Wicked Bugs

The Louse That Conquered Napoleon’s Army and Other Diabolical Insects

By: Amy Stewart

Narrated by: Coleen Marlo

Length: 5 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

In this darkly comical look at the sinister side of our relationship with the natural world, Stewart has tracked down over one hundred of our worst entomological foes - creatures that infest, infect, and generally wreak havoc on human affairs. From the world's most painful hornet, to the flies that transmit deadly diseases, to millipedes that stop traffic, to the Japanese beetles munching on your roses, Wicked Bugs delves into the extraordinary powers of many-legged creatures.

With wit, style, and exacting research, Stewart has uncovered the most terrifying and titillating stories of bugs gone wild. It's an A to Z of insect enemies, interspersed with sections that explore bugs with kinky sex lives, creatures lurking in the cupboard, militant ants, and phobias that feed our (sometimes) irrational responses to bugs.

Wicked Bugs is a fascinating mixture of history, science, murder, and intrigue that begins - but doesn't end - in your own backyard.

©2011 Amy Stewart (P)2011 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Stewart amusingly but analytically profiles the baddest bugs around in quick but attention-grabbing snapshots of little creatures that pack a lot of punch." ( Booklist)

Fascinating and disgusting

The content was gross and morbidly fascinating. The short essay-like chapters lent itself well to the audio format.

Very interesting

Wonderful stories and details. I enjoyed learning about these amazing creatures that share the world with us.

"good" only for insect enthusiasts

I am a long time audible user. I was looking forward to much more from this title. Since I have an interest in entomology, it serves as a distraction. But for the regular listener, I think they will get bored fairly quickly between the interesting tidbits of historical excitement offered. I seriously thought that the narration was by a digitized computer voice when I first hear it--very monotone. The voice would probably be okay for a PBS documentary which used it only in snippets, but does not add anything to a full length book.

Not enough....

I find the subject matter of this book fascinating and was looking forward to a good creepy bug book to haunt me for a bit. Unfortunately, it missed the mark two ways - 1) Not enough scientific detail - the descriptions of the insects and their behaviors were too brief. Fewer insects with more detail on each would've been better. 2) Not enough anecdotal or cultural references to make listening fun for more than a couple of hours. If there had been more "fun" stuff, I wouldn't have noticed the lack of educational content.

Although I was disappointed, I'm giving this selection 3 stars overall because I did enjoy sections of it, and it kept me interested enough to listen all the way through.

All fluff no meat

I kept waiting for the 'meat' in this book -- it is not in depth enough and written more as a coffee table book -- also the author should hire a better reader for her material.

Interesting - would have been better on paper

This is a really interesting book about bugs. The narration is good. It reads like an encyclopedia though, so it may have been better in print. I do not regret listening to the entire thing and would recommend it for those who don't have the time to read the print version.

I have a new love for spiders!

Where does Wicked Bugs rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I love books like this. Each chapter gives you knowledge on a special thing. In this case various bugs. If you are spooked easily and do not like bugs in general this is not the book for you. If you can take stories about bugs though it is great. Thought you knew alot about some bugs you better read this book. The cockroach chapter was amazing.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The cockroaches.

What about Coleen Marlo’s performance did you like?

I enjoyed her narration.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. This is the type of book I love.

Any additional comments?

Read it.

Fun for the bug enthusiast!

Where does Wicked Bugs rank among all the audiobooks you???ve listened to so far?

This book is well above average as an audiobook. Most of the bugs stories presented are interesting. Remember, though, that this book is more a reference than a tale.

What other book might you compare Wicked Bugs to and why?

It is similar to The Poisoner's Handbook as both cover many topics. The authors make efforts to include entertaining anecdotes throughout the books.

Have you listened to any of Coleen Marlo???s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Coleen Marlo also narrates The Poisoner's Handbook. Her narration is remarkably expressive considering that she could just drone out descriptions. She did a really good job.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No one moment, but I did appreciate descriptions that included medical comments.

Overview of the savage little creatures

A decent and somewhat fun glance at many insects or insect-like creatures that have caused all kinds of problems for humans and other species. Not necessarily something you will want to be listening to when eating. This is ultimately just one giant list, without any cohesive plot - though there are plenty of interesting facts along the way..

Wrong format for this book

An audio book is the wrong format for this book. It's essentially a list and short bio of various diseases and/or their vectors. An audio presentation is way too linear and cannot be indexed for what you want to see.