Gregory A. Douglas (1)

The science and the way Douglas writes insects are (or should be) the primary reason for picking this book up. It's got a lot of fantastically interesting info about bugs, incredibly creepy scenes, and the sort of extended passages of gore that make one understand why it was picked out for the republished "Paperbacks of Hell" series. That said...the book has quite a few issues, not least of all the way women are written. Despite being published in the late 70s, the book reads as if it takes place in the 40s or 50s, and I can only imagine that the author wanted to use science from later decades or would have been better off placing it earlier. If anyone wants an example of how to NOT write women and romance, this is a good one.

That said, if you like gore with your horror and can handle some comically cringe-worthy moments involving the writing of women/romance, you might enjoy this one. I had a hard time with it, admittedly, though I'm not sure I've ever been more creeped out or impressed with the writing of insects, and I may come back to this for inspiration the next time I need to write a gory, extended death scene.… (mer)

3.5/5 stars!

One of my favorite sub-genres of horror is the creature feature, and boy does this one deliver!

On a small island off the coast of Cape Cod, something is happening in the middle of the island's dump. There's hissing and movements, then someone's dog dies and so begins THE NEST.

I'm not going to make like this book is some kind of literary achievement, because it's not. (Does anyone really pick up a giant cockroach book and think it's literary? I guess it's possible, but it's not the case here.) What this book IS is....just plain romping and chomping F-U-N!

Set on an island in my home state-the isolation makes for a cockroach feast! And that's basically what we get: cockroaches feeding on this one and on that one, in increasingly inventive and gross ways. (See my previous statement: F-U-N!)

Being that this was originally written back in 1980 we also get: some preachy scientist talk, some man-splaining, a smidge of schmaltzy romance, a wee bit of anti-feminism, and a tad of classism. Did I mention the gross cockroach kills?

Okay, so this isn't the "great American novel" but what it is is a lot of gross out laughter and chills, and a few hours of mindless entertainment. In these political times, who couldn't use that? I would have given this three stars based on the writing alone, but I added a half star and rounded it up to 4 total, because of the FUN factor!

Recommended to fans of 80's horror and creature features!

Valancourt Books has teamed up with Grady Hendrix and Will Errickson, (Authors of PAPERBACKS FROM HELL), to bring you an entire line of horror books from the 70's and 80's called the PAPERBACKS FROM HELL series. Find out more about the series here: http://www.valancourtbooks.com/paperbacksfromhell.html


*I was given an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*… (mer)