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Rattlers
Up above, on the mountain-top, the men and machines were clearing the site for Greenbrier Lodge – a massive luxury hotel. The project would cost millions - but would make its owner a fortune.
Down below, in the silent darkness of the earth, slumbered a huge colony of rattlesnakes. Some were young and-small, and easily alarmed. Others were veterans nearly six feet long, and thick as a man's wrist. All were potentially deadly ... Their den was a writhing network of burrows and nests in the depths of the mountain.
As the building proceeded, the snakes became restless, and human fear began to grow. But big Sam DeBlase was determined that nothing should spoil his plans. By the time the first wealthy guests arrived, he would have to exterminate the reptiles.
Yet he could not forget what the expert had said:
"YOU'LL NEVER MOVE THOSE SNAKES!"
And so the horror began...
Down below, in the silent darkness of the earth, slumbered a huge colony of rattlesnakes. Some were young and-small, and easily alarmed. Others were veterans nearly six feet long, and thick as a man's wrist. All were potentially deadly ... Their den was a writhing network of burrows and nests in the depths of the mountain.
As the building proceeded, the snakes became restless, and human fear began to grow. But big Sam DeBlase was determined that nothing should spoil his plans. By the time the first wealthy guests arrived, he would have to exterminate the reptiles.
Yet he could not forget what the expert had said:
"YOU'LL NEVER MOVE THOSE SNAKES!"
And so the horror began...
- GenresHorror
204 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
2 people are currently reading
63 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 7, 2023
Fun, but rather slow going creature feature by Gilmore. Right from the start you know where this one is going to go. Our main protagonist, Sam, is the head contractor building a mega resort high in the hills above L.A. Shortly after construction started, a trenching machine dug up a nest of Western Rattlers and spooked the contractors. Sam met with the lead backers of the project about it and the leading snake expert in California. While the herpetologist told them there is no way to exterminate a rattlesnake den and to abandon the project, Sam and the backers, led by greed, decided to go ahead anyway. They did employ some folks with 'snake dogs' that managed to kill several hundred snakes during construction and in the weeks leading up to the grand opening, nary a snake was seen...
Gilmore treats us to an old 'bull' snake's POV throughout the novel which is entertaining, and Rattlers features a 'typical' SoCal cast of actors, politicians, sports stars and so forth who are present for the grand opening of the swanky hotel. Unfortunately, for all the build up, this really did not have that much snake foo. Three quarters or more of the novel consisted of Gilmore developing the characters and, for many, their various sleazy interactions in one way or another. This almost felt like a screen play and yes, it has the makings of a pretty good B film for sure. By today's standards, however, it is pretty tame (this was first published in 1978). Still, if you can find a copy and like creature features, not a bad tale at all. 3 snaky stars!!
Gilmore treats us to an old 'bull' snake's POV throughout the novel which is entertaining, and Rattlers features a 'typical' SoCal cast of actors, politicians, sports stars and so forth who are present for the grand opening of the swanky hotel. Unfortunately, for all the build up, this really did not have that much snake foo. Three quarters or more of the novel consisted of Gilmore developing the characters and, for many, their various sleazy interactions in one way or another. This almost felt like a screen play and yes, it has the makings of a pretty good B film for sure. By today's standards, however, it is pretty tame (this was first published in 1978). Still, if you can find a copy and like creature features, not a bad tale at all. 3 snaky stars!!
February 11, 2026
Rattlers is a standard creature-feature horror novel about a group of fairly pleasant serpents doing their thing and co-existing pretty peacefully with their environment when nasty money-grubbing humans come along and try to wipe them out to put up a luxury resort. It's a very 1970s book, with the California-stock-human characters being more preoccupied with sex and alcohol and sex than seems normal. It's paced like a film, and the writing is not flashy but competent. Fans of the William Katt Snake Island film should read this one. One interesting conceit is the narrative switches to the snake point of view from time to time. Anyone with ophidiophobia should steer clear but otherwise pop yourself a bowl of corn and add extra butter.
February 27, 2020
In the 2002 film Orange County, a minor character named Kip is painted as a pretentious, bloviating Stanford undergrad with one simple utterance in reference to his screenplay: “Well, ostensibly it’s about vampires, but really it’s about the reunification of Germany.”
At the risk of sounding like Kip, Rattlers is really about Vietnam.
I know, I know. Just hear me out.
The narrative centers around Sam DeBlase, a retired veteran whose meager pension forces him to open up a construction company. He’s finally able to secure a payout that will allow him to expand while taking a hands-off approach and travel in style with his wife Marge. Greenbrier Towers are an architectural wonder overlooking the city of Los Angeles and the sapphire expanse of the Pacific. It will be a posh resort that caters to the rich and famous of the City of Angels. In other words, a triumph of capitalism.
The only problem is the property is sitting right on top of a nest of diamondback rattlesnakes, who are unearthed midway through the project. They call in the help of two herpetologists. Dr. Mizer, sullen and crotchety, declares they will never be able to rid the cliff of the underground inhabitants. “Abandon the site,” he says. “Leave the snakes in peace … If you don’t they’ll never give you any peace.”
Dr. David Shetland admits he’s never seen a nest wiped out but does not rule out the possibility.
Construction wears on as an attempt is made to kill every last snake in the nest. For months, not a single sighting has taken place. Then comes the lavish grand opening, attended by movie stars, producers, an ace pitcher for the Dodgers, his model wife, and the list goes on. Not to spoil anything, but three guesses as to whether or not all the snakes have been eradicated.
The underground serpentine menace slithers out at inopportune times, lies in wait hidden in the underbrush, and fatally strikes. They refuse to be defeated, even with the most sophisticated and militant efforts. Not to compare human beings to snakes, but it does smack of narratives around the Viet Cong.
Furthermore, each time there’s a possibility of a snake attack, Sam is struck with an uneasy feeling. Inexplicably, a memory of an earlier tragedy resurfaces: the day his only son, was killed in a rocket attack in Vietnam.
If that symbol is lurking beneath the surface, there is some text that isn’t even sub. I’m guessing Gilmore had recently read a book of Freud because the comparisons of snakes and phalluses are almost as numerous as the rattlers themselves.
In the introduction to American Literature in Transition, 1970-1980, Kirk Curnutt points to the 1968 Supreme Court Case Memoirs v Massachusetts as the moment that hailed a change in literature, one that rises—no pun intended—in the 70s. Ruling on an obscenity trial that banned the selling of Fanny Hill, the Court found that literature could only be deemed obscene and banned if it lacked any artistic merit and appealed only to “prurient interests.” Curnutt claims this was so broad it opened the floodgates to more graphic depictions of sex and sexual organs.
Texts like Portnoy’s Complaint and Fear of Flying immediately come to mind. Rattlers, while not achieving the same level of literary achievement, follows suit. It’s borderline erotica. Every major and most minor characters are bumping and grinding at some point or another, and the bedroom antics are described with the same attention to detail as the snake’s scales and fangs.
There are busted marriages and affairs galore. For all their years of matrimony and their advanced age, Sam and Marge enjoy healthy libidos. There are lesbian and bisexual encounters, touches of S&M, and even one gay liaison. (It’s worth noting that the one male-on-male tryst is only alluded to, the single act of carnal desire that doesn’t get the in-depth treatment.) As if rattlers slithering “through the well-smoothed channels” isn’t enough for a psychoanalytic critic to figure it out, we have to weather a gratuitous deluge of flesh and moans.
In an essay from the 90s, David Foster Wallace refers to Phillip Roth as a “penis with a thesaurus.” I doubt he ever read this obscure text, but if he thought Roth got a little graphic …
Gilmore, however, is more of a “penis with a typewriter.” I’m not sure he owned a thesaurus. The writing is simple, straightforward, and unadorned. Clearly, it’s popular pulp with no aspirations of anything more. At time the prose can get clunky.
The plot isn’t terribly imaginative either. When Dr. Mizer remarks that you may not see the snakes for a day, for a month, or for a year, but they will be back, there’s no doubt in the reader’s mind. Not to give too much away, but when we discover that there is some shoddy material being installed in the hotel and Sam has a heated confrontation with the contractor, we already realize what will eventually lead the snakes back to the surface. And, come on, of course it’s going to happen during the lush grand opening events.
That said, the characters are well drawn and feel three-dimensional. A couple of them are actually likeable enough to buy pathos and create suspense as they stare down the fanged fiends. The pacing is solid, and it’s a quick read.
