First published back in July of 1976, ‘Night Of The Crabs’ was the novel that launched Guy N Smith as an iconic pulp horror writer; hitting a chord with horror fans the world over.

Spawning a number of sequels, a prequel, a graphic novel and a whole host of short stories; the ‘Crabs’ novels quickly became Smith’s signature series.  The novel was written in just one week, but went on to cement Smith’s position as a leader within the Creatures Vs Mankind subgenre of pulp horror.

In April of 2009, Ghostwriter Publications released a hardback edition of the novel which included a new extended version of the classic pulp story, as well as new artwork, a new introduction by the author, a foreword by J.F. Gonzalez, as well as additional chapters and material inserted into the body of the original text. Details of this additional material has been included at the bottom of this review.

DLS Synopsis:
When Professor Cliff Davenport learns of the strange disappearance of his nephew, Ian Wright together with the young man’s fiancée, Julie Coles, the marine biologist decides to travel to the holiday resort of Shell Island, located along the picturesque Welsh coast, to personally investigate the matter. A full-scale search is quickly underway, in an attempt to find the missing pair. Meanwhile, not trusting the full commitment of the local authorities, Davenport has begun his own investigations into their strange disappearance.

However, Davenport’s searches soon point in the direction of something far more horrific than an accidental double drowning. However, despite the marine biologists extensive qualifications and connections to Whitehall, his concerns just fall on deaf ears.

But Davenport won’t give up. Upon hearing about a series of mysterious markings which fellow guest at the hotel, Pat Benson, found along the beach, the pair decide to begin a twenty-four-hour vigil along the surrounding beaches. And it’s not long before Davenport and Benson witness a pack of giant crabs emerging from the water and slaughtering a local beachcomber named Bartholomew.

Now understanding the true horror that is threatening those alone the Welsh coastline, Davenport immediately reports his findings to Grisedale of Whitehall, who sends out the inept Colonel Goode to take over the investigations. However, upon being assigned this a far-fetched job, Goode is highly sceptical of the entire story, and as such military action is postponed. That is, until the giant crabs are upon the unprepared soldiers and the defenceless local community is subjected to an onslaught of unparalleled savagery.

An all-out war ensues, with the monstrous crustaceans now swarming onto the helpless community of Shell Island. The meagre military presence is almost completely annihilated by these seemingly indestructible freaks of nature.

What would have been considered the stuff of nightmares is now a full-blown reality. The military fight back in an all-out battle at Barmouth. Alas, the heavy gauge weaponry of the tanks is still no match for the seemingly impenetrable armour of the giant crabs. Mankind needs to think fast if they are going to win the war against the crabs. Luckily, they have Davenport on their side, whose quick thinking and a truly inspired idea might just turn the tide in favour of a human victory...

DLS Review:
As you can no doubt tell from the above in-depth synopsis, Smith packs in as much action and blood spill as possible; with an array of flamboyant characters each undertaking their own wonderfully clichéd roles within this outrageously over-the-top storyline.

With this first novel in the author’s signature ‘Giant Crabs’ series, Smith has concocted a truly inspired enemy for mankind to battle against. It’s a monstrously over-the-top threat which delivers a non-stop barrage of bloodshed and wildly exaggerated horror action that’ll get pulp horror fans drooling from the very first attack.

Not only are these gigantic enemies colossal in size and bearing impossibly thick armoured shells on their backs, but the crabs also display a surprising level of cunning and intelligence. Led by a (briefly glimpsed) ‘King Crab’, these organised crustacean ranks pose a sizeable threat for even the most heavily equipped military forces. The battle at Barmouth as the crab army invades the seaside community is perhaps the very pinnacle of the novel. The death, destruction, and utter mayhem caused by the sudden invading army of giant crabs is nothing short of a glorious show of over-the-top pulp horror magnificence.

The graphically depicted skirmishes between the crabs and the military deliver page after page of edge-of-the-seat pulp horror entertainment. In fact, at no point does Smith take his foot off the accelerator, from the very moment these monstrous crabs first take to the shore, to the moment they’re defeated.

Littered with amusingly elaborate twists and turns, the tale eventually concludes with an outrageously inspired, yet mildly bizarre grand finale. With unleashing such a farfetched monster and then tackling the threat with an even more unlikely defence, Smith has managed to produce nothing short of a veritable masterpiece of seventies pulp horror.

Characterisation is actually pretty solid and reasonably well developed for a pulp horror novel of this nature. Yes, many of the characters are pretty darn clichéd. The oafish Colonel Goode plays out his role perfectly, whilst our principal protagonist, Cliff Davenport, becomes more heroic (in a delightfully British way) the further through the tale you get.

Honestly, if you’re a fan of pulp horror and over-the-top B-movie style plots, then this novel is one you will simply adore. It absolutely desires the cult classic status it’s received over the ensuing years. Furthermore, having recently reread the novel, it just gets better with each read.

If it’s your first time venturing into the Crabs novels, then it should be noted that although ‘Night Of The Crabs’ was the first instalment that Smith penned, it should possibly be read after the prequel entitled ‘The Origin Of The Crabs’ (1979). Basically, the prequel ends exactly where ‘Night Of The Crabs’ takes off, bringing together a seamless bridge between the two books.

Following on from ‘Night Of The Crabs’, the proceeding book in the series was ‘Killer Crabs’ (1978) which was released just two years later.

However, ‘Night Of The Crabs’ was the true beginning of the all-out crab vs mankind war. It’s rightly heralded as an absolute classic pulp horror novel. One that’s hard to be bettered for the creation of such an unashamed far-fetched enemy.  To say this is an enjoyable read is probably the understatement of the century!

The novel runs for a total of 144 pages.

Ghostwriter Publications Hardback – Extended Version
As detailed at the start of this review, in April of 2009, Ghostwriter Publications released a hardback edition of the novel which included a new extended version of the classic pulp story. The additional material included within this extended edition is detailed below (please note, for those who haven’t read the original story, the following will contain spoilers).

The extended hardback edition commences with a three-page introduction by Smith in which he talks about the holidaying in Barmouth just after the original release of ‘Night Of The Crabs’ and seeing first-hand the popularity of the book, as copies flew off the shelves. Reading about Smith’s sudden fame from the publication of this book makes for a wonderful short introduction, whetting the readers’ appetite for the pulp classic to come.

Next, we have a four-page foreword by author J.F. Gonzalez, who co-wrote the ‘Clickers’ novels. For his foreword, Gonzalez tells us how he first came across Guy’s Crabs novels, how reading them inspired his work, and what he personally loves about the novels. In fact, the latter part of this foreword reads more like a gushing review of the novel than anything else. And rightly so.

The novel itself begins with a brand new nine-page prologue in which we’re introduced to the character of Milton Hogarth. He’s a forty-year-old businessman who’s about to see his business go into liquidation. Accordingly, we see him out on the deserted moonlit beach of Shell Island, about to fake his own suicide, so that he can take up a new life under the name of Ralph Johnson. Of course, it doesn’t go as Milton planned. It’s as he’s making his way down to the shoreline when the giant crabs emerge from the pitch-black water. You’ve undoubtedly guessed the rest. Click-click-clickety-click!

The next new addition to the novel is nestled within Chapter Twelve where we have additional sections inserted into the original text. These new passages start from page 141 of the extended edition (from the paragraph that starts with “Just look at that!”). With these new inserted passages, we’re essentially introduced to two new characters – Tracey Allen and Laoni Weeks – and the subsequent reasoning for them being on the flimsy footbridge at the time Dai Peters’ train derails (thanks to the King Crab), plunging the pair into the ebbing estuary tide below.

Straight after this we’re flung into Chapter Thirteen which is an entirely new sixteen-page chapter, Here we see the pair swept away by the steady current of the estuary, as they cling to a floating wooden sleeper that came off the collapsed footbridge. However, their luck briefly seems to change when passing fisherman Paul Evans spots the pair and pulls them onboard. Despite everything these two young girls have been through, it doesn’t stop Evans from leering at them and making all sorts of double entendres. However, before Evans can get them to back to land, our crab mates are back again. This time we have a giant crab holding the boat still whilst a whole load of smaller crabs clamber on board to devour their victims. It’s a classic crabs scene, with plenty of gore and bloodshed splattered across the pages.

The final addition is with a brand new seven-page epilogue which takes us to the Norwegian coast, just off the bleak Lofoten Islands. Here we see fisherman Captain Ol Larsen out trawling the waters with his crew. However, what they pull up from the sea is something not even Larsen in all his years of fishing has ever seen before. A crab, fully four-feet wide, caught up in their fishing net. But it’s the beast’s unblinking eyes that chills Larsen’s blood the most. Those hateful eyes, emitting pure unadulterated evil. Oh yes, ending the book we now have an epilogue which ties the end perfectly with the opening chapter of the next book in the series – ‘Killer Crabs’ (1978).

Together, all this additional material more than simply fleshes out the novel. They add further perspectives to the unfolding horror. The extra chapters widen the scope of the murderous rampage. And of course, these new scenes ramp up the horror and bloodshed further.

As such, if you’re able to get your hands on a copy of this extended edition, then I highly recommend you jump at the chance. Trust me, the extras within the extended version are well worth it.

The extended Ghostwriter Publications edition runs for a total of 191 pages.

© DLS Reviews

Other ‘Crabs’ instalments:

• ‘Night Of The Crabs’ (1976)
• ‘Killer Crabs’ (1978)
• ‘The Origin Of The Crabs’ (1979)
• ‘Crabs On The Rampage’ (1981)
  
• ‘Crabs’ Moon’ (1984)
  
• ‘Crabs: The Human Sacrifice’ (1988)
• ‘Crabs Fury’ (1998)  [Graphic Novel]
• ‘Crabs: Unleashed - The Collection’ (2009) [Chapbook]
• ‘Crabs: Unleashed’ (2009) [Chapbook]
• ‘Crustacean Vengeance’ (2009) [Chapbook]
• ‘The Decoy’ (2009) [Chapbook]
• ‘Crabs’ Armada’ (2009) [Chapbook]
• ‘Killer Crabs: The Return’ (2012)
  
• ‘Crabs Omnibus’ (2015)
• ‘The Charnel Caves’ (2019)
  
  

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