Skitter

A Novel

By: Ezekiel Boone

Narrated by: George Newbern

Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

First there was the black swarm that swallowed a man whole, the suspicious seismic irregularities in India that confounded scientists, the nuclear bomb China dropped on its own territory without any explanation. Then, scientist Melanie Guyer's lab received a package containing a mysterious egg sac; little did Dr. Guyer know that almost overnight, Earth would be consumed by previously dormant spiders that suddenly wanted out.

Now tens of millions of people around the world are dead. Half of China is a nuclear wasteland. Mysterious flesh-eating spiders are marching through Los Angeles, Oslo, Delhi, Rio de Janeiro, and countless other cities. According to Dr. Guyer, the crisis may soon be over.

But in Japan, a giant, glowing egg sac gives a shocking preview of what is to come, even as survivors in Los Angeles panic and break the quarantine zone. Out in the desert, survivalists Gordo and Shotgun are trying to invent a weapon to fight back, but it may be too late, because President Stephanie Pilgrim has been forced to enact the plan of last resort.

America, you are on your own.

©2017 Ezekiel Boone (P)2017 Simon & Schuster Audio

Critic reviews

"A globe-hopping, seriously creepy read." ( Publishers Weekly)

It was OKAY...

The first book had me sorta riveted. Though the take on spiders wasn't completely original, the story was suspenseful and the character subplots were decently written and made sense. Mostly.

Then there's this book. Way way more viewpoints. It was a bit scattered but was overall okay. Until chapter 30/31(?). Anyway the one with the guy who says chicken biscuits. You'll know. I mean wtf! That almost, and maybe it did, ruin the book for me. I won't spoil the scene. I guess Boone needed a way to introduce the spiders to that city but it shouldn't have been with this scene or character. Completely illogical and unrealistic human reaction to a bloody dire situation. I could be wrong but I don't think I am. Unless! Unless Boone was writing an example of the dumbest person on planet Earth then he sold me. Besides that it was okay I guess. I hope three is better because this book didn't have that thing the first book did.

Oh chicken biscuits!

The second in Boone's Hatching (spiderpocalypse?) series is just as darkly humorous and terrifying as the first installment. Humor is so hard to write, but Ezekiel Boone sets the perfect tone with his absurd descriptors, jabs, sarcasm and perfectly outrageous banter.

The spider outbreak which began in The Hatching is proving impossible to contain, so in Skitter we watch the bigwigs in Washington deliberate and finally decide to go with the drastic Spanish Protocol, designed to be "a last-ditch way of stopping the spread of something that is inherently unstoppable". In other words, "Operation Bomb the Crap out of Everything and Leave People to Fend for Themselves". Will it work? Perhaps, but in the meantime those skittering little monsters are going to wreak some serious havoc and leave a lot of scientists scratching their heads.

The perfect balance of horror and humor is what keeps me coming back to this series. Every paragraph offers something newly absurd or ridiculous to enjoy. I was especially entertained by the narrator having to read the entire name of The Interstate 80 High Times Truck Stop and Family Fun Zone Restaurant and Gas Station Taco Bell Pizza Hut Starbucks KFC Burrito Barn 42 Flavors Ice Cream Extravaganza Coast-to-Coast Emporium over and over. On paper it's not nearly as interesting, but read aloud it's way better than any limerick.

As well, I really love how we don't focus exclusively on just a handful of heroes in these novels. We move around the globe to see how the spider infestation affects everyone, from Marines in America's ground zero of LA, to some guy exploring a temple in India, to a bored-to-tears group in the nicest out-of-the-way shelter I've ever heard of, to a family in a remote island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. We follow a few main groups of people, for consistency, but we also get an up close and personal view from a variety of "redshirts" (a Star Trek reference, if you are wondering) as they come face to face with egg sacs and hatching, skittering, biting arachnids.

great listen

great continuation for a great series so far. can't wait to see how it's going to end

Gotta admit, I loved it

Loved it, creepy crawly with the right set of characters...Narration was spot on and loved there was 2 in the series.

More spiders!

I thought this series was a great trashy beach read, but I wanted waaay more spider scenes. The first two books had like 1/6 spider violence, and the rest was politics, characters being described as “pretty” or characters with exes.

B movie creepiness and action at its best

Any additional comments?

Hugely entertaining, suitably creepy, plenty of action. Middle act of this trilogy where ancient spiders have reawakened and humans are rapidly waking up to the reality of no longer being top of the food chain. Boone returns to the ranging narrative, jumping from California to DC, Peru to India, Scotland to Japan. From marines to a con-man preacher, mystery author to a survivalist, arachnologist to Presidential chief of staff, television producer to FBI agent. Stories of the military trying to burn out egg sacks, scientists attempting to figure out the mechanics of the infestation, civilians trying to flee, individuals noticing patterns, and everyday people struggling to survive in ingenious ways. The action may lull as the first wave of spiders have died, but the tension constantly ratchets up. And when the next wave is imminent, those in the know have a growing sense of dread. The United States is fractured, the world is on a precipice, and something has woken up. Recommended, but maybe not if you live in a place replete with spiders.

4 Stars right up until that ending....

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The ending. Oh.. that ending...

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Most interesting: New spiders! New Eggs!
Least interesting: Did I mention the ending?

Which character – as performed by George Newbern – was your favorite?

The Scottish Grandfather.

Was Skitter worth the listening time?

Yes, but I'm not sure I'll be returning for Book 3 with how Book 2 ends.

Any additional comments?

The characters, and thus the author, comes right out and says "We can't hope to get every egg sack"... yet.. that ending STILL happens.

Fantastic

I am loving this series so far. I can't wait to start the 3rd book.

Loved it

Book 2 is a great follow up to the first, starting the third immediately. Newbern is amazing and does the book a great service!

Too long

it was interesting at first but began to be too much discussion about the individuals before they got eaten. just wanted the solution in this book.