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Crabs #3
The Origin of the Crabs
Rouse suddenly let out a piercing scream releasing him from the paralysis of sheer terror in which those malevolent red eyes had held him. In panic he turned and tried to scamble up the slippery rockface. But his feet could not grip; slowly he began sliding back down, ever closer to the nightmarish form that was rapidly approaching, it huge claws waving in the air, its powerful jaws opening and closing in anticipation ...
186 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
10 people are currently reading
306 people want to read
About the author
Guy N. Smith
175 books297 followersI was born on November 21, 1939, in the small village of Hopwas, near Tamworth, Staffordshire, England. My mother was a pre-war historical novelist (E. M. Weale) and she always encouraged me to write.
I was first published at the age of 12 in The Tettenhall Observer, a local weekly newspaper. Between 1952-57 I wrote 56 stories for them, many serialized. In 1990 I collated these into a book entitled Fifty Tales from the Fifties.
My father was a dedicated bank manager and I was destined for banking from birth. I accepted it but never found it very interesting. During the early years when I was working in Birmingham, I spent most of my lunch hours in the Birmingham gun quarter. I would have loved to have served an apprenticeship in the gun trade but my father would not hear of it.
Shooting (hunting) was my first love, and all my spare time was spent in this way. In 1961 I designed and made a 12-bore shotgun, intending to follow it up with six more, but I did not have the money to do this. I still use the Guy N. Smith short-barrelled magnum. During 1960-67 I operated a small shotgun cartridge loading business but this finished when my components suppliers closed down and I could no longer obtain components at competitive prices.
My writing in those days only concerned shooting. I wrote regularly for most of the sporting magazines, interspersed with fiction for such magazines as the legendary London Mystery Selection, a quarterly anthology for which I contributed 18 stories between 1972-82.
In 1972 I launched my second hand bookselling business which eventually became Black Hill Books. Originally my intention was to concentrate on this and maybe build it up to a full-time business which would enable me to leave banking. Although we still have this business, writing came along and this proved to be the vehicle which gave me my freedom.
I wrote a horror novel for the New English Library in 1974 entitled Werewolf by Moonlight. This was followed by a couple more, but it was Night of the Crabs in 1976 which really launched me as a writer. It was a bestseller, spawning five sequels, and was followed by another 60 or so horror novels through to the mid-1990's. Amicus bought the film rights to Crabs in 1976 and this gave me the chance to leave banking and by my own place, including my shoot, on the Black Hill.
The Guy N. Smith Fan Club was formed in 1990 and still has an active membership. We hold a convention every year at my home which is always well attended.
Around this time I became Poland's best-selling author. Phantom Press published two GNS books each month, mostly with print runs of around 100,000.
I have written much, much more than just horror; crime and mystery (as Gavin Newman), and children's animal novels (as Jonathan Guy). I have written a dozen or so shooting and countryside books, a book on Writing Horror Fiction (A. & C. Black). In 1997 my first full length western novel, The Pony Riders was published by Pinnacle in the States.
With 100-plus books to my credit, I was looking for new challenges. In 1999 I formed my own publishing company and began to publish my own books. They did rather well and gave me a lot of satisfaction. We plan to publish one or two every year.
Still regretting that I had not served an apprenticeship in the gun trade, the best job of my life dropped into my lap in 1999 when I was offered the post of Gun Editor of The Countryman's Weekly, a weekly magazine which covers all field sports. This entails my writing five illustrated feature articles a week on guns, cartridges, deer stalking, big game hunting etc.
Alongside this we have expanded our mail order second hand crime fiction business, still publish a few books, and I find as much time as possible for shooting.
Jean, my wife, helps with the business. Our four children, Rowan, Tara, Gavin and Angus have all moved away from home but they visit on a regular basis.
I would not want to live anywhere other than m
I was first published at the age of 12 in The Tettenhall Observer, a local weekly newspaper. Between 1952-57 I wrote 56 stories for them, many serialized. In 1990 I collated these into a book entitled Fifty Tales from the Fifties.
My father was a dedicated bank manager and I was destined for banking from birth. I accepted it but never found it very interesting. During the early years when I was working in Birmingham, I spent most of my lunch hours in the Birmingham gun quarter. I would have loved to have served an apprenticeship in the gun trade but my father would not hear of it.
Shooting (hunting) was my first love, and all my spare time was spent in this way. In 1961 I designed and made a 12-bore shotgun, intending to follow it up with six more, but I did not have the money to do this. I still use the Guy N. Smith short-barrelled magnum. During 1960-67 I operated a small shotgun cartridge loading business but this finished when my components suppliers closed down and I could no longer obtain components at competitive prices.
My writing in those days only concerned shooting. I wrote regularly for most of the sporting magazines, interspersed with fiction for such magazines as the legendary London Mystery Selection, a quarterly anthology for which I contributed 18 stories between 1972-82.
In 1972 I launched my second hand bookselling business which eventually became Black Hill Books. Originally my intention was to concentrate on this and maybe build it up to a full-time business which would enable me to leave banking. Although we still have this business, writing came along and this proved to be the vehicle which gave me my freedom.
I wrote a horror novel for the New English Library in 1974 entitled Werewolf by Moonlight. This was followed by a couple more, but it was Night of the Crabs in 1976 which really launched me as a writer. It was a bestseller, spawning five sequels, and was followed by another 60 or so horror novels through to the mid-1990's. Amicus bought the film rights to Crabs in 1976 and this gave me the chance to leave banking and by my own place, including my shoot, on the Black Hill.
The Guy N. Smith Fan Club was formed in 1990 and still has an active membership. We hold a convention every year at my home which is always well attended.
Around this time I became Poland's best-selling author. Phantom Press published two GNS books each month, mostly with print runs of around 100,000.
I have written much, much more than just horror; crime and mystery (as Gavin Newman), and children's animal novels (as Jonathan Guy). I have written a dozen or so shooting and countryside books, a book on Writing Horror Fiction (A. & C. Black). In 1997 my first full length western novel, The Pony Riders was published by Pinnacle in the States.
With 100-plus books to my credit, I was looking for new challenges. In 1999 I formed my own publishing company and began to publish my own books. They did rather well and gave me a lot of satisfaction. We plan to publish one or two every year.
Still regretting that I had not served an apprenticeship in the gun trade, the best job of my life dropped into my lap in 1999 when I was offered the post of Gun Editor of The Countryman's Weekly, a weekly magazine which covers all field sports. This entails my writing five illustrated feature articles a week on guns, cartridges, deer stalking, big game hunting etc.
Alongside this we have expanded our mail order second hand crime fiction business, still publish a few books, and I find as much time as possible for shooting.
Jean, my wife, helps with the business. Our four children, Rowan, Tara, Gavin and Angus have all moved away from home but they visit on a regular basis.
I would not want to live anywhere other than m
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
September 3, 2023
Smith's crab books are a guilty-pleasure staple of the monster-munching sub-genre. This was the third one published but is chronologically the first. It's a simple story, just like a million monster movies and yellowing paperbacks, with nasty people doing stuff and then getting eaten, thanks for coming and remember to come back next summer. It's easy to make fun of them (I remember one of the popular jokes of the day was "Origin of the crabs? Probably Chrissy."), but I think they're what's been called elegant trash. Silly, but harmless fun. You know what you're there for going in, and the story delivers. Clickity-click-click.
October 19, 2025
I laughed so much
March 2, 2016
Guy N. Smith, we gonna have words. I got beef.
Having sat through three of the crabs novels, I think I understand you as an author. It’s abundantly clear to me that you have two beloved topics: poaching and the Loch Ness Monster.
I was okay with that. I’m resigned to the fact that there’s going to be a poacher, someone who catches poachers, or both in every Crabs novel after the first. Do you know why I indulged that obsession?
Because of the Loch Ness Monster.
In every one of these crustacean-focused tomes of butchery, the same conversation plays out.
Speaker #1: Giant goddamn crabs!
Speaker #2: That's ridiculous! You might as well believe in the Loch Ness Monster
Both laugh
But now we have the crabs in bloody Scotland, and I get hopeful. I grew up as a fundamentalist Loch Ness Monster believer. Hell, I love Nessie enough that I slipped her into the cover of my first book. There is no type of media where the appearance of the Loch Ness Monster will not delight me.
So I become invested in your story of a cruel castle laird who realizes killer crabs are spawning in his loch, although I'm amused that his greatest worry is that they'll affect tourist dollars. I did kind of wonder why he didn't recognize the giant crabs as the scourge of the British Commonwealth, but I put it aside. Hell, you don't tell us we're reading a prequel until the last two pages.
That's okay. I'm here for Nessie.
The story isn't bad; it'd work perfectly as a 1970's Hammer/Amicus horror flick or a Third Doctor story. My excitement builds when we finally have a character opine that the crab's loch might be connected to Loch Ness. Suddenly, I wondered, "Are we getting a Loch Ness Monster on crab battle?"
I mean, that gonzo scenario seemed surprisingly possible, given the fact that you had been foreshadowing Nessie's appearance for three goddamn books, and we ended up in fucking Scotland!
But no, my friends. We are doomed to disappointment. Instead of Nessie, we are left with an ending so dark that I laughed out loud from the mean absurdity.
Oh, I almost forgot our series misogyny tally!
Women Protagonists of the Crab Series
Book 1: Exists for the protagonist to put exposition in her ears and other things into her pants.
Book 2: Con-woman nymphomaniac who steals money so she can rent a sex hotel room and lounge naked inside it all day.
Book 3: Waitress who's main goal is to have our hero "accidentally" impregnate her to get out of her little town.
Also, as to that whole "origin" thing? The book basically spends four sentences across its entire length confirming the guesses that every character had in the first two novels. Hope you weren't expecting a dramatic reveal.
So, should you read this?
There is a scene where our villain comes upon a crab that, having just swallowed a cat whole, has a wiggling tail sticking out of its mouth.
That should be enough for you to decide if this is for you.
Having sat through three of the crabs novels, I think I understand you as an author. It’s abundantly clear to me that you have two beloved topics: poaching and the Loch Ness Monster.
I was okay with that. I’m resigned to the fact that there’s going to be a poacher, someone who catches poachers, or both in every Crabs novel after the first. Do you know why I indulged that obsession?
Because of the Loch Ness Monster.
In every one of these crustacean-focused tomes of butchery, the same conversation plays out.
Speaker #1: Giant goddamn crabs!
Speaker #2: That's ridiculous! You might as well believe in the Loch Ness Monster
Both laugh
But now we have the crabs in bloody Scotland, and I get hopeful. I grew up as a fundamentalist Loch Ness Monster believer. Hell, I love Nessie enough that I slipped her into the cover of my first book. There is no type of media where the appearance of the Loch Ness Monster will not delight me.
So I become invested in your story of a cruel castle laird who realizes killer crabs are spawning in his loch, although I'm amused that his greatest worry is that they'll affect tourist dollars. I did kind of wonder why he didn't recognize the giant crabs as the scourge of the British Commonwealth, but I put it aside. Hell, you don't tell us we're reading a prequel until the last two pages.
That's okay. I'm here for Nessie.
The story isn't bad; it'd work perfectly as a 1970's Hammer/Amicus horror flick or a Third Doctor story. My excitement builds when we finally have a character opine that the crab's loch might be connected to Loch Ness. Suddenly, I wondered, "Are we getting a Loch Ness Monster on crab battle?"
I mean, that gonzo scenario seemed surprisingly possible, given the fact that you had been foreshadowing Nessie's appearance for three goddamn books, and we ended up in fucking Scotland!
But no, my friends. We are doomed to disappointment. Instead of Nessie, we are left with an ending so dark that I laughed out loud from the mean absurdity.
Oh, I almost forgot our series misogyny tally!
Women Protagonists of the Crab Series
Book 1: Exists for the protagonist to put exposition in her ears and other things into her pants.
Book 2: Con-woman nymphomaniac who steals money so she can rent a sex hotel room and lounge naked inside it all day.
Book 3: Waitress who's main goal is to have our hero "accidentally" impregnate her to get out of her little town.
