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Spiders
This book is about spiders who are hungrier and deadlier than ever.
- GenresHorrorHorror Thriller
160 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1978
4 people are currently reading
189 people want to read
About the author
Richard Lewis
206 books6 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
April 14, 2023
First published in 1978, The Spiders is one of the wave of books/authors cashing in on the deadly creature features of the era. The back pages lists other 'Big Sellers' of the same ilk from Signet such as The Ants, Killer Crabs, and of course, The Swarm. Not really a standout of the genre by any means, but still, hard to go too wrong with hordes of giant, flesh-eating mutant spiders devastating first the English countryside and then London.
Out main protagonist, Alan, is a biology professor whose father was one of the first victims of the spider horde, and eventually leads the British task force to combat the spider invasion. This is a trashy pulp read by any standards, full of plot holes and cardboard characters, featuring lots of spider foo. I liked it. 3 spider stars!
Out main protagonist, Alan, is a biology professor whose father was one of the first victims of the spider horde, and eventually leads the British task force to combat the spider invasion. This is a trashy pulp read by any standards, full of plot holes and cardboard characters, featuring lots of spider foo. I liked it. 3 spider stars!
March 13, 2016
Okay, it is formulaic, in that each chapter could be a short story itself. Though, what I think sets it apart, and sets it up as one of my favourite reads is the pace, atmosphere, and ease of readability.
Don't get me wrong, this is pure horror pulp, but who says pulp can't be good(?)
From the second I picked up my 10p copy, in a charity shop, and read the first paragraph I knew I wanted this book on my shelf. Once I started it, on my return home, I didn't put it down 'til I'd read the last word.
I would recommend this book to any horror fan who wanted an enjoyable, fast paced story; though, if you're a true arachnophobic I'd probably stay away from this one, as a couple of friends will attest.
Don't get me wrong, this is pure horror pulp, but who says pulp can't be good(?)
From the second I picked up my 10p copy, in a charity shop, and read the first paragraph I knew I wanted this book on my shelf. Once I started it, on my return home, I didn't put it down 'til I'd read the last word.
I would recommend this book to any horror fan who wanted an enjoyable, fast paced story; though, if you're a true arachnophobic I'd probably stay away from this one, as a couple of friends will attest.
July 4, 2022
"Mayday. Mayday. Flight BA 421. Mayday. Spiders taken over. Spiders taken over. Am trying to... ' his voice trailed off as he saw the lights of central Bristol rushed dizzily up towards him...."
If you have read The Rats and similar books then you will know the deal here. There is a good bit of back story, but the characters are a bit flat. It took me a while to let go that they refer to spiders as 'insects'.....
If you have read The Rats and similar books then you will know the deal here. There is a good bit of back story, but the characters are a bit flat. It took me a while to let go that they refer to spiders as 'insects'.....
July 21, 2023
Following a distinguished servce in the UK sugar industry, Dan Mason retires to Dragon’s Farm in Kent. While working on his garden one day, he disturbs a colony of spiders and one of them bites him. He kills it but, that night, hundreds invade his bedroom and kill him. And so we’re off on a rollicking, 1978 horror paperback original, with nature biting back against man. I loved it.
Richard Lewis gets things off to a flying start and, very soon, the spiders are on the march to London, laying absolute waste to everything in their path because - of course - they’ve been genetically modified (we don’t find out all the details until much later). Thankfully, Dan’s son Alan is a an accomplished biologist well aware of arachnids (for some reason, Lewis keeps referring to the spiders as insects, which got jarring after a while) and he’s soon on the case.
There’s a lot to love about this. Set in a late 70s England, mainly in Kent though we get as far north as Bedford, this takes plenty of leads from the James Herbert rulebook and some of the early chapters feature Shreddies (a phrase conjured up by my friend Marc Francis), introduced and then bumped off in a handful of pages, only existing to give us another slice of horror. And Lewis piles on the horror - it’s not just adults that get it in this, kids and animals aren’t safe either and there’s a sequence at the end that was more powerful (featuring dogs and cats) than I think the writer was planning.
There are downsides, of course. There’s a lull in the action in the middle as the scientists do their stuff (and it’s made worse because we ‘hear’ of several big-scale and violent incidents which would have made superb set pieces but are dealt with in a line or two), there’s some casual chauvinism (Lewis appears obsessed with the sagginess of female characters boobs) and the ending features an “oh, I forgot to tell you moment” from a character who should have been interviewed nearer the start of the story.
But these are minor quibbles and don’t detract from the sheer joy of the story. Your reading pleasure will entirely depend on your love for 70s horror but, if it’s anything like mine, you’ll think “Spiders” is a winner. Now I just have to try and find the sequel for a reasonable price! Very highly recommended.
Richard Lewis gets things off to a flying start and, very soon, the spiders are on the march to London, laying absolute waste to everything in their path because - of course - they’ve been genetically modified (we don’t find out all the details until much later). Thankfully, Dan’s son Alan is a an accomplished biologist well aware of arachnids (for some reason, Lewis keeps referring to the spiders as insects, which got jarring after a while) and he’s soon on the case.
There’s a lot to love about this. Set in a late 70s England, mainly in Kent though we get as far north as Bedford, this takes plenty of leads from the James Herbert rulebook and some of the early chapters feature Shreddies (a phrase conjured up by my friend Marc Francis), introduced and then bumped off in a handful of pages, only existing to give us another slice of horror. And Lewis piles on the horror - it’s not just adults that get it in this, kids and animals aren’t safe either and there’s a sequence at the end that was more powerful (featuring dogs and cats) than I think the writer was planning.
There are downsides, of course. There’s a lull in the action in the middle as the scientists do their stuff (and it’s made worse because we ‘hear’ of several big-scale and violent incidents which would have made superb set pieces but are dealt with in a line or two), there’s some casual chauvinism (Lewis appears obsessed with the sagginess of female characters boobs) and the ending features an “oh, I forgot to tell you moment” from a character who should have been interviewed nearer the start of the story.
But these are minor quibbles and don’t detract from the sheer joy of the story. Your reading pleasure will entirely depend on your love for 70s horror but, if it’s anything like mine, you’ll think “Spiders” is a winner. Now I just have to try and find the sequel for a reasonable price! Very highly recommended.
September 29, 2023
Spiders. My worst fear.
This was exactly what I wanted, kicks off strong and keeps on going, Spiders… horrible, mutated, large spiders!
Didn’t try to be anything it wasn’t and I just really enjoyed it!
This was exactly what I wanted, kicks off strong and keeps on going, Spiders… horrible, mutated, large spiders!
Didn’t try to be anything it wasn’t and I just really enjoyed it!
February 28, 2018
An outbreak of meat-eating spiders in the UK is thwarted by an Action Team led by Alan, a bit of a dickhead scientist.
Written by Richard Lewis after James Herbert's Rats, there are obvious comparisons, although Lewis' characters are not as believable as Herbert's and somewhat ridiculous at times.
The book is a bit creaky, and there are some laughable out-of-character moments like when Alan (the main prot, a scientist whose father just happens to be the first person killed by the spiders) wants to "smash in the face" of a fellow scientist after hearing how he and his team caused the spider problem by trying to create a biological weapon during the cold war. He then wants to kill him (chapter 12). There's also a ridiculous scene in the police station where the police officer keeps slapping the face of a hysterical slag (Suzy) whom he believes must have been raped (in fact she was attacked by spiders whilst having sex in the woods with her older boyfriend in typical 70s horror schlock). There's the same kind of stuff we get in The Rats - and it's all very formulaic, although the book is not as London-centric as Rats, set mainly in Kent, of all places, lol.
Incidentally, or maybe not, Alan was Richard Lewis' real name.
Not a bad book for what it is, 70s pulp horror, but not great either. A quick and dirty read.
Written by Richard Lewis after James Herbert's Rats, there are obvious comparisons, although Lewis' characters are not as believable as Herbert's and somewhat ridiculous at times.
The book is a bit creaky, and there are some laughable out-of-character moments like when Alan (the main prot, a scientist whose father just happens to be the first person killed by the spiders) wants to "smash in the face" of a fellow scientist after hearing how he and his team caused the spider problem by trying to create a biological weapon during the cold war. He then wants to kill him (chapter 12). There's also a ridiculous scene in the police station where the police officer keeps slapping the face of a hysterical slag (Suzy) whom he believes must have been raped (in fact she was attacked by spiders whilst having sex in the woods with her older boyfriend in typical 70s horror schlock). There's the same kind of stuff we get in The Rats - and it's all very formulaic, although the book is not as London-centric as Rats, set mainly in Kent, of all places, lol.
Incidentally, or maybe not, Alan was Richard Lewis' real name.
Not a bad book for what it is, 70s pulp horror, but not great either. A quick and dirty read.
November 30, 2016
The almighty army of darkness. At first no one could believe the reports. The mangled corpse of a farmer, an expression of unspeakable horror on what was left of his face... the sickening remains of a small baby... a woman ravaged while having sex... an entire church full of people devoured. But as the crawling black wave of hairy, fanged, flesh eating destruction spread out from its secret spawning ground, there was soon no escaping.... THE SPIDERS!!
The first half of the book was really good! The last half is where it started to get kind of disappointing. The author mentioned some cool ideas in the story but then never did anything with them! Why bring up something awesome like rabid spiders and then not do anything with them?? My other complaint was about how their method for killing all the spiders- gather up all the pets in the country, infect them and then feed them to the spiders!! Not only did it suck watching everyone's pet get killed off, but it just didn't seem to work! There were thousands of spiders and not nearly that many pets, yet somehow all the spiders ended up dying off quickly because of some of the food being poisoned? I mean, I know it's a story about giant mutant killer spiders and all, so it wasn't like the whole story was based in pure fact or or strong science... but still.... I just didn't buy it being an effective method of removal for thousands of spiders who were spread all over the country.
The first half of the book was really good! The last half is where it started to get kind of disappointing. The author mentioned some cool ideas in the story but then never did anything with them! Why bring up something awesome like rabid spiders and then not do anything with them?? My other complaint was about how their method for killing all the spiders- gather up all the pets in the country, infect them and then feed them to the spiders!! Not only did it suck watching everyone's pet get killed off, but it just didn't seem to work! There were thousands of spiders and not nearly that many pets, yet somehow all the spiders ended up dying off quickly because of some of the food being poisoned? I mean, I know it's a story about giant mutant killer spiders and all, so it wasn't like the whole story was based in pure fact or or strong science... but still.... I just didn't buy it being an effective method of removal for thousands of spiders who were spread all over the country.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 22, 2020
I am a classics kind of girl these days but my teenage years were spent scaring myself half to death with horror fiction. Here are two horrific blasts from my past and a brief rundown of what happens in these gruesome stories:
Spiders by Richard Lewis 1978:
The story is set in Kent, England. Dan Mason brutally kills a spider that has bitten him. He later pays the price when his farmhouse is invaded by a whole army of them. His son a scientist helps the police investigate this and other mysterious and gruesome killings happening in the area.
The Web by Richard Lewis 1981:
Six years have passed and the spiders rise again. This time, if you manage not to get eaten by the spiders and just bitten, you will turn into a murdering psychopath instead.
If you are scared of spiders then I don't recommend either of these books as they are pretty horrifying and graphic. I used to have a tarantula so I am not scared of spiders but I am pretty certain I would be scared if I woke up one night and the carpet was a black mass of flesh eating arachnids and I their next meal. Do be warned as the book doesn't hold back. Just the cover of these books is enough to make you run for the hills.
Richard Lewis (real name Alan Radnor) wrote other horror novels around that era such as Parasite. A virus breaks out that is spread by snails.
Spiders by Richard Lewis 1978:
The story is set in Kent, England. Dan Mason brutally kills a spider that has bitten him. He later pays the price when his farmhouse is invaded by a whole army of them. His son a scientist helps the police investigate this and other mysterious and gruesome killings happening in the area.
The Web by Richard Lewis 1981:
Six years have passed and the spiders rise again. This time, if you manage not to get eaten by the spiders and just bitten, you will turn into a murdering psychopath instead.
If you are scared of spiders then I don't recommend either of these books as they are pretty horrifying and graphic. I used to have a tarantula so I am not scared of spiders but I am pretty certain I would be scared if I woke up one night and the carpet was a black mass of flesh eating arachnids and I their next meal. Do be warned as the book doesn't hold back. Just the cover of these books is enough to make you run for the hills.
Richard Lewis (real name Alan Radnor) wrote other horror novels around that era such as Parasite. A virus breaks out that is spread by snails.
May 5, 2014
One of those classic junk paperbacks which you pick up on a tedious holiday - which is how I came to read it. Totally formulaic, and probably written for a specific market in response to a bestseller from James Herbert (okay, I'm guessing here). This isn't great literature, but it's where publishers make bottom-line profits. Nice work if you can get it.
November 30, 2019
Spiders by Richard Lewis is a terrifying story that discloses fear among geographical populated areas in the form of unusually aggressive arachnids. Characters come, and characters go, in this unpredictable eight legged romp of appreciated b-movie sentiment. A great read for those who love to have a nostalgic disgustingly good time.
January 12, 2013
brought out my arachnophobia. still have to have other people kill spiders for me -- preferably people i don't like.
December 17, 2020
Britain under attack from mutant spiders which devour flesh and cause panic to the public. Can Alan the spider expert find a way to save humanity. Some really descriptive kills.
January 26, 2020
Best thing about this forgotten pulp horror gem is the cover. It's a very short, easy read and nonetheless I quit halfway through. I'm a big fan of the "animal attacks" genre and this just didn't do it for me. It was also a minor irritant that everyone including the biologist repeatedly calls the spiders "insects." Not recommended unless you're a genre completionist, and even then your time is better spent elsewhere.
January 8, 2022
I have a real soft spot for Spiders, which I first read as a teen. It started with a statistic about the ratio of spiders to humans, then it pretty much followed the pattern set out by James Herbert in The Rats.
Not classic literature, by any means, but it's fast-paced, gory fun for those who, like myself, will always find spiders scarier than hundreds of other potential monsters.
Not classic literature, by any means, but it's fast-paced, gory fun for those who, like myself, will always find spiders scarier than hundreds of other potential monsters.
December 16, 2018
I give it 4 stars because of some facts that I didn't like.The way they extinguished the spiders was one such fact.The other one is the sucrifice of the innocent animals.All in all great book much action and very vivid scenes !
March 28, 2019
Has it's cheesy moments, but doesn't quite rise to the awfulness of 'Night of the Crabs'.
May 26, 2023
A watered down "Hatching" by Ezekiel Boone, except more sex scenes than spiders.
September 15, 2024
I first read this book back in the 80’s and love it. It’s one of many from that era that I keep going back to, Guy N Smith, Shaun Hutson etc.
July 3, 2025
everything that happened in this book was my worst fear come to life
August 29, 2025
Spiders. Lots of them. Crawling on your face.
March 14, 2015
Άλλο ένα βιβλιαράκι των εκδόσεων Σίμωσι που διαβάζω και που ανήκει στην κατηγορία με μεταλλαγμένα ζώα, έντομα κλπ που σκοτώνουν αβέρτα ανθρώπους.
Η ιστορία είναι αρκετά απλή και αφορά, φυσικά, αράχνες, όχι βέβαια στο μέγεθος των ανθρώπων, απλώς λίγο μεγαλύτερες από το κανονικό... αλλά πιο επιθετικές και με κάτι δαγκάνες που σε κάνουν να τα... κάνεις πάνω σου. Αυτές οι αράχνες λοιπόν επιτίθενται κατά χιλιάδες σε ανθρώπους, τους οποίους και τρώνε, ξεσκίζουν, διαλύουν... Η αρχή γίνεται στην εξοχή της Αγγλίας, συγκεκριμένα στο Κεντ, και μετά το κύμα των αραχνών φτάνει και στο Λονδίνο και στην υπόλοιπη Αγγλία και έτσι γίνεται ένας χαμός. Ο Άλαν Μάσον, ένας βιολόγος, του οποίου ο πατέρας ήταν το πρώτο θύμα των φονικών αραχνών, θα κάνει ό,τι μπορεί για να καταστρέψει αυτές τις αράχνες, με την βοήθεια φυσικά άλλων επιστημόνων και των αρχών της Αγγλίας.
Η εξέλιξη της ιστορίας αναμενόμενη και ακολουθεί τα βήματα που ακολουθούν άλλα βιβλία και ταινίες αυτού του είδους και της ποιότητας. Η πλοκή φυσικά έχει μπόλικα κλισέ, χωρίς ανατροπές και εκπλήξεις, αλλά τουλάχιστον υπάρχουν μπόλικες σκηνές δράσης και εικόνες με τις ικανότητες των αραχνών στο μάσημα που μπορεί να αποζημιώσουν... Η γραφή μου φάνηκε καλή, χωρίς όμως πολλές λογοτεχνικές αρετές, ενώ η γενική ατμόσφαιρα μου φάνηκε και αυτή καλή. Γενικά να είσαστε προετοιμασμένοι για ένα παλπ μυθιστόρημα τρόμου με μεταλλαγμένες αράχνες... Αυτό είναι και τίποτε άλλο.
Η ιστορία είναι αρκετά απλή και αφορά, φυσικά, αράχνες, όχι βέβαια στο μέγεθος των ανθρώπων, απλώς λίγο μεγαλύτερες από το κανονικό... αλλά πιο επιθετικές και με κάτι δαγκάνες που σε κάνουν να τα... κάνεις πάνω σου. Αυτές οι αράχνες λοιπόν επιτίθενται κατά χιλιάδες σε ανθρώπους, τους οποίους και τρώνε, ξεσκίζουν, διαλύουν... Η αρχή γίνεται στην εξοχή της Αγγλίας, συγκεκριμένα στο Κεντ, και μετά το κύμα των αραχνών φτάνει και στο Λονδίνο και στην υπόλοιπη Αγγλία και έτσι γίνεται ένας χαμός. Ο Άλαν Μάσον, ένας βιολόγος, του οποίου ο πατέρας ήταν το πρώτο θύμα των φονικών αραχνών, θα κάνει ό,τι μπορεί για να καταστρέψει αυτές τις αράχνες, με την βοήθεια φυσικά άλλων επιστημόνων και των αρχών της Αγγλίας.
Η εξέλιξη της ιστορίας αναμενόμενη και ακολουθεί τα βήματα που ακολουθούν άλλα βιβλία και ταινίες αυτού του είδους και της ποιότητας. Η πλοκή φυσικά έχει μπόλικα κλισέ, χωρίς ανατροπές και εκπλήξεις, αλλά τουλάχιστον υπάρχουν μπόλικες σκηνές δράσης και εικόνες με τις ικανότητες των αραχνών στο μάσημα που μπορεί να αποζημιώσουν... Η γραφή μου φάνηκε καλή, χωρίς όμως πολλές λογοτεχνικές αρετές, ενώ η γενική ατμόσφαιρα μου φάνηκε και αυτή καλή. Γενικά να είσαστε προετοιμασμένοι για ένα παλπ μυθιστόρημα τρόμου με μεταλλαγμένες αράχνες... Αυτό είναι και τίποτε άλλο.
January 4, 2023
I am a fan of classic horror films, and stories, and this has elements of both! Its set in Kent, centred around some mysterious deaths which have occurred in the area over the last few decades. One of the death is investigated by the son, who happens to be a biological scientist, and he finds some strange goings on with his father death, include some odd spider specimens left behind at the scene. Its turns out a plague of man-eating spiders are on the loose, and a team is assembled to stop them before the UK is overrun!! A brilliant easy read with some fast-paced action and some nice gore too!
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews