Home » Posts tagged "killer animals" (Page 8)

Book List: Killer Crabs

My mom is trying really hard to connect with the Monster Kid right now. It’s difficult for her, because she has no interest in Minecraft, Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, Godzilla, or B-movies, but I will give her credit, she is really trying. She is totally confused, and asks lots of questions, and he’s very impatient with her. And most recently, he started talking about killer crabs (pretty random choice, I know) and describing the plot of Attack of the Crab Monsters. She looked at me and said, “Killer crabs are a thing?”

Yeah, Mom, they are. There aren’t, to my knowledge, huge quantities of books out there about them, but Guy N. Smith’s Crabs books are well-loved in some circles. Dylan, the original Monster Librarian, was a gigantic fan of them. In his honor, and for unbelievers like my mother, I present a brief list of books and movies with killer crabs.

 

Night of the Crabs  and the Crabs series by Guy N. Smith

Night of the Crabs is the first book in the Crabs series, a killer animal cult classic. Giant man-eating crabs invade the Welsh coast, and mayhem ensues. Guy N. Smith is not a literary giant, but his reputation for killer animal horror is well-deserved.  I implore you to read the positive reviews on Amazon to see what I mean– the Crabs books are truly beloved by their readers. This fast-paced, quick read is the book that allowed Smith to become a full-time writer.

If you are willing to take the jump, or your original copies have crumbled, the entire series has now been released on Kindle. There are seven books in the series: Night of the Crabs, Killer Crabs, The Origin of the Crabs, Crabs on the Rampage, Crabs’ Moon, Crabs: The Human Sacrifice, and Killer Crabs: The Return.

Clickers by J.F. Gonzalez and Mark Williams

Giant crab-like creatures are invading the small town of Philipsport, Maine, and they’re fleeing even more terrifying creatures– the Dark Ones. Dylan absolutely LOVED this book, with fanboyish delight. It’s not for the faint of heart, though. Gory and violent, with a Lovecraftian tinge, this is an homage to killer animal B-movies that received praise from Edward Lee and Richard Laymon. Clickers is the first book in a series, and is followed by Clickers II: The Next Wave, Clickers III: Dagon Rising, and Clickers vs. Zombies, all co-written by J.F. Gonzalez and Brian Keene.

Crustaceans by William Meikle

I have to admit, it makes me giggle to see that our original review of this book is quoted in the editorial reviews on Amazon. Meikle dedicated this book to Guy N. Smith, and was clearly inspired by his books.

 

Want a movie with your seafood? Try one of these:

 Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957), unrated

An early Roger Corman film with giant, killer, papier-mache crabs stealing the show and knocking off the human characters fairly efficiently, but mostly off-screen.

 

 Mysterious Island (1961), unrated

Crab created by Ray Harryhausen– need I say more? 

 

 Island Claws (1980), PG

This evidently isn’t easily available, but reviews describe it as “relatively blood-free”, so it’s probably safe to watch with your 10 year old.

As always, not every book or movie is appropriate for every reader (or viewer). But if you are looking to dip your toe in the water of killer animal horror with lots of action, crabs might be a good place to start. Enjoy!


Posted on August 20, 2016 by , Reply

Book Review: The Hatching by Ezekiel Boone

 The Hatching by Ezekiel Boone

ISBN: 9781501125041

Available: Kindle ebook, print

Release date: July 2016

 

Spiders. Man-eating spiders. Highly cooperative man-eating spiders. I’m relatively certain that I twitched my way through this book.

The Hatching begins in the jungles of Peru, with a guide leading  Minnesota businessman Henderson and three women on a path, when their seemingly quiet walk through the jungle is disturbed by a man screaming and making his way toward them. Their way is further blocked by what appears to be black liquid. The black substance washes over the poor man, sending the group running through the jungle.

The story then focuses on FBI Agent Rich in Minneapolis, who is investigating a fatal plane crash. He makes a gruesome discovery after a large spider crawls out of the face of one of the unfortunate passengers, who turns out to be Henderson. We learn that other countries are facing a similar problem, but no one is communicating, and things continue to unravel around the world.

In Washington, D.C., Professor Melanie Guyer receives a mysterious package from a dig site in Nazca, Peru. Inside is an ancient egg sac that contains a never-before-discovered spider that breeds at an alarming rate and has a taste for flesh.  The rest is the stuff of nightmares.

What unfolds are stories of different people all over the world trying to make sense of everything. The lives of the characters touch each other briefly or are more intimately entwined. The chapters jump from one location to another, but the way the story is told, it makes sense for them to do so. It actually adds to the confusion the characters feel, and also provides the reader at times with what is going on in multiple regions.

