| From Publishers Weekly Though Saul ( Guardian ) has kept up with readers' tastes by depicting far more graphic violence than he did years back， he still offers the sort of old-fashioned terrors， told without a whisper of literary experimentation， that for 17 years have made him the most consistently bestselling horror writer next to King and Koontz. His 18th novel， no exception， is a snappily paced extravaganza of insect phobia， featuring a mad scientist who doubles as a serial killer， hordes of creepy-crawlies and some threatened kids--here， teens in the oven-hot flatlands of California's San Joaquin Valley. Julie Spellman， 15， thinks she has it bad being forced to move from L.A. to the farm where her mom's new husband lives. But her real trouble starts when Carl Henderson， a crazed entomologist with a lethal thing for girls with long dark hair， arranges for the brunette newcomer to get a shot of his latest concoction. Soon the girl is gestating a swarm of mutant insects that controls her mind， grants her dominion over other insects and forces her to implant the swarm into other teens. Meanwhile， Henderson chortles as he listens to the screams of his latest homicide victim， under attack from his pet ants: "Eaten alive! She was actually being eaten alive! " Onslaughts of bees， termites， spiders and scorpions round out the somewhat repetitive but always intense action， which， despite an unexpectedly dark ending， will no doubt send sales of this novel--and cans of Raid--soaring. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information， Inc. From Library Journal This novel may be the ultimate stomach turner. Saul follows his standard theme: a group of dangerous young people must be destroyed for the world to be safe. The story begins with Julie falling victim to a strain of bees whose venom is unusually toxic. The man who developed the bees， and their antitoxin， is a serial killer. Not wanting Julie to survive， he switches the antitoxin for an untried substance that turns out to be a new species of insect that requires a mammalian host for survival. Julie survives， infested with internal insects， and spews them forth to infect her friends. The horror of her condition is thoroughly detailed. Saul also gives us a splendidly creepy bug-infested house of horrors and a fitting revenge for the villain. Not for the weak of stomach， but essential for any library that has Saul fans.--Marylaine Block， St. Ambrose Univ. Lib.， Davenport， Ia.Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information， Inc. See all Editorial Reviews |
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