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MATTHEW JAMES JONES
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MATTHEW JAMES JONES
PREDATORS, REAPERS & DEADLIER CREATURES
AUTHOR WEBSITE
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VETERAN NOVELIST
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FACILITATOR
W/OCTOBER'S GUEST ARTIST MAGGS VIBO
AUTHOR WEBSITE
GET TO KNOW MATT:
2026 | Word Play Workshop (facilitator and artist), Write Time Monthly Workshop (online via Zoom), organized by Matthew James Jones, Paris, FR
WORKSHOPS
Matthew James Jones is a poet, storyteller and the author of Predators, Reapers and Deadlier Creatures. Today, Matt writes and teaches in Paris: Leadership at the École Militaire and creative writing at SciencesPo. His many published works interrogate themes of dehumanization, poetics, monsters, masculinity, cross-cultural exchange, and healing."
Qtd. at WBT website 
SCIENCES PO EVENT
EDITOR FOR THE WBT
NOVEL REVIEW:
DETAILS: Book boost for Predators, Reapers & Deadlier Creatures by author and veteran, Matthew James Jones. As mentioned in an earlier blog post, Jones and I know of one another through our military service connections. This blog post is a signal boost for his book (now that I have it in my grubby paws). Read my thoughts (so far) on some of the standout moments.
My notes on the topics that stood out to me from Chapters 1–10 of the novel Predator's Reapers & Deadlier Creatures. If you haven't read Matthew James Jones's book, these notes are somewhat spoilery, so click your sparkled heels 3xs and pop smoke if you don't want to know who or what is behind the curtain. ​
CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER
This could spoil the book, so avert your prying eyes ...last chance!

Chapter 1: That last line, tho
Chapter 2: Entrance of the pond and the buckets of loyalty elixir 
Chapter 3: The General, tho
Chapter 4: Moon Trek
Chapter 5: Squirrely confessional
Chapter 6. Pubic description (not misspelled)
Chapter 7: A convo about swass & torture devices at the flex church
Chapter 8: Porta-potty functions, pixie dust, and a real monster in the story.
Chapter 9: A white gold reference and payback for an orange dusting... is there even a better reason for a smackdown than theft of food? 
​Chapter 10: Cool Chafe
Chapter 11: The descriptions for pixels, a bird, the color grey and poppies
Chapter 12: Knowing how much to say in letters back home
Chapter 13: The sleeping habits of soldiers
Chapter 14: That type of factory job is a realization that stabs
Chapter 15: Where do all those stories go? 
Chapter 16: Warlock engaged! Holy Shit! If you are at all concerned about language, put the book down
Chapter 17: Those damn wailing sounds and the unblinking abyss of the predator when it locks onto prey
Chapter 18: Crones have entered and indeed (I can vouch) scalps bleed more than anything
Chapter 19: Quickdraw Kool, a killbot, and more propaganda
Chapter 20: A scarecrow tale
Chapter 21: A ballerina-pilot, an astronaut, and a pirate
Chapter 22: Vampire bats flying out of an armpit castle
Chapter 23: A speaking stone, a two-headed quid search, and an ogre
Chapter 24: A cornered bear and a shaggy creature enter the story
Chapter 25: A goblin's gut and a princess
Chapter 26: Polar bear
Chapter 27. Mud cakes with an ogre, leopards, a velociraptor... but after coffee. Always after liquid gold
Chapter 28: Protector spirit "Meat...it's what's for dinner."
Chapter 29: Bear Cub. I may never look at a tree trunk the same way again. Wolves. An enchanted Forest. A Volcano. A honey badger
Chapter 30: Anaconda and Winnipeg
Chapter 31: Ghosts, "I have forgotten how to _______." *Haven't we all?
Chapter 32/33: What in the miserable fuck did I just read? Putting this book down for a while
Chapter 34: Yep
Chapter 35: Whales & Hippos & Sasquatch, oh my!
Chapter 36:The Philosopher and the Stall
Chapter 37: The monster in a frog cave
Chapter 38: A lying spider
Chapter 39: A smelly dungeon, wolves, an ogre, and Lumpy Lumperton *spoiler, marks the ____ (or the writer wants us to question)
Chapter 40: A Yeti Replaced & Lady Lumberjack
Chapter 41: Mysterious goblins and a thunderstorm spell
Chapter 42: A giant octopus, a vulture and 2 dragons
Chapter 43: An indomitable beast
Chapter 44: A zombie, a golden warrior, a shadow monster... and whisper, whisper, always the whisper
Chapter 45: Honey badger vs. young lion
Chapter 46: Man-codes and a horrible 'rite of passage'
Chapter 47: The reaper, a cobra, the King O' the Castle, a blunt instrument, a dragon, a manta ray, a monster, an avatar, and a cheetah. "Not that grief ever brought anyone back to life"
Chapter 48: The speaking stone
Chapter 49: Is *spoiler in control?
Chapter 50: A Banshee, snakes, and a panther
Chapter 51: An EOD robot, a mustache-twirling-villain, and the worst *spoiler ever * ...a foreshadowing of a later chapter
Chapter 52: Frankenstein's monster, a centaur, barbarians, the hydra lady, an ogre, tyrants, a chimera, Shiva, genitals and Christ. It was a strange lair
Chapter 53: Protected B: A *spoiler* behavior identified? Does *spoiler mark the *spoiler?
Chapter 54: Beavers, buffalos, a sasquatch, and a magic carpet ride
Chapter 55: Ninjas, a Heron, a puppet, a virus, and a black hole because "...when you're dying, everyone is your brother."
Chapter 56: A predator, a heron, and "Deployment urges" (Had to put the book down)
Chapter 57: A tyrannosaurus and a sun potion
Chapter 58: TFG at school (Had to put the book down)
Chapter 59: Rats
Chapter 60: Hazmat Martians. Last 75 pages... will the mysteries remaining be solved. LFG!
Chapter 61: A drowning (?) in a lake of shit
Chapter 62: Dynamite
Chapter 63: Trauma (had to again put the book down)
Chapter 64: Retribution against a limp biscuit
Chapter 65: A dark-mouthed minion, a many-snouted beast, a four-headed anaconda, wolves.... that last sentence, tho
Chapter 66: Dead whales, a sphinx, and owls
Chapter 67: A cauldron, and the black claws of an angry *spoiler
Chapter 68: A vulture, some roadkill, flames. A request: "Do the world a favor" and never was there a truer hope for  a shark-mouthed goblin
Chapter 69: An octopus, ninjas, katanas, a vulture, canons, grenades, tracers, rounds, AKs, flames. There will be blood. Here comes the The Reaper to create a wipe-off map. The theme song is a medley by Blue Oyster Cult and the Talking Heads combined with an old cadence sung by infantrymen about napalm. 
Chapter 70: Skulls, mute executioners, and a description of mass death not unlike those foreshadowed in a collage earlier in the book. Sidenote: during my Park Ranger guided battlefield tours with NPS, I described the Horrid Pit at Petersburg. The 'Battle of the Crater' represented a strategy which moved battles away from Napoleonic warfighting tactics. This death pit foreshadowed a more technological shift we'd utilize during both World Wars. Today, through the usage of drones, there is but another way to massacre one another. There's a glaring reality: We cannot escape our minds no matter how much we want to unsee something traumatic. These pits we (humans) have dug since the ancient era. There is no rock bottom. A note on shame: ALL OF US are to blame. Every decision we make has consequence. Do I own a smart phone? Then I contribute to the system. Do I drive a car or use petroleum? Then I am part of war machine. My need or urge feeds this beast. Am I a taxpayer? Then the beast is as big as I will it (along with every other citizen). It is not one person alone who makes these decisions--it is us as a collective. We own this burden. We own this Golem we've created through our muck. If we are honest, it is (and always has been) about becoming God. A type of God/Devil Complex. 
Chapter 71: A Lifeform below the dung bel, eetle, a stranger, and an alien
Chapter 72: An old badger, a weapon, a Killjoy (not to be confused with Killroy). Also, Dr. Edward Tick discusses the 'soul wound" and this chapter/book encapsulate it
Chapter 73: A squirter (spelled correctly), a sack of meat, weasels, a Heron, and some Sun Tzu lessons
Chapter 74: The shit beast, Grendel, the lost tree-planter, and a hole that is never deep enough to bury some *spoiler, church bells, *spoiler-covered *spoiler, "...--I just hafta not say no"
Chapter 75: A *spoiler cathedral, magic wand discovery, an elephant, and so many heads
Chapter 76: Had to put the book down. *way too close to home
Chapter 77: Zombie, ravens, a Kobold, no-man's land, a ghoul's barrow, and some Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche philosophy,
Chapter 78: A ghost
Chapter 79:  Hornets, armadillos, dance-killing, a living nightmare with weapons akin to long-range acoustic devises, a statement that "A cloud of torn poems fluttered like moths," all while declaring "Poetry is dead, sorry"
Chapter 80: "Rewind, damnit--rewind" 
Chapter 81: A tank, a wretch, and a stranger
Chapter 82: A giant, a skeleton, some bad luck because the military has and always will be an institution built on superstitions. Another invisible woman *we are everywhere and nowhere all at once. 
Chapter 83: A white star box and a bouquet for the mad woman Valkyrie inside
Chapter 84: The son, a twin brother, an Easter bunny or rabbit balloon (*back to chapter 51 as foreshadowing), a rat in a maze, a buffalo-sized cat, wizards, serpents, ghostly fire, Imps. Colossus, serpents, Thor, lasers, bombs, volcanoes, a death pit, and a furious god. Mark Twain makes his feelings known from the great beyond in this final chapter—that we (humans) are the worst virus on the planet and the sooner Mother Earth heals herself of us, the better off she'll be. Maybe I am bitter because (yet again) we find ourselves in another goddamned war. This book should be required reading at the War-a-Largo Resort & Spa.
The End. 

Review:
Many topics in the military community aren't PC and some readers will undoubtedly find the material and language unapologetic, offensive and/or abusive. CW/TRIGGER WARNING: That's because it is all those things and more. Language is how we decipher the world around us. In the military, it's designed to be coded, insidious, and cultish. The more corporate America aligns with this warrior ethos, the more sanitized the language of death becomes, but it's still ultimately about killing. I get it. We've been indoctrinated to believe the propaganda—that military personnel are defending the homeland with talk of "Peace Through Strength" or "Be All You Can Be." Speaking as a veteran, however, this book shows the rawness and violence of military culture in the US Armed Forces and its language is the meat. Some characters in the book are all manner of inglorious bastards. Indeed, some carry a shield, some wear camo, all wear shades of grey, and many are ready for a war of attrition. If you are at all concerned, read Chapter 16... and then decide if you want to learn more about the world of warcraft and those wielding the swords. The book is unflinchingly human vs. monsters vs. humans and (for better or worse), the topics in the book are meant to make you feel comfortable with being uncomfortable. These are humans portraying themselves as monsters...they are not politicians. These are also machines at war in the most figurative and literal sense. As they say, "Buckle up, Buttercup. This gonna be a bumpy ride." 

This book had me howling like a cryptid and that says something meaningful since there are some really heavy topics dealing with actions at war, conflict, moral injuries, MSA & MST. Most of the last 20 chapters are tough. Because of my own history with these topics, I had to put the book down (several times) to process-—I needed to consider my own history with the topics and then reset. I had to decide if any of the characters in the damn thing were worth my precious time. Spoiler Alert: they were and are now a part of me. I carry them folded neatly within my DD214 woobie. For this reason, it took me longer to finish this novel than many books. At times, I thought I wouldn't pick it [the book] back up. Brutally honest moment: I even asked the author if I could "Shred the book to pieces?" To his credit, Jones agreed to allow me to destroy the Mother Fucker, but only after I finished it. Spoiler *I can't wait to death punch this bitch and amalgamate some of the words into art. Matt might wish he had said no to my sinister request. 

Once the book was back in my hands, however, it hurt so good from laughing so hard (a credit to the storyteller). History: I was attached to XVIII Airborne Corps, so I had a fit when he described running in formation. In fact, I highly recommend this book to the military/veteran community, any military adjacent, first responders and/or those with experiences in high-pressure situations. I personally relate to many of the themes in this book because of my own convoys and experiences during OIF. Additionally, I was curious about some of the landscapes in the book because of stories told by my military spouse during his deployments to the same location. In other words, the passages felt like convoying through the DMZ with plenty of mythology to inspire NVG vertigo. I  award this book the coveted surf 'n' turf meal rating. IYKYK

Friendly Fire Alert:
It's properly spelled Hooah. I politely (only because the author is Canadian) disagree with the spelling. It is spelled Hooah by English speaking US soldiers, but these damn slack-jawed yokels up in Yetti Country like to bastardize everything. 

If you haven't already looked at my blogs regarding this creative war author, I've linked them below. I always add links as my milfam grows, so check this space whenever possible. I realize with the "alleged" satanic cannibalistic cabal "conspiracies" of 2026, it might feel overwhelming to read a book. This is precisely why now, however, is the perfect time to embrace your freedom and reclaim agency. Get your copy using the links provided. Visit the author's website, follow Jones on social media and build stronger connections to warriors. If we are entering the gates of Hell, we'll need to eat our steak and lobster supper beforehand. After all, waiting in the chow line is more entertaining when we're in buddy teams. Even Fire & Brimstone is ingestible when sprinkled with just a dash of degenerates!

ORDER KINDLE FRANCE: Predators, Reapers and Deadlier Creatures (English Edition) eBook : Jones, Matthew: Amazon.fr: Kindle Store
ORDER KINDLE UK: Predators, Reapers and Deadlier Creatures eBook : Jones, Matthew: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store
ORDER KINDLE US: Predators, Reapers and Deadlier Creatures - Kindle edition by Jones, Matthew. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.
ORDER KINDLE CANADA: Predators, Reapers and Deadlier Creatures eBook : Jones, Matthew: Amazon.ca: Kindle Store
ORDER KINDLE GERMANY: Predators, Reapers and Deadlier Creatures (English Edition) eBook : Jones, Matthew: Amazon.de: Kindle Store
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