Book review: The Hatching, by Ezekiel Boone

Title: The Hatching
Author: Ezekiel Boone
Genre: Horror
Publication date: 5 July 2016
Publisher: Gollancz
Source: Won (from Blackwell's)

Description: Deep in the jungle of Peru, a black, skittering mass devours an American tourist whole. Thousands of miles away, an FBI agent investigates a fatal plane crash in Minneapolis and makes a gruesome discovery. Unusual seismic patterns register in a Kanpur, India earthquake lab, confounding the scientists there. During the same week, the Chinese government “accidentally” drops a nuclear bomb in an isolated region of its own country. As these incidents begin to sweep the globe, a mysterious package from South America arrives at a Washington, D.C. laboratory. Something wants out.

My thoughts: I'm not a horror movie (or book) fan at all, and thinking about spiders makes me a little bit twitchy & paranoid but for some reason I had to know what happened. I'm so glad I gave it a go because I ended up loving this book.

It's a classic horror movie in book form. You know pretty much by reading the blurb what's going to happen. You know very early on that there are going to be killer spiders spreading around the world, especially as characters do really dumb things which the reader/audience can clearly spot. And there are the classic horror film protagonists: a scientist (actually several) with issues in her personal life; an FBI agent who only has occasional visitation rights with his young daughter; a newly engaged couple in a rural location. Will the scientist(s) save the world or make things worse? (A bit of both.) Will the father crack the case and also build a much closer relationship with his daughter? (Not sure yet, we'll have to see how book 2 goes.) Will the couple manage to survive in their quiet location or will one die while tragically trying to save the other? (Again, we're waiting for the sequel, but this is a sweet couple in a horror story... I don't fancy their odds.)

There's nothing too complicated about The Hatching which is partly what I loved about it. I knew a lot of what was going to happen but at the same time I had to keep reading to see how it happened, and whether anyone would figure out how to stop the spider before it was all too late [dun dun DUUNN]. There is a sequel, called Skitter, which is due out in the spring next year. If you're a fan of horror films, or just want an easy read, I definitely recommend this. I read it in one sitting on a 4 hour train ride and really enjoyed it.

Overall I'm giving The Hatching 7 stars.
~Ailsa