Skitter

February 6, 2017
Boone’s apocalyptic sequel to 2016’s The Hatching picks up about 10 days into the end of the world. In the first book, Prof. Melanie Gruyer received a 10,000-year-old egg sac from Peru; it hatched flesh-eating spiders that rapidly spread all over the planet. The situation is now dire, and Melanie desperately tries to unlock the key to the spiders’ destruction while nuclear bombs fall, cities burn, and corpses litter the streets. When the spiders start dying off, many see reason for hope, but Melanie is afraid something bigger is coming, and no one knows how to stop it. Returning readers will recognize FBI Agent Mike Rich, President Stephanie Pilgrim, survivalists Gordo and Shotgun, and Melanie’s ex-husband, Manny Walchuk, all of whom have their parts to play. This installment retains much of the scary fun of the first, but too many plot threads make it choppy, and it’s obvious that this is a setup for the big finale. Still, Boone’s fans will undoubtedly enjoy this globe-hopping, seriously creepy read.

March 1, 2017

Earth has been overrun by killer spiders. Suddenly, without apparent reason, the invading arachnids have all died. Surviving humans emerge to assess the damage wrought by the spiders. Thousands of people, maybe hundreds of thousands, are dead. Scientific crews seek out the mostly cold papery egg sacs that the spiders left in myriad dark places--but some of the egg sacs are warm, sticky, and humming. In trying to determine why these creatures died at the exact same moment, scientists are puzzled. Was this only the first phase? It soon becomes clear that there is more to come, and the next stage will be much worse. VERDICT Boone's second installment picks up hours after The Hatching concludes. Readers who savored that first book as well as fans of apocalyptic disasters will be thrilled. This novel is definitely a bridge to the next work, and the cliff-hanger ending ensures the need for a third volume.--Elizabeth Masterson, Mecklenburg Cty. Jail Lib., Charlotte, NC

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