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The Monster Librarian Presents:
Reviews of Science Gone Awry in Horror Fiction
Humanity's search for new discoveries, attempts to explore the unknown, and desire to alter nature for benefit has been the focus of many horror books. While this particular subgenre does also fit in the science fiction genre, it has a place in horror fiction, as the science experiment or product often ends up killing folks in a gruesome way. (Note: Scientists trying to reanimate the dead are often a cause of zombie outbreaks. Those books can be found on the Zombie list)
Creature
by John Saul
*New
Review
Bantam Books, 1989
ISBN: 9780553284119
Available: New and Used
Mark Tanner is a teenager who is small for his age. He enjoys animals and photography. His father, on the other hand, is a sports enthusiast, especially when it comes to football. Their relationship is tense because of their differences. That is until Blake Tanner, Mark’s Dad, gets transferred to Silverdale. The quaint town is almost completely owned by Blake’s company and it has the best of everything, including the football team. The boys are overly large and violent in their competition, and the town lives and breathes football. At first, Mark is more of an outsider than ever, but that changes when he is brought to the sports center and is treated by Dr. Ames. The treatments cause Mark to almost instantly begin to grow taller, more muscular, and violent. Mark and his family suddenly find themselves in the center of a conspiracy, and it’s one that could cost them their lives. The book starts off a little slow, but quickly picks up and grabs the reader's attention. The portrayal of the villains is believable because they are not wholeheartedly evil. Some are just misguided while others are working for a higher purpose where the ends justify the means.
Contains: Violence Review by Bret Jordan. Note from the Monster Librarian: Movie tie-in would be the 1998 movie "Disturbing Behavior".
Earthcore by
Scott Sigler
Dragon Moon Press, November, 2005
ISBN: 1896944329
Available: New
Earthcore is a story of greed leading people to a bad
end. Platinum is found in Utah in a place where it is said to be bubbling up
from under the ground. The origins of the find are the largest pure deposit
every discovered, but it is deep under the ground. Luckily the EarthCore company
has the technology to drill the 3 miles down to get to it. Unfortunately, the
company quickly discovers why the Native Americans consider the place cursed as
they discover evidence of an ancient culture that wields bizarre razor sharp
platinum knives.
This is a different kind of book. While not
strictly horror, it's really Sci-fi horror, it is definitely a monster story.
This book was originally released as a serialized podiobook (a book usually read
by the author and released as a podcast) and, while available in print format
from Amazon, it is really something to hear the author read the story to you. It
is available for free at: http://www.podiobooks.com/podiobooks/book.php?ID=24
or by searching Itunes' podcasts for it.
Contains: Vioence and a few adult situations. Entry by Nooker
Death Spore(AKA Fungus)
by Harry Adam Knight
Pinnacle Books, April, 1990
ISBN: 155817348X
Franklin Watts, April 1, 1989
ISBN: 0531151034
Available: Used
Death Spore/Fungus is a fun, quick, guilty little read. Set in England, Knight tells the story of a fungal research
experiment gone awry, causing all the different fungi around us every
day to grow uncontrollably, threatening to take over the whole country. It is
up to Barry Wilson to track down his wife, Jane, head of the fungus research project,
and to try to find a way to stop the plague. Knight’s
book moves along at a nice pace. Recommended. Contains:
Violence
The Fog by James
Herbert
Pan; New Ed edition,April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0330376152
Available: New and Used
Another fine bit of British horror. In this tale, a science
experiment, coupled with a local explosion, releases a deadly fog that drives
everyone who enters it into a mad homicidal frenzy. Herbert once again writes a
nice, tight, fast-paced story that is mighty readable. The book shares some
attributes to the movie “28 Days Later”, which is a good movie tie in.
Herbert's tale shows a terror that spreads from the countryside into London and
paints a very vivid apocalyptic style picture of madness. Recommended as
part of a core of a horror collection. Contains: Graphic violence, rape, suicide.
Sleeper by Steven
Harriman
Berkley,February , 2003
ISBN: 0425188817
Available: New and Used
A fun, recent addition to the category of monster books. Sleeper is about
a deadly, manmade monster held in a cryogenic chamber in the Pentagon, released during cleanup after the September 11th attacks. The
writing is fun and tight, the book adds from a number of genres including a
little bit of sci-fi and mystery, with plenty of action and suspense it is a
recommended read. Contains violence.
Spawn of Hell by William Schoell
Banner of Truth, June, 1984
ISBN: 0843921129
Available: Used
An evil corporation and
subterranean monsters that are are a mixture of human and animal that have a
taste for flesh and mush death and mayhem all tied up in book called Spawn of
Hell. David Hammond is our
main hero, an unsuccessful artist who meets with Anna Braddon a model as
they stumble upon the monsters. It is a lengthy tale but well written, it
has the feel of a 1980's creature feature that will make the older readers well
a little nastolgic. Recommended. Contains monster violence.
Berserk by Tim Lebbon
Leisure Books, 2006
ISBN: 0843954302
Available: New and Used
Tom's son Steven was killed in a military accident, or so he was told. While at a bar, Tom overhears two military men talking about monsters at the base where Tom's son died. One of the men tell Tom that Steven's body wasn't in the casket that he received but rather was buried at the old base. Tom on a quest to find his son's body and the truth about how he died. In searching for his son's body at the base he uncovers the corpse of a young girl, Natasha, who telepathically tells Tom that his son isn't dead and that if he helps her she will bring him to his son. The girl is a beserker a monster that was part of a military experiment. This leaves Tom and Natasha seeking other beserkers who escaped from the military base and Tom's son, while being hunted by Cole, a former military man who was part of the beserker project. This 337 page book goes fast, once the action starts it continues to flow and Berserk's plot keeps you turning the pages. Contains violence.
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