Kronos Rising

Book ONE in the award-winning KRONOS RISING series.

. . . worthy of sitting on the shelf next to Peter Benchley's JAWS." -Publisher's Weekly/BookLife

A coastal community faces the wrath of a prehistoric marine predator in Max Hawthorne’s heart-pounding new novel, Kronos Rising.

If you're fans of dinosaur books for adults like Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park and Lost World, must read adventure books like Greig Beck's To the Center of the Earth series, or amazing action stories a la Steve Alten's Meg franchise, you're going to LOVE the Kronos Rising series!

What Amazon readers are saying about Kronos Rising

“Scary as hell!”
“. . . a mixture of Jaws, Lake Placid, and Steve Alten’s Deep terror series. That being said, I’m all in!”
“Kronos Rising is a must read. A true page turner.”
“Astounding and very well written…Max Hawthorne may be the Peter Benchley of the twenty-first century.”
". . . the addictive, can’t put it down/what happens next quality of the work was the development/unfolding of the characters.”
“I can’t wait to read the rest of the series!”
“When I finished this book, I felt like an adventure had just ended. It made me crave more.”
“I wasn’t able to stop reading.”
“An adrenaline-pumping, non-stop descent into terror…”
“I found myself holding my breath without even realizing it.”
“. . . this book was action packed and attention grabbing.”
“. . . a completely original story that kept my interest.”
“I was so surprised at how well this book was researched and written.”
“The characters are deep and very rich with personality.”
“It has an edge of your seat suspense and always keeps you coming back for more.”
“This book really kept me at the edge of my seat the whole time!! Much different than Kronos (by Jeremy Robinson).”

Steve refused to surrender. Even though he knew the creature was right behind him, he wouldn't quit. He would make it.

Just as that beacon of hope began to shine down upon him, the bright sun overhead vanished from view. Confused, he gazed wide-eyed as the daylight grew dim. Then he realized the ultimate horror: the creature had overtaken him, its jaws opened wide.

He was in its mouth.

A coastal community faces the wrath of a prehistoric marine predator in Max Hawthorne’s heart-pounding new novel, Kronos Rising.

Devastated by his wife’s tragic drowning, Olympic hopeful Jake Braddock turns his back on fame and fortune and retreats to his childhood home of Paradise Cove, Florida. He accepts the job of town sheriff, hoping to find the solace he so desperately craves.

He finds anything but.

A series of horrifying deaths and disappearances send a flood of panic through the idyllic town. It is only after the ravaged carcass of a full-grown whale surfaces, however, that the real terror begins.

Soon Jake finds himself drawn into an ancient mystery - a mystery that ends with him adrift at sea, battling for survival against the deadliest predator the world has ever seen. It is a creature whose ancestors ruled the prehistoric seas. Now freed after eons of imprisonment, it has risen to reclaim the oceans of the world as its own.

And it's hungry.

Kronosaurus returns in . . . The KRONOS RISING series

-Kronos Rising
-Kronos Rising: Diablo
-Kronos Rising: Plague
-Kronos Rising: Kraken (volume 1)
-Kronos Rising: Kraken (volume 2)
-Kronos Rising: Kraken (volume 3)

"Freed by chance geologic events from the refuge that saved its kind 65 million years previously, a Mesozoic horror rises to engulf a quaint East Coast Florida town. An 80-foot eating machine that’s neither fish nor mammal, the relentless beast wreaks havoc in the already-complicated lives of several disparate people: a former Olympic fencing champion turned small town sheriff, a conservationist/marine biologist and a psychotic politician. Some other Mesozoic dietary staples of this monster make cameos along the way, as well as some familiar “sea monsters” of modern oceans.

In addition to the horrific predations of the unstoppable beast, several interesting themes are explored in the human drama: post-traumatic stress related to domestic abuse and alcoholism, strained family relations when members are on opposing sides of marine conservation issues and too much power leading to megalomania. This is a fun, entertaining thriller in the tradition of so many greats before it: MOBY DICK, JAWS, BEAST, the writings of Steve Alten.

However, it is not derivative of those works and stands on its on merits. At 562 pages, it is not just a pulp novel, either. The characters are well-realized and help carry the story in a compelling fashion. Portions of the novel also carry you back to cataclysmic events in the Age of the Dinosaurs that are as exciting as the modern day drama. I highly recommend KRONOS RISING as a great summer read, just in time for “sea monster” season at the beach! Max Hawthorne’s debut novel is hopefully the beginning of more, equally compelling work in a similar vein in the future."

- Scott Mardis on April 28th, 2014 (Cryptomundo)

Dragons, dinosaurs, huge killer sharks – I’ve always loved monsters. It’s one of the reasons I enjoy the “Meg” books by Steve Alten. Meg stands for Megalodon, a giant shark that lived during prehistoric times. It was huge, the largest carnivorous fish known to exist. It wasn’t, however, the only predator of the deep. There was Kronosaurus, a marine reptile characterized by a thick head, short neck, and outsized flippers. Its ecological niche appears to be the similar as the Great White Shark. It ate squid, turtles, fish, and smaller dinosaurs, anything that swam into its path.

Kronosaurus ruled the seas during the Cretaceous period, but that was millions of years ago. It couldn’t possibly exist today. Or could it? The oceans’ depths still remain mostly unmapped. It’s said we are more familiar with the surface of the Moon than our planet’s oceans. Maybe, just maybe, something has survived from long ago.

Max Hawthorne wonders this very thing. In KRONOS RISING, a small, breeding population has survived. One of these prehistoric predators rises from the depths to terrorize a coastal community that won’t be idyllic soon. A series of disappearances and horrific deaths sends waves of panic through the small town. The local sheriff begins to investigate what might be murder, but when a full-grown whale carcass surfaces, the true terror begins.

Marine horror isn’t new. Peter Benchley started the modern trend with JAWS. Steve Alten gave us Meg, and now we have giant lizards gnawing at our fears. It still works. I love the genre, but it’s hard to do anything new with it. Max has managed to give me a couple surprises. Kronos Rising is a well-written story, better than it had to be to deliver its biting horror. There are flawed heroes that are likeable. Villains that I looked forward to being eaten, and a back story that’s both feasible and well researched, and most importantly, it’s fun.

 - Kevin Coolidge, Blogger: From My Shelf Books