quite a few creepy-crawlies like this back in the day--PARASITE, NIGHT KILLERS,
THE DEVIL'S COACH-HORSE, among others--and all of them had pretty decent
covers from an exploitation standpoint. Once again, the UK covers for this book were
far superior to the American edition which really just featured a rather silly-looking
spider with a screaming face in the background fanned by spider legs. Enough said.
Back in the 1980's there were a veritable slew of spider books on the bookstore
shelves and why not? What's more creepy, crawly, and ultimately disgusting than
spiders? Even people like me that have no true phobic dread of them have to admit
that there's something very unpleasant about the spider. And to be eaten by
them...well, not good at all.
And people being eaten by spiders, of course, brings us to the subject of this novel.
So let's dip our feet into the warm red waters of this book and see what we've got:
"She saw the monster clinging savagely to her hand, its poison fangs sunk deep in
the base of her thumb.
The spiders were ripping frantically at Louise's gaping throat, blood pouring over
them in rhythmic gushes..."
Enough teasers. Onto the plot. England is under siege. It begins in Kent where a
farmer named Mason is eaten and it just keeps rolling house after house, one
unspeakable atrocity after the other--don't forget the unfortunate lady in the tub!--and
it doesn't take our characters long to figure out why: spiders! Families are wiped out.
Entire farming villages. The menace spreads from Kent into Hampshire and Surrey as
the spiders begin their deadly march to London. Every living thing in their path is
devoured or killed outright with poisoned fangs. Not just people, but livestock and
house pets, even the birds in the trees. Something must be done. Enter our hero,
Alan Mason, a research biologist and, unfortunately, the son of the farmer who was
feasted upon. He demands action and soon enough, he's placed in charge of a secret
laboratory where they must develop a spider insecticide. But will they be in time? A
primary school is infested. A trainload of passengers is devoured. A dog kennel
becomes a blood bath. Elevators in high-rises are swarmed with spiders. London is
attacked. Alan, being the stalwart and heroic type, charges into action. He traces the
outbreak of the spiders from Dragon's Farm--his father's place--to their origin: an
abandoned government research facility. Through his military contacts, Alan learns
that this facility was the site of Cold War biological warfare experiments, many
involving human guinea pigs. A group of dedicated scientists only concerned with the
betterment of mankind developed a gas that would wipe out all life. People. Lice.
Even flies. But not spiders. No, no, no, they mutated and became larger, more
cunning, more vicious. Of course, the scientists weren't satisfied with British spiders
so they brought in deadly Black Widows from the US, Pakastani hunting spiders, and
huge bird-eating spiders from South America and Asia. Then there was a fire and the
nasty monsters got away. They've been breeding ever since. Racing against time,
Alan must stop them. But will he? God only knows.
Pros: Cool spider attacks, particularly the mass attack in the barn. And that great
part where all the pets in England--cats and dogs--were rounded up, infected with
anti-spider virus and dropped into crawling masses of spiders to be eaten. Enough to
make any animal lover cringe.
Cons: The characters were dull, strictly cardboard stock types. Alan Mason was stiff
and boring, there was not a single flaw in him, no phobias or bad habits, nothing to
make him human. The others were just as disinteresting. Not enough blood and gore
for my tastes. I expected this to be nastier.
Overall: Not a bad book of this sort. Could have been bloodier and livelier, but a
decent read for the most part. Certainly not Richard Lewis's best, but interesting.
There was a sequel to this one--THE WEB--which we'll investigate at another time.
It barely makes three bloody skulls out of five.
Next month's Guilty Pleasure:
"A peaceful holiday becomes a nightmare struggle for survival..."
THE DEVIL'S COACH-HORSE, among others--and all of them had pretty decent
covers from an exploitation standpoint. Once again, the UK covers for this book were
far superior to the American edition which really just featured a rather silly-looking
spider with a screaming face in the background fanned by spider legs. Enough said.
Back in the 1980's there were a veritable slew of spider books on the bookstore
shelves and why not? What's more creepy, crawly, and ultimately disgusting than
spiders? Even people like me that have no true phobic dread of them have to admit
that there's something very unpleasant about the spider. And to be eaten by
them...well, not good at all.
And people being eaten by spiders, of course, brings us to the subject of this novel.
So let's dip our feet into the warm red waters of this book and see what we've got:
"She saw the monster clinging savagely to her hand, its poison fangs sunk deep in
the base of her thumb.
The spiders were ripping frantically at Louise's gaping throat, blood pouring over
them in rhythmic gushes..."
Enough teasers. Onto the plot. England is under siege. It begins in Kent where a
farmer named Mason is eaten and it just keeps rolling house after house, one
unspeakable atrocity after the other--don't forget the unfortunate lady in the tub!--and
it doesn't take our characters long to figure out why: spiders! Families are wiped out.
Entire farming villages. The menace spreads from Kent into Hampshire and Surrey as
the spiders begin their deadly march to London. Every living thing in their path is
devoured or killed outright with poisoned fangs. Not just people, but livestock and
house pets, even the birds in the trees. Something must be done. Enter our hero,
Alan Mason, a research biologist and, unfortunately, the son of the farmer who was
feasted upon. He demands action and soon enough, he's placed in charge of a secret
laboratory where they must develop a spider insecticide. But will they be in time? A
primary school is infested. A trainload of passengers is devoured. A dog kennel
becomes a blood bath. Elevators in high-rises are swarmed with spiders. London is
attacked. Alan, being the stalwart and heroic type, charges into action. He traces the
outbreak of the spiders from Dragon's Farm--his father's place--to their origin: an
abandoned government research facility. Through his military contacts, Alan learns
that this facility was the site of Cold War biological warfare experiments, many
involving human guinea pigs. A group of dedicated scientists only concerned with the
betterment of mankind developed a gas that would wipe out all life. People. Lice.
Even flies. But not spiders. No, no, no, they mutated and became larger, more
cunning, more vicious. Of course, the scientists weren't satisfied with British spiders
so they brought in deadly Black Widows from the US, Pakastani hunting spiders, and
huge bird-eating spiders from South America and Asia. Then there was a fire and the
nasty monsters got away. They've been breeding ever since. Racing against time,
Alan must stop them. But will he? God only knows.
Pros: Cool spider attacks, particularly the mass attack in the barn. And that great
part where all the pets in England--cats and dogs--were rounded up, infected with
anti-spider virus and dropped into crawling masses of spiders to be eaten. Enough to
make any animal lover cringe.
Cons: The characters were dull, strictly cardboard stock types. Alan Mason was stiff
and boring, there was not a single flaw in him, no phobias or bad habits, nothing to
make him human. The others were just as disinteresting. Not enough blood and gore
for my tastes. I expected this to be nastier.
Overall: Not a bad book of this sort. Could have been bloodier and livelier, but a
decent read for the most part. Certainly not Richard Lewis's best, but interesting.
There was a sequel to this one--THE WEB--which we'll investigate at another time.
It barely makes three bloody skulls out of five.
Next month's Guilty Pleasure:
"A peaceful holiday becomes a nightmare struggle for survival..."
Spiders (UK: Hamlyn, 1978)
Tagline: "Out of the earth crept mankind's oldest
nightmare."
We're back at it again with this tasty little tidbit by
Richard Lewis which features a yummy cover of
spiders infesting a bloody skull (staring eyeballs
intact). This particular cover is from the Arrow reprint
of 1987 and is suitably grisly. Given the title and that
cover, this should have reeled in the faithful. Lewis wrote
Tagline: "Out of the earth crept mankind's oldest
nightmare."
We're back at it again with this tasty little tidbit by
Richard Lewis which features a yummy cover of
spiders infesting a bloody skull (staring eyeballs
intact). This particular cover is from the Arrow reprint
of 1987 and is suitably grisly. Given the title and that
cover, this should have reeled in the faithful. Lewis wrote
| Copyright 2010 by Tim Curran |