People compare this series to Jurassic Park a lot which immediately made me curious. But I wasn’t prepared oh no , not only is this book a FUCKING BLAST but it really reads like a great movie (and would make one too): in the way it describes scenes, in the characters and the way the action moves. But this script-like nature really works and makes for a tight pace that slowly and methodically unravels the horrors of Henders Island, while also having a lot of comedy and suspense, and I liked that it gets really nerdy with the science too even if it’s probably movie-deep there too compared to hard-SF.

And indeed it does feel like a great Jurassic Park very often and I mean this as a compliment as huge dino nerd and JP fan! But I loved discovering the cast of insane arthropod creatures conjured by the author and all the various fucked up things they’re capable of, and holy fuck does this book get extra gnarly at times but it makes the horror really visceral (literally sometimes), I already don’t fuck with ants but the story’s disk-ants send extra shivers down my spine. I really admired Nell for her absolute resolve and lack of fear in the face of so much of this shit but I also her absolute nerdiness in describing this untouched ecosystem and how it all works, and that part really delivers, it’s a very fun and well thought out world to plunge in (before something plunges in you).

Because the author would love to make it a movie he has spent a lot of time gathering/making visuals for the books so it’s also really been extremely fun to see come alive some of the best moments, and to compare with my own take on them 😛 But I do really hope the movie project goes somewhere because this deserves a big screen for sure. Give this shit half the budget of Avatar ffs. There is a sequel to the book that I’m really eager to dig in as well even if I’m sure it’ll be filled to the brim with many more disgusting shit to crawl all over my nightmares 🐜