“Monsters are real,” says the back-cover blurb for John Lee Schneider’s latest novel Apex Apocalypse. That’s an indisputable fact, isn’t it? The world is filled with all sorts of monstrous creatures such as killer whales, reticulated pythons, great white sharks, Humboldt squids, Komodo dragons and Nile crocodiles.  

Many of these monsters roam wild and free in the Florida Everglades. With exotic invasive species arriving daily, the wetlands is arguably the most dangerous place on Earth. The swamp is a primeval ecosystem that borders Florida cities like a prehistoric preserve, says author Schneider. “There are a lot of things that can kill you in the bog.”

Mutated vipers and anacondas lurk around every riverbend, but crocodiles are far and away the biggest problem. According to an Everglades National Park ranger, crocodiles aren’t just an invasive species. Many of them are hybrids. And because of a phenomenon called heterosis (commonly known as “hybrid vigor”), they are growing larger and faster. “These hybridized offspring carry a variety of traits from American crocs, salties and Niles. And there are definitely new generations of crocodiles with a mix of all three.”

Abigail O’Neil knows first-hand how deadly the wetlands can be. The daughter of a real-life boogeyman, she grew up on a gator farm in an isolated lagoon in the darkest corner of the swamp. “Wherever you go,” she says, “the monsters are always there to get you.”

Now Abigail finds herself in the middle of nefarious intents. In order to survive, she must return to events detailed in a previous novel from 2019 called Hybrid Vigor (read my review here) and relive the horrors of her past. 

Hot on her trail is a mysterious gin-soaked, barroom queen from California. This lady sees an opportunity in the swamp, but she needs to get rid of Abigail first. In tow with an army of burly henchmen, she’s a formidable foe with a heart full of napalm.  

Separately there’s also some kind of pesky zombie-like beast hanging around and causing trouble. The author describes it as a one-armed, one-legged swamp ape (or semi-amphibious Bigfoot) carrying a massive Stormbreaker axe. Just like every other monster in the bog, it is inexplicably drawn to Abigail.  

Apex Apocalypse starts slowly—the entire first chapter is a big info dump and there’s a lot of jibber jabber about Man being the ultimate apex predator—but the novel eventually gains momentum and reaches a satisfying confluence of swamp monsters and mayhem. The novel ends with an outrageous (and nutty) Squid Game-like death match.  

Ultimately, the author leaves a few important plot points unresolved. Will there be a sequel? I dunno, but my bet is that even Schneider doesn’t know how the ongoing situation unwinds. The swamp is jealous of its secrets and keeps them hidden from the eyes of God and man, he admits. “It was the last place in the developed world that dark secrets could truly be kept forever.”

[ Apex Apocalypse / By John Lee Schneider / First Printing: January 2024 / ISBN: 9781923165014 ]