Action-packed creature features with guts and gore aren't typically my thing, and neither is horror, but I enjoyed this fast-paced adventure (from the page count, I guess a novella rather than a novel). A squad mission goes weird when the Russians they're supposed to be investigating seem to have accidentally unearthed beasties that they ought not to. Chaos and a battle for survival ensue.

The prose was very readable, and I just noticed one typo. The characters... I had difficulty keeping track of which squad member was which, though that didn't particularly matter. Minimal personal introspection although there were a few quiet moments. We didn't get too bogged down in explanations as to why or how things had come about, but there was just enough background info that it felt cohesive without provoking my internal scientific sceptic.

A quick, fun read if you're after some action.

3.5/5 stars!

A group of soldiers is sent to investigate reports of Russians drilling in cold, Canadian waters. Once the troop arrives though, nary a Russian can be found and their ship shows signs of a bloody battle. What were the Russians doing and where are they now? You'll have to read this novella to find out!

Infestation is fast paced creature-feature containing all that you would hope for in such a read. There's not a real lot of character development, or descriptions of scenery, and that's fine with me. There's a lot of bloody battles where you're rooting for the troop to win and I liked that too-it's what I look for in this type of book.

The one thing I didn't care for was the ending. It just stopped! I'm all for the gut punch ending, but this wasn't that. It just stopped. I just discovered there is a sequel to this and I most likely will read it, when I get over being mad about this ending!

Recommended for fans of creature-features! ( )

This was a good "creature feature" story. The characters are well developed and I cared about what happened to them. I'm quite excited that this is part of a series and expect that I will read them all.

Recommended for people that enjoy fast paced monster/action stories. ( )

When a British commando unit drops into the frozen Canadian wastes west of Baffin Island to see what a mysterious Russian ship is doing in Canadian waters, it doesn’t take long to discover the carnage left behind by the cover creature.

Not all six members of the S-Squad are going to make to the end of Meikle’s story, and battling those critters through about a 100 pages doesn’t leave any room for a double agent – which I expected to see in a tale inspired by Alistair MacLean.

The opening, in a deserted fishing village at night, was atmospheric, but, to be honest, the critters didn’t do much for me. I did appreciate, being interested in geology, the origin story Meikle gives them.

Meikle does a nice job with the physical details. Cold water, however shallow, can kill quickly.. Fingers uncovered quickly become too numb to fire weapons. A character is half blinded from operating a cutting torch.

While I wished for some human treachery added to the giant bug plot and found the bugs eviscerating but not very emotionally invigorating, I am interested in more adventures of the S-Squad. ( )

Infestation by William Meikle is a stand alone book about monsters and mayhem.

Plot 5/5: This is an exciting tale of overgrown isopods.

Characters 5/5: The characters come to life within the pages of this story.

World building 5/5: The situation that the characters find themselves in is very imaginable.

Pacing 5/5: Action packed!

Writing 5/5: William Meikle's writing is fantastic!

Overall: 5

This story took me back to the B horror movies that I loved as a kid! Fantastic story, and I definitely recommend it!

Purchased on Amazon. ( )