There are a few characters I really enjoyed. United States President Stephanie Pilgrim is a no-nonsense, strong, female character. She’s able to make quick decisions, but knows when she need to consult outside resources before making decisions like grounding worldwide travel. The survivalists of Desperation, California, including husband and wife Gordo and Amy and their friends, Shotgun and Fred (the town’s only gay survivalist couple), are an enjoyable crew.  Their characters are well-developed, and I enjoyed the dynamics and friendship between them.

I found the pacing to be a bit slow going at the beginning , but once the story picks up, it keeps a fast pace. It is also a frightening book. The way Boone describes the movement of the groups of spiders and how they act in a confined space within Dr. Guyer’s laboratory is disturbing. I read it in a relatively short time. I can’t tell if that was pure enjoyment or if I just wanted to see what happened with the spiders…ugh. This is a very good read. Fair warning, though: if you don’t like spiders, it would probably be best for you to stay away from this one. Recommended.

Note: The Hatching ends on a cliffhanger. Based on the author’s Goodreads page, he’s working on the next one, Skitter. Recommended.

Contains: a lot of spiders, some gore

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker


Posted on July 20, 2016 by , Reply

Book List: 5 Novels of Terror in the Sea

It is all too easy to imagine what terrors there are for us in the deep of the ocean, or adrift on a boat at sea. Some of the creatures that really do exist are scary enough, but horror writers don’t stop with what’s real, because that would be nonfiction. No, instead they magnify our fears by confronting us with giant monsters from the deep, supernatural predators who have us trapped in a boat, and even the things we do to each other in our most desperate moments.

The Monster Librarian used to tell a story about watching Jaws on a field trip for a college class in marine biology, just before a day of scuba diving.  I’m going to suggest that you save these books for rainy days when you’re far away from dangerous waters, but given the sensibilities of the average horror reader, perhaps they’ll turn out to be perfect beach reads.

 

  Jaws by Peter Benchley

The classic novel of deep sea monster terror: killer shark vs. man. Steven Spielberg made it into a blockbuster movie that changed popular culture and brought sharks into the spotlight. I’m not sure that this was the best method to bring about support for shark conservation, but Benchley continues to advocate for the protection of sharks through educating fans of the book.

   Dead Sea by Tim Curran

A cargo ship drifts into the Bermuda Triangle into another dimension, where the travelers must contend with alien and undead creatures.  I hear great things about this book: it was released originally as a limited edition but is now available as an ebook. For just the rest of today it is .99.

   Sadie Walker is Stranded by Madeline Roux

In this post-apocalyptic tale, Sadie, her nephew, and her best friend, escape Seattle with a motley crew of others via boat just as the undead breach the walls. Unfortunately, the zombies can swim. Eventually, stranded on a desert island, they find that not only do they have to contend with zombies, but there is a human monster in their midst. This is a sequel to Allison Hewitt is Trapped, which is a stronger book, I think, and I recommend reading it first, since, while she doesn’t appear in the book, she does have an important role in the development of the plot.

  The Map of The Sky by Felix J. Palma

The Map of the Sky is a sequel to The Map of Time, and is more on the science-fictiony end of things. The Map of Time took place in the Victorian era, around the events of H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine, while The Map of The Sky takes place after the publication of The War of the Worlds. The beginning, which takes place in Antarctica, borrows from the John Campbell novella “Who Goes There?”. An explorer determined to discover the entrance to Symmes’ Hollow Earth leads his ship’s crew into danger after they discover an alien creature that can change its appearance. H.G. Wells and Edgar Allan Poe both make appearances, as do characters from the previous book. There is humor, the supernatural, a surprising love story, and alien horror. While it has been criticized as being less strong than The Map of Time, it is a fascinating and suspenseful read. I have read this one, and I do think it can stand alone, but readers may want to start with The Map of Time. This is also a great way to connect readers to early science fiction such as Wells and Campbell, and to introduce John Carpenter’s The Thing.

     Night of the Crabs by Guy N. Smith

Guy N. Smith’s Crabs novels move at a brisk pace. They sacrifice character development, dialogue, and general common sense in favor of campiness and killer animal mayhem. Night of the Crabs is the first of a series. It starts with mysterious drownings along the coast of Wales… and then, the crabs come out from the depths. Readers who like Smith’s Crabs books will probably also like Clickers by J.F. Gonzalez and Mark Williams, and Crustaceans by William Meikle. Note: It’s best to buy this on Kindle, because physical copies look to be selling for around $250 on Amazon right now.

 

Posted on April 1, 2015 by , Reply
First « 678910 » Last