Library Journal
The big crabs are coming! The big crabs are coming! These choleric cognizant crustaceans are craving corpuscles, determined to destroy. Deep within the murky Loch Merse in southwest Scotland are giant crabs, the inadvertent result of Soviet nuclear testing. In this first of a trilogy that was originally published in Great Britain in 1979, gamekeepers and guests are disappearing with nary a trace; the evil, opportunistic lord of Cranlarich won't report these incidents for fear his ambitious real estate plans will go away too. In the aptly named Crabs' Moon , the crabs, like good moon creatures, are ruled by the moon's phases. Now dwelling in waters off Shell Island, these beady-eyed beasts prey upon unsuspecting vacationers at the Blue Ocean Camp. Irey Wall, neglected housewife and mother of two, picks the wrong man to cheat on her husband with. Before the planned rendezvous between Irey and the eager Keith Baxter, he goes for a swim. Unbeknownst to the passionate paramour, the creepy crabs are snapping their pincers in watery wait of tonight's dessert. The dip is his last. But it's the first of many onslaughtsspiked with graphic descriptions of the crabs as they suck brains from human skullswhich dominate the novel. The beasts' true crabiness comes out in Crabs on the Rampage . In this final installment, the crabs' killjoy nature draws them to vacation spots only, thereby proving that there's not a soft shell among them. Professor Cliff Davenport theorizes that these behemoths, now dying from cancer as the result of paraquat spraying by the government, are vengeful and won't rest till there's a vacationer in each of their bellies. More terrorizing and devouring. Then, at dawn, there's drawn butter. Crusty tales for avid fans of The Blob . Michelle Lodge, New York City

Genre: Horror