Let's be clear here people. You are only going to want to read this book if you are looking for a gross, scary, end of the world story starring man eating spiders.

Check reality at the door and read for a fast moving terror ride. I enjoyed the hell out of this book. It delivered on the promise it made from the first few pages. It totally creeped me out and left me enthusiastically waiting for the next in the series. ( )

First, I have to say, this is the best looking ARC I've seen. It came in its own slipcover, which paired against the book made the book look like it was in its own cocoon. I don't know if the book will hit the market with the same design, but it sure left a good impression on me! Props to the marketing dept.



That aside, the book itself was very entertaining. It is only the beginning of a series (or simply with a sequel?), so the book does not get full-on apocalyptic. However, it would have been nice to see a little more first-person action against the spiders, since it did indeed happen, but mostly off the page.

I enjoyed the characters and the interesting POV setup, every chapter hopped into a new location with a single character's narrative. This did well to give me a better idea of the scale in which our disaster gripped the world. I don't often see this style being used, but I enjoy it. I liked going from one character in one location to the next and knowing real-time what stage the outbreak was in and how possibly a character was going to be affected.

When the sequel drops, I'll definitely pick it up! ( )

My review of The Hatching is now up on Fresh Fiction!

"They are coming..."

This is one of the best horror books I have read this year. However, if you have arachnophobia then you should perhaps not choose this book to read...

Read the whole review here! ( )

This is a book about spiders. Big, yucky, flesh eating spiders. ( )

A scientist who discovers a creepy new spider happens to be married to the US president's chief of staff. Once I hit that plot device I finally accepted that no, it's not going to get better. ( )