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| ★★★★✰ |
Synopsis: Deep in the jungle of Peru, where so much remains unknown, a black, skittering mass devours an American tourist whole. Thousands of miles away, an FBI agent investigates a fatal plane crash in Minneapolis and makes a gruesome discovery. Unusual seismic patterns register in a Kanpur, India earthquake lab, confounding the scientists there. During the same week, the Chinese government “accidentally” drops a nuclear bomb in an isolated region of its own country. As these incidents begin to sweep the globe, a mysterious package from South America arrives at a Washington, D.C. laboratory. Something wants out. The world is on the brink of an apocalyptic disaster. An ancient species, long dormant, is now very much awake.
***
Review: I loved this book! It has been so long since I've sat down and gotten absolutely engrossed in a fast-paced creepy horror thriller that wasn't a total guilty pleasure (i.e. terribly written). Now, don't get me wrong, there's a reason I gave this four stars, not five - it's not earth-shattering, original, or even particularly creative. It's the story of the sudden appearance and outbreak of an ancient species of creepy crawly taking the world off guard, told from multiple perspectives including political, military, civilian, and scientific views, which all join together in a scrapbook of short, snappy chapters to illustrate the horror and the attempt to contain it.
I don't doubt for one second that anybody who knows anything about science, spiders, Nazca lines, politics, the FBI etc etc would have reams of 'well actually's about the characters and events, but you know what, it worked for me, accurate or not, because I haven't a clue. I didn't necessarily like all of the characters, and it did take some flicking back to previous chapters by some characters to recall them. The women are also all obsessed with sex and/or assess all men in relation to sex, which was a bit odd, but it didn't overly detract from my enjoyment. I loved the diversity of the viewpoints, and I loved that there were both recurring characters who wound up working together, as well as random doomed characters who simply offered a once-off additional view.
I didn't find the critters to be particularly scary, though the ick-factor spiders possess which makes me scream and flail was definitely captured. I think the downfall for me was that I was never fully absorbed by the sense of threat and fear prevalent by the end of the book. Something about the movement from local incidents to a global threat never quite rang true for me. It did provide some depth to my experience of playing games like Plague Inc though, which was fun. The ending was also pretty abrupt, but that's okay because THERE'S A BOOK TWO! Of course there is.
But! I'm dying to read it. Highly recommend this read as a light creepy-thrilly bit of fun.
Rating: 4/5
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