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Clickers #1
Clickers
Click Click Click Click Phillipsport, Maine is a quaint and peaceful seaside village. But when hundreds of creatures pour out of the ocean and attack, its residents must take up arms to drive the beasts back. They are the Clickers, giant venomous blood-thirsty crabs from the depths of the sea. The only warning to their rampage of dismemberment and death is the terrible clicking of their claws. But these monsters aren't merely here to ravage and pillage. They are being driven onto land by fear. Something is hunting the Clickers. Something ancient and without mercy.
Deadite Press is proud to present the authors' preferred version of J. F. Gonzalez and Mark Williams' gore-soaked cult classic tribute to the giant monster B-movies of yesteryear.
Deadite Press is proud to present the authors' preferred version of J. F. Gonzalez and Mark Williams' gore-soaked cult classic tribute to the giant monster B-movies of yesteryear.
271 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
59 people are currently reading
2282 people want to read
About the author
J.F. Gonzalez
80 books366 followersJesus F. Gonzalez was an American author, primarily of horror fiction (writing under the pseudonym J. F. Gonzalez). He has written many notable novels and has done collaborations with Bram Stoker Award winners Mike Oliveri and Brian Keene. His novel Survivor has been optioned for film.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 190 reviews
August 12, 2019
I've heard a writer should write what they know. In this story a writer has just arrived in a small town on the coast of Maine to write his next horror book. He doesn't even get settled in good before the horror begins. Complete with several references to Stephen King and H.P. Lovecraft.
Killer Crabs.
From the depths of the Northern Atlantic Ocean comes the prehistoric ancestor of our modern day crab, lobster, scorpion. All three creatures ... one ancestor, Clickers.
A crustacean invasion.
They come ashore by the thousands, each about the size of a large dog and they're hungry. The human species seems to be as good a food source as any.
Just when the uneaten residents of this town are getting the upper hand on the clicker invasion another, larger, darker creature arrives from the ocean depths.
Now the clickers are scared.
Killer Crabs.
From the depths of the Northern Atlantic Ocean comes the prehistoric ancestor of our modern day crab, lobster, scorpion. All three creatures ... one ancestor, Clickers.
A crustacean invasion.
They come ashore by the thousands, each about the size of a large dog and they're hungry. The human species seems to be as good a food source as any.
Just when the uneaten residents of this town are getting the upper hand on the clicker invasion another, larger, darker creature arrives from the ocean depths.
Now the clickers are scared.
March 30, 2012
Writer Rick Sychek plans on spending time in remote Phillipsport, Maine, to write his newest book, but his plans are derailed when he wrecks his car trying to avoid something in the road. Before Rick knows what's happening, Phillipsport is swarmed by the Clickers, strange scorpion-like crabs from the ocean's depths. Carnage ensues and the town fights for survival, not knowing that the Clickers are the least of their problems...
Clickers is a tribute to B-movies by J.F. Gonzalez and Mark Williams, and reads as such. There's violence, cursing, and tons upon tons of gore, the hallmarks of a good b-horror flick. The Clickers were suitably scary. People got picked off left and right. While I had a feeling Rick would be left standing at the end, I had no idea who'd be left standing with him. Clickers is a good example of survival horror at work. The entire time I was reading it, I kept picture Roland on the beach in Drawing of the Three, trying not to get eaten by the lobstrocities.
Guy Smith, killer crab enthusiast and Goodreads folk hero, was mentioned in both the introduction and the text. I felt nostalgic for some of the references to 80's and 90's music and culture, although I snorted a bit when Rick was looking through his VHS tapes.
So why did I give it a three? Well, most of the characters were pretty thin but the thing that really dragged Clickers down a couple notches was that there was way too much going on. If Gonzalez and Williams had just focused on Sychek and the Clickers, it would have been an easy four. As it stands, there were way too many supporting characters, and too many of those had names starting with the letter R.
While it has its flaws, Clickers does what it sets out to do: recreate the experience of a B-movie in book form. It was an enjoyable read and I'll probably cave in and grab Clickers II one of these days.
Clickers is a tribute to B-movies by J.F. Gonzalez and Mark Williams, and reads as such. There's violence, cursing, and tons upon tons of gore, the hallmarks of a good b-horror flick. The Clickers were suitably scary. People got picked off left and right. While I had a feeling Rick would be left standing at the end, I had no idea who'd be left standing with him. Clickers is a good example of survival horror at work. The entire time I was reading it, I kept picture Roland on the beach in Drawing of the Three, trying not to get eaten by the lobstrocities.
Guy Smith, killer crab enthusiast and Goodreads folk hero, was mentioned in both the introduction and the text. I felt nostalgic for some of the references to 80's and 90's music and culture, although I snorted a bit when Rick was looking through his VHS tapes.
So why did I give it a three? Well, most of the characters were pretty thin but the thing that really dragged Clickers down a couple notches was that there was way too much going on. If Gonzalez and Williams had just focused on Sychek and the Clickers, it would have been an easy four. As it stands, there were way too many supporting characters, and too many of those had names starting with the letter R.
While it has its flaws, Clickers does what it sets out to do: recreate the experience of a B-movie in book form. It was an enjoyable read and I'll probably cave in and grab Clickers II one of these days.
December 12, 2014
This was more than your every day creature feature! Sure it started off with big crabs, but then it evolved into something else entirely.
I loved the Lovecraftian feel of the "something else" portions. They were unexpected and fun, and they raised this book from plain B movie cheese to something more long lasting and memorable.
A lot of times these types of stories have the ending where humans conquer all and live happily ever after relating their tale of horror to their grandchildren. Well, not this time. I absolutely loved the ending! I didn't expect it and this was another thing that made this book special.
The only bad thing I have to say about this book, is man...I don't like the cover AT ALL.
To sum up, I had a great time with this story. I regret having waited until this author passed away before taking up his work. Now that I have tried it out and enjoyed it, I will seek out more , starting with Clickers II. RIP, Mr. Gonzalez. RIP.
I loved the Lovecraftian feel of the "something else" portions. They were unexpected and fun, and they raised this book from plain B movie cheese to something more long lasting and memorable.
A lot of times these types of stories have the ending where humans conquer all and live happily ever after relating their tale of horror to their grandchildren. Well, not this time. I absolutely loved the ending! I didn't expect it and this was another thing that made this book special.
The only bad thing I have to say about this book, is man...I don't like the cover AT ALL.
To sum up, I had a great time with this story. I regret having waited until this author passed away before taking up his work. Now that I have tried it out and enjoyed it, I will seek out more , starting with Clickers II. RIP, Mr. Gonzalez. RIP.
November 30, 2016
This book was a blast. It knew exactly what it was and accomplished exactly what it set out to do. I really enjoyed it. However, I enjoyed the sequel even more. For more on that, check out my thoughts on CLICKERS II: THE NEXT WAVE.
December 5, 2021
Phillipsport, Maine is a quaint and peaceful seaside village. Well it was until giant venomous blood-thirsty crabs from the depths of the sea start arriving with the tide. By the time you hear the click of their claws it is too late to run and there is nowhere to hide. Rick, local horror author, is watching a real life horror book come to life. When they find out the Clickers are coming ashore out of fear, the question is...what is chasing them? Pretty decent read. It reminds me of the B movies you watch at 3 am in the dark just because it is horror and you have seen all the mainstream movies. If you are a fan of killer crabs this is the book for you.
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April 24, 2021
Well, I can definitely see why this is such a cult classic! This has been on my radar for a few years and I am glad I finally got to it. Gonzalez and Williams make no bones about what this is in the intro- pure grade A pulp fiction and a homage to 50s/60s monster movies. Our main protagonist, Rick, is a horror author who is traveling to a small town (Phillipsport: pop around 550) in Northern Maine to spend the winter writing his next book. Things do not go as planned.
Just outside of town, in a driving rainstorm, Jack runs over a strange, huge crab/lobster like thing and wrecks his car into a tree. Shortly thereafter, a deputy finds him and takes him into town, and after a short trip to a Doc to get patched up, is escorted to the local drugstore/coffeeshop and introduced all around. The authors do a nice job of building the characters, especially as most of the early introductions are basically stats for the body count. We get a rather typical (I am sure on purpose) small town crowd-- an obnoxious bigoted sheriff, various proprietors of the local businesses, a stoner gal, various rednecks, and to Jack's delight, the owner of a super cool comic store who was a big name in underground comics in the 60s/70s. I loved the comic store-- it reminded me of a similar store in New London, CT where I lived for a few years.
Anyway, we know this is going to be a story about monsters, and Clickers serves us a classic treat here! The clickers are the crab/lobster like things and they start swarming the shores around town and they are hungry! Their claws can rip a person to shreds in seconds and their long, scorpion like tales are full of nasty venom that basically dissolve flesh in a very violent manner-- can you say exploding bodies anyone? Yet, that is not all. It seems that the clickers have arrived to eat and breed, but something else hunts the clickers and they arrive from the sea shortly thereafter, and then things get really ugly.
Clickers is a really fun read-- fast paced and gory to say the least. With a body count well into the hundreds, and many described in gruesome detail, gore hounds should be sated. What set this apart, however, and earns its cult status, is the very clever bantering among the characters and its sheer, over the top glory. The authors play with just about every horror trope known to man and do it so well they feel fresh. I am not sure if I want to read the sequels, but Clickers really is a stand out homage to the horror genre and to b-grade monster movies. 5 crabby claws!
Just outside of town, in a driving rainstorm, Jack runs over a strange, huge crab/lobster like thing and wrecks his car into a tree. Shortly thereafter, a deputy finds him and takes him into town, and after a short trip to a Doc to get patched up, is escorted to the local drugstore/coffeeshop and introduced all around. The authors do a nice job of building the characters, especially as most of the early introductions are basically stats for the body count. We get a rather typical (I am sure on purpose) small town crowd-- an obnoxious bigoted sheriff, various proprietors of the local businesses, a stoner gal, various rednecks, and to Jack's delight, the owner of a super cool comic store who was a big name in underground comics in the 60s/70s. I loved the comic store-- it reminded me of a similar store in New London, CT where I lived for a few years.
Anyway, we know this is going to be a story about monsters, and Clickers serves us a classic treat here! The clickers are the crab/lobster like things and they start swarming the shores around town and they are hungry! Their claws can rip a person to shreds in seconds and their long, scorpion like tales are full of nasty venom that basically dissolve flesh in a very violent manner-- can you say exploding bodies anyone? Yet, that is not all. It seems that the clickers have arrived to eat and breed, but something else hunts the clickers and they arrive from the sea shortly thereafter, and then things get really ugly.
Clickers is a really fun read-- fast paced and gory to say the least. With a body count well into the hundreds, and many described in gruesome detail, gore hounds should be sated. What set this apart, however, and earns its cult status, is the very clever bantering among the characters and its sheer, over the top glory. The authors play with just about every horror trope known to man and do it so well they feel fresh. I am not sure if I want to read the sequels, but Clickers really is a stand out homage to the horror genre and to b-grade monster movies. 5 crabby claws!
December 3, 2014
Every once in a while the sea food comes out of the sea and and wants its fill of human appetizers. As Mr. G. explains:
"In December, 2009, this edition was reissued without the author’s permission by Mundania Press, who aquired Hard Shell Word Factory in a buyout. It was available in Kindle, Nook, Sony, Microsoft Reader, and other formats for the better part of six months before all editions could be recalled. The author apologizes to those readers who may have picked up the Kindle or Nook edition, as these were an error-ridden mess. In the meantime, don’t yell at Mundania Press; the blame lies entirely with ebook distributor MobiPocket, who automatically placed the entire Hard Shell catalog back into print shortly after Mundania aquired them, regardless of whether or not the books were under contract. Somebody should have been fired for this. – JFG"
So beware of what's on the menu. Or if you have a taste for more sea food, see Guy N. Smith's "CRABS" which is what this book is an homage to.
This copy is a "PC" of 344 signed and sometimes numbered copies.
"In December, 2009, this edition was reissued without the author’s permission by Mundania Press, who aquired Hard Shell Word Factory in a buyout. It was available in Kindle, Nook, Sony, Microsoft Reader, and other formats for the better part of six months before all editions could be recalled. The author apologizes to those readers who may have picked up the Kindle or Nook edition, as these were an error-ridden mess. In the meantime, don’t yell at Mundania Press; the blame lies entirely with ebook distributor MobiPocket, who automatically placed the entire Hard Shell catalog back into print shortly after Mundania aquired them, regardless of whether or not the books were under contract. Somebody should have been fired for this. – JFG"
So beware of what's on the menu. Or if you have a taste for more sea food, see Guy N. Smith's "CRABS" which is what this book is an homage to.
This copy is a "PC" of 344 signed and sometimes numbered copies.
December 13, 2014
CLICKERS is the first in the series of Gonzalez's gore-drenched tribute to "creature features". We begin with a horror author, Rick, entering a small town in the hopes that a change of scenery will inspire him to write his next horror book. After the initial introductions of various key characters, the town is besieged with an onslaught of mutant crab/lobster creatures.
As the blood and carnage begin to flood through the town, it gradually dawns on a select few that the "Clickers" (as they've dubbed the crab creatures) are actually fleeing from something even MORE predatory....
I was very impressed with Gonzalez's ability to keep up the rapid pace in this novel that, a third of the way in, was non-stop action. Another point in his favor was the fact that the victims were unpredictable--he didn't just do away with those that you would expect. This tactic really kept my attention riveted, as I had no idea who would be next.
I'm already planning on reading the sequel next month :).
Recommended!
As the blood and carnage begin to flood through the town, it gradually dawns on a select few that the "Clickers" (as they've dubbed the crab creatures) are actually fleeing from something even MORE predatory....
I was very impressed with Gonzalez's ability to keep up the rapid pace in this novel that, a third of the way in, was non-stop action. Another point in his favor was the fact that the victims were unpredictable--he didn't just do away with those that you would expect. This tactic really kept my attention riveted, as I had no idea who would be next.
I'm already planning on reading the sequel next month :).
Recommended!
December 27, 2020
If you're in the right mood for a creature feature, Clickers is a good choice.
You get larger than average crabs coming out of the ocean and attacking people. The characters vary from a reluctant hero, his love interest, a couple of ordinary men and women and an obligatory horrible, selfish person.
The crabs are poisonous, they are starving and they are running away from something. That something is a good twist and gives the story its Lovecraftian touch, which always makes any story better as far as I'm concerned.
There are things I could criticise, but who cares if you want to read about the monstrous creatures coming out of the ocean eating people.
I'm off to reread Dagon now.
You get larger than average crabs coming out of the ocean and attacking people. The characters vary from a reluctant hero, his love interest, a couple of ordinary men and women and an obligatory horrible, selfish person.
The crabs are poisonous, they are starving and they are running away from something. That something is a good twist and gives the story its Lovecraftian touch, which always makes any story better as far as I'm concerned.
There are things I could criticise, but who cares if you want to read about the monstrous creatures coming out of the ocean eating people.
I'm off to reread Dagon now.
December 14, 2014
The unholy spawn of a threeway between the Saturday afternoon creature features I grew up with on "Chiller Theater", H.P. Lovecraft and Richard Laymon, CLICKERS is a crazed clambake of creative carnage, seasoned with a healthy dash of Mythos mayhem.
November 26, 2014
Needless to say I won't ever look at a plate of crab legs the same way ever again in this horror novel cult classic. Writer Rick Sychek decides to write his next horror novel in scenic seaside Philipsport, Maine, but while driving to his rental house he hits a large bizarre crab in the middle of the road. Dark ominous storm clouds begin to dump heavy rains, and soon the nearby beach erupts with the deadly sounds of clicking crab claws, and screams.
Rick, along with several townspeople, such as a comic book shop owner, single mom, town doctor, all team up to survive the ravenous hordes of deadly flesh eating crustaceans. But that is only the beginning, and the worst is yet to come.
Both authors do a fairly nice job moving things along and keeping the horror racheted up to the book's conclusion. It should be noted that JF Gonzalez has numerous other novels, including Survivor, The Beloved, and Shapeshifter, and co-wrote Clickers 2 and 3 with Brian Keene.
Rick, along with several townspeople, such as a comic book shop owner, single mom, town doctor, all team up to survive the ravenous hordes of deadly flesh eating crustaceans. But that is only the beginning, and the worst is yet to come.
Both authors do a fairly nice job moving things along and keeping the horror racheted up to the book's conclusion. It should be noted that JF Gonzalez has numerous other novels, including Survivor, The Beloved, and Shapeshifter, and co-wrote Clickers 2 and 3 with Brian Keene.
July 5, 2014
Scenariu tipic pentru un horror de categorie B cinzecist, astazi clasic: creaturi intre crabi, homari si alte blestematii subacvatice - din nou Lovecraft are dreptate - care vin pe mal si sfarteca totul. Excesiv de vorace, teribil de rapace. Problema este ca nu sunt singure. Clicker-sii nu vin doar pentru imperechere si hrana. Fug de ceva. Si tot lovecraftian (de unde se vede ca indiferent tot la baza ne intoarcem) este si celalalt mare erou negativ multiplicat. Dark Ones. Nice...
Interesant, chiar daca nu cel mai bun J.F. Gonzalez, ar merge lesne ecranizat. Inca trei parti. Fara sa fie o capodopera, e un titlu reusit si esentialmente "fun". Ceea ce multi alti autori, din acest gen sau altele, au cam pierdut din vedere. Mai mult sau mai putin un tribut adus filmelor mai sus-mentionate. Dar a mers foarte bine.
Interesant, chiar daca nu cel mai bun J.F. Gonzalez, ar merge lesne ecranizat. Inca trei parti. Fara sa fie o capodopera, e un titlu reusit si esentialmente "fun". Ceea ce multi alti autori, din acest gen sau altele, au cam pierdut din vedere. Mai mult sau mai putin un tribut adus filmelor mai sus-mentionate. Dar a mers foarte bine.
December 22, 2009
4.0 stars. This was a very fast, fun read. Perfect for what it tries to be which is an homage to classic B-movie sf/ scare fest. The plot is tight, the monsters are very cool and I especially liked the what was behind the "clickers" coming to shore. This added a new depth to the story and made it very much worth the read.
December 27, 2014
A fun, freaky book, as one of my GoodReads buddies described it.
A writer escapes to a small town in Maine just in time to be part of the town's invasion by prehistoric ocean critters.
(Don't you just hate when that happens?)
It's like watching a Creature Feature movie. Recommended for anyone who likes a campy horror romp.
A writer escapes to a small town in Maine just in time to be part of the town's invasion by prehistoric ocean critters.
(Don't you just hate when that happens?)
It's like watching a Creature Feature movie. Recommended for anyone who likes a campy horror romp.
September 26, 2023
I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It is exactly as it describes itself, a throw back to the old school. It started off great, and while there were parts that dragged i was thoroughly entertained and am looking forward to reading clickers 2
December 13, 2014
4.5. This delivers exactly what it promises to deliver and then some. I can't ask for much more than that.
May 3, 2012
I thought this book was very good and an easy read. I don't have a lot of time to read and still finished this within a couple days. I am looking forward to reading the other books in the series.
June 6, 2010
Have you ever found yourself happening on a movie in the middle of the night and decided to watch it without really knowing why? Maybe the first couple of minutes make you chuckle a little, the dialogue has a few bugs or the setting seems a bit hinky but despite yourself you stay tuned. The bugs stick with it a bit but as time goes on you don't really care anymore because this movie is pretty good and you're really starting to get interested. The hero who started as a goof is now pretty cool, his buddy and his love interest are becoming more and more endearing and then the awful terrible monsters of the film set in and you figure this'll be a pretty good monster movie...
Except soon there's more too it than that. Things are a thousand times more dire than they seemed and you're actually starting to slip into the movie and its characters like one of your favorite flicks. The hero is as scared as you are but you're gonna pull through this, the characters at the beginning of the book now seem like friends you keep rooting on, each time they're in danger you feel that old sucked in feeling where you keep bidding for them to squeak past impending doom. By the time its almost over you're sucking in the minutes of that thing like air and you deal with quite a lot in those final moments and when its all over you can believe where the time went but you laugh and say: "Wow that was a seriously good movie!"
This book IS that B movie on the late show. Pulling you in pretty quickly and devouring your time like all your favorite horror novels before it. Its an unassuming animal, you don't see the pull of the book coming, you may even set it down here and there wondering what you think but after awhile you can't help but devour the pages until it's conclusion. Having just finished this book I can honestly say there's little I'd change about it from its goofy fun toward the beginning to the terrible nightmare that occurs about midway this book is a serious keeper! Even better just like those awesome B flicks there's a couple of sequels! Let's hope they deliver!
Except soon there's more too it than that. Things are a thousand times more dire than they seemed and you're actually starting to slip into the movie and its characters like one of your favorite flicks. The hero is as scared as you are but you're gonna pull through this, the characters at the beginning of the book now seem like friends you keep rooting on, each time they're in danger you feel that old sucked in feeling where you keep bidding for them to squeak past impending doom. By the time its almost over you're sucking in the minutes of that thing like air and you deal with quite a lot in those final moments and when its all over you can believe where the time went but you laugh and say: "Wow that was a seriously good movie!"
This book IS that B movie on the late show. Pulling you in pretty quickly and devouring your time like all your favorite horror novels before it. Its an unassuming animal, you don't see the pull of the book coming, you may even set it down here and there wondering what you think but after awhile you can't help but devour the pages until it's conclusion. Having just finished this book I can honestly say there's little I'd change about it from its goofy fun toward the beginning to the terrible nightmare that occurs about midway this book is a serious keeper! Even better just like those awesome B flicks there's a couple of sequels! Let's hope they deliver!
September 12, 2022
Though a bit cliché and predictable at times J. F. Gonzalez's Clickers is a consistently entertaining read from start to finish. It's hard to hold some of these elements against the book as it was written with the intention of being a spiritual predecessor to the B-Movie film genre and in this regard, I believe it greatly succeeds. The whole book felt like watching a B-Movie with a killer budget and pretty good actors. I suspect I will continue the series soon.
February 12, 2020
I expected Clickers to be a gore filled creature feature, but it turned out to be much more. There was a lot more depth to the story than I was expecting, the characters were well developed, and the story had some Lovecraftian touches and an intricacy that I didn’t anticipate. I had a blast reading this and will definitely have to check out the sequel.
September 21, 2021
So much fun. Gory as heck!
July 6, 2017
Killer. Crabs. What more do I need to say?
Clickers, the first novel by J.F. Gonzalez and co-written with Mark Williams, is a fun B-movie style creature feature. It's high on entertainment and gore, making it a breezy read and, despite the story's October setting, it's a terrific summer beach read (unless you see some crabs...).
Ultimately, I dug this book overall, but I did have a few qualms about the story. The characters are paper-thin, and our lead protag, horror author Rick, is about a boring as they come. That he is a long-haired horror writer is the extent of depth the authors can muster, which is not exactly the most compelling stuff in the world. The writing is decent, but could have been improved a fair deal with some better editing. There's a lot of repetition throughout: in one instance, I caught five instances of "again" in the span of two paragraphs. In one sentence, Rick stood and stood on the tips of his toes. Several characters are "zapped" of energy or motivation in multiple instances. According to the intro by Gonzalez, this version is editorially an improvement over past editions from other publishers, so I guess I'll count my blessings that I bought this Deadite Press re-issue instead of one of those earlier copies.
Clickers also has its fair share of cliches. Take, for instance, the horror writer trapped in a "real-life" horror story, the small-town hick deputy sheriff who makes Barney Fife look like a Mensa member, and the old doctor with all the answers. I actually liked this latter character, though, and he provides some neat-o exposition. The rest are pretty poorly drawn stock characters, but I get that the authors were going for that B-movie vibe. It's the monsters that are the most important part here, and the humans are secondary at best. This is a bit of a shame, though, as once the carnage gets going, there isn't really any reason to care for the losses.
So, yeah, there's a lot of First Novel Flaws, but, frankly, Clickers gets by on sheer chutzpah and I can forgive a fair amount if I'm at least entertained. And holy crap, was I ever entertained. The gore-to-page count ratio is pretty satisfying, and I loved the hell out of the killer crab concept. I'm a sucker for these 'terror from the deep' kind of horrors, and Gonzalez and Williams deliver on that front in spades. I had fun with this book, so much so that I finished Clickers last night and started Clickers II: The Next Wave this morning.
Clickers, the first novel by J.F. Gonzalez and co-written with Mark Williams, is a fun B-movie style creature feature. It's high on entertainment and gore, making it a breezy read and, despite the story's October setting, it's a terrific summer beach read (unless you see some crabs...).
Ultimately, I dug this book overall, but I did have a few qualms about the story. The characters are paper-thin, and our lead protag, horror author Rick, is about a boring as they come. That he is a long-haired horror writer is the extent of depth the authors can muster, which is not exactly the most compelling stuff in the world. The writing is decent, but could have been improved a fair deal with some better editing. There's a lot of repetition throughout: in one instance, I caught five instances of "again" in the span of two paragraphs. In one sentence, Rick stood and stood on the tips of his toes. Several characters are "zapped" of energy or motivation in multiple instances. According to the intro by Gonzalez, this version is editorially an improvement over past editions from other publishers, so I guess I'll count my blessings that I bought this Deadite Press re-issue instead of one of those earlier copies.
Clickers also has its fair share of cliches. Take, for instance, the horror writer trapped in a "real-life" horror story, the small-town hick deputy sheriff who makes Barney Fife look like a Mensa member, and the old doctor with all the answers. I actually liked this latter character, though, and he provides some neat-o exposition. The rest are pretty poorly drawn stock characters, but I get that the authors were going for that B-movie vibe. It's the monsters that are the most important part here, and the humans are secondary at best. This is a bit of a shame, though, as once the carnage gets going, there isn't really any reason to care for the losses.
So, yeah, there's a lot of First Novel Flaws, but, frankly, Clickers gets by on sheer chutzpah and I can forgive a fair amount if I'm at least entertained. And holy crap, was I ever entertained. The gore-to-page count ratio is pretty satisfying, and I loved the hell out of the killer crab concept. I'm a sucker for these 'terror from the deep' kind of horrors, and Gonzalez and Williams deliver on that front in spades. I had fun with this book, so much so that I finished Clickers last night and started Clickers II: The Next Wave this morning.
May 12, 2011
In the past month I have embarked on a quest to find the most disturbing horror novel ever. I have since encountered zombies, cannibals, mad doctors, werewolves, and even a redneck mutant psycho family. Now I have crabs.
These are not ordinary garden variety crabs. These suckers are huge and more like a cross between lobsters and scorpions. J.. F. Gonzalez's novel Clickers starts out as a tribute to those old mutant monster movies from the 50's and 60s. It has a great build-up as it sets the stage and then brings in the attackers and the ensuing gore and mayhem. Unfortunately it falls off track in two ways. He has too many characters whom he sets up as possible sub-plots and then just slaughters them off causing the reader to wonder why we received any back-story. Also the giant crustaceans known as Clickers quickly become an afterthought to another dark threat. Frankly I liked the clickers more than the new threat. It was like the author was thinking, "Do I want to write a scary piece of horror candy or do I want to write an epic?" never quite making up his mind. Clickers is a neat little horror romp as it is but I thought it could have been better.
These are not ordinary garden variety crabs. These suckers are huge and more like a cross between lobsters and scorpions. J.. F. Gonzalez's novel Clickers starts out as a tribute to those old mutant monster movies from the 50's and 60s. It has a great build-up as it sets the stage and then brings in the attackers and the ensuing gore and mayhem. Unfortunately it falls off track in two ways. He has too many characters whom he sets up as possible sub-plots and then just slaughters them off causing the reader to wonder why we received any back-story. Also the giant crustaceans known as Clickers quickly become an afterthought to another dark threat. Frankly I liked the clickers more than the new threat. It was like the author was thinking, "Do I want to write a scary piece of horror candy or do I want to write an epic?" never quite making up his mind. Clickers is a neat little horror romp as it is but I thought it could have been better.
December 16, 2023
LE DOY 4 ESTRELLAS PORQUE CUMPLE CON ENTRETENER AL LECTOR Y MANTENERLO INMERSO EN LA HISTORIA. Y PORQUE EL ESTILO NARRATIVO DEL AUTOR ES AGIL Y PARA NADA ABURRIDO.
La primera parte de la saga de Clickers me ha dejado más satisfecho de lo que creía. Nunca volveré a ver a las langostas, cangrejos o a cualquier crustáceo de la misma manera. Siendo sincero nunca me han gustado particularmente, en especial para comer, pero después de leer esta novela creo que lo mejor será mantenerme alejado de todas estas criaturas por un tiempo.
Imagínense que una raza prehistórica de crustáceos gigantes que ataca un pequeño pueblo costero, matando a todos con sus tenazas y sus colas, y comiéndose a los pobres habitantes uno tras otro de la manera más grotesca posible. Estas criaturas hacen el típico sonido; click click, con sus apéndices al llegar a tierra (de allí el nombre de Clickers), y desatan un infierno sin precedentes en el desafortunado poblado, donde se desata una guerra sin cuartel entre los invasores y sus habitantes. Pues esa es a grandes rasgos la trama básica de esta novela de terror, que como dije, es mucho mejor de lo que aparenta.
Al leerla, uno no puede evitar encontrar similitudes en el estilo de escritura del autor, J.F. Gonzalez, con el maestro del terror Stephen King. Su forma de narrar la historia, la ambientación de la misma, e incluso muchos de los personajes tienen similitudes a los relatos de King. Todos los que conocen al maestro del terror sabrán que él prefiere locaciones cerradas, enfocadas en poblados pequeños y rurales. Y sabrán también que su repertorio de personajes incluye personas de todas las clases sociales, y que muchos de ellos tienen ciertas "idiosincrasias" particulares que los distinguen del común denominador de la población en general. Pues esto es precisamente lo que encontramos en "Clickers". Es así que uno se encuentra fácilmente a gusto con el estilo narrativo de esta novela, cuya trama es solida y avanza de manera fácil y agradable para cualquier lector.
Este libro es solo el principio de una saga mucho más grande, y eso lo empiezas a notar más o menos a mitad del libro. Yo no lo sabía cuando lo leí, y a veces, cuando me pasa esto, me siento algo enojado porque pensaba que estaba tratando con un libro independiente o una novela única. ¿Pero saben algo? En esta oportunidad no me molestó en absoluto. De hecho, agradezco que aún tengo dos entregas más por leer. En especial porque al final de la novela hacen su aparición "OTRAS CRIATURAS" además de los Clickers... Criaturas de las que de verdad ansío saber más.
Me he quedado entusiasmado por esta saga. Pronto pasaré a la secuela, que se llama "Clickers, La segunda Ola", y espero haga eco del mismo nivel que esta primera entrega.
Solo queda esperar, pero por lo que puedo decir hasta ahora... la recomiendo mucho.
La primera parte de la saga de Clickers me ha dejado más satisfecho de lo que creía. Nunca volveré a ver a las langostas, cangrejos o a cualquier crustáceo de la misma manera. Siendo sincero nunca me han gustado particularmente, en especial para comer, pero después de leer esta novela creo que lo mejor será mantenerme alejado de todas estas criaturas por un tiempo.
Imagínense que una raza prehistórica de crustáceos gigantes que ataca un pequeño pueblo costero, matando a todos con sus tenazas y sus colas, y comiéndose a los pobres habitantes uno tras otro de la manera más grotesca posible. Estas criaturas hacen el típico sonido; click click, con sus apéndices al llegar a tierra (de allí el nombre de Clickers), y desatan un infierno sin precedentes en el desafortunado poblado, donde se desata una guerra sin cuartel entre los invasores y sus habitantes. Pues esa es a grandes rasgos la trama básica de esta novela de terror, que como dije, es mucho mejor de lo que aparenta.
Al leerla, uno no puede evitar encontrar similitudes en el estilo de escritura del autor, J.F. Gonzalez, con el maestro del terror Stephen King. Su forma de narrar la historia, la ambientación de la misma, e incluso muchos de los personajes tienen similitudes a los relatos de King. Todos los que conocen al maestro del terror sabrán que él prefiere locaciones cerradas, enfocadas en poblados pequeños y rurales. Y sabrán también que su repertorio de personajes incluye personas de todas las clases sociales, y que muchos de ellos tienen ciertas "idiosincrasias" particulares que los distinguen del común denominador de la población en general. Pues esto es precisamente lo que encontramos en "Clickers". Es así que uno se encuentra fácilmente a gusto con el estilo narrativo de esta novela, cuya trama es solida y avanza de manera fácil y agradable para cualquier lector.
