Skitter – Ezekiel Boone

THIS WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE HATCHING! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

I received this book from Gollancz for an honest review.

The second book in this scary series which picks up where the action left off in the first book; the United States are in complete disarray as spiders have destroyed Los Angeles and left egg sacs in their wake. The rest of the world are closing down methods of communication as they try to figure out the answers before anyone else. The main powers are hovering over their nuclear weapon buttons; it is just a question of who will be next to bomb their own country.

This book didn’t seem as fast paced as the first one but this one seems to be setting the stage for the final instalment. The spiders have gone quiet and very few are hatching, the ones that have are displaying new behaviour, behaviour that worries the scientists around the world. The gore is still very much present within the novel but it seems to be more of a disturbing gore than brutal. I won’t reveal the full scene in fear of spoilers but, Boone managed to capture the very essence of fear as the spiders close in around the chosen few. This book seems to more character based and raises more moral questions than the first.

The characters start to come together within this book. In the first they seemed very far away from each other despite being within the same country; now, they are together in the White House, each bringing their own field of expertise to the crisis. Michael is the only one who is separate, at home trying to protect his family. To me it seemed like we saw less of him within this novel compared to the first and I would have liked to have seen more of him, he feels more “real” compared to other characters. This may be due to him being on the front line and I have a feeling that he will play a larger role on the ground in the final novel. The characters seemed more comfortable with one another and their dialogue flowed well. Amy and Fred seemed like fun characters in the first book, in the second they seemed more like a hindrance which they recognised. I had hoped that they played a larger part within the story but I am content with their roles. Michael fills the role needed for an average person within the situation.

This book felt like a filler book which is okay but, after the first I was expecting a much faster paced book with action throughout. The dilemma’s that certain characters faced were truly horrific and I couldn’t ever imagine having to make some of the decisions. The final few paragraphs set me on the edge of my seat and I can’t wait to see what has emerged from the egg sacs and how the world will cope with the newest wave of spiders.