What do you think?
Rate this book
NASTY LITTLE F!#*ERS
DEEP IN THE WOODS OF NORTHERN MAINE
Eight scientists and one ex-marine accept an assignment to study the effects of deforestation in Aroostook County. It’s a routine job, and everything seems to be going according to plan. But when one of their number goes missing, leaving behind only a severed foot as evidence, former lieutenant Colby Phillips must lead an expedition to find him.
A HORROR UNKNOWN TO MAN
What they find instead is an entirely new species. A large breed of insect whose ravenous larvae display features and abilities never before seen in nature. The scientists’ amazement turns to fear when they find themselves at the bottom of the food chain. Can Colby lead the survivors to safety? Or is it already too late?
IS HUNGRY
Eight scientists and one ex-marine accept an assignment to study the effects of deforestation in Aroostook County. It’s a routine job, and everything seems to be going according to plan. But when one of their number goes missing, leaving behind only a severed foot as evidence, former lieutenant Colby Phillips must lead an expedition to find him.
A HORROR UNKNOWN TO MAN
What they find instead is an entirely new species. A large breed of insect whose ravenous larvae display features and abilities never before seen in nature. The scientists’ amazement turns to fear when they find themselves at the bottom of the food chain. Can Colby lead the survivors to safety? Or is it already too late?
IS HUNGRY
215 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 13, 2010
7 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 8, 2012
One Saturday I went into the office to clean up some left-over work. I unlocked my office door and opened it. On the floor was the ugliest looking bug I ever saw. It was grub shaped about five inches long and three inches wide, the color of translucent puke, and bore huge dangerous looking mandibles. The god-forsaken thing was literally pulsing and had six scorpion like legs. But the scariest thing was that this sucker didn't run away like most insects. It headed straight toward me with surprising speed and wobbling its gelatinous body like Jello from Hell.
My autonomic nervous system kicked in. In a beautifully orchestrated movement I screamed "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU!!!" and simultaneously slammed my food down on it, spraying translucent puke colored slime out into a three foot radius. It took me a while to get it off the carpet, my shoes and my pants. I didn't calm down until I thoroughly searched the place to see if its cousins were hiding out waiting for revenge.
To this day, I have no idea what it was. Even the exterminator thought I was hallucinating.
Although David McAfee's GRUBS are not exactly like my bug. I'm pretty sure they are related. McAfee's bugs are the main event in this gross-out horror fest. A group of scientists and one ex-marine get stranded in the Maine wilderness with these guys. If you have any fear whatever of bugs, especially the grubby maggot-like ones. You might want to think twice about reading this. For the rest of us horror sickos, this will give you your quota of weird gory scares.
It does have its problems. The tale reads a bit like a comic book with cardboard comic book characters and the ending is very predictable. But anyone who pick up a book titled GRUBS will not be expecting The Catcher in the Rye. Three and a half stars.
One more thing, this book appeared to have been retitled on Kindle as NASTY LITTLE F!#*ERS. Personally, I think GRUBS is more to the point.
My autonomic nervous system kicked in. In a beautifully orchestrated movement I screamed "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU!!!" and simultaneously slammed my food down on it, spraying translucent puke colored slime out into a three foot radius. It took me a while to get it off the carpet, my shoes and my pants. I didn't calm down until I thoroughly searched the place to see if its cousins were hiding out waiting for revenge.
To this day, I have no idea what it was. Even the exterminator thought I was hallucinating.
Although David McAfee's GRUBS are not exactly like my bug. I'm pretty sure they are related. McAfee's bugs are the main event in this gross-out horror fest. A group of scientists and one ex-marine get stranded in the Maine wilderness with these guys. If you have any fear whatever of bugs, especially the grubby maggot-like ones. You might want to think twice about reading this. For the rest of us horror sickos, this will give you your quota of weird gory scares.
It does have its problems. The tale reads a bit like a comic book with cardboard comic book characters and the ending is very predictable. But anyone who pick up a book titled GRUBS will not be expecting The Catcher in the Rye. Three and a half stars.
One more thing, this book appeared to have been retitled on Kindle as NASTY LITTLE F!#*ERS. Personally, I think GRUBS is more to the point.
August 15, 2018
Ingredients:
Dark forest in Maine
5 scientists
1 veteran Marine leader
3 tents
1 love interest
1 pound of flesh-eating grubs
1 severed hand
3 zombies
2 guns
1 mind-controlling queen
0 bars on cell phone reception
1 sex scene, plus more to taste
Directions:
Combine scientists, marine vet, tents, then place into the very center of Dark Forest. Using severed hand, separate military vet, then mix with love interest and sex scenes. When thoroughly warmed, dump entire pound of flesh-eating grubs into mix. Stir well. Top with 0 bars on cell phone.
Serve zombies separate as a side dish, sprinkled with mind-controlling queen. Do not let them mix with the guns.
Serving size: One Novel
Each serving an excellent source of: humor, gross-out bug attacks, B-movie horror monsters, and frantic attempts for survival.
More recipes? Try these recommendations: 33 A.D., Night of the Crabs.
Dark forest in Maine
5 scientists
1 veteran Marine leader
3 tents
1 love interest
1 pound of flesh-eating grubs
1 severed hand
3 zombies
2 guns
1 mind-controlling queen
0 bars on cell phone reception
1 sex scene, plus more to taste
Directions:
Combine scientists, marine vet, tents, then place into the very center of Dark Forest. Using severed hand, separate military vet, then mix with love interest and sex scenes. When thoroughly warmed, dump entire pound of flesh-eating grubs into mix. Stir well. Top with 0 bars on cell phone.
Serve zombies separate as a side dish, sprinkled with mind-controlling queen. Do not let them mix with the guns.
Serving size: One Novel
Each serving an excellent source of: humor, gross-out bug attacks, B-movie horror monsters, and frantic attempts for survival.
More recipes? Try these recommendations: 33 A.D., Night of the Crabs.
February 15, 2011
For those who have read some of my earlier reviews, you'll know that I have a thing for "When Nature Strikes Back" movies and books, so naturally, when I saw David McAfee's GRUBS, I just had to get it. I've never read anything by McAfee before, so I had no idea what I was getting into.
Eight scientists on a routine field research expedition in the wilds of Maine. Short of a sprained ankle or a broken nail, nothing could go wrong, and to make certain of that, Colby, a disgraced ex-Marine, has been hired by the firm to keep the researchers safe. It's an easy job, and it even comes with a few perks, as the lone female scientist has taken a shine to Colby, but then one of the researchers goes missing. When they find traces of blood in the man's tent, Colby immediately organizes a search party and they head out to find the missing man, who they eventually find. Well, part of him anyway. At first Colby thought it was just the boot, but then he finds the foot is still in it, and it is alive with flies busy laying eggs in the flesh.
Back at base camp, panic begins to set in as they speculate what could have happened to Jared. Regardless, Colby has decided that whatever is going on is beyond him and they need to get the hell out. The only problem is, there's no way to call for help. They can't get a signal on their cell phones, and a SAT phone wasn't in the budget. That means either walking out through the wilderness or heading out to the drop-off point with the hopes that they will be able to get a signal in the clearing. But not knowing what they are up against, Colby thinks it's better to take a small group. It will be easier to keep a couple of people safe in the wilderness than having to keep an eye on everybody.
One day out, they discover what poses the threat to them. Voracious leech-like grubs that have to ability to reanimate dead tissue. As if that wasn't bad enough, the queens, once attached, secrete a will-deadening toxin that allows them to control the living. It becomes a battle of man versus nature for survival, but can Colby protect the people in his charge against an enemy that is all but invisible until it's too late?
With GRUBS, it appears as if McAfee is trying to combine zombie fiction with "nature strikes back" fiction, and he does a remarkable job blending the two together. While the story, which was well written, moves along at a brisk pace, I did have a problem with the characters. Not all of them were fully fleshed out, and none of them were truly likable, and maybe that's because they are all painted as fallible. They have flaws. They are human. There are no white knights here, no one individual who is impervious to everything that is thrown at them. The hero of our story, Colby, is a disgraced Marine who blames himself for the death of his men while on a mission. When the first scientist turn up dead, his past comes back to haunt him and he fears that history is about to repeat itself. That in itself is fine; a character in need of redemption. But he is too often sidetracked with thoughts of the only female scientist in his charge. His feelings for her make him careless. And is she really worthy of his attentions. As much as Janice claims she is keeping her relationship with Colby a secret, she is flaunting it in the face of her ex-husband, who happens to be one of the other researchers on the team. Can we say "Bitch"? One of the scientists is a sex-crazed sociopath who has set his sights on Janice. The rest of the characters are relatively flat—cardboard characters thrown in as cannon fodder.
Was it enough to keep me from enjoying the book? No. It was one of the rare instances where what happens to the characters becomes secondary. My attention was focused more on the grubs: Where did they come from? What was their purpose other than trying to perpetuate their dying species.
If you, like me, enjoy those cheesy low-budget horror movies that were shown periodically on weekday afternoons after school in the 70s, then this is definitely a book for you.
Eight scientists on a routine field research expedition in the wilds of Maine. Short of a sprained ankle or a broken nail, nothing could go wrong, and to make certain of that, Colby, a disgraced ex-Marine, has been hired by the firm to keep the researchers safe. It's an easy job, and it even comes with a few perks, as the lone female scientist has taken a shine to Colby, but then one of the researchers goes missing. When they find traces of blood in the man's tent, Colby immediately organizes a search party and they head out to find the missing man, who they eventually find. Well, part of him anyway. At first Colby thought it was just the boot, but then he finds the foot is still in it, and it is alive with flies busy laying eggs in the flesh.
Back at base camp, panic begins to set in as they speculate what could have happened to Jared. Regardless, Colby has decided that whatever is going on is beyond him and they need to get the hell out. The only problem is, there's no way to call for help. They can't get a signal on their cell phones, and a SAT phone wasn't in the budget. That means either walking out through the wilderness or heading out to the drop-off point with the hopes that they will be able to get a signal in the clearing. But not knowing what they are up against, Colby thinks it's better to take a small group. It will be easier to keep a couple of people safe in the wilderness than having to keep an eye on everybody.
One day out, they discover what poses the threat to them. Voracious leech-like grubs that have to ability to reanimate dead tissue. As if that wasn't bad enough, the queens, once attached, secrete a will-deadening toxin that allows them to control the living. It becomes a battle of man versus nature for survival, but can Colby protect the people in his charge against an enemy that is all but invisible until it's too late?
With GRUBS, it appears as if McAfee is trying to combine zombie fiction with "nature strikes back" fiction, and he does a remarkable job blending the two together. While the story, which was well written, moves along at a brisk pace, I did have a problem with the characters. Not all of them were fully fleshed out, and none of them were truly likable, and maybe that's because they are all painted as fallible. They have flaws. They are human. There are no white knights here, no one individual who is impervious to everything that is thrown at them. The hero of our story, Colby, is a disgraced Marine who blames himself for the death of his men while on a mission. When the first scientist turn up dead, his past comes back to haunt him and he fears that history is about to repeat itself. That in itself is fine; a character in need of redemption. But he is too often sidetracked with thoughts of the only female scientist in his charge. His feelings for her make him careless. And is she really worthy of his attentions. As much as Janice claims she is keeping her relationship with Colby a secret, she is flaunting it in the face of her ex-husband, who happens to be one of the other researchers on the team. Can we say "Bitch"? One of the scientists is a sex-crazed sociopath who has set his sights on Janice. The rest of the characters are relatively flat—cardboard characters thrown in as cannon fodder.
Was it enough to keep me from enjoying the book? No. It was one of the rare instances where what happens to the characters becomes secondary. My attention was focused more on the grubs: Where did they come from? What was their purpose other than trying to perpetuate their dying species.
If you, like me, enjoy those cheesy low-budget horror movies that were shown periodically on weekday afternoons after school in the 70s, then this is definitely a book for you.
October 20, 2010
Grubs brings back so many fond memories. That sounds really bad, considering that there are some pretty disgusting scenes. Seriously, though, it has all the well-loved parts of a B-movie Creature Feature. You know - there's something in the woods, and it's eating people (display gruesome half-eaten body part), and of course there's a group of people handily nearby to BE eaten.
Specifically, there's a group of scientific researchers in the wilds of Maine. Everything's going well until one of the scientists turns up missing. At that point, the remaining scientists try to survive and you get to watch them get whittled down, one by one. Full of gruesome and disgusting scenes, Grubs is just great fun.
Don't buy this book expecting it to be an original, high-budget horror flick. It's not, and it wasn't intended to be. Think more of the movie "Eight Legged Freaks" and you'll be right on target. It's a well-crafted work that mimics lower-budgeted works in the campiness, the gore, the humor derived from those aspects, but it is, itself, finely written with great attention to detail.
Great entertainment, and just in time for Halloween - A+! Or should that be a B? :-)
Specifically, there's a group of scientific researchers in the wilds of Maine. Everything's going well until one of the scientists turns up missing. At that point, the remaining scientists try to survive and you get to watch them get whittled down, one by one. Full of gruesome and disgusting scenes, Grubs is just great fun.
Don't buy this book expecting it to be an original, high-budget horror flick. It's not, and it wasn't intended to be. Think more of the movie "Eight Legged Freaks" and you'll be right on target. It's a well-crafted work that mimics lower-budgeted works in the campiness, the gore, the humor derived from those aspects, but it is, itself, finely written with great attention to detail.
Great entertainment, and just in time for Halloween - A+! Or should that be a B? :-)
July 19, 2010
Since I was helping out the author with the cover, I read GRUBS in manuscript format. And I don't normally read horror (or watch it.) However, GRUBS is such honest to goodness, campy, adult comic book B movie type fun. It's creepy, gory, edge of your seat, skin-crawlingly good. I was able to lose myself in the story despite it not being my normal genres.
The author's writing style is lean, polished, and engaging. It was such a pleasure to read something without feeling the need to reach for my editor hat. As a matter of fact, I don't read anything with vampires, either, but the author's writing so impressed me I think I might try one of his other titles, like 33 A.D., one of these days.
This title isn't (at this time) available yet in paperback, but if you have an eReader and take it camping (or, have a late night in the backyard around the barbecue), it would be the perfect read-aloud alternative to the usual ghost stories or creepy urban legends.
NOTE: Would not recommend for 17 and under (Language,sexual situations)
The author's writing style is lean, polished, and engaging. It was such a pleasure to read something without feeling the need to reach for my editor hat. As a matter of fact, I don't read anything with vampires, either, but the author's writing so impressed me I think I might try one of his other titles, like 33 A.D., one of these days.
This title isn't (at this time) available yet in paperback, but if you have an eReader and take it camping (or, have a late night in the backyard around the barbecue), it would be the perfect read-aloud alternative to the usual ghost stories or creepy urban legends.
NOTE: Would not recommend for 17 and under (Language,sexual situations)
September 3, 2010
Grubs wasn't anything more than I thought it would be, and I think that's what the author had in mind when writing it. It's a lot of gory fun with a predictable ending.
February 5, 2017
I nearly put this book down. I hate maggots/worms/grubs/etc. They make me ill to imagine, much less read about. And it takes a good third of the book to get away from being told how these little buggers are chewing stuff, or popping out of somewhere, or doing who knows what else. Overall, I did enjoy it, but you have to have a strong stomach for that first third. I did figure out the twist before the end, I’m so proud of myself! Look at me mom! I’m smarts!! And while the characters were flawed and interesting, I could have done without the creeper masturbating/trying to rape the only female scientist, and I could have really done without getting inside his head and his sick thoughts. Maybe I am rating this book too high… It was interesting. And I am going to try more by this author but… If you don’t like bugs/gore/adult themes then I suggest you move on…
November 1, 2020
This was a pretty good read. I figured out the little twist at the end pretty early on in the story. However, I could have done without the creepy ass scientist Moretz. I felt like reading from his POV and that whole creepfest was pointless and didn’t add to the story.
