What do you think?
Rate this book
Crawling Darkness
The Schuylkill River runs through the heart of Philadelphia. You can't eat most of the fish you pull out of it, but now some of them want to eat you. Seemingly overnight the eels of northeastern America have become larger, more cunning, and are swarming downriver looking for a new food source. Their veins pulse with an unnatural electric-blue blood and they wait for the rain storm that will allow them to spill forth from the banks of the Schuylkill. A biologist, a down-on-his-luck student, a would-be FBI agent, and a mental patient are drawn together to confront the slithering menace that's arrived in the City of Brotherly Love. But how can they expect to fight these creatures when it was a web of government conspiracy that brought the eels to Philly in the first place? Find out in this new thriller from the acclaimed authors of Tribesmen, Live Bait, and Bottom Feeders.
- GenresHorror
134 pages, Paperback
First published March 30, 2016
4 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Cameron Pierce
55 books198 followersCameron Pierce is the author of eleven books, including the Wonderland Book Award-winning collection Lost in Cat Brain Land. His work has appeared in The Barcelona Review, Gray's Sporting Journal, Hobart, The Big Click, and Vol. I Brooklyn, and has been reviewed and featured on Comedy Central and The Guardian. He was also the author of the column Fishing and Beer, where he interviewed acclaimed angler Bill Dance and John Lurie of Fishing with John. Pierce is the head editor of Lazy Fascist Press and has edited three anthologies, including The Best Bizarro Fiction of the Decade. He lives with his wife in Astoria, Oregon.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 22, 2016
EEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLSSSSS!!!!!!!!
This book is like giant sharks vs mecha shark... Or whatever those films are where sharks are flying through the air, you know, the one with Tara Reid?
I was ready to give this a two star until the ending but I won't spoil anything.
Not a lot more to say really. A good wee novella featuring more than a handful of Eels.
This book is like giant sharks vs mecha shark... Or whatever those films are where sharks are flying through the air, you know, the one with Tara Reid?
I was ready to give this a two star until the ending but I won't spoil anything.
Not a lot more to say really. A good wee novella featuring more than a handful of Eels.
May 22, 2016
Philadelphia is crawling with a lot of things. Until recently a deadly horde of flesh eating eels was not one of them. It’s not looking so hot for the good folks of Philly. Especially if Cesare and Pierce are telling the tale. Yep, they are toast.
3.5+ Slimy Stars for this b-movie, creature feature extravaganza
3.5+ Slimy Stars for this b-movie, creature feature extravaganza
May 19, 2016
Adam Cesare is one of the most promising horror writers on the horizon. Cameron Pierce is an established star of the Bizarro circuit whose recent writings has branched into the more mainstream literary circles. In Crawling Darkness, we have them collaborating on...a monster tale? Not only a monster tale but one that is vaguely familiar from old B-movies about killer piranhas, lampreys and pretty much any old disgusting fish creature you can think of. Here we have eels. Personally, I think eels are kind of cute and they taste good. Most people do not hold my fondness for eels though. In Pierce and Cesare's hands, they are certainly anything but cute and have a unfortunate ability to swarm pretty much anywhere and shred you into bite size pieces. This brief novel is full of the expected in this type of tale; bloody attacks, secret government conspiracies, a hit man, unlikely heroes...the whole kit and kaboodle.
And that is why I liked Crawling Darkness so much. It feels comfortably familiar but is unlike anything either Pierce or Cesare would do on their own. They seem to bring out the fun in each other. The attacks are terrifying, the dialogue is sharp, and the plot moves like wildfire. There are some interesting and colorful characters here and if some don't last too long, there will be another. I just wish it was longer than the less than 100 pages it is.
