What do you think?
Rate this book
The Scorpion Nest: A Short Story
Newlyweds Joel and Sonnet have just wrapped up a housewarming party in Suburban Phoenix. Custom-built on the site of a meteor crash a half century ago, the young couple received everything they wanted in their dream house. Unfortunately, Joel and Sonnet also got what they didn’t want: thousands of unwelcome, venomous guests. Despite a clean inspection report, the house is crawling with more scorpions than your average infestation, leaving husband and wife to avoid the pests’ numbing and potentially fatal sting.
On a night that will forever alter their fates, Joel and Sonnet are forced to uncover the mystery of the scorpions’ origins. What they find challenges their greatest fears as well as their love for one another.
On a night that will forever alter their fates, Joel and Sonnet are forced to uncover the mystery of the scorpions’ origins. What they find challenges their greatest fears as well as their love for one another.
34 pages, ebook
First published March 13, 2012
3 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
Guy Harrison
6 books18 followersGuy Harrison is a professor of journalism and electronic media at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He received his doctoral degree from Arizona State University in 2018. 'On the Sidelines: Gendered Neoliberalism and the American Female Sportscaster' is his first scholarly book. In 2012, Harrison made his debut as a novelist, self-publishing 'Agents of Change,' the first of three books in a trilogy of science fiction action thrillers.
Born in Brooklyn and raised in Philadelphia, Harrison lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, with his wife Lindsay and their three children.
Born in Brooklyn and raised in Philadelphia, Harrison lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, with his wife Lindsay and their three children.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 26, 2012
Anyone who says they don't judge a book (or ebook) by the cover is lying. As an independent author myself, I know that it is imperative that the cover art be well done. A shoddy cover suggests one thing: the author didn't care enough to bother. This is definitely not a shoddy cover - it's fantastic. Cover art is an investment, there is no doubt about that, and since The Scorpion Nest is a free download via Smashwords in a number of formats, and on Amazon for Kindle for $0.99 (Amazon is slow on the price-matching), it is an investment that may never be returned. That shows professionalism and dedication to the craft.
On to the story itself. Guy has done what many authors (including myself) have done: include an excerpt from another work. But the excerpt came before the short story I wanted to read. I'm not a fan of flipping through virtual pages to get to the 'meat and potatoes', and this was a lot of flips. I prefer to see the excerpts and "Coming Soons" at the end of the book.
Once we make it to The Scorpion Nest, it opens with a "you had me at hello" moment, set in 1962 Arizona. I love the 50's and early 60's - the music, the (likely idealized view of) courtship, the fashions - and so having the story begin with a young couple listening to Buddy Holly in the car, while the male party attempts to court his lady friend made me a happy reader. But of course, the semi-idyllic beginning doesn't last long thanks to a meteor crashing into the ground not far from where they were parked. In typical horror movie fashion, the young man decides to exercise his right to bravado and approaches the impact site.
The story skips ahead to 2012 and a new couple, Joel and Sonnet (love the name). After our first scorpion, we learn that the couple have recently built their dream home in Arizona. Guy does a great job of building the suspense slowly and showing the terror that Sonnet feels at having scorpions in her home as well as Joel's somewhat feigned lack of concern. I felt for Joel and Sonnet. There are luckily no scorpions in Canada... at least not that I know of. Creepy little buggers.
Guy has clearly done his research into scorpions. And from the interview questions below you'll be treated to the reasoning as to why. Let's just say it wasn't all for this story. We are treated to an education into scorpion physiology and behaviour without ever feeling like it is being forced upon the reader. Too often writers hone in on a topic and it turns into a Bubba moment, fifteen pages talking about shrimp. Guy's factoids are spaced out, slipped into the dialogue and subtle. And creepy. (I retain the right to overuse the word 'creepy'.)
I found myself on Wikipedia after finishing the story to fact check, hoping that certain things weren't true. But alas, scorpions really do flouresce under a UV light. And as the tension builds, both between Sonnet and Joel, and between the two of them and the scorpions, Guy drops what I felt was the creepiest scene by far. It involves an empty room in the house, Sonnet's UV flashlight and... well, the room isn't exactly empty.
This is not your standard 'creature-feature'. With some science fiction elements woven through the story, things definitely aren't always what they seem. As the suspense is reaching the boiling point, the issues between Sonnet and Joel coming to a head, and the scorpions still doing their creepy thing, the story takes a major turn. And it's a turn that I'm really not sure what to think of. I found that the twist came very quickly, so quickly that I had to do the reading equivalent of a double-take. I backed up a page and reread the part to make sure I hadn't missed something. I hadn't.
I like twists. A lot. I'm probably one of the few people who loved M. Night Shyamalan's The Village. I like getting to the end of a movie or book and saying, "what the bleep just happened?", then rereading or rewatching it to see if I can pick out the little hints along the way. But I wasn't a fan of this twist. We're then taken to the attic of the house where we're treated to a big surprise and the chance to see Joel's athletic prowess in action.
The epilogue to the story (not labelled as such) is brilliant and wraps up the subplot between Joel and Sonnet, and just makes for a fabulous ending. Joel's last line of dialogue made me laugh diabolically (inside, of course).
Overall, Guy's writing is solid and descriptive. When the suspense builds, the sentences shorten and become sharper. When the pace is slower, the descriptions are longer and more detailed, the dialogue restful with an omnipresent tinge of suspense. And the dialogue shines. Guy is a talented writer and it shows. The dialogue is realistic, written as it would be spoken and changing given the situation. The characters are well-developed as is the dynamic between Joel and Sonnet. To achieve this in the span of only a few thousand words takes skill.
Guy did an excellent job with this story, making me think twice about going anywhere with scorpions or at least taking a UV flashlight with me. And that is, I would say, what Guy was trying to achieve. I would have liked to see the final pre-'epilogue' scene fleshed out a little more. It wouldn't have detracted from the suspense and it would have made what was an unusual and out-of-the-blue twist a little easier to read and accept. The 1962 prologue set the stage for the sci-fi elements, but by the time the twist came Guy had done such a good job getting me wrapped up in the scorpions that what happened in the 60's wasn't fresh in my mind. I believe that if Guy had slowed the pace just a bit before the twist, threw in a few more lines to remind the reader of the opening scene (without forcefeeding), the transition from 'creature-feature' to 'oh-my-gawd' would have been smoother.
On to the story itself. Guy has done what many authors (including myself) have done: include an excerpt from another work. But the excerpt came before the short story I wanted to read. I'm not a fan of flipping through virtual pages to get to the 'meat and potatoes', and this was a lot of flips. I prefer to see the excerpts and "Coming Soons" at the end of the book.
Once we make it to The Scorpion Nest, it opens with a "you had me at hello" moment, set in 1962 Arizona. I love the 50's and early 60's - the music, the (likely idealized view of) courtship, the fashions - and so having the story begin with a young couple listening to Buddy Holly in the car, while the male party attempts to court his lady friend made me a happy reader. But of course, the semi-idyllic beginning doesn't last long thanks to a meteor crashing into the ground not far from where they were parked. In typical horror movie fashion, the young man decides to exercise his right to bravado and approaches the impact site.
The story skips ahead to 2012 and a new couple, Joel and Sonnet (love the name). After our first scorpion, we learn that the couple have recently built their dream home in Arizona. Guy does a great job of building the suspense slowly and showing the terror that Sonnet feels at having scorpions in her home as well as Joel's somewhat feigned lack of concern. I felt for Joel and Sonnet. There are luckily no scorpions in Canada... at least not that I know of. Creepy little buggers.
Guy has clearly done his research into scorpions. And from the interview questions below you'll be treated to the reasoning as to why. Let's just say it wasn't all for this story. We are treated to an education into scorpion physiology and behaviour without ever feeling like it is being forced upon the reader. Too often writers hone in on a topic and it turns into a Bubba moment, fifteen pages talking about shrimp. Guy's factoids are spaced out, slipped into the dialogue and subtle. And creepy. (I retain the right to overuse the word 'creepy'.)
I found myself on Wikipedia after finishing the story to fact check, hoping that certain things weren't true. But alas, scorpions really do flouresce under a UV light. And as the tension builds, both between Sonnet and Joel, and between the two of them and the scorpions, Guy drops what I felt was the creepiest scene by far. It involves an empty room in the house, Sonnet's UV flashlight and... well, the room isn't exactly empty.
This is not your standard 'creature-feature'. With some science fiction elements woven through the story, things definitely aren't always what they seem. As the suspense is reaching the boiling point, the issues between Sonnet and Joel coming to a head, and the scorpions still doing their creepy thing, the story takes a major turn. And it's a turn that I'm really not sure what to think of. I found that the twist came very quickly, so quickly that I had to do the reading equivalent of a double-take. I backed up a page and reread the part to make sure I hadn't missed something. I hadn't.
I like twists. A lot. I'm probably one of the few people who loved M. Night Shyamalan's The Village. I like getting to the end of a movie or book and saying, "what the bleep just happened?", then rereading or rewatching it to see if I can pick out the little hints along the way. But I wasn't a fan of this twist. We're then taken to the attic of the house where we're treated to a big surprise and the chance to see Joel's athletic prowess in action.
The epilogue to the story (not labelled as such) is brilliant and wraps up the subplot between Joel and Sonnet, and just makes for a fabulous ending. Joel's last line of dialogue made me laugh diabolically (inside, of course).
Overall, Guy's writing is solid and descriptive. When the suspense builds, the sentences shorten and become sharper. When the pace is slower, the descriptions are longer and more detailed, the dialogue restful with an omnipresent tinge of suspense. And the dialogue shines. Guy is a talented writer and it shows. The dialogue is realistic, written as it would be spoken and changing given the situation. The characters are well-developed as is the dynamic between Joel and Sonnet. To achieve this in the span of only a few thousand words takes skill.
Guy did an excellent job with this story, making me think twice about going anywhere with scorpions or at least taking a UV flashlight with me. And that is, I would say, what Guy was trying to achieve. I would have liked to see the final pre-'epilogue' scene fleshed out a little more. It wouldn't have detracted from the suspense and it would have made what was an unusual and out-of-the-blue twist a little easier to read and accept. The 1962 prologue set the stage for the sci-fi elements, but by the time the twist came Guy had done such a good job getting me wrapped up in the scorpions that what happened in the 60's wasn't fresh in my mind. I believe that if Guy had slowed the pace just a bit before the twist, threw in a few more lines to remind the reader of the opening scene (without forcefeeding), the transition from 'creature-feature' to 'oh-my-gawd' would have been smoother.
July 13, 2017
Poorly written and a predictable plot - zzzz!
August 18, 2012
Two things to take into account when reading this review: this book is only 30 or so pages long, and I got it for free. That said, the whole thing reads more like a rough first draft of a cheesy horror movie than a book. Normally I'd say that the author should rework and expand on the basics, but in this case there isn't much of any kind of basics to expand upon. But hey, it was free, and one gets what one pays for.
May 14, 2013
The story was good leading up to the ending. However, it was a little too short. I would have liked it if there was a little more to the revenge ending. The build up was awesome. I really like the cover as well.
July 27, 2012
What just happened??
September 9, 2012
About what you'd expect. The writing was clean and the world well described, but no real surprises.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews