sandstorm comes up and suddenly visibility is zero and the cars and trucks start crashing into each other and piling up. As the people start emerging from their vehicles, assessing the situation, a band of feral hogs begins to smell the blood of those injured and dying or dead, and home in on them. Finding a way to survive while waiting for help to arrive drives this story to it's conclusion. Very hard to put down once things start rolling. Loved it!!
August 18, 2021
Enjoyable
There is some excellent writing in this one. The story is intriguing and a razorback hog makes a pretty good monster. There are parts that get a little muddled and hard to follow as well as a few facts on guns and trucks ,but all and all its an enjoyable read.
There is some excellent writing in this one. The story is intriguing and a razorback hog makes a pretty good monster. There are parts that get a little muddled and hard to follow as well as a few facts on guns and trucks ,but all and all its an enjoyable read.
June 10, 2017
I liked Peter and Yohan. And Avery, actually. Strangely compelling. Feral hogs are pretty unique. How did they get that way? No clue. Maybe the sequel sheds more light...
December 4, 2017
I have only been really and truly scared one time in my life, and that occurred on a hike in an isolated part of the North Georgia woods when a wild hog, tusks and all, charged straight at me (the hog was actually chasing my dog who was running back to me for safety). Fortunately for both my dog and me, the hog veered away at the last minute, but I have always had a fascination (and healthy respect) for wild hogs ever since. Naturally, I was attracted by the premise of George Mahaffey's Razorbacks, a horror thriller that, at its best, recalled my own experience but which also sometimes settled for descriptions of gore rather than genuine frights.
The main characters of Razorbacks are Avery and Peter, a father and 13-year-old son on the run from the law and a rather sticky domestic situation involving Peter's mother, a crackhead meth dealer. It would seem that leaving the mother's meth lab and sleazy boyfriend behind would have to be an improvement for Peter, but, instead, things get worse quickly. Avery and Peter are caught in a major sandstorm on a West Texas freeway and become part of a massive multi-car pileup that results from the diminished visibility. They and the handful of fellow survivors they encounter in and amongst the wreckage think that all they need to do is sit tight and ride out the storm. Instead, they soon find that there are a number of extremely large, extremely hungry hogs in the vicinity.
Razorbacks is a 100-page novella (that could easily have been made into a screenplay), so there’s not a lot of room for character development here. Most of the characters, other than Avery and Peter, are merely sketched in with a single dimension, and the only time the author gets into their thought processes is usually immediately before their rather gruesome demise. For this book, however, that’s not all that much of a drawback, since the emphasis is on the action and shock. To set the stage for the final confrontation between man and beast, author Mahaffey creates a good, albeit somewhat far fetched playing field. The substantial number of wrecked vehicles affords people plenty of places to hide in, under, or on top of while the pigs try to get to them. In addition, being Texas, there are a few firearms on hand, as well as some implements in some of the vehicles that the survivors transform into makeshift weapons of various sorts.
Although Razorbacks has plenty of action, the book is at its best in the early stages, before the people become aware of just what’s out there, instead glimpsing things in the wind and sand. There’s a great scene in which one character allows a pet Chihuahua on a leash to go for a walk into the storm, and the predictable result still manages to be shocking. But once the battle begins in earnest, Mahaffey increasingly foregoes suspense in favor of rather graphic descriptions of gore. Apparently, these hogs have a craving for fingers, since several characters wind up getting fingers bitten off. Similar anatomical details are also described in gruesome depth.
I’m no prude, and I’m not opposed to graphic content in a book, but the effect of this sort of description in Razorbacks is numbing rather than shocking. After a while, the pattern of attacks, attempts at defense, and dismemberments becomes monotonous. It doesn’t help matters that there seem to be a nearly endless number of attacking hogs, even though the beleaguered people manage to dispatch several of them. This repetitive action and increasing casualty list goes on far too long, so that, by the time Mahaffey gets to the final showdown, I had nearly lost interest.
Razorbacks is a book that would have worked better at 50 pages or 250 pages rather than 100. At novel length, Mahaffey could have developed more characters. Alternatively, at a shorter novelette length, he could have produced a really taut thriller. Instead, he’s in the middle, with an interesting premise, a likable youthful protagonist in Peter, and action and suspense that go downhill fast after a solid start. When Mahaffey is on, as in the first few chapters of Razorbacks, the story is genuinely suspenseful. For that reason, I do recommend Razorbacks as an escapist horror adventure. But be aware, that, like many a prize hog, the book has a good bit of fat that could have been trimmed away.
The main characters of Razorbacks are Avery and Peter, a father and 13-year-old son on the run from the law and a rather sticky domestic situation involving Peter's mother, a crackhead meth dealer. It would seem that leaving the mother's meth lab and sleazy boyfriend behind would have to be an improvement for Peter, but, instead, things get worse quickly. Avery and Peter are caught in a major sandstorm on a West Texas freeway and become part of a massive multi-car pileup that results from the diminished visibility. They and the handful of fellow survivors they encounter in and amongst the wreckage think that all they need to do is sit tight and ride out the storm. Instead, they soon find that there are a number of extremely large, extremely hungry hogs in the vicinity.
Razorbacks is a 100-page novella (that could easily have been made into a screenplay), so there’s not a lot of room for character development here. Most of the characters, other than Avery and Peter, are merely sketched in with a single dimension, and the only time the author gets into their thought processes is usually immediately before their rather gruesome demise. For this book, however, that’s not all that much of a drawback, since the emphasis is on the action and shock. To set the stage for the final confrontation between man and beast, author Mahaffey creates a good, albeit somewhat far fetched playing field. The substantial number of wrecked vehicles affords people plenty of places to hide in, under, or on top of while the pigs try to get to them. In addition, being Texas, there are a few firearms on hand, as well as some implements in some of the vehicles that the survivors transform into makeshift weapons of various sorts.
Although Razorbacks has plenty of action, the book is at its best in the early stages, before the people become aware of just what’s out there, instead glimpsing things in the wind and sand. There’s a great scene in which one character allows a pet Chihuahua on a leash to go for a walk into the storm, and the predictable result still manages to be shocking. But once the battle begins in earnest, Mahaffey increasingly foregoes suspense in favor of rather graphic descriptions of gore. Apparently, these hogs have a craving for fingers, since several characters wind up getting fingers bitten off. Similar anatomical details are also described in gruesome depth.
I’m no prude, and I’m not opposed to graphic content in a book, but the effect of this sort of description in Razorbacks is numbing rather than shocking. After a while, the pattern of attacks, attempts at defense, and dismemberments becomes monotonous. It doesn’t help matters that there seem to be a nearly endless number of attacking hogs, even though the beleaguered people manage to dispatch several of them. This repetitive action and increasing casualty list goes on far too long, so that, by the time Mahaffey gets to the final showdown, I had nearly lost interest.
Razorbacks is a book that would have worked better at 50 pages or 250 pages rather than 100. At novel length, Mahaffey could have developed more characters. Alternatively, at a shorter novelette length, he could have produced a really taut thriller. Instead, he’s in the middle, with an interesting premise, a likable youthful protagonist in Peter, and action and suspense that go downhill fast after a solid start. When Mahaffey is on, as in the first few chapters of Razorbacks, the story is genuinely suspenseful. For that reason, I do recommend Razorbacks as an escapist horror adventure. But be aware, that, like many a prize hog, the book has a good bit of fat that could have been trimmed away.
August 5, 2020
This is a fun "monster" read, but the editing errors are absurd. The errors make this a two and a half star read, but I rounded up because it delivered in all the right areas. It takes very little time to go over your work before submitting for publishing. Worth the dollar, worth the read, and worth more stars with a good edit.
August 13, 2017
Wow!
Having grown up on a pig farm I knew pigs were smart and could be dangerous but this book changed my whole perspective.
Having grown up on a pig farm I knew pigs were smart and could be dangerous but this book changed my whole perspective.
June 4, 2018
I enjoyed this book. Story moves at a good pace and doesn’t get bogged down by getting too detailed. I will definitely read the rest of this series.
June 28, 2019
Fear Of Sharks Might Keep You On Land...
...But Don't Think You're Safe!
This story was a wild one! I look forward to reading parts II and III.
...But Don't Think You're Safe!
This story was a wild one! I look forward to reading parts II and III.
January 5, 2020
Giant pigs attack
This book was a surprise for me. Giant wild pigs attacking people . A large car crash in weird weather. Really what could be better.
This book was a surprise for me. Giant wild pigs attacking people . A large car crash in weird weather. Really what could be better.
January 18, 2020
If you can suspend your beliefs for a while it's a story that produces some awesome "mental visuals" .
August 20, 2020
Editing issues aside it was a great "monster" read. Look forward to the second.
October 22, 2025
A long time ago I watched a movie called Razorback. It was about a killer wild boar. If you’ve never seen one, I can tell you from experience, having been treed by one, that they can get up to 500 lbs or larger, with huge tusks, the better to gore you with.
A man and his son risk driving through a dust storm and wind up in the middle of a huge pileup. Dead and injured people are strewn around and blood is all over the place. As the storm worsens, it brings something with it. A pack of wild boars, with an uncommonly large leader. They smell the blood and close in for the easy pickings. There’s no place to hide, so the survivors must get creative. As if they really stand a chance against these killing machines.
The author wastes no time, putting you right in the middle of a bloody hunt. From there you go on to meet a father and his son. They have quite a twisted story of their own. Once things got bad, the boy really stepped up but I had doubts about the father. Soon it doesn’t matter, as they can’t find these things off by themselves.
One plan after another goes wrong. It gets pretty gory, I’m telling you. Sad that some characters I thought a lot of were killed off quickly. Others took a while to meet their bloody ends.
And the wild boar. Whoa…were they something else. Ever seen the movie Hannibal? That scene with the man eating pigs gives you a good picture of what they can do. No cute little piggies in these pages.
Great start, genuine characters, and some mean ass animals. It’s all good. And I liked the ending. Kind of a nod to into the sunset.
A man and his son risk driving through a dust storm and wind up in the middle of a huge pileup. Dead and injured people are strewn around and blood is all over the place. As the storm worsens, it brings something with it. A pack of wild boars, with an uncommonly large leader. They smell the blood and close in for the easy pickings. There’s no place to hide, so the survivors must get creative. As if they really stand a chance against these killing machines.
The author wastes no time, putting you right in the middle of a bloody hunt. From there you go on to meet a father and his son. They have quite a twisted story of their own. Once things got bad, the boy really stepped up but I had doubts about the father. Soon it doesn’t matter, as they can’t find these things off by themselves.
One plan after another goes wrong. It gets pretty gory, I’m telling you. Sad that some characters I thought a lot of were killed off quickly. Others took a while to meet their bloody ends.
And the wild boar. Whoa…were they something else. Ever seen the movie Hannibal? That scene with the man eating pigs gives you a good picture of what they can do. No cute little piggies in these pages.
Great start, genuine characters, and some mean ass animals. It’s all good. And I liked the ending. Kind of a nod to into the sunset.
June 11, 2014
Big pigs
I enjoyed this one more for the freshness (hah!) of the monster.
Story was good and the characters were okay but I kind of felt like most of them were there only for cannon fodder. I'd like to have gotten to know some of them a little better. Oh hell, let's be honest. Lindsay, I'd kind of invested a bit in Lindsay.
Punctuation, grammar and spelling errors were few enough that it appeared that the author had made a decent attempt at editing.
Liked it enough that I'll keep my eyes peeled for more of his work.
I enjoyed this one more for the freshness (hah!) of the monster.
Story was good and the characters were okay but I kind of felt like most of them were there only for cannon fodder. I'd like to have gotten to know some of them a little better. Oh hell, let's be honest. Lindsay, I'd kind of invested a bit in Lindsay.
Punctuation, grammar and spelling errors were few enough that it appeared that the author had made a decent attempt at editing.
Liked it enough that I'll keep my eyes peeled for more of his work.
August 10, 2014
Feral razorbacks with a taste for human blood are on the rampage. Peter was never met his Dad, but Avery turns up out of the blue. The 2 survive a car crash, but something worse is out there.
This was one of those books that had a great original story, but unfortunately didn't quite fulfil it's promise. Think my main issue was that the razorbacks were just not scary enough, nor was enough tension created in the storyline.
3 star read
This was one of those books that had a great original story, but unfortunately didn't quite fulfil it's promise. Think my main issue was that the razorbacks were just not scary enough, nor was enough tension created in the storyline.
3 star read
July 5, 2014
Without question, one of the best Kindle buys ever. Well crafted, well written. Creative and creepy. Loved it! Out for a walk with the dogs tonight I thought I heard a pig squealing in the woods. Scared, I tell ya, I was SCARED!!
Read this if you like creature horror. It won't disappoint.
Read this if you like creature horror. It won't disappoint.
August 15, 2015
Razors edge
Very graphically spectacular. Puts me in mind of the Australian movie of the same name. Entertaining, blood pumping gorefest of the best kind...nature rampaging!
Very graphically spectacular. Puts me in mind of the Australian movie of the same name. Entertaining, blood pumping gorefest of the best kind...nature rampaging!
October 16, 2016
Good read
Very good story. Lots of action, drama and gore. I would recommend this book to any reader who enjoys a good blood and guts story
Very good story. Lots of action, drama and gore. I would recommend this book to any reader who enjoys a good blood and guts story
March 31, 2017
Scary Good
Well written. Kept me riveted. Would be very scary as a movie. Can't wait to read two and three. Pretty gory.
Well written. Kept me riveted. Would be very scary as a movie. Can't wait to read two and three. Pretty gory.
March 31, 2017
Razorbacks
Chilling, possible, the people less real than the hogs. There, their and they're are totally mixed up and misplaced very annoying!
Chilling, possible, the people less real than the hogs. There, their and they're are totally mixed up and misplaced very annoying!
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews