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Crabs #1
Night of the Crabs
Professor Cliff Davenport's nephew disappears with his girlfriend while swimming off the Welsh Coast. Davenport discovers that a colony of giant crabs is responsible, and resolves to track down and destroy them. Will he succeed before the monstrous crabs devour entire human populations? Full of action, suspense and gore, this is classic 1970s animal attack horror by bestselling British author Guy N. Smith (1939-2020). Night of the Crabs (published originally by NEL in 1976) is the first in an 8-book series. The others are (in order of first-publication dates): Killer Crabs (1978), Origin of the Crabs (1979), Crabs on the Rampage (1981), Crabs' Moon (1984), The Human Sacrifice (1988), Killer The Return (2012), Crabs Omnibus (2015 anthology of short stories), The Charnel Caves (2019).
185 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
49 people are currently reading
1505 people want to read
About the author
Guy N. Smith
175 books298 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 250 reviews
August 9, 2011
**A FEW PRELIMINARIES FOR THE DISCERNING BIBLIOPHILE**
1. This book is called “Night of the Crabs.”
2. This book is NOT called "An Meaningful Exploration into the Depth and Meaning of Classic American Literature."
3. This book's cover shows a giganto, ill-tempered CRABosaurus sporting a stool-dropping "don't come hither" look in its glowing, red eyes.
4. The publishers of this book chose for its marketing tag line to be "In The Tradition of Rats"
The above should clue you that we are dealing with a certain quality of plot complexity, intelligent dialogue and deft characterization. The same standard of quality that made the films of Ed Wood and Roger Corman so famous and gave Mystery Science Theater 3000 the material to become the greatest show ever.
With that in mind, reading this book was just like watching one of those 1950's monster movies that they used show on Saturday mornings. You know, the ones you used to watch through one bloodshot eye while you tried in vain to reconstruct the previous evening's Tequila-fueled round of misdemeanors. Well, this book would qualify as one of the better quality "bad" movies and I had a TON of FUN with it.
Smith knows the kind of book he is writing and keeps the pace brisk by wasting no time on minutia like plot, character development or dialogue. He does, however, leave room for healthy amounts of hokey, campy and corny and I spent much of the story with an ear to ear grin on my face. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and plan on reading at least one of the sequels to see if the magic can continue.
Of course, be advised that you will be cheering for the CRABzillas in this story as the human inhabitants are so hopelessly inept that by the time they get ripped into gory chunks of stupidity you're just sighing thankfully that they've been flushed out of the human gene pool before they had a chance to breed. That is, of course, except for our intrepid hero, Professor Cliff Davenport, whose genius and MacGyver-like ability to squeeze out of tight situations and develop “on the fly” solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems is a “groan inducing” joy to behold.
And that man can rap too. Here is a sample of a few of my favorite quotes from old Professor Problem-solver:
- In trying to describe the invulnerability of the Crabs to the inept military leaders, the Prof says, “You haven’t seen these monsters. If you had, you’d know what I mean. I’d have to see ’em blown to smithereens with my own eyes before I’d believe they’re not invincible.”...This, of course, is a classic restatement of the scientific method.
- Later, upon seeing the leader of the Crabs (oh yes, Crabbies got themselves a head honcho), the Professor curses, “King Crab!!...See the Devil? Twice as big as the others. He’s more cunning than any human being. Somehow he’s got them out there [hiding]. But how?” ...Only a brilliant, scientific mind could intuit such sly cunning on the part of King Crab by simply looking at him.
To top off the wonderful, schlocky goodness that is “Night of the Crabs,” I must mention the obligatory love affair between Professor Hero and his beautiful, one dimensional, bubble-headed love interest (when she speaks you can actually hear an echo). This is the kind of torrid, smoky romance that will cause readers to re-examine their own pathetic lives and dream of finding someone who can make them this happy. How often, if ever, in your own life can you honestly say you have felt this much: “His loins were fully charged with emotion and he would dearly love to have taken her.” Not only beautifully said, but it really makes you think doesn’t it.
Bottom-line, if the title, the cover and above quotes make you think you would like this, odds are you will. Me, I had a lot of fun with it.
3.0 stars.
1. This book is called “Night of the Crabs.”
2. This book is NOT called "An Meaningful Exploration into the Depth and Meaning of Classic American Literature."
3. This book's cover shows a giganto, ill-tempered CRABosaurus sporting a stool-dropping "don't come hither" look in its glowing, red eyes.
4. The publishers of this book chose for its marketing tag line to be "In The Tradition of Rats"
The above should clue you that we are dealing with a certain quality of plot complexity, intelligent dialogue and deft characterization. The same standard of quality that made the films of Ed Wood and Roger Corman so famous and gave Mystery Science Theater 3000 the material to become the greatest show ever.
With that in mind, reading this book was just like watching one of those 1950's monster movies that they used show on Saturday mornings. You know, the ones you used to watch through one bloodshot eye while you tried in vain to reconstruct the previous evening's Tequila-fueled round of misdemeanors. Well, this book would qualify as one of the better quality "bad" movies and I had a TON of FUN with it.
Smith knows the kind of book he is writing and keeps the pace brisk by wasting no time on minutia like plot, character development or dialogue. He does, however, leave room for healthy amounts of hokey, campy and corny and I spent much of the story with an ear to ear grin on my face. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and plan on reading at least one of the sequels to see if the magic can continue.
Of course, be advised that you will be cheering for the CRABzillas in this story as the human inhabitants are so hopelessly inept that by the time they get ripped into gory chunks of stupidity you're just sighing thankfully that they've been flushed out of the human gene pool before they had a chance to breed. That is, of course, except for our intrepid hero, Professor Cliff Davenport, whose genius and MacGyver-like ability to squeeze out of tight situations and develop “on the fly” solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems is a “groan inducing” joy to behold.
And that man can rap too. Here is a sample of a few of my favorite quotes from old Professor Problem-solver:
- In trying to describe the invulnerability of the Crabs to the inept military leaders, the Prof says, “You haven’t seen these monsters. If you had, you’d know what I mean. I’d have to see ’em blown to smithereens with my own eyes before I’d believe they’re not invincible.”...This, of course, is a classic restatement of the scientific method.
- Later, upon seeing the leader of the Crabs (oh yes, Crabbies got themselves a head honcho), the Professor curses, “King Crab!!...See the Devil? Twice as big as the others. He’s more cunning than any human being. Somehow he’s got them out there [hiding]. But how?” ...Only a brilliant, scientific mind could intuit such sly cunning on the part of King Crab by simply looking at him.
To top off the wonderful, schlocky goodness that is “Night of the Crabs,” I must mention the obligatory love affair between Professor Hero and his beautiful, one dimensional, bubble-headed love interest (when she speaks you can actually hear an echo). This is the kind of torrid, smoky romance that will cause readers to re-examine their own pathetic lives and dream of finding someone who can make them this happy. How often, if ever, in your own life can you honestly say you have felt this much: “His loins were fully charged with emotion and he would dearly love to have taken her.” Not only beautifully said, but it really makes you think doesn’t it.
Bottom-line, if the title, the cover and above quotes make you think you would like this, odds are you will. Me, I had a lot of fun with it.
3.0 stars.
October 17, 2014
Let me preface this by saying that this book was a blast! So why am I only rating it 3 stars, you ask?
Even though this book was a lot of fun, it's not exactly well written. I wasn't expecting horror literature, so that was okay with me.
I'm not sure if it was an editing issue, or if the original text was messed up, but there are a lot of weird things going on in the Kindle edition with exclamation points, capitalized letters in the middle of sentences and other things like that.
This book was written in the 70's so I had some issues with the views on women, but I understand this book is a product of its time, so that's cool.
Other than those issues this book was a great creature feature. Lots of bloody showdowns between the crabs, especially the KING crab, and mankind. Man usually coming out the loser, again and again. All kinds of bloody disasters and almost non stop action-other than the main characters falling in love within like 3 pages, which made this a quick read.
You know, every once in a while I need me some cheesy horror. Not everything can be The Haunting of Hill House. Sometimes, I just want to be entertained without thinking too much. If you're in need or in the mood for the Sharknado of books, this is the one for you!
Recommended for fans of cheesy horror creature feature fun!
Even though this book was a lot of fun, it's not exactly well written. I wasn't expecting horror literature, so that was okay with me.
I'm not sure if it was an editing issue, or if the original text was messed up, but there are a lot of weird things going on in the Kindle edition with exclamation points, capitalized letters in the middle of sentences and other things like that.
This book was written in the 70's so I had some issues with the views on women, but I understand this book is a product of its time, so that's cool.
Other than those issues this book was a great creature feature. Lots of bloody showdowns between the crabs, especially the KING crab, and mankind. Man usually coming out the loser, again and again. All kinds of bloody disasters and almost non stop action-other than the main characters falling in love within like 3 pages, which made this a quick read.
You know, every once in a while I need me some cheesy horror. Not everything can be The Haunting of Hill House. Sometimes, I just want to be entertained without thinking too much. If you're in need or in the mood for the Sharknado of books, this is the one for you!
Recommended for fans of cheesy horror creature feature fun!
September 2, 2013
GIANT, EVIL CRABS INVADE WALES!
This is Guy N. Smith:
I can't tell if he's trying to be serious here, but he's a veryseriousprolific author who seems to be going gangbusters with the ebook rights to his out-of-print pulp paperbacks.
So, is he a sadly underrated British writer whose work deserves wider literary acclaim? You be the judge!
This is a really dumb book. And apparently it was a best-seller in 1976. Oh, the 70s... the Decade That Taste Forgot.
Oh wait, now we have the Doritos Locos Taco. So never mind... at least Night of the Crabs will not give you orange fingers and heart disease.
But really, GIANT EVIL CRABS. They're intelligent and they have glowing red eyes. Could you possibly make this book dumber? Yes, yes you could - you could make the goddamn things indestructible - they take direct hits from tank guns and mortars and then pick up the tanks and toss them in the ocean. At one point the British Army is talking about using nukes to get rid of GIANT CRABS. And you could add pointless sex scenes that are almost charming in their businesslike fumble-thrust-and-moan details, and you could make everyone kind of stupid so that every time the crabs go back into the ocean, even though they laid waste to the coast last time, everyone just kind of says, "Well, maybe they won't come back." Uh, really?
And yet, I'm giving this cheesy pulp ridiculousness 3 big stars. Why? Well, because it was fun and entertaining, even if ever-so-bad, kind of like a Doritos Locos Taco. Night of the Crabs is a B-monster-movie, with an obligatory dose of 70s soft porn (which is really pretty mild compared to porn today — I mean, 50 Shades of Gray?). GIANT CRABS come out of the ocean and eat people, they rampage about for a bit destroying trains and tanks and bridges (I cannot get over the crabs picking up a tank...), until a brainy scientist figures out how to kill them. And you know how in those monster movies there's always a final scene after the monster is "killed" where you see it open its eyes or a claw bursts out of the ground or you see its spawn crawling off to new hunting grounds? Yeah, an ending just like that, which is why apparently these books actually became a series. Hey, it was the 70s, go figure.
You know, that is not exactly a line I'd want to use immediately after having sex.
This is Guy N. Smith:
I can't tell if he's trying to be serious here, but he's a very
So, is he a sadly underrated British writer whose work deserves wider literary acclaim? You be the judge!
“I don’t, I can’t believe it!” Pat Benson was close to hysteria. “It’s just not possible! It’s a nightmare! Cliff, please tell me it isn’t real!”
“It’s real enough,” he said grimly. “I wish to God it wasn’t, though! Just look at the size of that one!”
King Crab! Nobody could have doubted the latest arrival’s right to rule. Half as big again as the rest of those nightmarish creatures, this one was the very personification of evil. It waddled slowly to the front of the others, its pincers waving menacingly as though defying any one of them to challenge its authority. Some of them moved back, huddling together.
This is a really dumb book. And apparently it was a best-seller in 1976. Oh, the 70s... the Decade That Taste Forgot.
Oh wait, now we have the Doritos Locos Taco. So never mind... at least Night of the Crabs will not give you orange fingers and heart disease.
But really, GIANT EVIL CRABS. They're intelligent and they have glowing red eyes. Could you possibly make this book dumber? Yes, yes you could - you could make the goddamn things indestructible - they take direct hits from tank guns and mortars and then pick up the tanks and toss them in the ocean. At one point the British Army is talking about using nukes to get rid of GIANT CRABS. And you could add pointless sex scenes that are almost charming in their businesslike fumble-thrust-and-moan details, and you could make everyone kind of stupid so that every time the crabs go back into the ocean, even though they laid waste to the coast last time, everyone just kind of says, "Well, maybe they won't come back." Uh, really?
And yet, I'm giving this cheesy pulp ridiculousness 3 big stars. Why? Well, because it was fun and entertaining, even if ever-so-bad, kind of like a Doritos Locos Taco. Night of the Crabs is a B-monster-movie, with an obligatory dose of 70s soft porn (which is really pretty mild compared to porn today — I mean, 50 Shades of Gray?). GIANT CRABS come out of the ocean and eat people, they rampage about for a bit destroying trains and tanks and bridges (I cannot get over the crabs picking up a tank...), until a brainy scientist figures out how to kill them. And you know how in those monster movies there's always a final scene after the monster is "killed" where you see it open its eyes or a claw bursts out of the ground or you see its spawn crawling off to new hunting grounds? Yeah, an ending just like that, which is why apparently these books actually became a series. Hey, it was the 70s, go figure.
"I’m more than glad I let you come with me tonight," he whispered as he zipped himself up again. "I’m afraid, though, that we must still keep an eye open for those crabs!"
You know, that is not exactly a line I'd want to use immediately after having sex.
June 3, 2018
The first of Guy N. Smith's killer crab books, and still the champion.
March 28, 2008
I've noticed something really special about reading the "Giant Crabs" series by Guy N. Smith out of order... it doesn't matter. It means nothing. Nobody ever learns a fucking thing about these crabs and passes it to the next book. Even the main character in "Night of the Crabs" the first of the crabs books, shows up in the second crabs book and really has no information to offer. Except "guns don't work" and "they come out when the moon is full", but anyone who knows anything about crabs knows that.
The thing I will say about "Night of the Crabs" is that it is both the most titillating Crabs book that I've read so far, and also the most idiotic. Case in point: the lead character, Cliff Davenport, is an expert on undersea botany (he knows about plants AND sea animals). Also, his nephew is coincidentally the first victim of the giant crabs! He flies out to investigate his nephew's disappearance and, lucky for the book, sees giant crab claws everywhere and can identify them!
