Post by Dreadlocksmile on Jul 29, 2009 14:32:59 GMT
Dreadlocksmile Review:
First published back in 1976, 'Night Of The Crabs' was the novel that really launched Guy N. Smith as a writer iconic pulp horror writer. Spawning four subsequent sequels and one insightful prequel, the movie production company Amicus later even bought the film rights to the 'Crabs' idea in 1976.
The tale begins when Professor Cliff Davenport, marine biologist and an all round stand-up guy, travels to a small piece of land known as Shell Island on the Welsh coast, to investigate the strange disappearance of his nephew Ian Wright and Wright’s fiancée Julie Coles. Alas, the love struck pair had their lives cut short during a romantic night-swimming escapade. A full scale search is put underway in an attempt to locate the missing pair, whilst Davenport begins his own investigations into their disappearance.
After being mistakenly arrested by the conveniently placed military, Davenport relays his suspicions to the leading figure and close personal friend of his - Sir Ronald Bradley of Whitehall. Davenport is subsequently released by the military and quickly meets up with Pat Benson, another guest at the hotel Davenport is currently lodging at. Benson informs Davenport of the mysterious markings left on the beach that she spotted during an early morning walk and together they begin a vigil on the surrounding beaches.
Not before long, Davenport and his Benson (who are now quickly becoming lovers) witness the savage death of the local deaf and dumb beachcomber known as Bartholomew, at the hands (or should I say claws) of gigantic crabs that have emerged from the waters of Shell Island.
Davenport reports these dramatic findings to the military via another one of Davenport’s impressively high ranking contacts – Grisedale of Whitehall, who sends the inept Colonel Goode to take over the ‘crab’ investigations. Of course, Goode is highly sceptical of the entire story and as such military action is postponed, until the crabs are actually upon the unprepared soldiers and local community.
An all out war ensues, with the monstrous crustaceans now swarming onto the helpless community of Shell Island. The military presence on Shell Island is almost completely annihilated by these seemingly indestructible freaks of nature.
The deadly epidemic is now a full blown reality, and reinforcements are sent in sharp-ish. The military fight back in an all-out battle at Barmouth. Alas, the heavy gauge weaponry of the tanks is still no match for the seemingly impenetrable armour of the crabs. Mankind needs to think fast if they are going to win the war against the crabs. Luckily they have Davenport on their side, whose quick thinking and truly inspired idea might just turn the tide in favour of a human victory...
The novel packs in as much blood spillage as possible, with an array of flamboyant characters each taking out their own independent (and often clichéd) roles within this outrageously over-the-top storyline.
From the outset, Smith delivers a truly original monstrous enemy for mankind to battle against, that due to the hate fuelled nature that Smith has given them, delivers a non-stop tirade of blood spilling action that will get pulp horror fans drooling from the very first attack.
Littered with elaborate twists and turns to the main thrust of the storyline, the tale ultimately concludes with an inspired yet bizarre grand finale. With such a far fetched idea tackled with an even more amusingly unlikely course of defence taken by the military, Smith has managed to produce nothing short of a masterpiece of seventies pulp horror.
The graphically depicted battle scenes between the crabs and the military deliver pages of edge-of-the-seat pulp horror entertainment that is interspersed with further crab carnage and comical character interaction. At no point does Smith take his foot off the accelerator from the very moment the crabs first take to the shore.
Not only are these gigantic enemies of mankind colossal in size and naturally armoured by their huge shells, they also display a surprising level of intelligence. Lead by a briefly glimpsed ‘King Crab’, these organised crustacean ranks pose a severe threat to the community.
`Night of the Crabs' was the first instalment in Guy's signature `Crabs' series, but should preferably be read after the later released prequel entitled 'The Origin Of The Crabs'. `Origin’ ends exactly where `Night’ takes off, bringing together a seamless and tight storyline to the crabs series as a whole.
The next crabs book in the series is `Killer Crabs' released just two years later. `Night' has set down the groundwork for this next outrageous pulp horror classic, where no time needs to be spent playing with the denial and disbelief of the military. From here on in its non-stop, blood soaked crab action. From the moment the crabs first take to the beach of Shell Island, expect nothing short of one onslaught after another.
‘Night of the Crabs’ is the true beginning of the all-out crab war. It’s a classic pulp horror and splatterpunk novel that is hard to be bettered for such an unashamed far-fetched enemy. An enjoyable read is the understatement of the century!
The book runs for a total of 144 pages (pretty standard length for one of Guy's novels). Like with the majority of Smith's other novels, an abundance of action and twists to the storyline are somehow crammed into these few pages.
www.amazon.co.uk/review/R2IP9N7VWATMX0/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
