CLAW

When a huge, genetically altered Siberian tiger with a taste for killing escapes from the zoo, the city of Los Angeles is torn apart by panic, and animal care specialist Meg Brewster must find the tiger before it is too late

The grade-B horror movie of the '50s reincarnates in book form in this overly familiar but energetic collaboration between veteran paperback horror novelist Eulo ( The Bloodstone ) and screenwriter Mauck. At the L.A. zoo, Rajah, a huge Siberian tiger, is exhibiting unusually aggressive behavior that has led veterinarian Meg Brewster to set a special night watch for a clue to the animal's rages. Crisis hits when Rajah scales a 20-foot wall and drags a zookeeper down to his cave. Meg quarantines the cat, sends blood samples to her mentor, deals with the L.A. cops and fends off the press. Over her irate objections, however, her boss and the zoo board, in order to capitalize on the publicity, put Rajah back on view. Predictably, an excited crowd pushes loose a security rail and tumbles into the furious tiger's arena, from which he claws a bloody path to freedom in the 4000 acres of Griffith Park, sparking terror throughout the city and drawing cops and federal agents ordered to shoot to kill. Meg's fears for Rajah turn to suspicion when her bosses try to pin the cat's escape on her, the feds yank her files and samples and her mentor is killed after leaving a frantic phone message. Further events link the zoo and a top-secret scientific experiment, and it all culminates in a blood-spattered mountainside chase. There's not much here that will surprise veteran horror or thriller fans, but the authors stir their cliches briskly and milk their sleek juggernaut of muscle, teeth and claws for all it's worth.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This tale of a tiger on the loose takes a slash at modern society's coldness toward the animal kingdom. One night in the Los Angeles Zoo, a tiger named Rajah leaps 20 feet to rip one of his keepers to shreds. The community demands Rajah's removal or death. Police lieutenant Dragleman suspects that someone murdered the keeper and then threw her into the tiger's pit. Meg Brewster, the zoo's head veterinarian, decides that a chemical imbalance must have caused the tiger's brutality. When Larry Shindler, a physical anthropologist, examines Rajah's blood, he finds swarms of malevolent microbes whose presence helps to explain the tiger's behavior. As Shindler is on the verge of discovering that unknown scientists had performed covert neurological experiments on Rajah, someone kills the anthropologist, making it look like suicide. Meanwhile, crowds visit Rajah's cage, eager to see the killer tiger. On one busy day, the cat breaks free, injures several onlookers, and escapes into the wilderness. Dragleman then receives a call from an unnamed source revealing the truth about Shindler's death. Brewster learns that the experiments on Rajah have backfired, and everyone involved has chosen to ignore the mistake. Along with a team that includes (unbelievably) her ex-husband, the veterinarian searches for Rajah for several days. Finally, Brewster's troupe has a showdown with the tiger and the evil scientists. The book ends with Rajah's return to China, the land of his ancestors. Eulo (The Brownstone, not reviewed) and first-time novelist Mauck would have enhanced their animal-rights theme if they had lengthened the sections written from the tiger's point of view. Despite inconsistencies and an inconclusive climax, this humane thriller is both touching and exciting, thanks to snappy dialogue and heart-stopping action. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Eulo (House of Cain, Tor Bks., 1988) and screenwriter Mauck spin a taut, engrossing tale about Rajah, a giant Siberian tiger in the Los Angeles Zoo; at 700 pounds, he is the largest of his kind in the world. Rajah has been restless, so zoo vet Dr. Meg Brewster orders a close watch. At a late-night feeding, Rajah attacks and kills a young female zookeeper. He later escapes from the zoo and embarks on a killing spree to satisfy his growing hunger. In the meantime, Brewster, a strong and determined figure, races against time to figure out why Rajah has turned into a vicious killer with a near-human capacity to think. The answer lies in mysterious, government-sanctioned animal experimentation. This tale is perfect for late-night "scare-yourself-silly" sessions. Some graphically detailed scenes may bother the squeamish, but it is recommended where fast-paced suspense fiction is in demand.
--Dean James, Houston Acad. of Medicine/Texas Medical Ctr. Lib.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.