But that's not the best part. The best part is the weird sex. Because Guy N. Smith writes sex scenes like a twelve year old who's never seen a naked lady before. The first time Davenport has sex with his lovely new girlfriend, Smith writes the following:
"Her fingers were active... Cliff felt that thrilling sensation of his zip being pulled down, her fingers groping inside the open vent and then the coolness of the night air on his warm moistness."
HIS WARM MOISTNESS?
I can say no more. I have several Giant Crabs books to go.
The thing I will say about "Night of the Crabs" is that it is both the most titillating Crabs book that I've read so far, and also the most idiotic. Case in point: the lead character, Cliff Davenport, is an expert on undersea botany (he knows about plants AND sea animals). Also, his nephew is coincidentally the first victim of the giant crabs! He flies out to investigate his nephew's disappearance and, lucky for the book, sees giant crab claws everywhere and can identify them!
But that's not the best part. The best part is the weird sex. Because Guy N. Smith writes sex scenes like a twelve year old who's never seen a naked lady before. The first time Davenport has sex with his lovely new girlfriend, Smith writes the following:
"Her fingers were active... Cliff felt that thrilling sensation of his zip being pulled down, her fingers groping inside the open vent and then the coolness of the night air on his warm moistness."
HIS WARM MOISTNESS?
I can say no more. I have several Giant Crabs books to go.
March 14, 2018
Short and fast-moving 1970s-style paperback horror novel featuring giant crabs, gratuitous sex, and outdated sexism. The downside: Poor dialogue, undeveloped characters, and nonsensical action. Even for this genre, this novel is pretty crappy. The upside: It’s kind of fun; you know what you’re getting into when you pick it up. But I just can’t, in good conscience, give it more than one star.
March 20, 2025
You’ve got to admire the concision of this book. It’s got monster movie intrigue, violent crab action, a couple sex scenes, and nothing else. It’s a straight-forward monster movie that gets from point A to point B with zero frills. The ending is a little bit of a let-down as it kind of seems like the author just picked a weakness for the creatures at random, but we all know the invincible monster crabs will return to snip off a few more limbs one day soon. It’s a fast read and enjoyable but a little tamer than it’s reputation suggests, though might have been seen as a gory good time in its day. The romance is just as absurd, making for perhaps the quickest route from meet to marriage I’ve ever seen; and she’s fifteen years younger than him. But what are you gonna do? It’s not like they’re going to share awkward text messages.
August 14, 2025
This silly, and also occasionally (and weirdly) raunchy book was pretty fun. Throughout, I had no impression I was supposed to be taking anything seriously, even though the people in the story were.
The effect was very close to watching a schlocky creature horror film from the 70s. Characters are brought onto the page just to be brutally murdered by crabs; fire, tanks and mortars have absolutely no effect; and one lone scholar somehow manages to keep center stage throughout, and eventually comes up with a way to defeat King Crab and his army. Wales is populated by rubberneckers with no sense of self-preservation as roads are jammed with people all ready to set up camp and watch the horrific spectacle taking place on the shore. (No chance of them getting caught up in it themselves, right?)
This was amusing up until chapter 10 or so, and then I was bored. I didn't feel we needed a fake ending before we got what amounted to an also-fake ending, since there are a decent number of books about the crabs after this one. As usual, this wasn't a book I'd have ever bothered reading without comedy podcast "372 Pages We'll Never Get Back" covering it as an incentive.
The effect was very close to watching a schlocky creature horror film from the 70s. Characters are brought onto the page just to be brutally murdered by crabs; fire, tanks and mortars have absolutely no effect; and one lone scholar somehow manages to keep center stage throughout, and eventually comes up with a way to defeat King Crab and his army. Wales is populated by rubberneckers with no sense of self-preservation as roads are jammed with people all ready to set up camp and watch the horrific spectacle taking place on the shore. (No chance of them getting caught up in it themselves, right?)
This was amusing up until chapter 10 or so, and then I was bored. I didn't feel we needed a fake ending before we got what amounted to an also-fake ending, since there are a decent number of books about the crabs after this one. As usual, this wasn't a book I'd have ever bothered reading without comedy podcast "372 Pages We'll Never Get Back" covering it as an incentive.
March 12, 2016
I absolutely loved this book! It's not very long but it took me back to my childhood watching great classic American and British monster movies. (I also watched a lot of Japanese ones too, but this book is more in the vein of the American and British ones.)
The giant creatures that start attacking people.
The scientist who is the only one that understands the danger.
The girlfriend who stand by him.
The isolated location (a small island off the coast of Wales).
The stupid military officers who discount the scientific advice. (After all, we have a great military and great weapons. How could we possibly lose?)
This book reminded me of such classics as Earth vs the Spider, It Came From Beneath the Sea, Them!, and even a little of Island of Terror! I will definitely read more from this author. (I can totally see someone like Richard Carlson as the lead.)
The giant creatures that start attacking people.
The scientist who is the only one that understands the danger.
The girlfriend who stand by him.
The isolated location (a small island off the coast of Wales).
The stupid military officers who discount the scientific advice. (After all, we have a great military and great weapons. How could we possibly lose?)
This book reminded me of such classics as Earth vs the Spider, It Came From Beneath the Sea, Them!, and even a little of Island of Terror! I will definitely read more from this author. (I can totally see someone like Richard Carlson as the lead.)
April 20, 2019
This review first appeared on scifiandscary.com
Writing books that are really awful and yet also manage readable and fun is hard. Films can pull off the “so bad it’s good” thing much more easily because they require so little effort from the audience. Watching a cheesy b-movie and you can just let the bad acting, script and direction wash over you and appreciate the bits that make it great - the sex and the violence. In ‘Night of the Crabs’, Guy N Smith proves himself to be an extremely talented writer. The book is terrible, often laughably bad, but it’s also a blast.
I had it in my head that this was Smith’s first book, but in fact he’d already published at least 3 other horror novels by the time it came out: ‘Werewolf by Moonlight’, ‘The Slime Beast’ and ‘The Sucking Pit’. Stephen King wrote that he thought the last of those was an all time pulp horror classic title. Not book, you’ll note, just title. Whereas Smith’s previous books were something of a throwback to 50s and 60s horror cinema, ‘Night of the Crabs’ seems designed to cash in on the success of Herbert’s ‘The Rats’ with its nature on the rampage theme. The first edition even advertised it as “in the tradition of The Rats”. It’s certainly not the most blatant ‘Rats’ rip off (I’ll be reviewing ‘The Cats’ in a couple of months) but the timing of its release is pretty telling, It ended up being a hit for Smith and he wrote a number of sequels.
The plot of the book is pretty much exactly what you’d expect. Giant crabs attack a seaside town in Wales and a hero teams up with the authorities to defeat them. In this case the protagonist is botanist Cliff Davenport, who gets involved when his nephew and nephew’s fiancee are mysteriously killed at sea (spoiler: it’s the crabs). The story also pulls in a mysterious military base populated with sinister spy types and throws in some love interest for Cliff in the form of Pat.
Like Herbert’s books, the plot is very linear and pretty uninspired. What the book lacks that both ‘The Rats’ and ‘The Fog’ have in abundance is true horror. The violence here is tamer and less imaginative than Herbert’s. The rats kill people in a variety of gruesome ways, whereas the crabs pretty much just bite their legs off and leave blood pumping from the ragged stumps. It’s still fun to read, but it never gets close to getting under your skin like Herbert does at his best. The massing rodents were reasonably convincing as a monster, the giant crabs (whose size is never properly explained) are just silly.
Smith tries to make up for the absence of horror by throwing in more sex, but that’s fairly tame too (or at least boringly vanilla) and often unintentionally hilarious. His habit of using character’s full names doesn’t help.
Cliff felt that thrilling sensation of his zip being pulled down, her fingers groping inside the open vent and then the coolness of the night air on his warm moistness. He gasped with pleasure. Pat Benson certainly knew what she was doing!
That particular scene ends with Cliff exclaiming “we must still keep an eye open for those crabs” which is probably one of those things you’re not supposed to say during sex.
So ‘Night of the Crabs’ is badly written, not scary, not that gory, not very sexy and deeply silly. On its own terms, though, it succeeds. It’s a throwaway pulp novel that’s easy to read, doesn’t outstay its welcome and has giant crabs in it. Giant crabs. Job done.
Writing books that are really awful and yet also manage readable and fun is hard. Films can pull off the “so bad it’s good” thing much more easily because they require so little effort from the audience. Watching a cheesy b-movie and you can just let the bad acting, script and direction wash over you and appreciate the bits that make it great - the sex and the violence. In ‘Night of the Crabs’, Guy N Smith proves himself to be an extremely talented writer. The book is terrible, often laughably bad, but it’s also a blast.
I had it in my head that this was Smith’s first book, but in fact he’d already published at least 3 other horror novels by the time it came out: ‘Werewolf by Moonlight’, ‘The Slime Beast’ and ‘The Sucking Pit’. Stephen King wrote that he thought the last of those was an all time pulp horror classic title. Not book, you’ll note, just title. Whereas Smith’s previous books were something of a throwback to 50s and 60s horror cinema, ‘Night of the Crabs’ seems designed to cash in on the success of Herbert’s ‘The Rats’ with its nature on the rampage theme. The first edition even advertised it as “in the tradition of The Rats”. It’s certainly not the most blatant ‘Rats’ rip off (I’ll be reviewing ‘The Cats’ in a couple of months) but the timing of its release is pretty telling, It ended up being a hit for Smith and he wrote a number of sequels.
The plot of the book is pretty much exactly what you’d expect. Giant crabs attack a seaside town in Wales and a hero teams up with the authorities to defeat them. In this case the protagonist is botanist Cliff Davenport, who gets involved when his nephew and nephew’s fiancee are mysteriously killed at sea (spoiler: it’s the crabs). The story also pulls in a mysterious military base populated with sinister spy types and throws in some love interest for Cliff in the form of Pat.
Like Herbert’s books, the plot is very linear and pretty uninspired. What the book lacks that both ‘The Rats’ and ‘The Fog’ have in abundance is true horror. The violence here is tamer and less imaginative than Herbert’s. The rats kill people in a variety of gruesome ways, whereas the crabs pretty much just bite their legs off and leave blood pumping from the ragged stumps. It’s still fun to read, but it never gets close to getting under your skin like Herbert does at his best. The massing rodents were reasonably convincing as a monster, the giant crabs (whose size is never properly explained) are just silly.
Smith tries to make up for the absence of horror by throwing in more sex, but that’s fairly tame too (or at least boringly vanilla) and often unintentionally hilarious. His habit of using character’s full names doesn’t help.
Cliff felt that thrilling sensation of his zip being pulled down, her fingers groping inside the open vent and then the coolness of the night air on his warm moistness. He gasped with pleasure. Pat Benson certainly knew what she was doing!
That particular scene ends with Cliff exclaiming “we must still keep an eye open for those crabs” which is probably one of those things you’re not supposed to say during sex.
So ‘Night of the Crabs’ is badly written, not scary, not that gory, not very sexy and deeply silly. On its own terms, though, it succeeds. It’s a throwaway pulp novel that’s easy to read, doesn’t outstay its welcome and has giant crabs in it. Giant crabs. Job done.
September 26, 2013
Forward By J.F. Gonzalez Introduction by Guy N. Smith. This may have started the Crab migration. Today we have "Clickers" and "Crustations" by other authors. This book is as close to a 50's horror movie as you can get. How can you not love a bunch of hungry Crabs out for a quick bite.
I purchased this book from the author at his Black Hill Books bookstore, where, the last time I looked , he had almost fourty of his books for sale (which he will gladly sign if asked).
I purchased this book from the author at his Black Hill Books bookstore, where, the last time I looked , he had almost fourty of his books for sale (which he will gladly sign if asked).
June 3, 2024
These creature feature books (especially the English ones)are pretty similar to
each other. There's a guy that's smarter than everyone else in the book, and is the
only man capable of handling the problem. The government and military are all incredibly
stupid, lazy and arrogant; yet they let this guy just take over and lead them all.
There is also, without exception, a love interest that falls head over heels for this guy
on sight and they start talking marriage as soon as they have a painfully awkward sex scene.
After all conventional means of combating the creature(s)prove ineffectual, he comes
up with a solution, so simple, they should have thought of it before...and it works, the end.
Where night of the crabs differs from the other books in the genre is, the writing
in the others seems honestly a bit unhinged, like the authors were enjoying the carnage
a bit too much. This seemed like a by the numbers copy of books like the rats, without
the sick joy that James Herbert clearly got while writing it, which is the only thing that
makes it worth reading.
each other. There's a guy that's smarter than everyone else in the book, and is the
only man capable of handling the problem. The government and military are all incredibly
stupid, lazy and arrogant; yet they let this guy just take over and lead them all.
There is also, without exception, a love interest that falls head over heels for this guy
on sight and they start talking marriage as soon as they have a painfully awkward sex scene.
After all conventional means of combating the creature(s)prove ineffectual, he comes
up with a solution, so simple, they should have thought of it before...and it works, the end.
Where night of the crabs differs from the other books in the genre is, the writing
in the others seems honestly a bit unhinged, like the authors were enjoying the carnage
a bit too much. This seemed like a by the numbers copy of books like the rats, without
the sick joy that James Herbert clearly got while writing it, which is the only thing that
makes it worth reading.
September 21, 2015
Horribly funny mid-70's shocker with all the ingredients; mutated creatures (perhaps due to nuclear testing!) on the rampage, gore, sex, odd dialog and inexplicable actions by the characters.
While in no way great literature, there is no surprise whatsoever that the book and author has a real cult following.
And for me there's really no pity that no-one made this into a microbudget b-horror in the 80's; I've seen it scene-by-scene in my head already!
Recommended to all that know what to expect and are fine with that.
While in no way great literature, there is no surprise whatsoever that the book and author has a real cult following.
And for me there's really no pity that no-one made this into a microbudget b-horror in the 80's; I've seen it scene-by-scene in my head already!
Recommended to all that know what to expect and are fine with that.
October 15, 2018
The giant killer crab book to end all killer crab books. Guy N. Smith is, I'm afraid to say, a mostly forgotten monster scribbling legend. Night of the Crabs is the start of one of the wildest monster series ever written. So much fun. So much death. I loved it.
March 28, 2025
Carnage, arousal, carnage, arousal. 🦀 This was a banger and it clearly wasn’t trying to win any literary awards!! 😹
November 13, 2020
Monster attacks are a common theme of cheesy 1950s horrors movies, but not so much when it comes to novels. Guy N. Smith made a career out of writing them. Night of the Crabs from 1976 is one of his early novels and the first in his eight book “Crabs” series. These crabs aren’t some mysterious Cthulhu type creatures, they’re just big-ass crabs the size of cows and pretty much invincible, led by a giant one cleverly called King Crab. The novel is an easy read, maybe eighth grade reading level, has plenty of action, a little romance with some fairly graphic sex, and a welcome pulp fiction sensibility. With sort of a Hardy Boys/Scooby Doo/B-Movie vibe I thought that the novel was a total blast.
December 28, 2012
I usually don't tell people they should get CRABS, but in this case I'll make an exception! ;-) These are crabs you'll be sure to enjoy.
July 26, 2022
'My God!' Cliff exclaimed. Take a look at this,' he said, passing the newspaper across to Pat Benson. It's already begun! The crabs are attacking!'
There are a couple of premises to consider if one is to enjoy a book on giant, intelligent crabs which feast on humans and toss English tanks about as if they were checkers game pieces.
1. Have a healthy passion for 'creature feature' entertainment, particularly the ones of the late 70s and early 80s.
2. Consider 'Imitation Crab' a staple food necessity of any modern kitchen.
3. Exhibit pure enjoyment in the many varieties of juvenile entertainment, including ridiculous plotlines, cliched characters, sexy-times for old men and young women with perky boobs, and a completely irrational inability to use modern technology to destroy/kill/even contain over-sized crustaceans.
If the modern reader can get down with these or similar requirements, then "Night of the Crabs" is delicious fun. And, I was entertained!
There are a couple of premises to consider if one is to enjoy a book on giant, intelligent crabs which feast on humans and toss English tanks about as if they were checkers game pieces.
1. Have a healthy passion for 'creature feature' entertainment, particularly the ones of the late 70s and early 80s.
2. Consider 'Imitation Crab' a staple food necessity of any modern kitchen.
3. Exhibit pure enjoyment in the many varieties of juvenile entertainment, including ridiculous plotlines, cliched characters, sexy-times for old men and young women with perky boobs, and a completely irrational inability to use modern technology to destroy/kill/even contain over-sized crustaceans.
If the modern reader can get down with these or similar requirements, then "Night of the Crabs" is delicious fun. And, I was entertained!
May 19, 2019
Wow. Gar nicht mal so gut. Ich habe viel Liebe für das Monster-Genre und habe mich deshalb schon lange darauf gefreut diesen "Klassiker" zu lesen.
Ich finde die Grundidee von Riesenkrabben, die Wales angreifen sehr sympathisch aber bisweilen fande ich die Handlung und die Schreibe grauenhafter als die blutrünstigen Krebstiere.
Weder gibt es ausreichend Monster-Action noch versprüht die Geschichte irgendeine Form von Witz und Charme. Ich meine, was außer Splatter und Humor, kann man von so einem Titel erwarten?
Stattdessen führt Guy N. Smith seine Protagonisten bierernst durch die 166 Seiten. Was übrig bleibt sind Plotholes, die größer sind als die titelgebenden Killer-Krabben.
Ich erwarte von einem solchen Buch keinen Realismus aber fest steht, dass Smith keine Ahnung hat wie Gerätetauchen funktioniert. Und Militär auch nicht. Und Presse. Und Gleichberechtigung. Und ... naja, ihr versteht schon...
Schade, hätte so cool sein können!
Ich finde die Grundidee von Riesenkrabben, die Wales angreifen sehr sympathisch aber bisweilen fande ich die Handlung und die Schreibe grauenhafter als die blutrünstigen Krebstiere.
Weder gibt es ausreichend Monster-Action noch versprüht die Geschichte irgendeine Form von Witz und Charme. Ich meine, was außer Splatter und Humor, kann man von so einem Titel erwarten?
Stattdessen führt Guy N. Smith seine Protagonisten bierernst durch die 166 Seiten. Was übrig bleibt sind Plotholes, die größer sind als die titelgebenden Killer-Krabben.
Ich erwarte von einem solchen Buch keinen Realismus aber fest steht, dass Smith keine Ahnung hat wie Gerätetauchen funktioniert. Und Militär auch nicht. Und Presse. Und Gleichberechtigung. Und ... naja, ihr versteht schon...
Schade, hätte so cool sein können!
March 24, 2014
Nachts kommen die Riesenkrabben - „A seafood cocktail for the strongest stomachs“
Badeurlaub? In England? Ich? Bestimmt nicht! Nicht nach Guy Smiths glaubwürdigem Bericht über das SLIME BEAST, und erst recht nicht nach seinen Enthüllungen über unkaputtbare Riesenkrabben an Wales schöner Küste. Wie sang Frank Zappa schon: „Bullets can´t stop it, rockets can´t stop it, we might have to use nuclear force”. Einstweilen sieht es aber nicht so aus, als ob das Militär die Bewohner und Urlauber (!) auf Shell Island und dem benachbarten Städtchen schützen kann. Ruht also alle unsere Hoffnung auf Rettung der Welt auf dem noch jugendlich wirkenden Professor für Krabbologie Cliff Davenport, dessen Nichte und ihr Verlobter dem Hunger der Krabben zum Opfer gefallen sind. Und Smith wäre nicht Smith, wenn der Krabbologe neben seiner Mission, die Welt vor den riesenhaften Krustentieren zu retten, nicht auch noch Zeit fände, eine neue Ehefrau zu finden:
"What a beautiful night, if only we didn't have to worry about giant crabs."
NIGHT OF THE CRABS liefert einen mit den für Smith typischen Zutaten zubereiteten Pulp-Roman, der nicht so schwer im Magen liegt wie manches Krabbengericht: eindimensionale Charaktere, eine Armee von Riesenkrabben, angeführt von der noch riesenhafteren King Crab, ein Professor, ein paar Sexszenen mit einer jungen, willigen und hübschen Mittzwanzigjährigen, einem überforderten Militär und vielen, vielen Toten.
Ein B-Movie zwischen zwei Buchdeckeln, das an Jack Arnold erinnert. Keine unnötigen Details, keine Erklärungsversuche, keine Charakterstudien, keine Formexperimente… hier knacken die Scheren!
Badeurlaub? In England? Ich? Bestimmt nicht! Nicht nach Guy Smiths glaubwürdigem Bericht über das SLIME BEAST, und erst recht nicht nach seinen Enthüllungen über unkaputtbare Riesenkrabben an Wales schöner Küste. Wie sang Frank Zappa schon: „Bullets can´t stop it, rockets can´t stop it, we might have to use nuclear force”. Einstweilen sieht es aber nicht so aus, als ob das Militär die Bewohner und Urlauber (!) auf Shell Island und dem benachbarten Städtchen schützen kann. Ruht also alle unsere Hoffnung auf Rettung der Welt auf dem noch jugendlich wirkenden Professor für Krabbologie Cliff Davenport, dessen Nichte und ihr Verlobter dem Hunger der Krabben zum Opfer gefallen sind. Und Smith wäre nicht Smith, wenn der Krabbologe neben seiner Mission, die Welt vor den riesenhaften Krustentieren zu retten, nicht auch noch Zeit fände, eine neue Ehefrau zu finden:
"What a beautiful night, if only we didn't have to worry about giant crabs."
NIGHT OF THE CRABS liefert einen mit den für Smith typischen Zutaten zubereiteten Pulp-Roman, der nicht so schwer im Magen liegt wie manches Krabbengericht: eindimensionale Charaktere, eine Armee von Riesenkrabben, angeführt von der noch riesenhafteren King Crab, ein Professor, ein paar Sexszenen mit einer jungen, willigen und hübschen Mittzwanzigjährigen, einem überforderten Militär und vielen, vielen Toten.
Ein B-Movie zwischen zwei Buchdeckeln, das an Jack Arnold erinnert. Keine unnötigen Details, keine Erklärungsversuche, keine Charakterstudien, keine Formexperimente… hier knacken die Scheren!
October 19, 2014
Night of the Crabs
October 18, 2014 to October 19, 2014
Group Read @ Horror Readers
Review theme: Since when is sex more important than Giant Crabs!
Oh goodness gracious, this is the most fun I'm had reading a book since I don't know when. Sorry Mr. Strand, you're just going to have to bow down to the author of Night of the Crabs.
Written in the 1970s. Wow, was this what horror was like then...no wonder I wasn't into horror back then. This is one of those stories that takes itself just a little too seriously for how bizarre it is. We forget how anti-military everyone was in this post-Vietnam era. I've noticed that in other mid to late twentieth century writing.
I really enjoyed this book, thought it was a lot of fun. Pleased that the happy couple can now go back to London and become man and wife. Wondering if the route the military too to destroy the crabs is just going to turn around and kick them in the arse...that was a lot of pollution there, ole boys.
I give this book 3 stars
Recommended to lovers of 1970s horror
October 18, 2014 to October 19, 2014
Group Read @ Horror Readers
Review theme: Since when is sex more important than Giant Crabs!
Oh goodness gracious, this is the most fun I'm had reading a book since I don't know when. Sorry Mr. Strand, you're just going to have to bow down to the author of Night of the Crabs.
Written in the 1970s. Wow, was this what horror was like then...no wonder I wasn't into horror back then. This is one of those stories that takes itself just a little too seriously for how bizarre it is. We forget how anti-military everyone was in this post-Vietnam era. I've noticed that in other mid to late twentieth century writing.
I really enjoyed this book, thought it was a lot of fun. Pleased that the happy couple can now go back to London and become man and wife. Wondering if the route the military too to destroy the crabs is just going to turn around and kick them in the arse...that was a lot of pollution there, ole boys.
I give this book 3 stars
Recommended to lovers of 1970s horror
January 23, 2021
Raczej nie skłamię jeśli stwierdzę, że większośc ludzi, kiedy chcą się pośmiać i rozerwać to oglądają komedie. Mnie jednak one kompletnie nie śmieszą i nie bawią! Moim gazem rozweselającym są horrory klasy Z. Ile ja ze śmiechu godzin przepłakałam, ile się na podłodze turlałam, ile skrętów żołądka dostałam - nie zliczę! Nie mogłam więc przejść obojętnie obok klasyka kiczowatego horroru i kiedyś w końcu musiałam sięgnąć po “Kraby”. Słynne “Kraby” - ile to ja się nasłuchałam i naczytałam jaki to klasyk gatunku, jak ocieka kiczem i tandetą, jakie dialogi toporne, jakie postacie papierowe i jednowymiarowe, jakie wydarzenia i zachowania bohaterów niedorzeczne. Chyba dla kogoś kto nigdy nie zetknął się z wesołą grafomanią Masterona. Serio, przy absurdach, które płodzi Masterton “Kraby” wypadają bladziutko. To sztandarowe dzieło Guy’a miało być krwawym festiwalem kiczu i złego smaku. To tak w teorii, bo w praktyce odcinane członki i żenujące sceny seksu można policzyć na palcach jednej ręki. Za to miłośnicy opisów czołgów i działań wojskowych będą zachwyceni, bo ciężkie maszyny i panowie w mundurach występują tu częściej niż “Kraby”. I teraz uwaga - króciutka „Noc” dokonała nawet na pozór niemożliwego - otóż udało jej się mnie zanudzić! Łapiecie - horror klasy Z i znużenie - przecież to oksymoron! Owszem, zdarzyły się i takie perełki jak “personifikacja zła - ogromny Król krabów”, „kraby jak owce”, ale to były nieliczne wyjątki w trakcie tej lektury żywiołowej i szalonej niczym dansing dla senirów 90+. Najlepszy (czyt. typowo Guy’owy) w tej książce był wątek miłosny - tak niemiłosiernie absurdalny, komiczny, z drętwymi i przesłodzonymi dialogami, oraz zupełnie nieadekwatnym do sytuacji zachowaniem bohaterów. Tu, muszę przyznać, leciał cringe za cringem. A, i jeszcze klik klak klak
Planowałam od razu brać się za kolejne części serii, ale to było przed przeczytaniem “Nocy Krabów”. Mordercze skorupiaki mojego serca (ani żołądka) nie podbiły. Okazały się wyjątkowo nijakie i mdłe, rozgotowane pewnie były. Alergii nie dostałam - aż tak tragicznie moje spotkanie z “Krabami” się nie skończyło, więc w przyszłości jeszcze zaryzykuję posmakowania kolejnych części skorupiaków, ale nastąpi to zdecydowanie później niż wcześniej.
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Planowałam od razu brać się za kolejne części serii, ale to było przed przeczytaniem “Nocy Krabów”. Mordercze skorupiaki mojego serca (ani żołądka) nie podbiły. Okazały się wyjątkowo nijakie i mdłe, rozgotowane pewnie były. Alergii nie dostałam - aż tak tragicznie moje spotkanie z “Krabami” się nie skończyło, więc w przyszłości jeszcze zaryzykuję posmakowania kolejnych części skorupiaków, ale nastąpi to zdecydowanie później niż wcześniej.
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February 28, 2021
While reading through this novel I could never quite shake the feeling that this started, on some level, as Doctor Who fan fiction. The Third Doctor and UNIT versus the Macra? Maybe. Professor Davenport often feels like a Pertwee character (though younger and a bit lustier) and the general pacing of the book feels like the ebb and flow of a 70s-era Doctor Who serial. Just one with a few added sex scenes* and maybe a bit more gore and violence.
It is mostly mindless, schlock-filled fun predicated on the reader's ability to accept crabs of an unusual size**—with bullet-proof shells and the strength to lift large vehicles—are rampaging on a coastal town while a widower and a divorcee have an virtually instantaneous romance (before the horror even starts, really) and the military blunders around to extend a page count because why not. Dumb? Yes. Schlock? Yes. Fun? Oh, yes. Quite fun.
There is a certain type of joy that can only be experienced when genre fiction like this opens up the floodgates of possibility and just runs with it. The novel does not take itself seriously but it also does not engage in apologetic self-parody. It exists in a delightful plane of existence where you willfully accept big old crabs chopping off human limbs with foot-long pincers. It is a quite heady rush, all things considered. [Note: the four stars given to this book are given entirely in the context of your ability to accept such things as actually a joy to read. If not, then this review is probably not for you.]
Amazingly, there are at least seven more books in this series. And that, most of all, astounds me.
=======
* There is something to be said about horror-/genre-fiction sex scenes from this era (and really, through at least the 90s) in how utterly pointless and rote they were: very middle-class white dude (anti-)titillation. Always using the same language and general set up: members exposed to cool air, fumbling hands finding their way in the dark (nearly always the dark), warm moistness [one of the least sexy word combinations in the English language], a hand to guide the man in before the thrusting begins, and absolutely zero actual sexiness. They never add anything to the plot but a moment of general awkwardness for the reader, and yet they were nearly always included in these books. It's strange, really.
** Sheep sized or cow sized, it varies in the description...but frankly that doesn't strike me as TOO large a crab, all things considered, but I am a child of a later, less innocent time.
It is mostly mindless, schlock-filled fun predicated on the reader's ability to accept crabs of an unusual size**—with bullet-proof shells and the strength to lift large vehicles—are rampaging on a coastal town while a widower and a divorcee have an virtually instantaneous romance (before the horror even starts, really) and the military blunders around to extend a page count because why not. Dumb? Yes. Schlock? Yes. Fun? Oh, yes. Quite fun.
There is a certain type of joy that can only be experienced when genre fiction like this opens up the floodgates of possibility and just runs with it. The novel does not take itself seriously but it also does not engage in apologetic self-parody. It exists in a delightful plane of existence where you willfully accept big old crabs chopping off human limbs with foot-long pincers. It is a quite heady rush, all things considered. [Note: the four stars given to this book are given entirely in the context of your ability to accept such things as actually a joy to read. If not, then this review is probably not for you.]
Amazingly, there are at least seven more books in this series. And that, most of all, astounds me.
=======
* There is something to be said about horror-/genre-fiction sex scenes from this era (and really, through at least the 90s) in how utterly pointless and rote they were: very middle-class white dude (anti-)titillation. Always using the same language and general set up: members exposed to cool air, fumbling hands finding their way in the dark (nearly always the dark), warm moistness [one of the least sexy word combinations in the English language], a hand to guide the man in before the thrusting begins, and absolutely zero actual sexiness. They never add anything to the plot but a moment of general awkwardness for the reader, and yet they were nearly always included in these books. It's strange, really.
** Sheep sized or cow sized, it varies in the description...but frankly that doesn't strike me as TOO large a crab, all things considered, but I am a child of a later, less innocent time.
June 20, 2009
First published back in 1976, 'Night Of The Crabs' was the novel that really launched Guy N. Smith as a writer iconic pulp horror writer. Spawning four subsequent sequels and one insightful prequel, the movie production company Amicus later even bought the film rights to the 'Crabs' idea in 1976.
The tale begins when Professor Cliff Davenport, marine biologist and an all round stand-up guy, travels to a small piece of land known as Shell Island on the Welsh coast, to investigate the strange disappearance of his nephew Ian Wright and Wright’s fiancée Julie Coles. Alas, the love struck pair had their lives cut short during a romantic night-swimming escapade. A full scale search is put underway in an attempt to locate the missing pair, whilst Davenport begins his own investigations into their disappearance.
After being mistakenly arrested by the conveniently placed military, Davenport relays his suspicions to the leading figure and close personal friend of his - Sir Ronald Bradley of Whitehall. Davenport is subsequently released by the military and quickly meets up with Pat Benson, another guest at the hotel Davenport is currently lodging at. Benson informs Davenport of the mysterious markings left on the beach that she spotted during an early morning walk and together they begin a vigil on the surrounding beaches.
Not before long, Davenport and his Benson (who are now quickly becoming lovers) witness the savage death of the local deaf and dumb beachcomber known as Bartholomew, at the hands (or should I say claws) of gigantic crabs that have emerged from the waters of Shell Island.
Davenport reports these dramatic findings to the military via another one of Davenport’s impressively high ranking contacts – Grisedale of Whitehall, who sends the inept Colonel Goode to take over the ‘crab’ investigations. Of course, Goode is highly sceptical of the entire story and as such military action is postponed, until the crabs are actually upon the unprepared soldiers and local community.
An all out war ensues, with the monstrous crustaceans now swarming onto the helpless community of Shell Island. The military presence on Shell Island is almost completely annihilated by these seemingly indestructible freaks of nature.
The deadly epidemic is now a full blown reality, and reinforcements are sent in sharp-ish. The military fight back in an all-out battle at Barmouth. Alas, the heavy gauge weaponry of the tanks is still no match for the seemingly impenetrable armour of the crabs. Mankind needs to think fast if they are going to win the war against the crabs. Luckily they have Davenport on their side, whose quick thinking and truly inspired idea might just turn the tide in favour of a human victory...
The novel packs in as much blood spillage as possible, with an array of flamboyant characters each taking out their own independent (and often clichéd) roles within this outrageously over-the-top storyline.
From the outset, Smith delivers a truly original monstrous enemy for mankind to battle against, that due to the hate fuelled nature that Smith has given them, delivers a non-stop tirade of blood spilling action that will get pulp horror fans drooling from the very first attack.
Littered with elaborate twists and turns to the main thrust of the storyline, the tale ultimately concludes with an inspired yet bizarre grand finale. With such a far fetched idea tackled with an even more amusingly unlikely course of defence taken by the military, Smith has managed to produce nothing short of a masterpiece of seventies pulp horror.
The graphically depicted battle scenes between the crabs and the military deliver pages of edge-of-the-seat pulp horror entertainment that is interspersed with further crab carnage and comical character interaction. At no point does Smith take his foot off the accelerator from the very moment the crabs first take to the shore.
Not only are these gigantic enemies of mankind colossal in size and naturally armoured by their huge shells, they also display a surprising level of intelligence. Lead by a briefly glimpsed ‘King Crab’, these organised crustacean ranks pose a severe threat to the community.
`Night of the Crabs' was the first instalment in Guy's signature `Crabs' series, but should preferably be read after the later released prequel entitled 'The Origin Of The Crabs'. `Origin’ ends exactly where `Night’ takes off, bringing together a seamless and tight storyline to the crabs series as a whole.
The next crabs book in the series is `Killer Crabs' released just two years later. `Night' has set down the groundwork for this next outrageous pulp horror classic, where no time needs to be spent playing with the denial and disbelief of the military. From here on in its non-stop, blood soaked crab action. From the moment the crabs first take to the beach of Shell Island, expect nothing short of one onslaught after another.
‘Night of the Crabs’ is the true beginning of the all-out crab war. It’s a classic pulp horror and splatterpunk novel that is hard to be bettered for such an unashamed far-fetched enemy. An enjoyable read is the understatement of the century!
The book runs for a total of 144 pages (pretty standard length for one of Guy's novels). Like with the majority of Smith's other novels, an abundance of action and twists to the storyline are somehow crammed into these few pages.
The tale begins when Professor Cliff Davenport, marine biologist and an all round stand-up guy, travels to a small piece of land known as Shell Island on the Welsh coast, to investigate the strange disappearance of his nephew Ian Wright and Wright’s fiancée Julie Coles. Alas, the love struck pair had their lives cut short during a romantic night-swimming escapade. A full scale search is put underway in an attempt to locate the missing pair, whilst Davenport begins his own investigations into their disappearance.
After being mistakenly arrested by the conveniently placed military, Davenport relays his suspicions to the leading figure and close personal friend of his - Sir Ronald Bradley of Whitehall. Davenport is subsequently released by the military and quickly meets up with Pat Benson, another guest at the hotel Davenport is currently lodging at. Benson informs Davenport of the mysterious markings left on the beach that she spotted during an early morning walk and together they begin a vigil on the surrounding beaches.
