Crawlers | Book Review
When pest controllers Nick Grieves and Samantha Grieves are called to a sleepy dockyard in the dead of night, they are expecting a rat infestation or an unclaimed exotic pet. What they find instead is a nightmare from another a terrifying and unnatural creature with a hunger that can’t be satisfied.
As a terrifying crisis spreads throughout the UK, a small band of survivors must fight not only to stay alive, but to prevent the country from being consumed by an eight-legged apocalypse. Not everyone is going to make it, but being human means refusing to give up—even when you're outnumbered ten-thousand to one.
The food chain is about to change...
CRAWLERS
Iain Rob Wright | 2025 | 242 pgs | Fiction
I am a sucker for spider-related books, whether it’s horror, or… well, it’s usually horror. I grew up loving spiders - I’d catch and feed them grasshoppers in mason jars in my basement, and these days I invite spiders to come and threaten the other cryptids that live in my house. I’d also read Iain’s previous book, The Spread (Book 1: The Hill), back in 2021 and remember really enjoying it. (It’s memorable, if not especially great, bright green cover helped.) So when I saw Crawlers creep up on Kindle Unlimited, I pounced.
It’s a pulpy, squishy, at times really silly blast. There are thousands of little spiders, a handful of big ones, and a group of hapless heroes that would feel right at home in Arachnophobia (The movie, not the overall fear…). I was surprised when I saw the page count because it felt like a snappier, shorter novella when I was reading it. Like Wright’s previous book, I was reminded not to get attached to anyone in Crawlers - no one is safe from his keyboard.
There are a lot of questions revolving around some of the characters’ logic in this book, from tractors, to dissolving protective gear, to ignoring medical warning signs, to going to a general practitioner when you have a specialist on call, but it all fits the overall B-Movie vibe of the book.
My only real complaint is that when I picked it up, it was not designated as part of a series, and it is - it’s book NINE in his Cursed Manuscripts series. This meant there were several characters and references that felt like I should know who they were, or care about their inclusion, and I didn’t. Plus and Minus for me there, as I now have eight other (presumably) deleriously delicious horror/thrillers to read, but it also made this book, which would have stood on its own eight legs just fine, weaker because of it.
Still - it was a lot of fun, and it’s spiders killing people - what’s not to love?
You’ll find links to get a copy below and you can also follow and support the author by joining their Patreon.
Get a copy of the book:
CRAWLERS is available on Amazon, and on Iain Rob Wright’s website as a cool special edition paperback.
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