Also, as to that whole "origin" thing? The book basically spends four sentences across its entire length confirming the guesses that every character had in the first two novels. Hope you weren't expecting a dramatic reveal.
So, should you read this?
There is a scene where our villain comes upon a crab that, having just swallowed a cat whole, has a wiggling tail sticking out of its mouth.
That should be enough for you to decide if this is for you.
November 5, 2014
„Verzweifle nicht, einer der Schächer wurde erlöst. Frohlocke nicht, einer der Schächer wurde verdammt“, riet schon Augustinus. Ja, der Regen fällt auf die Gerechten und die Ungerechten, und die Riesenkrabben sind im Prinzip nicht wählerischer.
Im Prinzip, obwohl es immer einige Personen in der Crabs-Serie gibt, denen man den Tod eher wünscht als anderen (obwohl, das soll man ja eigentlich gar nicht), und Guy N. Smith enttäuscht seine Leser nicht gerne.
Erstaunlich ist, wie mühelos sich die Krabbenviecher ans schottische Klima anpassen und das Dörflein Cranlarich, wo „anything worth saying had been said long ago“, nebst Sumpf und Angelseen in Beschlag nehmen, fröhlich mit den Scheren winken und – click, click, clickety click – ihrem grausamen Hunger Teile der Landbevölkerung opfern, und als Dessert den Spaniel Toby, um den es einem wirklich leid tut.
Auf treten neben den Killer-Crustacea ein armer alter Wilderer, der böseste Gutsherr aller Zeiten, ein junges Liebespaar (es dauert übrigens sagenhafte 35 Seiten, bis in diesem insofern atypischen Smith-Band die erste junge, willige Dame auftaucht), das sich frisch gefunden hat, und besagte Teile der Landbevölkerung, deren Schicksal ab Seite eins fest steht.
Warum nun dieser Band „The Origin oft he Crabs“ heißt, bleibt Smiths Geheimnis. Aber obwohl alles bös nach üblicher Genrekost klingt und ein Smith-typisches Gericht serviert wird, liest sich dieser Krabben-Band kurzweilig und unterhaltsam. Wer würde ernsthaft mehr von diesem Buch erwarten können?
"There was news on the hour. Fuck the pound.
He wasn´t interested in either its rise or
fall. Nor in the prospects of an election in
the spring. Just give us the monster!"
Im Prinzip, obwohl es immer einige Personen in der Crabs-Serie gibt, denen man den Tod eher wünscht als anderen (obwohl, das soll man ja eigentlich gar nicht), und Guy N. Smith enttäuscht seine Leser nicht gerne.
Erstaunlich ist, wie mühelos sich die Krabbenviecher ans schottische Klima anpassen und das Dörflein Cranlarich, wo „anything worth saying had been said long ago“, nebst Sumpf und Angelseen in Beschlag nehmen, fröhlich mit den Scheren winken und – click, click, clickety click – ihrem grausamen Hunger Teile der Landbevölkerung opfern, und als Dessert den Spaniel Toby, um den es einem wirklich leid tut.
Auf treten neben den Killer-Crustacea ein armer alter Wilderer, der böseste Gutsherr aller Zeiten, ein junges Liebespaar (es dauert übrigens sagenhafte 35 Seiten, bis in diesem insofern atypischen Smith-Band die erste junge, willige Dame auftaucht), das sich frisch gefunden hat, und besagte Teile der Landbevölkerung, deren Schicksal ab Seite eins fest steht.
Warum nun dieser Band „The Origin oft he Crabs“ heißt, bleibt Smiths Geheimnis. Aber obwohl alles bös nach üblicher Genrekost klingt und ein Smith-typisches Gericht serviert wird, liest sich dieser Krabben-Band kurzweilig und unterhaltsam. Wer würde ernsthaft mehr von diesem Buch erwarten können?
"There was news on the hour. Fuck the pound.
He wasn´t interested in either its rise or
fall. Nor in the prospects of an election in
the spring. Just give us the monster!"
August 28, 2017
The prequel, only worthwhile because it's set in Scotland and so is graced with some outrageous Scottish dialect that is so egregious Guy N. Smith has been banned from traveling to, or even flying over, Scotland.
August 15, 2025
Not enough love-making & not enough one dimensional characters (especially HOT ones!) 💃
Decent ending. 🦀
Decent ending. 🦀
February 16, 2020
I really enjoyed it! Better than the second one of the series (which was still pretty good itself). The most remarkable thing about it is that Smith has managed to keep the spirit of the series alive without running it into a ditch (like what happened to Steve Alten's MEG series).
The characters in this novel speculate that the crabs are the result of Soviet nuclear testing in the Arctic. Apparently the radiation not only mutated the marine life north of the Hebrides, but caused the crabs to flee from the danger zone south to Scotland.
The crabs have infiltrated Loch Merse. McKechnie, the villain (who may actually have more point of view scenes than the hero), operates a hunting lodge nearby. He is the laird (lord) of the area, held in contempt by the villagers, and the feeling is mutual. Local bum and poacher Freddie Law is the first to be killed by the crabs. McKechnie is disturbed because he believes the crabs will be bad for his hunting business. He attempts to keep his guests away from the loch, but refuses to explain why, so the guests take matters into their own hands and go to the loch anyway. You can imagine how that goes, and one of the guests disappears.
John Ryland, the guest's brother, shows up demanding answers. McKechnie's mistress in town loses interest in McKechnie and becomes interested in Ryland.
McKechnie is the only one who knows for sure about the existence of the giant, malevolent crabs. Conveniently, everybody else who has seen the crabs is consumed entirely, unable to tell any tales. McKechnie conceals any evidence at every opportunity and tries to detract from the truth or go after anybody who suspects him or the crabs. When the crabs leave the loch and go on the offense against McKechnie's hotel, it becomes difficult to hide any longer...
McKechnie is such a jerk, but it's pretty fun to read the lengths to which he'll go to keep the crabs a secret. Ryland, the good guy, plays a somewhat smaller role compared to the laird or to Cliff Davenport of books one and two.
One of the interesting things about this book is the omniscient point of view, which you don't come across very often any more, but Smith does a good job with it.
I wasn't crazy about the end otherwise I might have given this a fifth star.
The characters in this novel speculate that the crabs are the result of Soviet nuclear testing in the Arctic. Apparently the radiation not only mutated the marine life north of the Hebrides, but caused the crabs to flee from the danger zone south to Scotland.
The crabs have infiltrated Loch Merse. McKechnie, the villain (who may actually have more point of view scenes than the hero), operates a hunting lodge nearby. He is the laird (lord) of the area, held in contempt by the villagers, and the feeling is mutual. Local bum and poacher Freddie Law is the first to be killed by the crabs. McKechnie is disturbed because he believes the crabs will be bad for his hunting business. He attempts to keep his guests away from the loch, but refuses to explain why, so the guests take matters into their own hands and go to the loch anyway. You can imagine how that goes, and one of the guests disappears.
John Ryland, the guest's brother, shows up demanding answers. McKechnie's mistress in town loses interest in McKechnie and becomes interested in Ryland.
McKechnie is the only one who knows for sure about the existence of the giant, malevolent crabs. Conveniently, everybody else who has seen the crabs is consumed entirely, unable to tell any tales. McKechnie conceals any evidence at every opportunity and tries to detract from the truth or go after anybody who suspects him or the crabs. When the crabs leave the loch and go on the offense against McKechnie's hotel, it becomes difficult to hide any longer...
McKechnie is such a jerk, but it's pretty fun to read the lengths to which he'll go to keep the crabs a secret. Ryland, the good guy, plays a somewhat smaller role compared to the laird or to Cliff Davenport of books one and two.
One of the interesting things about this book is the omniscient point of view, which you don't come across very often any more, but Smith does a good job with it.
I wasn't crazy about the end otherwise I might have given this a fifth star.
April 20, 2025
The actual origin of the crabs (unsurprisingly, nothing more complicated, original, or interesting than Russian nuclear testing in the Arctic) dispensed in one throwaway sentence, then it's back to a variety of everyday folk chased and eaten by crabs for 120 pages, until the novel's villain is disposed of, The End.
As a prequel, this needs not to reveal its terror to the world, nor mess with Night of the Crabs' established narrative, something Smith not only does by killing everyone who so much as hears rumours of giant man-eating crabs roaming the Scottish lochs, but seems also so proud of this ingenious method of writing that he makes a point of mentioning it to the reader on the final pages.
As a prequel, this needs not to reveal its terror to the world, nor mess with Night of the Crabs' established narrative, something Smith not only does by killing everyone who so much as hears rumours of giant man-eating crabs roaming the Scottish lochs, but seems also so proud of this ingenious method of writing that he makes a point of mentioning it to the reader on the final pages.
May 20, 2020
An utter triumph.
You don't read Guy N Smith's killer crab tales for in-depth characterisation, for convoluted plot lines, for heartwarming journeys of self-discovery and understanding. You read them to find out where the crabs are now, who they're going to kill, what they're going to destroy, and how often they will go "click click clickety" immediately before snapping someone's leg off with their outsized razor sharp pincers.
Which means Origin of the Crabs, the third in the series, is something of a shocker, as "where are they now" becomes "where were they then," and the answer to that is... a small hunting estate in Scotland, miles from anywhere and owned by an extraordinarily unlikable, money-driven businessman who would rather watch his entire staff get crabbed to death than run the risk of his wealthy clientele discovering there's a loch load of murderous crustaceans on the loose.
The crabs themselves are... well, they're the crabs. They come, they crunch, they clickety click. Despite the title, we really don't learn much about their origin - some vague reference to the Soviets testing an underwater nuke is about as scientific as it gets. But, as the body count mounts and the carnage increases, we do wonder... if this truly is their origin... how reports of their existence didn't make their way into the outer world, so that when they reappear (in book one), the authorities at least have some idea of what they're facing. Surely one of the survivors must have told their story?
The answer to that, it turns out, is gruesomely simple. There are no survivors.
Oh, and yes, I did read it in a day. In fact, I read it in 90 minutes. That's the other thing to love about this series. They are fast.
You don't read Guy N Smith's killer crab tales for in-depth characterisation, for convoluted plot lines, for heartwarming journeys of self-discovery and understanding. You read them to find out where the crabs are now, who they're going to kill, what they're going to destroy, and how often they will go "click click clickety" immediately before snapping someone's leg off with their outsized razor sharp pincers.
Which means Origin of the Crabs, the third in the series, is something of a shocker, as "where are they now" becomes "where were they then," and the answer to that is... a small hunting estate in Scotland, miles from anywhere and owned by an extraordinarily unlikable, money-driven businessman who would rather watch his entire staff get crabbed to death than run the risk of his wealthy clientele discovering there's a loch load of murderous crustaceans on the loose.
The crabs themselves are... well, they're the crabs. They come, they crunch, they clickety click. Despite the title, we really don't learn much about their origin - some vague reference to the Soviets testing an underwater nuke is about as scientific as it gets. But, as the body count mounts and the carnage increases, we do wonder... if this truly is their origin... how reports of their existence didn't make their way into the outer world, so that when they reappear (in book one), the authorities at least have some idea of what they're facing. Surely one of the survivors must have told their story?
The answer to that, it turns out, is gruesomely simple. There are no survivors.
Oh, and yes, I did read it in a day. In fact, I read it in 90 minutes. That's the other thing to love about this series. They are fast.
June 6, 2022
"Within a week the weather had changed again. The warmth of the sunshine was replaced by cold and sleet. The Easter holidaymakers returned home, satisfied that they had made the best of the freak early heatwave. It was July before the weather brought the holidaymakers back to the Welsh coast. They came in their thousands, thronging the beaches and camping on Shell Island.
And then the crabs returned."
If you have ready one Crab book, you have read them all...
And then the crabs returned."
If you have ready one Crab book, you have read them all...
March 10, 2022
This is the 3rd book in the Crabs series, a classic monster story, not indepth but still a fun read
November 17, 2024
There's no origin in this book, the crabs just appear.
September 11, 2019
This may be the greatest book I have ever read. I'm not sure I grasped what the crabs' origin was though, some kind of Russian nuclear accident maybe? It doesn't matter really, we're just here for the 'frenzy of terrible crustacean carnage'.
September 28, 2007
THE CRABS!
To sum up, giant crabs come out of nowhere and eat people alive right after they have sex and commit other evil acts.
It goes something like this ... Bob murdered his brother and is sleeping with his sister while in his spare time driving orphans out of their homes and strangling baby ducks with his hair. He goes down to the Swamp That Everyone Says You Should Stay Away From(tm) one night to find some kittens to abuse and is suddenly eating alive, begging for God to kill him, by giant crabs who slurp up his intestines with great gusto.
Some other evil prick who injects poison into toothpaste, breaks, hunting laws and inflicts pain on trees while sexually abusing his grandmother hears about Bob going missing and goes to find him. The crabs find him first and slice off his limbs one by one, then his peepee, then chitter malevolently as blood sprays into said guys face and once again he begs God to let him die as he is eaten alive.
Lather, rinse, repeat until it starts to get annoying.
Then someone who is slightly less decadent and evil shows up and figures out a way to get rid of the crabs, at least until the next book.
The term "guilty pleasure" has never been more appropriate. The story is crap, with lots of sex and violence thrown in for titilation factor, but I mean, how else are you going to sell a book about giant crabs killing people? Deep, complex characters? Plausible scientific explanations about how giant crabs could come into existence? Writing more than 100 pages? Nah, that would take effort.
Two more Crab books to read and I'm sure I won't quite be the same after that. Maybe I'll settle down and read some Mack Bolan books instead.
To sum up, giant crabs come out of nowhere and eat people alive right after they have sex and commit other evil acts.
It goes something like this ... Bob murdered his brother and is sleeping with his sister while in his spare time driving orphans out of their homes and strangling baby ducks with his hair. He goes down to the Swamp That Everyone Says You Should Stay Away From(tm) one night to find some kittens to abuse and is suddenly eating alive, begging for God to kill him, by giant crabs who slurp up his intestines with great gusto.
Some other evil prick who injects poison into toothpaste, breaks, hunting laws and inflicts pain on trees while sexually abusing his grandmother hears about Bob going missing and goes to find him. The crabs find him first and slice off his limbs one by one, then his peepee, then chitter malevolently as blood sprays into said guys face and once again he begs God to let him die as he is eaten alive.
Lather, rinse, repeat until it starts to get annoying.
Then someone who is slightly less decadent and evil shows up and figures out a way to get rid of the crabs, at least until the next book.
The term "guilty pleasure" has never been more appropriate. The story is crap, with lots of sex and violence thrown in for titilation factor, but I mean, how else are you going to sell a book about giant crabs killing people? Deep, complex characters? Plausible scientific explanations about how giant crabs could come into existence? Writing more than 100 pages? Nah, that would take effort.
Two more Crab books to read and I'm sure I won't quite be the same after that. Maybe I'll settle down and read some Mack Bolan books instead.
May 12, 2013
Giant crabs emerge from Loch Merse to commit slaughter under the full moon.
This book may not rise to the level of deathless literature, but when you've got a hankering to read about bloodthirsty monster crabs...well, that's an itch that William Faulkner and James Joyce just can't scratch. Guy N. Smith seemed to have a lot of fun writing this book, and I had a lot of fun reading it. It's hard for me to think of anything less expressive than a crab's face, but Smith's monsters display anger, contempt, fear, and a little something called "crustacean hatred." If you've got a soft spot for giant insect movies (yes, I know that crabs are not insects), but wish they were written better, you should enjoy this.
This book may not rise to the level of deathless literature, but when you've got a hankering to read about bloodthirsty monster crabs...well, that's an itch that William Faulkner and James Joyce just can't scratch. Guy N. Smith seemed to have a lot of fun writing this book, and I had a lot of fun reading it. It's hard for me to think of anything less expressive than a crab's face, but Smith's monsters display anger, contempt, fear, and a little something called "crustacean hatred." If you've got a soft spot for giant insect movies (yes, I know that crabs are not insects), but wish they were written better, you should enjoy this.
December 4, 2015
I've heard that Guy N. Smith is seeing something of a revival. Somehow, I missed reading any of his books before, even during my horror phases. I saw this in a used book store and gave it a go.
On a remote Scottish estate, an evil laird controls the whole vicinity. People begin to die, killed by giant crabs.
One of the men's brother comes into town and starts to investigate.
It's a lot like a late era Hammer or AIP horror movie in print. Pretty good if you like that kind of thing.
On a remote Scottish estate, an evil laird controls the whole vicinity. People begin to die, killed by giant crabs.
One of the men's brother comes into town and starts to investigate.
It's a lot like a late era Hammer or AIP horror movie in print. Pretty good if you like that kind of thing.
April 24, 2016
awful, shallow, very bad written. Maybe I'm not fair, since it's not really my type of reading, but still - unfortunate waste of time.
April 27, 2018
From the OED: "Origin, n. the act or fact of beginning, or of springing from something; beginning of existence with reference to source or cause." Instead, we get a prequel. Wonder what those mutant crabs were up to months before they terrorized the Welsh seaside? Me neither, but apparently Guy N. Smith did.
Misleading title notwithstanding, there are a couple of throwaway sentences that mention nuclear testing by the Russians near the Arctic Circle. Like the suppositions of Davenport in the first two books, they are simply guesswork. In other words, in this fictional world of Smith, we still have no definitive causal chain that gives us crabs that are described as the size of sheepdogs, sheep, or calves.
(Unrelated side note: In 2004, fears of giant red crabs, indigenous to the North Pacific but introduced to the Barents Sea by the Soviets in the 1960, invading Europe made headlines. https://news.nationalgeographic.com/n... )
Maybe that's what Smith wants. Maybe their origin story isn't important to him. Just the existence of overgrown, hyper-intelligent, flesh-eating crustaceans who have an innate hatred of human is a catalyst to dive into formulaic narratives of pincered creepy-crawlies who systematically dismember and devour everything in their path. Sprinkle in some gratuitous sexual encounters (because what gets the ol' motor revving more than being besieged by indestructible sea-dwellers?) and you've got any of the first three in the series of the Crabs.
This go-round, the crabs appear in Loch Mere, on the property of Bruce McKechnie, a Machiavellian Scottish laird. They take down a gamekeeper, then a couple of patrons of his sporting hotel. The town is abuzz with gossip, but the missing people are shrouded in mystery, as no trace is left of any of them. Enter Ryland, brother of a missing hunter who doesn't cower to the sneers of the despot who inexplicably rules Cranlarich, the town neighboring his estate, as if the setting is the feudal middle ages as opposed to the early 1970s.
Ryland quickly drums up rumors of giant crabs, gets the authorities involved, and manages to steal away Christine Blacklaw, who is McKechnie's paramour despite being half his age and only clinging to him in hopes to one day marry him and be Oprah-rich. Now Ryland's gal, she instead hopes their illicit liaisons will make her swell with child so she can instead marry him and live happily ever after. Because Smith really knows how to write women.
Know what? There's more here, including--I swear I couldn't make this up--a harebrained scheme by a reporter to sell more newspapers by claiming that Loch Mere is actually connected to Loch Ness by subterranean tunnels and it is, in fact, Nessie who's doing the killing. But there's no point in rehashing it all.
It's more slice-and-dice, mindless carnage. Like the first two books, I gave it an extra star just because A. I enjoy a little camp and B. Clocking in at 159 pages, I didn't have to dedicate too much of my life to it.
There are four more crab books as well as a collection of short stories about them. (I often wonder if Smith has a shellfish allergy.) Since the rest of them fall outside my arbitrary 1974-1981 window I've set for my study, I'm going to postpone revisiting them for a while. The last one was published in 2015, so at some point I do want to see what those pesky crabs are up to in the 21st century.
Then again, unless much changes, I think I know: hate humans, eat humans, disappear for a few weeks/days so humans can have graphically descriptive sexual intercourse, re-emerge, hate humans, eat humans.
Misleading title notwithstanding, there are a couple of throwaway sentences that mention nuclear testing by the Russians near the Arctic Circle. Like the suppositions of Davenport in the first two books, they are simply guesswork. In other words, in this fictional world of Smith, we still have no definitive causal chain that gives us crabs that are described as the size of sheepdogs, sheep, or calves.
(Unrelated side note: In 2004, fears of giant red crabs, indigenous to the North Pacific but introduced to the Barents Sea by the Soviets in the 1960, invading Europe made headlines. https://news.nationalgeographic.com/n... )
Maybe that's what Smith wants. Maybe their origin story isn't important to him. Just the existence of overgrown, hyper-intelligent, flesh-eating crustaceans who have an innate hatred of human is a catalyst to dive into formulaic narratives of pincered creepy-crawlies who systematically dismember and devour everything in their path. Sprinkle in some gratuitous sexual encounters (because what gets the ol' motor revving more than being besieged by indestructible sea-dwellers?) and you've got any of the first three in the series of the Crabs.
This go-round, the crabs appear in Loch Mere, on the property of Bruce McKechnie, a Machiavellian Scottish laird. They take down a gamekeeper, then a couple of patrons of his sporting hotel. The town is abuzz with gossip, but the missing people are shrouded in mystery, as no trace is left of any of them. Enter Ryland, brother of a missing hunter who doesn't cower to the sneers of the despot who inexplicably rules Cranlarich, the town neighboring his estate, as if the setting is the feudal middle ages as opposed to the early 1970s.
Ryland quickly drums up rumors of giant crabs, gets the authorities involved, and manages to steal away Christine Blacklaw, who is McKechnie's paramour despite being half his age and only clinging to him in hopes to one day marry him and be Oprah-rich. Now Ryland's gal, she instead hopes their illicit liaisons will make her swell with child so she can instead marry him and live happily ever after. Because Smith really knows how to write women.
Know what? There's more here, including--I swear I couldn't make this up--a harebrained scheme by a reporter to sell more newspapers by claiming that Loch Mere is actually connected to Loch Ness by subterranean tunnels and it is, in fact, Nessie who's doing the killing. But there's no point in rehashing it all.
It's more slice-and-dice, mindless carnage. Like the first two books, I gave it an extra star just because A. I enjoy a little camp and B. Clocking in at 159 pages, I didn't have to dedicate too much of my life to it.
There are four more crab books as well as a collection of short stories about them. (I often wonder if Smith has a shellfish allergy.) Since the rest of them fall outside my arbitrary 1974-1981 window I've set for my study, I'm going to postpone revisiting them for a while. The last one was published in 2015, so at some point I do want to see what those pesky crabs are up to in the 21st century.
Then again, unless much changes, I think I know: hate humans, eat humans, disappear for a few weeks/days so humans can have graphically descriptive sexual intercourse, re-emerge, hate humans, eat humans.
September 6, 2022
Salutations, book lovers, and welcome to my review of The Origin Of The Crabs.
Synopsis = 0.50
There's not much difference between this crusty outing and the previous two. Essentially the crabs turn up, cause havoc, feed on the locals, and disappear. However, it's the narrative that intertwines that makes the story different. A Scottish landowner has to decide the course of action after spotting the crabs on his land. But what will be good for business? How many crab dinners can he conceal?
Story = 0.75
The biggest letdown of the story is the promise the title ascribes. There is no origin tale in this book, only a hinted-at possibility; also mentioned in the first novel - Night Of The Crabs. However, Smith fills the narrative with credible and robust characters with whom the reader can relate. He also paints a realistic image of the area - The Laird in his mansion, now a hotel for game-hunters, ruling over the local village folk, housed on his family's land. But when some of his customers go missing, one of their brothers arrives to make enquiries. Will the Laird be able to obscure the man's investigation and keep the discovery of the killer crabs a secret? If he's willing to cover up these incidents, what else could the Laird be hiding from the outside world? Well, I won't spoil your read, but Smith does add some decent and logical twists and turns to this section of the crabs' journey. Enough to keep you entertained and absorbed until the end.
Style = 0.50
Guy N Smith's writing style has matured, once more, from the previous novels. Whereas the Night was a tad jagged, Origin is smoother. This book is a comfortable sit down, read, and enjoy novella. Each chapter has its stimulating sections to pique your interest, and you'll quickly finish the chapter. Then you'll be left with one question - should I read the next? The only trouble I have with the writing is the lack of horror, fear, and dread. Smith is superb at heightening the tension and excitement to keep you page-turning. Sadly, the more essential horror elements are missing. Therefore, if you want a good fright, Origin isn't the read for you.
Enjoyment =0.75
I found I enjoyed this instalment of the crustaceans saga better than the other two. But that could be down to the fact that I was only in the Highlands not too long ago. However, I'd like to think that it was because the story, like Night, wasn't too fantastical, which was the case with Killer Crabs. Everything that happens and everyone described is more pragmatic and lifelike.
Recommendation =0.75
I would gladly recommend The Origin Of The Crabs to all horror readers who love creature features. And you can read this one out of sequence, should you choose. And because there's no true origin revealed, I think you'd be able to read it between any of the others in the series.
Total = 3.50 out of 5.00
Synopsis = 0.50
There's not much difference between this crusty outing and the previous two. Essentially the crabs turn up, cause havoc, feed on the locals, and disappear. However, it's the narrative that intertwines that makes the story different. A Scottish landowner has to decide the course of action after spotting the crabs on his land. But what will be good for business? How many crab dinners can he conceal?
Story = 0.75
The biggest letdown of the story is the promise the title ascribes. There is no origin tale in this book, only a hinted-at possibility; also mentioned in the first novel - Night Of The Crabs. However, Smith fills the narrative with credible and robust characters with whom the reader can relate. He also paints a realistic image of the area - The Laird in his mansion, now a hotel for game-hunters, ruling over the local village folk, housed on his family's land. But when some of his customers go missing, one of their brothers arrives to make enquiries. Will the Laird be able to obscure the man's investigation and keep the discovery of the killer crabs a secret? If he's willing to cover up these incidents, what else could the Laird be hiding from the outside world? Well, I won't spoil your read, but Smith does add some decent and logical twists and turns to this section of the crabs' journey. Enough to keep you entertained and absorbed until the end.
Style = 0.50
Guy N Smith's writing style has matured, once more, from the previous novels. Whereas the Night was a tad jagged, Origin is smoother. This book is a comfortable sit down, read, and enjoy novella. Each chapter has its stimulating sections to pique your interest, and you'll quickly finish the chapter. Then you'll be left with one question - should I read the next? The only trouble I have with the writing is the lack of horror, fear, and dread. Smith is superb at heightening the tension and excitement to keep you page-turning. Sadly, the more essential horror elements are missing. Therefore, if you want a good fright, Origin isn't the read for you.
Enjoyment =0.75
I found I enjoyed this instalment of the crustaceans saga better than the other two. But that could be down to the fact that I was only in the Highlands not too long ago. However, I'd like to think that it was because the story, like Night, wasn't too fantastical, which was the case with Killer Crabs. Everything that happens and everyone described is more pragmatic and lifelike.
Recommendation =0.75
I would gladly recommend The Origin Of The Crabs to all horror readers who love creature features. And you can read this one out of sequence, should you choose. And because there's no true origin revealed, I think you'd be able to read it between any of the others in the series.
Total = 3.50 out of 5.00
August 22, 2025
Although it was the third book to be published in the "Crabs" series, Guy N. Smith's "The Origin of the Crabs" acts as a prequel to "Night of the Crabs" and "Killer Crabs" and chronologically is the first in the sequence. Despite being touted as an origins tale there is very little here about the genesis of the giant, marauding crabs other than a couple of brief references to a Russian nuclear submarine and explosion near the Arctic Circle – presumably the fallout mutated the crabs to their gigantic size and generated in them a huge aggression and taste for human flesh.
The story proper is set in southwest Scotland on the shores of Loch Merse, where evil laird Bruce McKechnie of Cranlarich runs his sporting estate like a dictator. When two guests at the estate disappear, McKechnie discovers that they have been the victims of a giant crab attack. Knowing that his livelihood rests on the image of the estate he covers up the disappearances and makes his own plans for dealing with the crabs. When John Ryland, the brother of one of the missing guests, turns up to investigate his brother's mysterious disappearance, McKechnie finds himself at war with Ryland (who quickly teams up with McKechnie's insatiable mistress, Christine Blacklaw) as well as the blood-thirsty crabs. The book ends with a brief epilogue that takes us to north Wales and Shell Beach just before the events of "Night of the Crabs".
Once again Smith delivers a smart piece of outlandish bloody pulp, while introducing some hints towards a changing style. This book starts off a bit slower, taking a bit more time to introduce characters (and even introducing some character development) before arriving at an over-the-top, blood stained climax. The writing remains beautifully simple, pushing the narrative forward and avoiding any superfluous detail. Strangely the writing style changes at around the halfway point with Smith using shorter, sharper sentences, making things even more breathless than previous. Despite these stylistic changes Smith's tried and tested formula of bloody gory mayhem, bizarre plotting and charging momentum, allied to the occasional bout of graphic sex, are all here in spades. Like its predecessors in the "Crabs" series, "The Origin of the Crabs" is a hugely enjoyable slice of juicy pulp horror.
The story proper is set in southwest Scotland on the shores of Loch Merse, where evil laird Bruce McKechnie of Cranlarich runs his sporting estate like a dictator. When two guests at the estate disappear, McKechnie discovers that they have been the victims of a giant crab attack. Knowing that his livelihood rests on the image of the estate he covers up the disappearances and makes his own plans for dealing with the crabs. When John Ryland, the brother of one of the missing guests, turns up to investigate his brother's mysterious disappearance, McKechnie finds himself at war with Ryland (who quickly teams up with McKechnie's insatiable mistress, Christine Blacklaw) as well as the blood-thirsty crabs. The book ends with a brief epilogue that takes us to north Wales and Shell Beach just before the events of "Night of the Crabs".
Once again Smith delivers a smart piece of outlandish bloody pulp, while introducing some hints towards a changing style. This book starts off a bit slower, taking a bit more time to introduce characters (and even introducing some character development) before arriving at an over-the-top, blood stained climax. The writing remains beautifully simple, pushing the narrative forward and avoiding any superfluous detail. Strangely the writing style changes at around the halfway point with Smith using shorter, sharper sentences, making things even more breathless than previous. Despite these stylistic changes Smith's tried and tested formula of bloody gory mayhem, bizarre plotting and charging momentum, allied to the occasional bout of graphic sex, are all here in spades. Like its predecessors in the "Crabs" series, "The Origin of the Crabs" is a hugely enjoyable slice of juicy pulp horror.
July 15, 2019
Since the first book the writing style for me has improved, the story have become more tighter and the change in area does make things more exciting.
Problem is although this is titled origins, there really is nothing different from the previous novels. The origins are explained in a couple of words and then we are back to the same story. Full of violence and the random sex scenes.
Every hero in the book has a woman who is so horny she often cannot wait for the hero to jump into bed with her. Often our hero is as virile as every man wishes he could be. Although this was the first book where stressed actual effected the sex drive of the character, well a bad character. But at least it happened, because previous two stories, the stress and horror of the unrelenting crabs never seemed to stop them getting jiggle with it.
Overall still a fun read. I am enjoying the series, and must give credit to Guy N Smith. The guy never acted like he was writing high literature. He seemed to get a lot of stick, though from the couple of interviews I read he seems very modest and a nice gentleman.
Problem is although this is titled origins, there really is nothing different from the previous novels. The origins are explained in a couple of words and then we are back to the same story. Full of violence and the random sex scenes.
Every hero in the book has a woman who is so horny she often cannot wait for the hero to jump into bed with her. Often our hero is as virile as every man wishes he could be. Although this was the first book where stressed actual effected the sex drive of the character, well a bad character. But at least it happened, because previous two stories, the stress and horror of the unrelenting crabs never seemed to stop them getting jiggle with it.
Overall still a fun read. I am enjoying the series, and must give credit to Guy N Smith. The guy never acted like he was writing high literature. He seemed to get a lot of stick, though from the couple of interviews I read he seems very modest and a nice gentleman.
August 4, 2023
Welp, I guess I shouldn't have really expected anything better, I saw all I needed from book two of the series. He writes basically the same book three times and it's boring at this point. Basically, all of the problems I had with the second book are present again in this one. The characters are weak and forgettable, the sexism is ripe, and the crabs are unrealistic considering their made to seem somewhat realistic. This book was 200 pages but it took me a really long time to get through it, I was just bored and sick of it. I hate stopping a series in the middle, but I don't see myself picking up another of these books for a while. This just wasn't an enjoyable reading experience.
How didn't he get bored of writing the same book repeatedly? A good series grows upon itself, it needs new and envigoring ways to make it good. How I would have written this book is adding the Loch Ness Monster to it, I mean that would be cool. Instead, you're disappointed because it's hinted at but then never backed up.
Disappointing.
How didn't he get bored of writing the same book repeatedly? A good series grows upon itself, it needs new and envigoring ways to make it good. How I would have written this book is adding the Loch Ness Monster to it, I mean that would be cool. Instead, you're disappointed because it's hinted at but then never backed up.
Disappointing.
August 7, 2023
Obviously it’s not good, but it is somehow endearing by being so openly schlocky. The characterization is very direct and gets right to the point, because we are all here for the crabs. Physical features do seem to denote personality, which makes it even easier. The killings are pretty cut and repeat, snip snip chomp and away. The book shows more of a gradual increase of tension while McKechnie’s life falls apart. Everyone is very scared of the crabs, and I’m not sure exactly why. I would obviously not enjoy being torn apart and eaten by crabs, but they get one glimpse and act like they saw Cthulhu and can barely function. There is a Colonel Sanders jumpscare! Perspective changes without warning between paragraphs. And, obviously, women are for sexing. That was an expectedly terrible aspect, but I read the excerpts for other books AND IT GOT EVEN WORSE? Anyway, those crabs were big and ate people, but they could have been more creative. Two stars.
November 3, 2025
Click-click-clickity-click….! Guy N Smith’s third creepy crustacean novel serves as a prequel to his beloved 1976 Night of the Crabs (‘in the tradition of The Rats’). Narrative set in the wilds of a Scotland loch, complete with a sneering lord, booze-soaked poachers, chain-smoking police detectives and a randy landlord’s daughter, a few paragraphs vaguely explain the very ‘origin’ of the crabs (and this one is certainly more prequel than an origin story). Haphazard narrative that finds itself shuttered with a circular loop imposed by the boundaries of being a prequel….but great fun all the same✌️
April 19, 2021
The writing is a little better but that's not saying much.
We still have anthropomorphized crabs that evilly stalk humans.
Our lone oversexed woman whose main characteristic is having sex with the main male characters.
The cartoonishly evil guy and the guy no one believes about the crabs yet continues to take unnecessary risks of becoming crab chow.
I'm not impressed. But I'm going to finish the series.
We still have anthropomorphized crabs that evilly stalk humans.
Our lone oversexed woman whose main characteristic is having sex with the main male characters.
The cartoonishly evil guy and the guy no one believes about the crabs yet continues to take unnecessary risks of becoming crab chow.
I'm not impressed. But I'm going to finish the series.
November 7, 2017
Seventiestastic
Guy N Smith's books were favourites on my adolescent reading list. I knew they were not great literature but they were fun and easy reads. The years have turned them into time capsules.
Guy N Smith's books were favourites on my adolescent reading list. I knew they were not great literature but they were fun and easy reads. The years have turned them into time capsules.
February 21, 2017
A great little monster horror about giant monster crabs.
January 24, 2020
Fun Scottish setting for some Crabsploits, but damn if I’m not suffering from some Crabxhaustion.
June 9, 2020
Giant crabs invading Scotland. Ridiculous. Absurd. Highly entertaining.
May 13, 2021
Review to follow!
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