Not before long, Davenport and his Benson (who are now quickly becoming lovers) witness the savage death of the local deaf and dumb beachcomber known as Bartholomew, at the hands (or should I say claws) of gigantic crabs that have emerged from the waters of Shell Island.
Davenport reports these dramatic findings to the military via another one of Davenport’s impressively high ranking contacts – Grisedale of Whitehall, who sends the inept Colonel Goode to take over the ‘crab’ investigations. Of course, Goode is highly sceptical of the entire story and as such military action is postponed, until the crabs are actually upon the unprepared soldiers and local community.
An all out war ensues, with the monstrous crustaceans now swarming onto the helpless community of Shell Island. The military presence on Shell Island is almost completely annihilated by these seemingly indestructible freaks of nature.
The deadly epidemic is now a full blown reality, and reinforcements are sent in sharp-ish. The military fight back in an all-out battle at Barmouth. Alas, the heavy gauge weaponry of the tanks is still no match for the seemingly impenetrable armour of the crabs. Mankind needs to think fast if they are going to win the war against the crabs. Luckily they have Davenport on their side, whose quick thinking and truly inspired idea might just turn the tide in favour of a human victory...
The novel packs in as much blood spillage as possible, with an array of flamboyant characters each taking out their own independent (and often clichéd) roles within this outrageously over-the-top storyline.
From the outset, Smith delivers a truly original monstrous enemy for mankind to battle against, that due to the hate fuelled nature that Smith has given them, delivers a non-stop tirade of blood spilling action that will get pulp horror fans drooling from the very first attack.
Littered with elaborate twists and turns to the main thrust of the storyline, the tale ultimately concludes with an inspired yet bizarre grand finale. With such a far fetched idea tackled with an even more amusingly unlikely course of defence taken by the military, Smith has managed to produce nothing short of a masterpiece of seventies pulp horror.
The graphically depicted battle scenes between the crabs and the military deliver pages of edge-of-the-seat pulp horror entertainment that is interspersed with further crab carnage and comical character interaction. At no point does Smith take his foot off the accelerator from the very moment the crabs first take to the shore.
Not only are these gigantic enemies of mankind colossal in size and naturally armoured by their huge shells, they also display a surprising level of intelligence. Lead by a briefly glimpsed ‘King Crab’, these organised crustacean ranks pose a severe threat to the community.
`Night of the Crabs' was the first instalment in Guy's signature `Crabs' series, but should preferably be read after the later released prequel entitled 'The Origin Of The Crabs'. `Origin’ ends exactly where `Night’ takes off, bringing together a seamless and tight storyline to the crabs series as a whole.
The next crabs book in the series is `Killer Crabs' released just two years later. `Night' has set down the groundwork for this next outrageous pulp horror classic, where no time needs to be spent playing with the denial and disbelief of the military. From here on in its non-stop, blood soaked crab action. From the moment the crabs first take to the beach of Shell Island, expect nothing short of one onslaught after another.
‘Night of the Crabs’ is the true beginning of the all-out crab war. It’s a classic pulp horror and splatterpunk novel that is hard to be bettered for such an unashamed far-fetched enemy. An enjoyable read is the understatement of the century!
The book runs for a total of 144 pages (pretty standard length for one of Guy's novels). Like with the majority of Smith's other novels, an abundance of action and twists to the storyline are somehow crammed into these few pages.
July 7, 2025
Not very good, but I did have a lot of fun reading it. Bonus points for being short and sweet.
May 13, 2021
"'My God!' Cliff exclaimed. Take a look at this,' he said, passing the
newspaper across to Pat Benson. It's already begun! The crabs are
attacking!'"
newspaper across to Pat Benson. It's already begun! The crabs are
attacking!'"
July 20, 2018
Click, click, clickety-click...
The author,Guy N. Smith, wrote seven of these crab books. This is the first, published in 1976. The last, Killer Crabs: The Return, was published in 2012. Thats an impressive load of crab-oriented fiction.
The book opens as a young couple go for a swim off the coast in Wales and, to their cost, encounter giant man-eating crabs. Professor Cliff Davenport, who was related to one of the youngsters, decides that the authorities are not taking the couple’s disappearance seriously enough and decides he will investigate himself.
It doesn’t take long before he encounters the most cunning enemy the world has ever met. Nobody ever learns a thing about these crabs, except "guns don't work" and "they come out when the moon is full". It’s like a badly written B-movie in book form.
It is undemanding and fun. A trashy, pulpy dumb book about big crabs. Smith knows the kind of book he is writing and keeps the pace brisk by wasting no time on minutia like plot, character development or dialogue. He does, however, leave room for healthy amounts of hokey, campy and corny and I spent much of the story with an ear to ear grin on my face. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and plan on reading at least one of the sequels to see if the magic can continue.
Bottom-line, if the title, the cover and review above make you think you would like this, odds are you will!
The author,Guy N. Smith, wrote seven of these crab books. This is the first, published in 1976. The last, Killer Crabs: The Return, was published in 2012. Thats an impressive load of crab-oriented fiction.
The book opens as a young couple go for a swim off the coast in Wales and, to their cost, encounter giant man-eating crabs. Professor Cliff Davenport, who was related to one of the youngsters, decides that the authorities are not taking the couple’s disappearance seriously enough and decides he will investigate himself.
It doesn’t take long before he encounters the most cunning enemy the world has ever met. Nobody ever learns a thing about these crabs, except "guns don't work" and "they come out when the moon is full". It’s like a badly written B-movie in book form.
It is undemanding and fun. A trashy, pulpy dumb book about big crabs. Smith knows the kind of book he is writing and keeps the pace brisk by wasting no time on minutia like plot, character development or dialogue. He does, however, leave room for healthy amounts of hokey, campy and corny and I spent much of the story with an ear to ear grin on my face. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and plan on reading at least one of the sequels to see if the magic can continue.
Bottom-line, if the title, the cover and review above make you think you would like this, odds are you will!
October 13, 2013
Bloodthirsty crabs arise from the depths of the sea to feast on human flesh.
Ignore the naysayers who denigrate this book as trash. If Herman Melville had decided to write about crabs instead of a whale, this is undoubtedly the book he would have produced. Author Guy N. Smith is to be commended rather than scorned. He catches a lot a flack on this site for writing awkward sex scenes, but I think his characters should be applauded for being able to have any kind of sex when there are monster crustaceans around. And any novelist who can write about his protagonists making love while on the lookout for crabs without a hint of irony is clearly operating on a different level than the rest of us.
Bravo!
Ignore the naysayers who denigrate this book as trash. If Herman Melville had decided to write about crabs instead of a whale, this is undoubtedly the book he would have produced. Author Guy N. Smith is to be commended rather than scorned. He catches a lot a flack on this site for writing awkward sex scenes, but I think his characters should be applauded for being able to have any kind of sex when there are monster crustaceans around. And any novelist who can write about his protagonists making love while on the lookout for crabs without a hint of irony is clearly operating on a different level than the rest of us.
Bravo!
June 13, 2010
This was one of the first books I ever read and it's a pretty good place to start in the pantheon of the world's finest literature. It's about giant crabs coming out of the sea to attack Wales.
Exciting, poetic and bristling with tension, this is the finest book to have ever been written about giant crabs, bar none.
I wish books like this still got published
Exciting, poetic and bristling with tension, this is the finest book to have ever been written about giant crabs, bar none.
I wish books like this still got published
July 21, 2025
Murderous crabs + boners + blood = Literary GOLD!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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