Author Ian Gielen dedicates his latest novel Savage Waters to “all those who desperately want cryptids to be real,” and then proceeds to unleash a cryptid so ferocious that it makes you grateful these creatures exist only in myth.

Whether Gielen is being sincere or a smartass, I don’t know. But the fact remains that the Aboriginal beast in this novel is a terrifyingly aggressive brute. “Ten feet tall,” says Gielen. “A wall of fur and muscle built for death.”

It all starts when random hikers start disappearing while exploring Kakadu National Park in Australia’s Northern Territory. The military gets involved when they discover a photo of a bear-ape-like creature in the area. 

A team of mercenaries with extensive military experience is ultimately hired and dispatched to the park. Their mission is clear: They will deploy to Kakadu, locate the source of these incidents, identify the threat and neutralize it if necessary.

Deep within the Northern Territory’s wetlands, the members of Apex Defense Services were on high alert. They could hear a deep, heavy growl dripping with primal menace coming from the nearby trees. It was a sound that no crocodile, wild pig or water buffalo could ever make. 

It was a bunyip, of course. A creature from Aboriginal folklore whose name basically means “devil.” As a semi-aquatic animal, the bunyip usually lives close to waterholes, rivers, swamps and billabongs. But now, as Australia’s rainy seasons get shorter, its habitat was getting hotter and hotter. The bunyip was looking for a new place to hunt and call home. 

By the end of Part One, the bunyip kills the presumptive hero and annihilates most of the remaining government mercenaries. 

But hold on—the story doesn’t end there. In Part Two of Savage Waters, a couple of cryptozoologists from New York travel to Kakadu Park to investigate the bunyip’s recent activities. Ray and Kate figure that if they can get a video of the creature, fame and fortune will come their way. 

As luck would have it, the plucky pair of cryptid investigators come face to face with the bunyip after just a few short days in the wetlands. The beast is freakin’ enormous, says the author. Towering above them, Its body is compact and powerful, resembling a monstrous pit bull that had been sculpted from someone’s worst nightmare. Four huge fangs protruded from its cavernous mouth, and its four powerful limbs ending in paws ripped with wicked, razor-sharp claws. Curved, pointed bones ran up and down its spine and whip-like tail.

Before the novel ends, Ray and Kate (along with the surviving members of Apex Defense Services) share a terrifying moment in the bunyip’s bone-filled cave. How does it turn out? No spoilers from me, but I will say this: Author Gielen is already planning to write an upcoming sequel. 

[ Savage Waters / By Ian Gielen / First Printing: August 2026 / ISBN: 9781764012645 ]