The
Hatching has all the makings of a
b-grade, camp classic disaster film: a large cast of intertwining characters, a
global threat, no eminent solution. This should be great stuff – c’mon, carnivorous
spiders! Spiders that can hide in shadows, in containers, under furniture, and,
especially for this story, inside host bodies. Such a simple, tiny fear
exacerbated into apocalyptic terror. The problem the novel runs into is that
the story is not campy enough and while the horror is played straight, the weak
characters bloat a simple enough narrative.
Perhaps this is a personal fetish for author
Ezekiel Boone, or perhaps his metaphorical mirror is a tad too concrete, but
the lack of depth in the cast characterization, the blatant similarity of the
players, adds to the cliché the story is desperately trying to break from. Every
main character is in their early- to mid-forties and sustains solely on Diet
Coke. The men are either overweight schlumps or Captain America. The women are normal
enough to be the girl next door, but hot enough to be former lingerie models
(Boone’s words, not mine) – including the Hillary Clinton-esque POTUS. And
these are the people in whose hands hold the fate of all humanity.
Granted, once the action kicks in and Los
Angeles becomes the beachhead for the arachnid menace, The Hatching is a fun page-turner. Boone keeps up the pressure and
amplifies the stress as each character deals with the oncoming global
catastrophe. And then it ends. Rather abruptly. No sooner does humanity accept
its finale, then the first spidery wave ends. Because, of course, there is an
upcoming sequel. A sequel whose web I shall not become entangled within.
A fun read if spiders tickle a special fear
you are looking to overcome – and don’t mind a continuing story over a cycle of
creepy-crawly novels. Those seeking a typical three-act approach should spin
their silk elsewhere.
As always,
theJOE
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