October 29, 2010
This book was a great read, a lot of fun, gross and just playing disgusting goodness. I was reading one scene during lunch I had to put my sandwich down. The graphic description of the grubs doing their thing was absolutely disgusting & disturbing, but I loved it and I would have rather read than eat. All throughout this book I constantly felt that something was crawling all over my body. I had to slap or scratch myself constantly to make sure I didn't have one of those pesky grubs on it. I'll tell you one thing, no hiking or camping for me anytime soon. I really enjoyed the book and you will too. Put that sandwich down and pick up grubs because this book is just downright nasty and disgusting. But you'll LOVE it!!!!
David McAfee has a great writing talent and I look forward to reading his other books in the near future.
David McAfee has a great writing talent and I look forward to reading his other books in the near future.
September 22, 2012
I read this mostly because it was free and available on my phone, and I didn't have anything else going at the moment.
The author describes, at the end, why he wrote the book, and it's pretty much exactly what you'd expect. It's a B-movie monster plot in book form. A bunch of scientists and their wilderness guide/body guard are up in Maine running some kind of vague experiments, when they stumble upon a new kind of insect that doesn't just devour its host. Most of the action follows the former Marine, Colby, as he tries to get the group out of the situation alive.
It's silly and ridiculous, and we never really learn where the bugs came from. It acheived the B-movie vibe it was going for, but I don't know that I'd recommend it to anyone.
The author describes, at the end, why he wrote the book, and it's pretty much exactly what you'd expect. It's a B-movie monster plot in book form. A bunch of scientists and their wilderness guide/body guard are up in Maine running some kind of vague experiments, when they stumble upon a new kind of insect that doesn't just devour its host. Most of the action follows the former Marine, Colby, as he tries to get the group out of the situation alive.
It's silly and ridiculous, and we never really learn where the bugs came from. It acheived the B-movie vibe it was going for, but I don't know that I'd recommend it to anyone.
Read
May 13, 2012NASTY LITTLE F!#*ERS
Ok, I admit it. I am one of those odd people who actually reads the license notes and etc, if they are listed. I must say the Kindle edition, license notes read like an accusation of thievery. The author seems convinced that if you are reading his novel you have either acquired it illegally or intend to share it illegally. I will NEVER purchase another novel by this author again. Take the last s of the title and you have my opinion of the author.
As for the novel itself, I didn't finish it. I was bored beyond words trying to read it. I sure wouldn't share drivel legally or illegally with friends.
Ok, I admit it. I am one of those odd people who actually reads the license notes and etc, if they are listed. I must say the Kindle edition, license notes read like an accusation of thievery. The author seems convinced that if you are reading his novel you have either acquired it illegally or intend to share it illegally. I will NEVER purchase another novel by this author again. Take the last s of the title and you have my opinion of the author.
As for the novel itself, I didn't finish it. I was bored beyond words trying to read it. I sure wouldn't share drivel legally or illegally with friends.
November 1, 2011
This is the third book that I have read by David McAfee and I must say he is growing on me. The first book of his I read was 33 A.D. and I gave it a 4 star rating. Nasty Little F!#*ers is simply a fun and disgustingly thrill ride. I give it a solid 3 Star rating.
November 1, 2011
Quick read - great little horror read set in the back woods of Maine.
November 16, 2011
An enjoyable and easy read. Predictable, but it was still fun to read and I didn't have a problem reading it all the way through.
June 18, 2012
Silly fun.
July 12, 2012
meh. rather tedious and predictable. enjoyed to b-movie quality of writing but some surprises would have been nice.
September 26, 2013
Fun b-movie gory goodness! It's the novel equivalent to a Roger Corman creature feature. Not the best book I've ever read, but one that I really enjoyed.
December 12, 2016
Flesh-eating, mind-controlling grubs, horny scientists and a research trip gone wrong.
What's not to like?
What's not to like?
November 7, 2011
Ok-fast read. Creepy gross and sexual...weird combo.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews