Such a great premise bogged down by too many characters, and too much wildly inappropriate gender declarations. I couldn't connect with any of the characters except via annoyance, and ended up not finishing the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ezekiel Boone for the book!

Ezekiel Boone has crafted a book that will make your skin crawl!

You can read my review at www.cedarhollowhorrorreviews.com.

Monster stories have always been among my favorite type of tales. While spiders are not technically monsters, a swarm of the creatures that gives so many the creeps is right down my alley. “The Hatching” by Ezekiel Boone promised a book full of creepy crawly mayhem and I could not wait to dive in and see if it lived up to the hype.

It seemed as if the world was going to Hell. A fatal airplane crash in Minneapolis reveals a spider residing inside one of the corpses and an egg sack that is similar to one sent to a scientist on the East Coast. In India, unexplained earthquakes begin to rock the land with no discernable cause. A nuclear bomb is set off in China in what appears to be an attempt by the government to keep someone, or something from escaping from a secret lab. That’s when the spiders appear.

At first, the danger seemed far away and the president shut down all flights to prevent it from travelling close to home. While the action was decisive, it was nowhere near enough. The spiders were coming to America in a wave of venom and flesh-eating mandibles. As scientists search for a way to stop the something much worse than just a band of ravenous bugs. They find what could be the extinction of mankind.

Most books that start deep in the forests of Peru and uncover an ancient adversary of any sort is usually the kind of book I like so “The Hatching” started on the right track. I knew nothing about Boone coming in to this novel and have read many books that have started strong only to wind down (or crash) as they amble along. There was a touch of B-movie camp in the opening chapters with the billionaire and his two model “girlfriends” who tramp through the forest only to find a mass of spiders bent on consuming them but this really did not carry over through the rest of the book. There is a lot of spider action that gives it that feel but Boone gives the novel enough substance to elevate it above that initial camp.

“The Hatching” is the first book in a series and I am excited about what the second book will hold. Boone paces this book almost perfectly throughout, keeping the action coming while filling in the gaps with enough backstory to give it substance, so that the story rockets along without lagging yet never feels out of control. Boone even handles the international aspect with events in different parts of the world deftly and is in control of the story at all times. I enjoyed the segments of the story that consisted largely of the spiders munching on everything in sight but I also enjoyed the story behind that. Boone then ends the novel in a way that sets it up perfectly for a sequel. Fans of horror, apocalyptic fiction, and even science fiction with an edge should not hesitate to pick up this book. It is fun, bloody, and scary all at the same time and a very enjoyable read. I cannot wait to read the second book.

I would like to thank Atria and NetGalley for this review copy. “The Hatching” is available now.

Although this book is not one I would normally read, I liked it despite the spiders.