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In The Hatching, author Ezekiel Boone unleashed disaster, destruction, and deadly spiders on the world. And in the follow-up, Skitter, a growing ensemble of characters finds themselves scrambling to plan their next moves while they wait to see what’s coming for them next.
The story continues the saga of worldwide panic as scientists and politicians try to figure out how to fight the outbreak of man-eating spiders. When the eight-legged beasts all mysteriously die off at the same time, it seems that there could finally be an end to the death and destruction. But the egg sacks left behind suggest that it’s only the beginning. And, with no other way to battle the spiders, the president is forced to do the unthinkable: break up the country and leave the people to fend for themselves.
Skitter is yet another creepy-crawly, breakneck thriller—the terrifying next step in the unfolding story of global disaster. In the second installment in this chilling series, the threat grows, and those in power are compelled to take some shockingly drastic steps in an attempt to save as many people as possible.
Like The Hatching, though, Skitter feels more like an episode in an ongoing series than a complete novel—and it’s every bit as chaotic as you might expect the world to be after a bunch of vicious spiders hatch and start eating people around the world. It skips around from one character to another, telling snippets of their stories as the latest chapter plays out. Its beginning is in the middle of the story, and its end is more like a break before the next chapter begins.
The rather spastic nature of the storytelling ensures that there’s rarely a dull moment; it doesn’t stay in one location for very long. But, at the same time, it also means that readers don’t have a chance to get to know many of the characters. While a few of the characters—especially Melanie and her team—get more of the focus, others are barely visited. And there are so many characters in so many places around the world that it’s not easy to keep track of them all. Admittedly, though, there’s so much going on here—and all at such a fast pace—that the lack of emotional attachment to the characters doesn’t really matter.
This fittingly frenzied story definitely makes for a fast-moving follow-up—one that will have readers eagerly awaiting the next installment, to see how the story plays out. Just be sure to keep a can of bug spray nearby when you’re reading it—because you’ll want to be ready for any arachnid invasion (no matter how small).
Listen to the review on Shelf Discovery:
