SERIES: The Hatching, Book #1
AUTHORS: Ezekiel Boone
AUTHORS: Ezekiel Boone
PUBLISHER: Random House Canada
PUBLICATION DATE: July 5, 2016
FORMAT: Hardcover
LENGTH: 320 pages
LENGTH: 320 pages
GENRE: Horror
ISBN: 9780345816481
Deep in the jungle of Peru, where so much remains unknown, a black, skittering mass devours an American tourist whole. Thousands of miles away, an FBI agent investigates a fatal plane crash in Minneapolis and makes a gruesome discovery. Unusual seismic patterns register in a Kanpur, India earthquake lab, confounding the scientists there. During the same week, the Chinese government “accidentally” drops a nuclear bomb in an isolated region of its own country. As these incidents begin to sweep the globe, a mysterious package from South America arrives at a Washington, D.C. laboratory. Something wants out.
The world is on the brink of an apocalyptic disaster. An ancient species, long dormant, is now very much awake.
MY REVIEW:
Reading this book will make you feel imaginary creepy-crawlies all over you! I can’t remember the last time that a book creeped me out as much as this one!
I hate spiders. I’ve always hated spiders. When I was a kid, I would check under my covers every night and the ceiling for spiders. If I saw one, I’d scream for my mom to come kill it. I wouldn’t exactly say that I have arachnophobia. I just really don’t like spiders!
Ezekiel Boone has set out an apocalyptic novel that’s right out of my nightmares: Deadly spiders taking over the globe! It starts in Peru, where a billionaire is on an eco-tour through the jungle with a bevy of beauties, his bodyguard, and a tour guide. He watches as a river of flesh-eating black spiders swarm over his group, and he doesn’t stick around to find out what happens. He gets bit by a spider but manages to brush it off. He orders his pilot to return to the United States, and he starts to feel unwell. As the plane approaches Minneapolis, it crashes. Special Agent Mike Rich is sent to inspect the scene to determine if the plane was brought down by an act of terrorism or if it was a malfunction. While inspecting the body of the billionaire, he watches as a spider crawls out of his cheek. Mike is able to capture it and it is sent off to Professor Melanie Guyer at American University in Washington, DC who is a biologist specializing in the use of spider venom for medicinal purposes. Meanwhile, one of Dr. Guyer’s grad students has a friend in Peru on an archaeological dig and has found a box that is estimated to be 10,000 years old. Inside the box is an egg sac, which has also been by courier to Dr. Guyer’s lab.
Strange happenings are occurring elsewhere in the world as well: There is seismic activity in India that is not related to an earthquake, China has dropped a nuke on itself but claims it was a military accident, the U.S. Marine Corps in California have been ordered to report immediately, and prospectors in Afghanistan find more than just rocks when they go digging in a cave. The President of the United States becomes nervous when she gets wind of the lethal spiders that have been spotted, and she orders her Chief of Staff, Manny, to contact his ex-wife, Dr. Guyer.
This is a fast-paced story that jumps from one part of the globe to another. At first I found it confusing to keep track of all the different characters, but it got easier as I got further into the book. My favourite characters are the survivalists in Desperation, California who are holed up in underground bunkers waiting for the end of the world. I'm rooting for them to be the last ones standing and finding a way to destroy the spiders! Boone has set things up beautifully in The Hatching with intersecting storylines and what I hope will be an even better sequel with Skitter, which is expected to be released in May.
Here are a couple of book trailers. Which do you think is scarier: The UK version or the US version? Personally, I think the UK one is more frightening!
MY RATING:
4 stars!! It was really good, and you should put it on your TBR list if you enjoy horror! Thanks to Goodreads and Penguin Random House Canada for the giveaway!
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I agree. The UK one is a zinger! I hate spider but I can't resist stories like this. I enjoyed this one and am reading Skitters, the second book. Have you read it yet?
ReplyDeleteNo, I haven't read Skitters yet. Did you receive an ARC? I entered the Goodreads giveaway for Skitter, so fingers crossed!! How did you like it?
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