I’m not trying to boast or anything, but bugs don’t scare me. I’ve been stung by a wasp before, and I am the person delegated to get rid of all bugs that show up in my home. Spiders don’t scare me, flies are just a nuisance, and I don’t mind slapping away mosquitos and chasing away moths. After reading this book, I think I’m going to have to change my stance.
In the jungle of Peru, an unsuspecting group of American tourists find themselves devoured by an unknown, black, skittering mass. One man escapes and makes his way onto a plane that subsequently crashes in Minneapolis. When an FBI agent comes to investiage the scene, he makes a gruesome discovery. In Kanpur, India, irregular seismic patterns send a couple scientists out to look for the source. News trickles in this same week about China, where the government has “accidentally” dropped a nuclear bomb in its own country. And then, a mysterious package from South America is delivered to a laboratory in Washington, D.C. As these incidents begin to sweep the globe, a mysterious package from South America arrives at a Washington, D.C. laboratory. Every event is connected and they all point to one thing: an apocalyptic disaster that the world is in no way prepared to face.
The reason that I decided to read this novel in the first place is because I have been given its sequel to read as an advanced copy from NetGalley. I didn’t just want to start the story midway, so I read this one first. It took me almost 3 days to finish. Not because it wasn’t good, but because it was just a little too disturbing for one sitting. I’m going to spoil something for you right now so consider this a warning (even though it really isn’t that much of a spoiler): THINK SPIDERS. HUGE, CARNIVOROUS, CREEPY SPIDERS. Yup. That’s what this novel is about. When I first read reviews and I found out that people were making a big deal about this, I didn’t think I would be scared at all. I also wondered how exactly the author could manage to spin a story (hehe-get it-spin? ok I’m sorry I’ll stop being lame) about this topic for the span of two books. Now I know. And while I am seriously creeped out, I also know that this story was fast-paced, had a multitude of characters, and had one of the most interesting story lines to date on the Earth’s destruction. I am so excited to read the next book in this series so be ready for more creepiness to come in my review!
Happy reading ~