In short, it’s better than a lot of other yarns in this genre. Nonetheless, it is inextricably linked to the genre and is limited for this reason. I didn’t hate it, and I didn’t love it. If nothing else, my expectations were so low that I was pleasantly surprised to find it had a little bit of bite.
At the risk of sounding like Kip, Rattlers is really about Vietnam.
I know, I know. Just hear me out.
The narrative centers around Sam DeBlase, a retired veteran whose meager pension forces him to open up a construction company. He’s finally able to secure a payout that will allow him to expand while taking a hands-off approach and travel in style with his wife Marge. Greenbrier Towers are an architectural wonder overlooking the city of Los Angeles and the sapphire expanse of the Pacific. It will be a posh resort that caters to the rich and famous of the City of Angels. In other words, a triumph of capitalism.
The only problem is the property is sitting right on top of a nest of diamondback rattlesnakes, who are unearthed midway through the project. They call in the help of two herpetologists. Dr. Mizer, sullen and crotchety, declares they will never be able to rid the cliff of the underground inhabitants. “Abandon the site,” he says. “Leave the snakes in peace … If you don’t they’ll never give you any peace.”
Dr. David Shetland admits he’s never seen a nest wiped out but does not rule out the possibility.
Construction wears on as an attempt is made to kill every last snake in the nest. For months, not a single sighting has taken place. Then comes the lavish grand opening, attended by movie stars, producers, an ace pitcher for the Dodgers, his model wife, and the list goes on. Not to spoil anything, but three guesses as to whether or not all the snakes have been eradicated.
The underground serpentine menace slithers out at inopportune times, lies in wait hidden in the underbrush, and fatally strikes. They refuse to be defeated, even with the most sophisticated and militant efforts. Not to compare human beings to snakes, but it does smack of narratives around the Viet Cong.
Furthermore, each time there’s a possibility of a snake attack, Sam is struck with an uneasy feeling. Inexplicably, a memory of an earlier tragedy resurfaces: the day his only son, was killed in a rocket attack in Vietnam.
If that symbol is lurking beneath the surface, there is some text that isn’t even sub. I’m guessing Gilmore had recently read a book of Freud because the comparisons of snakes and phalluses are almost as numerous as the rattlers themselves.
In the introduction to American Literature in Transition, 1970-1980, Kirk Curnutt points to the 1968 Supreme Court Case Memoirs v Massachusetts as the moment that hailed a change in literature, one that rises—no pun intended—in the 70s. Ruling on an obscenity trial that banned the selling of Fanny Hill, the Court found that literature could only be deemed obscene and banned if it lacked any artistic merit and appealed only to “prurient interests.” Curnutt claims this was so broad it opened the floodgates to more graphic depictions of sex and sexual organs.
Texts like Portnoy’s Complaint and Fear of Flying immediately come to mind. Rattlers, while not achieving the same level of literary achievement, follows suit. It’s borderline erotica. Every major and most minor characters are bumping and grinding at some point or another, and the bedroom antics are described with the same attention to detail as the snake’s scales and fangs.
There are busted marriages and affairs galore. For all their years of matrimony and their advanced age, Sam and Marge enjoy healthy libidos. There are lesbian and bisexual encounters, touches of S&M, and even one gay liaison. (It’s worth noting that the one male-on-male tryst is only alluded to, the single act of carnal desire that doesn’t get the in-depth treatment.) As if rattlers slithering “through the well-smoothed channels” isn’t enough for a psychoanalytic critic to figure it out, we have to weather a gratuitous deluge of flesh and moans.
In an essay from the 90s, David Foster Wallace refers to Phillip Roth as a “penis with a thesaurus.” I doubt he ever read this obscure text, but if he thought Roth got a little graphic …
Gilmore, however, is more of a “penis with a typewriter.” I’m not sure he owned a thesaurus. The writing is simple, straightforward, and unadorned. Clearly, it’s popular pulp with no aspirations of anything more. At time the prose can get clunky.
The plot isn’t terribly imaginative either. When Dr. Mizer remarks that you may not see the snakes for a day, for a month, or for a year, but they will be back, there’s no doubt in the reader’s mind. Not to give too much away, but when we discover that there is some shoddy material being installed in the hotel and Sam has a heated confrontation with the contractor, we already realize what will eventually lead the snakes back to the surface. And, come on, of course it’s going to happen during the lush grand opening events.
That said, the characters are well drawn and feel three-dimensional. A couple of them are actually likeable enough to buy pathos and create suspense as they stare down the fanged fiends. The pacing is solid, and it’s a quick read.
In short, it’s better than a lot of other yarns in this genre. Nonetheless, it is inextricably linked to the genre and is limited for this reason. I didn’t hate it, and I didn’t love it. If nothing else, my expectations were so low that I was pleasantly surprised to find it had a little bit of bite.
July 4, 2024
Tre stelle e mezzo.
Non un capolavoro, ma una lettura avvincente!
Non un capolavoro, ma una lettura avvincente!
January 31, 2014
The Fangs of Terror! In a vast underground labyrinth a swelling army of ravenous rattlers moved effortlessly through a network of smooth channels that riddled a mountaintop retreat. They slithered to the top by the thousands, uncoiling, writhing, eyes unblinking, fangs exposed, tongues flicking eagerly... — On the Sunlit surface, a great California luxury resort was being completed, a flood of wealthy and famous guests was about to pour in to make this wilderness mountain their private preserve...
This book came to me within a box of books that were given to me by a neighbor. I might not have paid it much attention, except that when I entered all the books in the box, it was one of a half dozen that was on someone's wish list. So I decided to read those first so that I could fulfill someone else's wishes. It was an alright read playing on our inborn fear and revulsion of snakes. If you don't get the (total & irrational) creeps from snakes, it might not be that horrifying of a read. The book introduced some characters that were working on the construction of the lodge or would be at the lodge during its grand opening but didn't really make you care if they were bitten and killed or not. Some of the characters were purposely written as unlikeable so readers would "want" them to be the ones bitten. The characters weren't given much depth so it was hard to care one way or the other. There were a lot of "near misses" and some killings. We got to read an occasional page or two from the perspective of the snakes who were not given anthropomorphism (the attribution of human characteristics to non-human animal or non-living things) so that we could appreciate that they were just animals going through normal instinctual behavior.
Description from the back of the book: "The Fangs of Terror! In a vast underground labyrinth a swelling army of ravenous rattlers moved effortlessly through a network of smooth channels that riddled a mountaintop retreat. They slithered to the top by the thousands, uncoiling, writhing, eyes unblinking, fangs exposed, tongues flicking eagerly...
On the Sunlit surface, a great California luxury resort was being completed, a flood of wealthy and famous guests was about to pour in to make this wilderness mountain their private preserve...
There was no way that anyone could know they were holidaying above the dens of a seething mass of rattlesnakes. And there was no way anyone could escape the fiendish hissing horror, or the nightmare struggle that would erupt..."
At one point, when I was reading this book late a night, I moved my foot and it grazed something that felt like it didn't belong under the covers with me. I jumped like there was a damn snake in the bed (so I did have the heeby jeebies from the book) but seconds later I realized that it was just my Pomeranian under the covers.
This book came to me within a box of books that were given to me by a neighbor. I might not have paid it much attention, except that when I entered all the books in the box, it was one of a half dozen that was on someone's wish list. So I decided to read those first so that I could fulfill someone else's wishes. It was an alright read playing on our inborn fear and revulsion of snakes. If you don't get the (total & irrational) creeps from snakes, it might not be that horrifying of a read. The book introduced some characters that were working on the construction of the lodge or would be at the lodge during its grand opening but didn't really make you care if they were bitten and killed or not. Some of the characters were purposely written as unlikeable so readers would "want" them to be the ones bitten. The characters weren't given much depth so it was hard to care one way or the other. There were a lot of "near misses" and some killings. We got to read an occasional page or two from the perspective of the snakes who were not given anthropomorphism (the attribution of human characteristics to non-human animal or non-living things) so that we could appreciate that they were just animals going through normal instinctual behavior.
Description from the back of the book: "The Fangs of Terror! In a vast underground labyrinth a swelling army of ravenous rattlers moved effortlessly through a network of smooth channels that riddled a mountaintop retreat. They slithered to the top by the thousands, uncoiling, writhing, eyes unblinking, fangs exposed, tongues flicking eagerly...
On the Sunlit surface, a great California luxury resort was being completed, a flood of wealthy and famous guests was about to pour in to make this wilderness mountain their private preserve...
There was no way that anyone could know they were holidaying above the dens of a seething mass of rattlesnakes. And there was no way anyone could escape the fiendish hissing horror, or the nightmare struggle that would erupt..."
At one point, when I was reading this book late a night, I moved my foot and it grazed something that felt like it didn't belong under the covers with me. I jumped like there was a damn snake in the bed (so I did have the heeby jeebies from the book) but seconds later I realized that it was just my Pomeranian under the covers.
December 15, 2013
I went through my books recently and removed books with an overall less-than 3-star rating. This was the lowest rated book of them all. I decided to read it. I mean, how bad can a book about killer rattlesnakes be?
I'm not sure if Gilmore was trying from the get-go to make the humans the villains, but after reading his near-textbook description of snakes, snake behavior, and snake reproductive cycle, I was all about the snakes.
Sadly, nobody died via snakebite within the first 21 pages. What I did get to read about was people building a resort on top of a mountain (or large hill), the elaborate structure of that building, killing snakes via construction equipment, and a lengthy discussion about how to go about killing rattlesnakes. *yawn*
I also read far too many offensive, low-brow, and horrible tropes. The "indian" was, of course, from a nearby reservation and had a drinking problem. This was mentioned a least a half-dozen times. My guess is he dies trying to get to alcohol--or because he's drunk. The sole female character is described as a "girl". My guess is that she's in her mid-twenties. The male figure that was attracted to her was described by the female as a "young man"--he is actually in his 30's.
I gave up when her inner monologue mentioned having sex with him very soon.
I think this would make a decent Syfy movie. They might have to remove some of the horrid stereotypes. It reads like a "young man's" first attempt at a novel.
I was really hoping this would just be a bad novel, but it ended up being an offensively bad novel.
I'm not sure if Gilmore was trying from the get-go to make the humans the villains, but after reading his near-textbook description of snakes, snake behavior, and snake reproductive cycle, I was all about the snakes.
Sadly, nobody died via snakebite within the first 21 pages. What I did get to read about was people building a resort on top of a mountain (or large hill), the elaborate structure of that building, killing snakes via construction equipment, and a lengthy discussion about how to go about killing rattlesnakes. *yawn*
I also read far too many offensive, low-brow, and horrible tropes. The "indian" was, of course, from a nearby reservation and had a drinking problem. This was mentioned a least a half-dozen times. My guess is he dies trying to get to alcohol--or because he's drunk. The sole female character is described as a "girl". My guess is that she's in her mid-twenties. The male figure that was attracted to her was described by the female as a "young man"--he is actually in his 30's.
I gave up when her inner monologue mentioned having sex with him very soon.
I think this would make a decent Syfy movie. They might have to remove some of the horrid stereotypes. It reads like a "young man's" first attempt at a novel.
I was really hoping this would just be a bad novel, but it ended up being an offensively bad novel.
August 30, 2022
Entertaining trash with characters like Indians, gays and sapphists portrayed in a way sure to offend every wuss on the internet. The Indian dude trying desperately to drink from his flask as he lay dying from snake bites was a hilarious highlight. Almost every passage featuring him made sure to mention what a pathetic drunk he was. His death made me sad as I was hoping this would continue throughout the book. The main character has a disdain for homosexuals and almost all the women characters are bossy, confused lesbians, prudes or shrill emasculators. There's a decent amount of sex here including a laugh-inducing scene where two people go at it on a bench and the thumping and moaning causing a poised to strike rattler to be scared off. Another thing whiners are sure to find offensive is the cowardly Mexican Ramon who first tries to steal all the valuables from the rooms during the chaos but soon finds an even bigger prize- a beautiful blonde, ex-Playboy White girl. He saves her from the snakes and drives off in a golf cart with her with the expectation of many "favors" for saving her. There aren't as many deaths as you'd like but I guess death by snakebite can only be so exciting. One downside is the book takes quite a while for the chaos to really start. Other pluses are the story showing the building, financing and operating of a luxury resort hotel, brief chapters showing the snake's perspective via a "big bull" and a number of lively, likeable and loathsome characters you expect from a "disaster" story like this. A solid, fairly early entry in the "animal attack" genre.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 29, 2025
Wake me up when something happens.
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