Titanoboa

Journey to the Amazon

By: P.K. Hawkins

Narrated by: Steve Connor

Professor Hank Newstead has been making expeditions to the Amazon River for years. They've become routine to him. But this time, the expedition is going to be anything but normal.

Hank, along with a hardened river boat captain, his much younger girlfriend, and his main professional rival, are in the Amazon purely to study frogs. All their plans vanish quickly, however, when they are attacked by a Titanoboa, an enormous prehistoric snake that should be millions of years in its grave. As their crew dwindles from a series of terrifying attacks, they discover a secret: a long lost colleague of the professor has taken up residence on an island in the deepest parts of the jungle. And if Hank and the others can't find and stop her, then the Titanoboa will not be the only extinct monster unleashed back into the world.

©2021 Severed Press (P)2025 Severed Press

I am with the ornery S.O.B.

Exotic brand of pulpy campy adventure. It was easy to get immersed into the jungle riverboat vibe here. The narrator has a casual sort of scholarly vibe that works well with the low key scifi research basis for the material here. It sometimes gets a little campy, overexplaining it's premise or interjecting villains but that felt like part of the cartoonish charm. Its a book that doesnt take itself too seriously or overstay. The twisted nature theme here had a good blend of surrealism and commonplace (we can all imagine a snake so the Titanoboa is both far out and something easily pictured). This book is a pile of soda cans and snack wrappers littering a research facilities; junk food and just the right about of speculative fiction.

It's short, and not better for it.

The narrator was good but there was no way for him to save the prose. Narrator is talented with multiple voices and clear distinction between characters. The prose wasn't awful, but maybe needed another run through a different editor. At one point author describes the look of breasts under clothing in a way that wouldn't be possible under said clothing and was otherwise completely unnecessary.

Good narration, good story

First, I received my copy free to do a quick review on. Honestly wish it was a little bit longer with some more world building. The book is fun, but the characters could have used more development. The narration was good, but occasionally there were sound fx thrown in. The sound fx were used inconsistently, and because of that their inclusion was distracting and would have been better off not used at all. Definitely worth a listen if you want a fun killer animals book.

Great setting affected by predictable story plot

The setting and story concept for this book were great. But wish it had a better storyline, character-archs and world-building. Impact of seeing associates undergo violent deaths was completely missing from survivors, who engaged in fun banter shortly afterwards. Antagonist's character was very trite and underdeveloped. Narrator did a decent job, but the weak dialogues and plot got the best of him.
An OK listen, and hoping to try the author's later works to check if their expertise grew after Titanoboa. Cheering you on to grow from this.

A Predictable Nostalgic Creature Feature

I was given a copy of this book to review and dove in without knowing anything about this book beyond it's title. Overall, it was fun, but forgettable. If you're looking for a fun b-flick style book for a quick afternoon read, then you've come to the right place!

Titanoboa delivers exactly what you'd expect—a pulpy, B-movie-style monster thriller with a few fun moments but a largely predictable storyline. The premise of a prehistoric snake terrorizing an Amazon expedition feels like a straight-to-VHS horror flick from the '80s or '90s, which can be entertaining if you’re in the right mood. The occasional sound effects in the audiobook added a bit of flair, but the overall writing, particularly for the female characters, felt outdated and underdeveloped.

While the book doesn't break any new ground, it’s a decent read for fans of creature horror who don’t mind a healthy dose of cliché. If you enjoy schlocky monster movies, this might scratch that itch—but don’t expect much beyond the usual tropes.