Este libro es solo el principio de una saga mucho más grande, y eso lo empiezas a notar más o menos a mitad del libro. Yo no lo sabía cuando lo leí, y a veces, cuando me pasa esto, me siento algo enojado porque pensaba que estaba tratando con un libro independiente o una novela única. ¿Pero saben algo? En esta oportunidad no me molestó en absoluto. De hecho, agradezco que aún tengo dos entregas más por leer. En especial porque al final de la novela hacen su aparición "OTRAS CRIATURAS" además de los Clickers... Criaturas de las que de verdad ansío saber más.
Me he quedado entusiasmado por esta saga. Pronto pasaré a la secuela, que se llama "Clickers, La segunda Ola", y espero haga eco del mismo nivel que esta primera entrega.
Solo queda esperar, pero por lo que puedo decir hasta ahora... la recomiendo mucho.
November 25, 2019
Clickers is a book that’s been on my radar for awhile, but it took me awhile to get to it for a couple of reasons:
I keep hoarding books, and my TBR piles are out of control.
To be honest, I wasn’t sure if it was something I’d like all that much.
While on my recent used book hunt downstate, I came across a copy of this book, and took that as a sign that I needed to read it. So this past week, I sat down to start three books from my pile, and once I started Clickers, I couldn’t read anything else until I finished.
I’ve always been a fan of B horror movies, and that’s what I thought of when I saw the cover of this book. Those movies are fun but don’t have much substance—what I’m saying is I don’t go into watching one expecting much more than an outlandish storyline with wild creatures and a few laughs. But every once in awhile I’m pleasantly surprised. This is the case with some horror novels as well, especially the old 80s and 90s horror that we all love to collect. This was true for Clickers. This book was not at all what I expected, in the best way possible.
In order to keep my sanity with reviews, I think I’m going to stick with “mini” reviews for books I read that were published 10+ years ago. I’m going with a slightly different style here, with some bullet points on my experience. Here are my thoughts:
-From the very beginning, I was invested in the main character, and grew fond of several others he met along his journey. Strong character development is usually at the top of my list for a book to rate 4 or 5 stars. I cared about these characters from the beginning to the end.
-The creatures truly creeped me out, and this whole thing played out like an action-packed movie in my mind—the gory descriptions are perfect and I’m fairly certain I wrinkled my nose and looked visibly shocked a few times while reading.
-There are some great pop culture/music references that I loved-- it made me nostalgic for the 90's.
-I’ve been struggling over this past week, and this book was just what I needed. I was so immersed in the story that all of my preoccupations disappeared, at least for the time that I was reading. It was a much needed escape.
Overall, this is a fantastic read and I’d recommend it to all horror fans. It's a true example of why not to judge a book by it's cover or synopsis. I’m definitely interested in reading the other books in the Clickers universe. You’ll likely see those popping up on my social media accounts in the near future.
5/5 Stars
I keep hoarding books, and my TBR piles are out of control.
To be honest, I wasn’t sure if it was something I’d like all that much.
While on my recent used book hunt downstate, I came across a copy of this book, and took that as a sign that I needed to read it. So this past week, I sat down to start three books from my pile, and once I started Clickers, I couldn’t read anything else until I finished.
I’ve always been a fan of B horror movies, and that’s what I thought of when I saw the cover of this book. Those movies are fun but don’t have much substance—what I’m saying is I don’t go into watching one expecting much more than an outlandish storyline with wild creatures and a few laughs. But every once in awhile I’m pleasantly surprised. This is the case with some horror novels as well, especially the old 80s and 90s horror that we all love to collect. This was true for Clickers. This book was not at all what I expected, in the best way possible.
In order to keep my sanity with reviews, I think I’m going to stick with “mini” reviews for books I read that were published 10+ years ago. I’m going with a slightly different style here, with some bullet points on my experience. Here are my thoughts:
-From the very beginning, I was invested in the main character, and grew fond of several others he met along his journey. Strong character development is usually at the top of my list for a book to rate 4 or 5 stars. I cared about these characters from the beginning to the end.
-The creatures truly creeped me out, and this whole thing played out like an action-packed movie in my mind—the gory descriptions are perfect and I’m fairly certain I wrinkled my nose and looked visibly shocked a few times while reading.
-There are some great pop culture/music references that I loved-- it made me nostalgic for the 90's.
-I’ve been struggling over this past week, and this book was just what I needed. I was so immersed in the story that all of my preoccupations disappeared, at least for the time that I was reading. It was a much needed escape.
Overall, this is a fantastic read and I’d recommend it to all horror fans. It's a true example of why not to judge a book by it's cover or synopsis. I’m definitely interested in reading the other books in the Clickers universe. You’ll likely see those popping up on my social media accounts in the near future.
5/5 Stars
May 23, 2011
Clickers managed to exceed all of my expectations, and, believe me, I didn’t really have high hopes for a book about killer crabs. What made this book a five-star read for me wasn’t the violence, the interesting and deadly creatures, or the B movie feel, but the effort put into every single character in the book. I especially liked the main character, a long-haired horror writer who acts reasonabley to the devastating situation in which he finds himself. Jack, a comic book store owner, is also a unique character because of the author’s explanation of him and the effect he had on our protagonist through inspiration. All of the rest of the characters, even the ones who only make an appearance to die horribley, are given some color and I couldn’t get enough. I cared more about these people’s lives than the events changing them. This is something that a lot of horror novels like this lack. They focus mainly on the lame explanation of whatever creatures decide to appear and start killing people, and they focus on the brutal deaths of their characters instead of focusing first on making the reader like and relate to them. And, in case I gave the wrong impression, the explanation for the Clickers and the Dark Ones that follow them has a lot of effort put into it as well. This book is not afraid to do anything. It is confident in its ability to create and brutally remove characters. The amount of gore and horrible deaths in this book made me cringe a bit and that is rare. I would expect nothing less from the author of Survivor though.
When I started this book, I thought it was going to be another Night of the Crabs by Guy N. Smith, which was a fun book but a very short and poorly written one in my opinion. I was completely wrong. Clickers is better in every way and I can find nothing bad to say about. For a moment, I almost felt guilty giving a book like this five stars, but I enjoyed it, I found it to be beyond fun, and I love horror.
Now to begin reading Clickers II: The Next Wave. Brian Keene joins Gonzalez on this one and I hope that they can manage to keep the story fresh and interesting. I can’t help but wonder if the phrase “old lady sauce” will be used again.
When I started this book, I thought it was going to be another Night of the Crabs by Guy N. Smith, which was a fun book but a very short and poorly written one in my opinion. I was completely wrong. Clickers is better in every way and I can find nothing bad to say about. For a moment, I almost felt guilty giving a book like this five stars, but I enjoyed it, I found it to be beyond fun, and I love horror.
Now to begin reading Clickers II: The Next Wave. Brian Keene joins Gonzalez on this one and I hope that they can manage to keep the story fresh and interesting. I can’t help but wonder if the phrase “old lady sauce” will be used again.
December 2, 2010
In a nuthsell: Every 400 or so years, giants crabs beach themselves to lay their eggs. Little Phillipsport, Maine, is about to be invaded, but the crabs aren't the worst of it. What is coming out of the ocean to hunt the crabs will soon devastate this little New England town.
Clickers was a fun read and pretty much what I expected it to be. It follows a popular horror formula of a small town being invaded by creatures and the townsfolk dying or fighting them. I know I'm coming off like a psycho when I say this, but the deaths were wild and totally disgusting, just the way they should be. The character development was pretty good overall--although not as good as in Survivor--especially for Stacy, the guilt-ridden drug addict. The moment she realizes that she isn't experiencing an acid trip and that her life is in danger is terrifying and wonderfully written.
The creatures--there are two kinds--are great. Large crabs with stingers that inject a poison that turns flesh to goo that the crabs lap up. The crabs are running away from an even more terrifying group of creatures called The Dark Ones, which are 8 ft. tall and resemble the Creature from the Black Lagoon.
After reading some reviews of Clickers II, I've decided not to pick it up because of the over-the-top religion/political bashing that takes place in it. This is so tedious and takes me out of any story I'm reading.
Clickers was a fun read and pretty much what I expected it to be. It follows a popular horror formula of a small town being invaded by creatures and the townsfolk dying or fighting them. I know I'm coming off like a psycho when I say this, but the deaths were wild and totally disgusting, just the way they should be. The character development was pretty good overall--although not as good as in Survivor--especially for Stacy, the guilt-ridden drug addict. The moment she realizes that she isn't experiencing an acid trip and that her life is in danger is terrifying and wonderfully written.
The creatures--there are two kinds--are great. Large crabs with stingers that inject a poison that turns flesh to goo that the crabs lap up. The crabs are running away from an even more terrifying group of creatures called The Dark Ones, which are 8 ft. tall and resemble the Creature from the Black Lagoon.
After reading some reviews of Clickers II, I've decided not to pick it up because of the over-the-top religion/political bashing that takes place in it. This is so tedious and takes me out of any story I'm reading.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 17, 2014
Meh. Maybe even a 2.5 for me. This book was ok for what it was but I had a couple of problems with it.
First of all, I grew up summers in the town of Bridgton ME which is about an hour west of Portland. There is now way there could be a coastal town ten minutes south of Bridgton as the book claims. I know this is a fictional book about giant crabs and monsters, but somehow this just bugged me.
Also the dialogue really got to me. At one point a character in the book exclaims "hot dog". Really????? "Hot dog"? Nobody says that. I wonder if the author had considered and then discarded other phrases before going with that one, perhaps "gee willikers" or "dagnabbit". There were 1-2 other examples of this in the book as well.
My advice: if you want a scary book about creatures from the deep, read Dead Sea by Tim Curran
First of all, I grew up summers in the town of Bridgton ME which is about an hour west of Portland. There is now way there could be a coastal town ten minutes south of Bridgton as the book claims. I know this is a fictional book about giant crabs and monsters, but somehow this just bugged me.
Also the dialogue really got to me. At one point a character in the book exclaims "hot dog". Really????? "Hot dog"? Nobody says that. I wonder if the author had considered and then discarded other phrases before going with that one, perhaps "gee willikers" or "dagnabbit". There were 1-2 other examples of this in the book as well.
My advice: if you want a scary book about creatures from the deep, read Dead Sea by Tim Curran
October 2, 2009
At first glance this simply seemed to be a member of the schlock-monsters-running-amuck-and-killing-people genre, but it turns out to be considerably better than than the average B-movie fare. It has many of the standard cliches (for example the main character is a horror novelist), but the characters are all well-imagined and richly-drawn, and the writing itself is well-crafted. Gonzalez here has an understated, somewhat pastoral style; it's something like Guy Smith as chaneled by Clifford D. Simak. It's a pleasently surprising book.
November 26, 2023
A “fun” one from start to finish. Just when you get comfortable with an insane situation, it gets worse. There are a lot of characters at times but don’t worry, they will die. This book was written like a Brian Keene novel and that is a good thing.
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