Blight

by Mark Sonders

Genres: Horror

259 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 1981

Reviews

[Grady Hendrix · Rating 2 out of 5]

“They could hurt her no more. They had done their worst. Or so she thought. An intense slice of pain, unlike any she had ever before experienced, made her body jerk upright into a sitting position as the moths attacked and conquered areas obscenely tender and private.”

Fucking moths.

[Oliver Clarke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Many cheap 80s creature feature novels manage to be really entertaining despite their flaws. Blight isn't ome of them.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this book about 20-odd years ago, and it has stayed with me ever since. Having recently re-read James Herbert's The Rats, another similarly genred book I read around the same time, I was thrilled to find a copy of Blight on a charity stand as it allowed my to revisit it and see if it was as good as I remembered. Of course it wasn't, as my tastes have changed dramatically since I was 15 - surprise, that! However, I still love the premise of the book - hordes of flesh-eating moths descend on a small town, and the residents have to work out how to survive. I've always loved a good apocalypse novel, and this doesn't disappoint. To be fair, it's not the best constructed plot, nor does it have the most well developed characters I've ever read, but I enjoyed it none-the-less. I think I'll keep this copy this time, and maybe I'll come and re-visit again it in another 20 years ;-)

[Nat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was awful. Rooted for the moths the whole way, couldn’t stop giggling though. You can’t not when you’ve got fantastic gems like:

“No!” He shouted.
But if the moths heard him, and if they understood, they didn’t listen.

And

The jolts of pain were causing him to leap up off the seat and cry out for help, for mercy, for forgiveness. The moths paid no heed.

And to top it all off, the moths are frequently compared to the Vietnam war. Conclusion? Moths are so much worse than the Vietcong.

This was so much longer than it needed to be, zero atmosphere whatsoever, terrible characters. Alas, I love the premise too much and the moths are frankly champions. I’m delighted with their carnage!

[GhostofMyrtle]

Blight, published by Ace Books and written by Mark Sonders, is exactly what it sounds like. Another nature attacking humans book. In this case the book starts with a greedy land developer spraying and killing moths in a wooded area to create a new suburb of cheap housing, mainly for people who work in the various businesses he owns.

The result, of course, is that the moths become mutated (although not becoming large for a change) and attacking the residents of the town. The book has several nasty descriptions of the deaths of several residents. It's actually quite well written for this kind of thing. No masterpiece but if you like the whole nature taking revenge thing you will enjoy this.

I haven't located any other novel by Mr. Sonders or found any other information about him. Ace books has been around since 1952. They specialise in genre fiction such as sci-fi, horror and westerns.

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Attack of the killer moths! A greedy developer clears acres of woods for a all inclusive community. The one real problem is the moths. He uses a chemical that is unproven to exterminate the pests. Once the homes are built and families are moved in, billions and billions of moths descend to feed on their human prey.

To be honest, I would give this book a 4.5 stars. The loss of that half star is because the author builds up some good tension, but sometimes fails to go all the way with it. The really nice part of this book is that the moths attack early and often. Once they do attack the story is told by a handful of survivors, who alone, or in groups try to escape their out of the way community. Little is said about the greedy land developer, except for the first chapter, which is a little uncommon in this type of book. Still, Blight is another winner in the nature on the loose genre.

[Sean Harding · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this in a street library and thought it sounded ridiculous enough to read, and it was a surprisingly decent read, best it was bonkers and just over the top silly, but it was engaging and maintained your interest until the end.
A good fun silly read.

[Codi · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Sokol J · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book traumatized me as a child leaving with a mistrust to butterflies (wrong Russian translation) up to now.

[Mikepottz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Billions of moths swarm on an estate and suck the flesh from the inhabitants. A great gory read of insects destruction and unrelenting violence. A fast paced, entertaining read. Old school but the best school.

[Mike Howlett · Rating 4 out of 5]

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