‘The Slime Beast’ – Guy N. Smith (New English Library)


There hasn’t been a lot of (well, any…) Guy N. Smith featured here, over the last few months, mostly because I went through a period of not being able to settle on anything to read and his books were amongst many that fell by the wayside. I’ve still been on the lookout for books of his though and while I’m still waiting for my copy of ‘The Island’ to arrive, ‘The Slime Beast’ made it through the blockade and given that it’s only a hundred and ten pages long… I thought it would be a good read for the bus to work (and back again). I had no idea how much fun this one would be though, definitely worth the time I spent keeping an eye open for a copy.

A monster from Earth or beyond the stars?

Members of an innocent expedition, in search of King John’s missing treasure, discover not the promised riches, but something far more insidious. For, in the wilds of the East Coast marshes, they encounter an alien creature of hideous strength – the slime beast; and it’s enemy is man.

In the conflict with superstitious villagers and power crazed professor, only two people remain determined to destroy the beast, unless it kills them first…

We never find out whether the slime beast came from Earth or beyond the stars; there are enough possible clues dropped, for us to find and ponder over, but the last word rests with the slime beast itself and it’s not telling. All of that is besides the point though, ‘The Slime Beast’ was just brilliant and a whole load of fun to read, that’s the bottom line and the reason I kept turning the page. The end is in no doubt but it’s the journey there that’s the thing and it’s crammed full of pulp goodness. You’ve got a mob of frightened villagers, the army, plucky heroes and the slime beast itself, a bullet proof monster that will absolutely ruin your day. It all adds up to a lean tale where the mysterious, yet lethal, slime beast faces down everything in a flurry of blood and interrupted sex (no, the slime beast does not have sex with anything, Smith leaves that to certain of his cast)… Until it comes up against the one and only thing that can stop it. I’m not sure why the bullets didn’t just make the slime beast leak but it’s end is fitting and a great way for the story to conclude.

‘The Slime Beast’ is a very straightforward tale with a very straightforward antagonist, and your mileage will inevitably vary but sometimes that’s exactly what I need in a book. It was exactly what I needed last night; a monster that just wants to eat and a whole village full of people to prey upon… I think I’ve just found another ‘favourite Guy N. Smith’ book 😊

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