What do you think?
Rate this book
Effed Up Bugs
Somethin' ain't right in Sourwood.
Ain't the craft-drinkin' hipster transplants. Ain't the locals stuck in their ways, itchin' for a fight.
Ain't even that fancy BlueGrass Farming Project they keep braggon' on about.
Naw - it's them goddamn EFFED UP BUGS!
And they're crawlin' after y'all.
Ain't the craft-drinkin' hipster transplants. Ain't the locals stuck in their ways, itchin' for a fight.
Ain't even that fancy BlueGrass Farming Project they keep braggon' on about.
Naw - it's them goddamn EFFED UP BUGS!
And they're crawlin' after y'all.
255 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 30, 2025
14 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Robertson
19 books344 followersChristopher Robertson writes cinematic pulp fiction that's often described as both wholesome and gruesome, sometimes in the same sentence. He won both the Gold award for Best Novel and Silver for Best Audiobook at the 2023 Godless 666 Awards.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 4, 2025
Bugs, man. Giant effing
This book is so fun, an absolute joy to read, even if bugs make you feel icky. I was so happy to receive one of the eARCs for this. Hipsters, strippers, and hillbillies vs giant mutated bugs, what’s not to love?
To use a word I don’t think I’ve ever used in a review, it was unputdownable. I had my kindle on me whenever I went to work so I could sneak in a chapter on my breaks.
There is also a surprising amount of actual information about the bugs in the story, so if you like to learn, that’s an added bonus!
Christopher Robertson knocked it out of the park again with this one, and I honestly can’t wait for the next one.
This book is so fun, an absolute joy to read, even if bugs make you feel icky. I was so happy to receive one of the eARCs for this. Hipsters, strippers, and hillbillies vs giant mutated bugs, what’s not to love?
To use a word I don’t think I’ve ever used in a review, it was unputdownable. I had my kindle on me whenever I went to work so I could sneak in a chapter on my breaks.
There is also a surprising amount of actual information about the bugs in the story, so if you like to learn, that’s an added bonus!
Christopher Robertson knocked it out of the park again with this one, and I honestly can’t wait for the next one.
June 8, 2025
those are some effed up bugs! I absolutely loved it!! it gave me the creepy crawlies. i really enjoyed the tie-ins to Virgin Night and the cotton candy massacre. Molls got under my skin like a tik. also, hell yeah, twitch!!! I could not put this book down, christopher robertson kills it with yet another amazing book. Definitely a must-read/buy!
June 16, 2025
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 to Effed Up Bugs by Christopher Robertson.
Robertson's done it again!!! Another small town thurst into chaos and horror with the perfect mix of heart and humour.
Effed Up Bugs is the sequel to Sewer Sharks - novel released by Robertson about mutant sharks set in Florida, one of my favourite reads of last year. Effed Up Bugs is story of - you guessed right - mutant bugs set in a coal mining town called Sourwood that hasn't produced coal in decades. But it has found a new sense of commerce - hipsters moving out of the city.
Following on from Sewer Sharks where protagonists Callie and Reed attempt to save Callie's ex and the town of Sourwood from mutant monsters Effed Up Bugs throws them immediately back into the action only to cut away to a week earlier. It's a bold move - Callie and Reed - are characters that readers have come to know and love, taking us away from them and providing a ton of new characters to get to know has the chance of being off putting. Thankfully Robertson is a genius at providing engaging characters to root for, even the villains.
Every character gets an arc even if it's nefarious and self-centred. The book, despite its 200 plus pages, is choked with character moments. What stood out to be in reading this is just how developed Robertson's writing has got. If he isn't throwing you into a clever action sequence he's creating some character revelation. I really missed reading his smart, splunky writing style where the narrative text is as much a character as the people in the story.
If you haven't read any of Robertson before or Sewer Sharks then I am jealous of you. You have a master of storytelling to discover.
Robertson's done it again!!! Another small town thurst into chaos and horror with the perfect mix of heart and humour.
Effed Up Bugs is the sequel to Sewer Sharks - novel released by Robertson about mutant sharks set in Florida, one of my favourite reads of last year. Effed Up Bugs is story of - you guessed right - mutant bugs set in a coal mining town called Sourwood that hasn't produced coal in decades. But it has found a new sense of commerce - hipsters moving out of the city.
Following on from Sewer Sharks where protagonists Callie and Reed attempt to save Callie's ex and the town of Sourwood from mutant monsters Effed Up Bugs throws them immediately back into the action only to cut away to a week earlier. It's a bold move - Callie and Reed - are characters that readers have come to know and love, taking us away from them and providing a ton of new characters to get to know has the chance of being off putting. Thankfully Robertson is a genius at providing engaging characters to root for, even the villains.
Every character gets an arc even if it's nefarious and self-centred. The book, despite its 200 plus pages, is choked with character moments. What stood out to be in reading this is just how developed Robertson's writing has got. If he isn't throwing you into a clever action sequence he's creating some character revelation. I really missed reading his smart, splunky writing style where the narrative text is as much a character as the people in the story.
If you haven't read any of Robertson before or Sewer Sharks then I am jealous of you. You have a master of storytelling to discover.
June 30, 2025
4.75 rounded up to 5.
Thanks to the author for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Effed Up Bugs is the sequel to Sewer Sharks, picking up right where the last one left off, but following a second group of people from the neighboring town of Sourwood. While you don't need to read Sewer Sharks, I feel like I would highly recommend it. A few characters from that book make an appearance in this one, and there are also little references to the Cotton Candy Massacre series and characters (which I also highly recommend reading, as it is set in the same universe).
Much like Sewer Sharks, this book reaches an insane level of absurdity in the best way possible. It had me gagging and scratching my skin, because I felt these creepy crawlies all over my body. It was goofy, gory, and horrifying at the same time. The new characters in this story were just as lovable and unique as they are in pretty much all of Christopher's books, which (as always) makes this story much more enjoyable because you're invested in what happens to every character.
This book, like all of the books set in this universe, reads like a movie. There's tons of body horror, nonstop action, punny jokes (including chapter titles) and even a little bit of romance. If you like movies such as Starship Troopers (but instead with a summer camp setting) and Eight Legged Freaks, you will definitely enjoy this installment in the MonsterScope series.
Thanks to the author for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Effed Up Bugs is the sequel to Sewer Sharks, picking up right where the last one left off, but following a second group of people from the neighboring town of Sourwood. While you don't need to read Sewer Sharks, I feel like I would highly recommend it. A few characters from that book make an appearance in this one, and there are also little references to the Cotton Candy Massacre series and characters (which I also highly recommend reading, as it is set in the same universe).
Much like Sewer Sharks, this book reaches an insane level of absurdity in the best way possible. It had me gagging and scratching my skin, because I felt these creepy crawlies all over my body. It was goofy, gory, and horrifying at the same time. The new characters in this story were just as lovable and unique as they are in pretty much all of Christopher's books, which (as always) makes this story much more enjoyable because you're invested in what happens to every character.
This book, like all of the books set in this universe, reads like a movie. There's tons of body horror, nonstop action, punny jokes (including chapter titles) and even a little bit of romance. If you like movies such as Starship Troopers (but instead with a summer camp setting) and Eight Legged Freaks, you will definitely enjoy this installment in the MonsterScope series.
June 6, 2025
This book is insane in the best way. Bug phobias, beware: these are large and in charge.
Another fair warning: this is gruesome - bloody and gutsy and the creepy crawlies are very real.
Admittedly, this started off a little rough for me as we are thrown directly into the madness and then rewind a bit to see where it all starts. For me, this was a little confusing and I struggled to follow the story for the first... 15%? BUT I stuck with it and ended up loving the progression of the plot as the story moved forward.
We follow kids, teens, and adults alike in the epic battle of human vs mutant bugs, and the fact that so much actual knowledge of entomology is used is honestly one of the highlights for me.
I truly had so much fun with this, and once I got my footing with what exactly was happening, I found myself not wanting to put it down, excited to pick it back up.
The more I think about this book, the more I think I'll never stop thinking about it? So yeah, I will have bugs on the brain for a while - just as long as the sci-fi mutations stay on the page...
Thank you to Christopher Robertson for the advanced access to this title. My review is completely voluntary, completely my own, and always completely honest.
Another fair warning: this is gruesome - bloody and gutsy and the creepy crawlies are very real.
Admittedly, this started off a little rough for me as we are thrown directly into the madness and then rewind a bit to see where it all starts. For me, this was a little confusing and I struggled to follow the story for the first... 15%? BUT I stuck with it and ended up loving the progression of the plot as the story moved forward.
We follow kids, teens, and adults alike in the epic battle of human vs mutant bugs, and the fact that so much actual knowledge of entomology is used is honestly one of the highlights for me.
I truly had so much fun with this, and once I got my footing with what exactly was happening, I found myself not wanting to put it down, excited to pick it back up.
The more I think about this book, the more I think I'll never stop thinking about it? So yeah, I will have bugs on the brain for a while - just as long as the sci-fi mutations stay on the page...
Thank you to Christopher Robertson for the advanced access to this title. My review is completely voluntary, completely my own, and always completely honest.
August 18, 2025
On top of the, quite obvious, effed up bugs in this book you can also expect some properly gruesome and gory scenes, impressively quick and funny dialogue and real sci-fi horror feels. The number of times I gasped in disgust whilst also giggling; that type of writing is chef’s kiss! 🤌🏻
I hadn’t read the first book in the series before digging into this sequel though, which caused some confusion at first (duh). I mean, this one throws you straight in to the action and then some. But you get into the whole plot pretty fast, so if you just wanna hop right into this one, you can. I believe in you!
In all honesty, I didn’t think that a sci-fi horror featuring MASSIVE insects would make a big impact on my life, but somehow it did!? I’ve actually learnt more about dealing with bugs from this book than I got taught in science class in school. I’ll tell you this: make
sure to always have some cinnamon at home. And possibly a gigantic fly swatter. Because apparently you never know what might come crawling at night…or flying…or biting… 🪳
*I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily*
I hadn’t read the first book in the series before digging into this sequel though, which caused some confusion at first (duh). I mean, this one throws you straight in to the action and then some. But you get into the whole plot pretty fast, so if you just wanna hop right into this one, you can. I believe in you!
In all honesty, I didn’t think that a sci-fi horror featuring MASSIVE insects would make a big impact on my life, but somehow it did!? I’ve actually learnt more about dealing with bugs from this book than I got taught in science class in school. I’ll tell you this: make
sure to always have some cinnamon at home. And possibly a gigantic fly swatter. Because apparently you never know what might come crawling at night…or flying…or biting… 🪳
*I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily*
June 30, 2025
This book was so fun like all of this author’s books. I loved this one just as much as the first one in the series.
Also loved how much research this author did because I learned about so many bugs I didn’t know about. I googled so much and each time... it made me want to barf.
I hate bugs and this author made it wicked fun to read this book despite my ick of them.
I also loved every single character in this book. They were so fun and loveable... even the villains.
I will never get Lysander’s bug dress out of my head. It sounds amazing. I wish it was real lol
I can’t wait to see what this author will enlarge and scare us with next!
Also loved how much research this author did because I learned about so many bugs I didn’t know about. I googled so much and each time... it made me want to barf.
I hate bugs and this author made it wicked fun to read this book despite my ick of them.
I also loved every single character in this book. They were so fun and loveable... even the villains.
I will never get Lysander’s bug dress out of my head. It sounds amazing. I wish it was real lol
I can’t wait to see what this author will enlarge and scare us with next!
October 19, 2025
I loved Sewer Sharks but unfortunately this one just didn't work for me. I didn't like the characters, the romance sub plot felt egregious and unnecessary. I really liked the giant killer bugs, but I just didn't enjoy the story as a whole.
Some things I did like:
The bugs- The scenes with the giant bugs were fun, and will haunt me.
Twitch- the real MVP
Each chapter page had its own neat bug graphic which was a really fun touch.
Some things I did like:
The bugs- The scenes with the giant bugs were fun, and will haunt me.
Twitch- the real MVP
Each chapter page had its own neat bug graphic which was a really fun touch.
June 9, 2025
If you'd told me one of my favorite characters would be a stick bug, I'd probably have laughed. But here we are. That being said, ALL the characters in this book are so amazingly well written they feel real. You love each of them in their own way, except Moll. No thanks, Moll. Even the children are written with with such talent that they feel like real children. There is so much crazy, buggy action in this book, you won't want to put it down. The twists, the turns, the humor, the giant creepy, crawly legs. Everything about this book is perfect.
June 6, 2025
My skin crawled and my hatred of spider has grown substantially! Fantastic addition to Christopher Robertson's horror universe. I loved the horror tributes throughout the book and the callbacks to his other books! Can't wait to read what he has for us next!
June 19, 2025
4.5 / 5
*Review Coming*
*Review Coming*
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews