Guy N Smith, Crabs On The Rampage

Back in 1981 Guy N Smith released the forth instalment into his popular crabs series entitled 'Crabs on the Rampage'. Ever the prolific writer, the year of 1981 also saw the publication of five other novels by Smith including 'Doomflight', 'Manitou Doll', 'Warhead', 'Entombed' and 'Wolfcurse'.

Great Britain is once again at the mercy of the giant crabs as they return to wreak more bloody havoc on the islands unprepared population. The monstrous crabs are as big as ever, but this time they have a deeper rage for humankind burning inside them. The crabs are dying from a cancer that is slowly eating away at them from the inside. The cancer was man's doing; caused by an underwater nuclear explosion. Now the crabs have revenge in their sights and they're here for bloodshed.

Intent on causing as much death and suffering for humankind as possible, the crabs return to the shores of Great Britain, destroying bridges and buildings and anything else that lies in their wake. Nowhere appears safe with the crustaceans finding their way to the heart of London via the River Thames. Carnage ensues, as the crabs unleash a bloodthirsty onslaught upon mankind in every possible direction.

Cliff Davenport is once again called in to tackle the returning crab epidemic. With the death toll rising by the minute, there is little more anyone can do but simply try to defend themselves. It is soon learnt that the crabs are dying from the cancer that's eating away at them from their insides, and with this news the defensive position held by man changes to one of offensive.

The crabs attempt a series of final rage filled assaults, once again on the picturesque location of Shell Island and subsequently on to Bournemouth beach (an echo from the battles within 'Night of the Crabs'). It's only a matter of time before the crabs die from their cancer, but their final assaults on mankind are so devastating that time is now running out for them too.

From the outset 'Crabs on the Rampage' unleashes a veritable tsunami of splatter filled violence. Smith clearly went all out to top the scales of gore drenched crab action in this action packed instalment. For sheer brutality alone the storyline is entertainment from start to finish. Rage fuelled crabs, hell bent on revenge, creates one hell of a deadly opponent.

The story is packed full of memorable moments, such as the crabs causing carnage within a congested motorway tunnel. The blood spill is in epic proportions with this fast paced thrill of a novel.

The ending is somewhat inevitable and leaves all us crab fans with a final heart felt sigh. Running for 157 pages, this is a monstrous addition to the crabs series and one that cannot be ignored by all good splatter-punk fans and pulp horror enthusiasts. Gore drenched genius!