By Guy N. Smith
2019 The Sinister Horror Company
Paperback, 134 pages
This is the master’s final foray
into Crustacean Mayhem and like Killer Crabs: The Return, this short
book is a valentine to the many killer crab enthusiasts, like me. It is an easy
read for an afternoon when you feel the need for the clickety-clicking of crab
claws and the destruction they can cause to soft, human skin.
Our hero from the past, Cliff
Davenport, still has horrible nightmares from his encounters with the massive
crabs from forty years earlier. The cure? Head back to Barmouth, Wales, where
the horror began for him. He figures seeing it as a peaceful resort town would
wipe out his hideous memories. Albeit reluctantly, his wife agrees. What could
possibly go wrong?
Well, the giant jellyfish that
killed a vacationer in the area aside, Davenport finds time for a restful walk
along the cliffs. He finds a flooded cave with scratch marks around it… could
it be? Yes, yes it could! He makes his reports to the authorities and his
vacation becomes another tussle with giant crabs. Exploring the cave turns into
a nightmare for divers and a breeding pair of giant crabs are seen in there
raising their young and readying for another attack on humanity.
With generous chapter breaks and
blank pages, this one is really only about 70 pages of reading, but every word
is a treasure to cherish. It is Guy N. Smith, the Great Scribbler, the Master,
the man who gave us crabs. This is sheer joy. He even throws in a Russian spy
submarine as a subplot just for the chance to deliver the line, “President
Putin and his office will never accept that this was an attack by giant
crustaceans…” We lost a lot when we lost GNS the year after this was published.
He did manage to get two more novels out in that last year. Unstoppable in
life.
He left such a wonderful legacy.
Especially those darn crabs. You have to wonder if he was going to move forward
with the Killer Jellyfish that makes an appearance in this one. Things that
could have been…
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