'Crabs Omnibus' – Guy N. Smith (Black Hill Books)

When I said I wanted to finish the 'Crabs' series, this side of the New Year, I wasn't planning on finishing it quite so quickly. I ended up really getting into 'The Charnel Caves' though so went straight onto 'Crabs Omnibus' without even thinking about it. And then Guy N. Smith passed away, on Christmas Eve, and it really didn't seem like the time to be writing a review. I said I would though so here I am :o) Before we get into that though.. Looking back over the last few months; if there's one thing that reading this series has taught me, it's that I don't think Smith meant for anyone to read through the whole lot at once. Smith does 'giant crabs' brilliantly but if you're reading one books after another, in short order, then you will feel like you're reading the same book over and over again (and that's only natural, they're giant crabs). That's not his fault though and the next time I pick the series up, I'm going to be a bit more laid back about tackling it ;o)

And now I'm done :o) The series has it's fair share of ups and down but I can confidently say that if you're after some pulp 'giant crab' horror then you really need to give these books a go if you haven't already. The only thing I will say is that they're a lot easier to collect if you have a Kindle (or equivalent e-reader) . If you don't then you're either looking at paying a fair whack for the older editions (if you can track them down) or paying £10 a time for the later 'print on demand' editions. I'd personally go with the Kindle editions but that's just me ;o)

So now I need to find another Guy N. Smith series to follow, or maybe I'll just pick up the odd book here and there. Maybe I'll even start reading the 'Elric' books like I said I would... In the meantime though, lets bow out of the 'Crab-Verse' with a look at what's in the 'Crabs' omnibus...

Time and time again since that scorching summer of 1976 the monstrous crabs have come ashore and wreaked terrible destruction and carnage on mankind. Now in this collection of short stories they have returned in a frenzy of foul, insatiable hunger for human flesh, seemingly invincible to every type of weaponry used against them. Will they ever be exterminated? Will our beaches ever again be safe for holidaymakers?

I'm not a huge 'Guy N. Smith Scholar' so have no idea if these stories were published elsewhere, prior to appearing in this collection. What I can say though is that while it probably wasn't the intent for the collection, 'Crabs Omnibus' ends up being a fitting place for the series to conclude.

It's clear now that there will always be giant crabs lurking in the oceans and that these crustaceans will continue to make our days out at the beach full of amputated limbs. What Smith does in this book though is to take time to show us that the balance of power isn't on the side of the crabs, a little bit of human ingenuity, and sometimes plain luck, will be what eventually wins the war for us. Whether it's the private investigator Newman, in 'The Final Encounter', getting creative with poison or a chance meeting between a wannabe terrorist and a juvenile giant crab in 'Crustacean Carnage', victory can be found in the most unlikely of circumstances. I like horror that offers a little hope at the same time and while Smith doesn't stint on the gore, it's good of him to say that it doesn't have to be like that all the time. I actually laughed at how 'Crustacean Carnage' ended, far play to Smith for drawing the story right out and then leaving everything to the wiles of chance right at the very last minute.

Smith is still very much about the pulp horror here though and takes time to send us right up close to the crabs in the best tradition of the series. Yes, we're talking human greed, and lust, leading people to make choices that will ultimately see them eaten. 'The Vigil' and 'Crab Armada' are the best examples here and 'Crab Armada' in particular is creepily claustrophobic right up until the inevitable end. Having said that though, 'The Decoy' is a very clever piece of 'creature horror' as well with a vicious ending.

It's all good really. If you've read the other books in the series then it more or less goes without saying, at this point, that you will enjoy 'Crabs Omnibus' if you haven't read and enjoyed it already. As I said up the page, it's a fitting conclusion to probably Smith's best known series. The crabs may not be invincible, but be careful in the water anyway...