It was supposed to be a simple mission. A suspected Russian spy boat is in trouble in Canadian waters. Investigate and report are the orders.But when Captain John Banks and his squad arrive, it is to find an empty vessel, and a scene of bloody mayhem.Soon they are in a fight for their lives, for there are things in the icy seas off Baffin Island, scuttling, hungry things with a taste for human … taste for human flesh.
They are swarming.
And they are growing.
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This is an action-packed story about large isopds. It is man against nature, after Russians drill in Canada and disturb the giant creatures. This is a page-turner. There graphic scenes in here, describing what the isopods did to their victims.
Infestation by William Meikle is a stand alone book about monsters and mayhem.
Plot 5/5: This is an exciting tale of overgrown isopods.
Characters 5/5: The characters come to life within the pages of this story.
World building 5/5: The situation that the characters find themselves in is very imaginable.
Pacing 5/5: Action packed!
Writing 5/5: William Meikle’s writing is fantastic!
Overall: 5
This story took me back to the B horror movies that I loved as a kid! Fantastic story, and I definitely recommend it!
Captain John Banks and his small, elite group are tasks with what appears to be a simple mission. A Russian spy boat has called for help while illegally in Canadian waters and Captain Banks and his men are meant to investigate, gather any intelligence or weaponry they can and assist the Russians off on their way. But things immediately go downhill and the icy water hold untold monsters – and they are hungry for human flesh.
I’ve read a number of William Meikle’s stories and he is an excellent story teller. While he has some great folk and true horror stories out there, I feel what he really excels best at is the cheesy style of “big monster” tales. Think a 1950s cheesy horror movie or a bad B grade “Return of the Walking Mummy” type of story. You might need to totally suspend your disbelief for the plot – but the characters are always amazing, the mechanics of the plot and monsters are always excellent and the tale itself is usually short, sharp and a thrill to read. This story is no exception.
While totally a stand alone novel, it is here we are introduced to Captain Banks and his crew. After this story Captain Banks and some of his men (they revolve around enough to mean you don’t have to read any of these in order really) become The S-Squad which has it’s own series along the same lines of this one – ie “big scary hungry monster tries to eat everyone”. I’ve enjoyed enough of them I am now trying to collect them all and keep on top of the series, so clearly Mr. Meikle is doing a fantastic job.
Readers looking for a quick read and enjoy cheesy, old-fashioned monster flicks with a lot of atmosphere, a large monster with lots of teeth and a few scares should find this story right up their alley. This isn’t a plot-heavy story and the characters are well-drawn but not as deep as you’d find in a longer story. The camaraderie between them was something I personally really enjoyed reading and more importantly once the monsters start coming out and eating everything the characters are excellent and a lot more focused. While I wouldn’t call this horror in the strictest sense (this isn’t gory or overly descriptive of the killing) it’s a little harder/scarier than a traditional mystery/thriller and so I feel it needs a “light” horror label to it.
Refreshingly different and an excellent story – this book kept me up and made me glad I don’t live too close to an icy cold ocean/river! Recommended.
I wasn’t sure if I should have started this series so soon after reading Crustaceans, but it’s awesome and fixes every problem I had with that.
The author has taken part of his story Discontinuity from the collection B.E.M. and reworks it into this one. Now a squad of soldiers sent after a Russian drilling ship find the giant isopods, that emit a blue light, and have venom laced claws. Oh, and they like to eat people…
The isopods are far scarier than the giant crabs and didn’t seem as goofy. The action is constant and fast, and the story is never boring. It turns into a great siege tale as well, slowing down a tad and getting to know the characters a bit.
And yes, there are actual characters in this one. No, they aren’t deep, and at first, it seems they will be forgettable but as it goes on I got to like them. I’m just gonna keep comparing it to Crustaceans and where I said there the soldiers just had names and shoot guns, and that’s all…. not the case here. Likable characters. And here the female character isn’t a useless crab expert that knows less about crabs than you or I, and does nothing but tag along. She knows how to fire a gun, bandage up the team, and figures out key things about the isopods before anyone else.
I see other reviews talking about the abrupt ending, and while that is certainly true, it’s part of a multi-book series so I didn’t find that to be a problem.
I was going back and forth about how to rate this, but it was meant to be an action-packed fun creature feature and it delivered that in full, so it gets the rare 5 stars from me.