KILLER CRABS

Rating:
Summary: "A Frenzied Army of Giant Claws Snap Men in Half"
Review: In "Killer Crabs", a small Australian tourist island is plagued by a group of abnormally large, bloodthirsty crustaceans. As is typical in this genre, these animals are once again the monsters who must be destroyed, this time by a military team and about a handful of stereotypical gun-toting men: Klin (a renowned fisherman on Hayman Island), Professor Clifford Davenport (who apparently had a run-in with these crabs four years ago in the previous book, "Night of the Crabs"), Shannon (the chief shark-patrol officer on the island), and Harvey Logan (an egotistical professional hunter intent on keeping one of the crabs as a trophy). I don't think I have to tell you what happens to a lot of these crab by the end, but don't assume they become extinct. After all, there are four additional books in this series: "Origin of the Crabs", "Crabs on the Rampage", "Crabs' Moon", and "The Human Sacrifice".

By the title alone, I expected "Killer Crabs" to be extremely cheesy, like a lot of other horror novels published in the 70s and 80s that involved some type of killer creature. However, it wasn't as trashy as I had expected. Sure, there's plenty of graphic violence and sex (especially some nasty dismembering scenes), but it's all essential to the plot and really quite entertaining and suspenseful once you get into it, especially near the end when three of the main characters are stranded on the crab's spawning ground with no way off the island.

Another plus to "Killer Crabs" is that it's very short--just under 170 pages. Even though this book/series is definitely geared toward guys, female fans of horror (speaking as one) should probably enjoy it as well. My only complaint is about some of the main characters, such as Klin (an unsympathetic loner who is also a borderline racist) and Caroline du Brunner (an extremely promiscuous con artist). Still, "Killer Crabs" is a lot of fun and ideal for horror fans.

Rating:
Summary: A gem from the golden age of monster stories.
Review: The sequel to Night of the Crabs, this story takes place around the Great Barrier Reef where a series of disappearances leads to the discovery that not all the giant crabs were killed. Before long the marine biologist from the first novel, Cliff Davenport, is called to find a way of dealing with the menace.

There were more monster-rampage paperbacks published over the years than can be counted, but this, like its predecessor, stands out from the crowd as one of the best. There are strong characters, interwoven sub-plots and genuinely chilling scenes.

If Hollywood are looking for a decent monster story to translate to the big screen, then here it is.