Novels with killer creatures are a staple of the horror genre. So much so that they need to stand out with something special if you want to keep the reader interested. Pierce and Cesare's eels are something special. The authors manages to make the story terrifying but also endow the tale with a lot of wit and imagination. In some ways it feels like a tribute to those b-movie creature features I mentioned before. I really wish I could have gone five stars on it but the brevity and the reliance on old but entertaining horror gimmicks kept it from being as original as it could have been. However, putting that aside, Crawling Darkness is a real kick in the butt for the monster lover. Sometimes the best scares are the old scares and Pierce and Cesare certainly know how to scare. This is the type of book you will want to read with one light on a brew and a snack available on the side. I recommend eel sushi.
And that is why I liked Crawling Darkness so much. It feels comfortably familiar but is unlike anything either Pierce or Cesare would do on their own. They seem to bring out the fun in each other. The attacks are terrifying, the dialogue is sharp, and the plot moves like wildfire. There are some interesting and colorful characters here and if some don't last too long, there will be another. I just wish it was longer than the less than 100 pages it is.
Novels with killer creatures are a staple of the horror genre. So much so that they need to stand out with something special if you want to keep the reader interested. Pierce and Cesare's eels are something special. The authors manages to make the story terrifying but also endow the tale with a lot of wit and imagination. In some ways it feels like a tribute to those b-movie creature features I mentioned before. I really wish I could have gone five stars on it but the brevity and the reliance on old but entertaining horror gimmicks kept it from being as original as it could have been. However, putting that aside, Crawling Darkness is a real kick in the butt for the monster lover. Sometimes the best scares are the old scares and Pierce and Cesare certainly know how to scare. This is the type of book you will want to read with one light on a brew and a snack available on the side. I recommend eel sushi.
May 16, 2016
I like monsters - and often I like them to win. Classic. Monstrous entertainment! I enjoyed the shock and terror of this collaboration.
February 17, 2017
Crawling Darkness feels like a fun B-monster movie rushed through in record speed, almost as if Cesare and Pierce had better things to get to. So while I enjoyed the basic story of killer eels swarming through the city of Philly, this is one novella that would most certainly have benefited from being given a longer page count, so the ideas presented within could have been fleshed out in far more detail. Even the ending felt extraordinarily rushed to me.
That said, if you want something to breeze through in 90 minutes or - as I consumed it - over a few sittings before bed each night, you could do far worse.
3 Eels Squirming in For a Tasty Bite for Crawling Darkness.
That said, if you want something to breeze through in 90 minutes or - as I consumed it - over a few sittings before bed each night, you could do far worse.
3 Eels Squirming in For a Tasty Bite for Crawling Darkness.
July 31, 2017
For a good time call Cesare and Pierce.
May 30, 2016
A TOP SHELF review, originally published in the May 27, 2016 edition of The Monitor
An old Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups commercial once declared, “Two great tastes that taste great together.” Over the course of several lunch hours this week, I got to devour the literary equivalent of that classic blend. Or did it devour me?
Genre darlings Cameron Pierce and Adam Cesare have teamed up before, most notably for their great monster novel Bottom Feeders, which featured remarkably scary killer catfish.
Cesare, a Philadelphia-based horror author with a background in film, has been widely published to much critical acclaim. His monthly column at Cemetery Dance Online — Paper Cuts — explores the often at-odds worlds of written and filmic horror, a chasm the author seeks to bridge in his criticism and novels.
Pierce is the very definition of a bridge, a writer/publisher who got his start in the gonzo sphere of bizarro horror but who has steadily widened the gyre of his undeniable talent into affecting poetry, hard-boiled prose, and incisive essay.
Combining the eccentricity of Pierce and Cesare’s cinematic horror, Crawling Darkness (Severed Press) reads like the rabid child of Slither and Jaws with Quentin Tarantino directing. The story takes place over a few days in that part of Philadelphia that lines the Schuylkill River. Some sort of shadowy government experiment has produced a ravenous species of cunning, bioluminescent eels that — when together in a swarm — can devour a human being in minutes.
The story starts with a few isolated attacks, witnessed by or involving what seem unrelated individuals: an affluent jogger, a conspiracy theorist searching for her alien-abducted husband, a mentally unstable man obsessed with the Philadelphia Eagles, a lowly employee of the Natural Sciences Museum, a Fish and Game agent. As the eels begin to reproduce at an exponential rate and flee the river during a rainstorm, the hidden connections among these characters are gradually revealed, and the organic narrative that emerges is handled with deft and theatrical ease.
The story slides in quasi-parody in spots, especially as concerns the government operatives who bungle their attempts at stopping the eels. This ineptitude leads to an abrupt and cataclysmic ending that — while consistent with the general failure of authorities to do anything useful against the eels — felt a little too easy (though it certainly was amusing).
Though I wasn't ecstatic about the resolution, the amazing writing, great dialogue, and horrific action sequences (frying pan! eels in the toilet!) made the book an entertaining and worthwhile read for any fan of B-movie monsters. Here’s hoping Cesare and Pierce collaborate often, plumbing the depths of rivers, lakes and our collective pool of primal fears.
An old Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups commercial once declared, “Two great tastes that taste great together.” Over the course of several lunch hours this week, I got to devour the literary equivalent of that classic blend. Or did it devour me?
Genre darlings Cameron Pierce and Adam Cesare have teamed up before, most notably for their great monster novel Bottom Feeders, which featured remarkably scary killer catfish.
Cesare, a Philadelphia-based horror author with a background in film, has been widely published to much critical acclaim. His monthly column at Cemetery Dance Online — Paper Cuts — explores the often at-odds worlds of written and filmic horror, a chasm the author seeks to bridge in his criticism and novels.
Pierce is the very definition of a bridge, a writer/publisher who got his start in the gonzo sphere of bizarro horror but who has steadily widened the gyre of his undeniable talent into affecting poetry, hard-boiled prose, and incisive essay.
Combining the eccentricity of Pierce and Cesare’s cinematic horror, Crawling Darkness (Severed Press) reads like the rabid child of Slither and Jaws with Quentin Tarantino directing. The story takes place over a few days in that part of Philadelphia that lines the Schuylkill River. Some sort of shadowy government experiment has produced a ravenous species of cunning, bioluminescent eels that — when together in a swarm — can devour a human being in minutes.
The story starts with a few isolated attacks, witnessed by or involving what seem unrelated individuals: an affluent jogger, a conspiracy theorist searching for her alien-abducted husband, a mentally unstable man obsessed with the Philadelphia Eagles, a lowly employee of the Natural Sciences Museum, a Fish and Game agent. As the eels begin to reproduce at an exponential rate and flee the river during a rainstorm, the hidden connections among these characters are gradually revealed, and the organic narrative that emerges is handled with deft and theatrical ease.
The story slides in quasi-parody in spots, especially as concerns the government operatives who bungle their attempts at stopping the eels. This ineptitude leads to an abrupt and cataclysmic ending that — while consistent with the general failure of authorities to do anything useful against the eels — felt a little too easy (though it certainly was amusing).
Though I wasn't ecstatic about the resolution, the amazing writing, great dialogue, and horrific action sequences (frying pan! eels in the toilet!) made the book an entertaining and worthwhile read for any fan of B-movie monsters. Here’s hoping Cesare and Pierce collaborate often, plumbing the depths of rivers, lakes and our collective pool of primal fears.
July 9, 2019
It's a ridiculous premise but the characters were strong. Perhaps too quick at wrapping things up.
June 26, 2016
Fantastic
This is the second book I've read by this team of authors and it was terrific. Killer swarms of eels and a vast government conspiracy made this book a quick and fun read. I was disappointed that the ending was rushed and some questions were left unanswered, but it wasn't too detrimental to the story. I hope Cesare and Pierce team up again soon on another aquatic nightmare. Recommended.
This is the second book I've read by this team of authors and it was terrific. Killer swarms of eels and a vast government conspiracy made this book a quick and fun read. I was disappointed that the ending was rushed and some questions were left unanswered, but it wasn't too detrimental to the story. I hope Cesare and Pierce team up again soon on another aquatic nightmare. Recommended.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews