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Kingdom of the Spiders
A sleepy little Western town...
Until the invasion struck.
An invasion of thousands of tarantulas - mutations of a sinister, terrifying kind, beings with the intelligence and cunning of men. And appetites for food. Living, human food...
When will the invisible world of crawling creatures strike back at man? Will the day come when we find ourselves captives in the -
KINGDOM OF SPIDERS
Until the invasion struck.
An invasion of thousands of tarantulas - mutations of a sinister, terrifying kind, beings with the intelligence and cunning of men. And appetites for food. Living, human food...
When will the invisible world of crawling creatures strike back at man? Will the day come when we find ourselves captives in the -
KINGDOM OF SPIDERS
- GenresHorrorScience Fiction
125 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
73 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 23, 2015
A nice, short little read. Pretty good for an animal horror / thriller with a nice twist at the end, good fun! :)
May 20, 2015
Camp Verde, Arizona, is the archetype of small-town Americana. From big Earl Forbes who runs the gas station (he comes complete with chewing tobacco and I’ll bet he wears an armless lumberjack shirt) to Sheriff Gene Smith (friendly, efficient but occasionally willing to look the other way), from Emma Washburn who runs the guest house (she was in her 40s, but kept herself well - which was good to hear, from this mid-forty-something reader) to Robert ‘Rack’ Hansen, the town vet (and the hero of the tale). When local farmer Walter Colby sees one of his prize cows collapse, he calls in Rack, worried that there might be a disease - which also worries Mayor Connors, who is concerned there’s no hitch to the upcoming County Fair (shades of "Jaws"). Rack takes some samples, sends them to the local university for checks and is then visited by Diane Ashley, a ‘recognised scientist’ from the Arizona State University department of entomology. Her tests have revealed that the cow died from an enormous amount of spider venom and when Colby mentions finding a spider hill on his farm, their worst suspicions are confirmed. The spiders - which shouldn’t even be found in the state - are massing (going against their natural impulse, since they’re cannibals, apparently) and that can only spell trouble for the inhabitants of Camp Verde.
Originally published in 1977 (and copyright to Arachnid Productions Ltd), this is the novelisation of a pulp-exploitation film starring William Shatner (and once you know that, it’s impossible to hear Rack in any other voice), which I haven’t seen though I now really want to, as I imagine the novel follows the screenplay quite closely. Briskly paced, the writing is basic but does the job, though it would have been nice to include the occasional flourish. Hurwood misses several opportunities to wring suspense out of a scene, especially the several “spider almost got them” ones which would work well on screen, rushing them off at the end of paragraphs. The worst example of this is the plane crash - it’s big enough that it features in the film trailer - which is over in the book almost before it’s begun. Characterisation is equally basic - the supporting characters are mainly spider meat though the Mayor has some prize moments with his County Fair woes - but Rack (he does explain where he got the nickname from) and Diane are capable and sketched in enough that you do hope they get through things alive.
With some smart set pieces, a nice subplot that all of this might have come about because of excessive use of DDT, a good sense of location and a brilliantly downbeat ending, this was an enjoyable read. It’s not for everyone but if you like pulp that’s good fun, that is brisk and efficiently told, you could do a lot worse and I recommend it - though your mileage may vary.
Originally published in 1977 (and copyright to Arachnid Productions Ltd), this is the novelisation of a pulp-exploitation film starring William Shatner (and once you know that, it’s impossible to hear Rack in any other voice), which I haven’t seen though I now really want to, as I imagine the novel follows the screenplay quite closely. Briskly paced, the writing is basic but does the job, though it would have been nice to include the occasional flourish. Hurwood misses several opportunities to wring suspense out of a scene, especially the several “spider almost got them” ones which would work well on screen, rushing them off at the end of paragraphs. The worst example of this is the plane crash - it’s big enough that it features in the film trailer - which is over in the book almost before it’s begun. Characterisation is equally basic - the supporting characters are mainly spider meat though the Mayor has some prize moments with his County Fair woes - but Rack (he does explain where he got the nickname from) and Diane are capable and sketched in enough that you do hope they get through things alive.
With some smart set pieces, a nice subplot that all of this might have come about because of excessive use of DDT, a good sense of location and a brilliantly downbeat ending, this was an enjoyable read. It’s not for everyone but if you like pulp that’s good fun, that is brisk and efficiently told, you could do a lot worse and I recommend it - though your mileage may vary.
June 3, 2016
Spiders are not insects, Bernhardt! They're arachnids!
February 6, 2025
I would give 3.5 stars as it's a very quick and easy read. That was for the most part enjoyable. Nothing spectacular here but I also can't really complain as it help my interest.
I don't feel rounding up is right here as this isn't a 4 star book for me so it gets a 3.
I don't feel rounding up is right here as this isn't a 4 star book for me so it gets a 3.
November 5, 2021
Even while reading this, I could still hear "The Shat's" voice in the dialogue, lol. Great fun!!!
May 26, 2025
A small desert town is suddenly taken over by a hoard of large spiders with a taste for human flesh
Not a bad read, a bit short, could’ve been a bit longer
Not a bad read, a bit short, could’ve been a bit longer
January 23, 2020
I like MOVIES and BOOKS about big bugs and big sharks and big spiders and....
As far as the story goes, it's OK.
The writing in the other hand is terrible. The author keeps referring to spiders as insects which is quite annoying and also they they have an Antenna? Dude, it's a Spider not a frigging TV from the 70s.
Fun, but a little predictable
As far as the story goes, it's OK.
The writing in the other hand is terrible. The author keeps referring to spiders as insects which is quite annoying and also they they have an Antenna? Dude, it's a Spider not a frigging TV from the 70s.
Fun, but a little predictable
October 28, 2014
Nature runs amok. Nothing special about the writing here.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews