The Nest - Gregory A. Douglas

Published in 1980, and as you can see, my copy is brand new.
The residents of the beautiful and peaceful Yarkie Island, just off Cape Cod, think they’ve got a rat problem. What they of course don’t know is… they AND the rats, have a roach problem The big, beautiful Yarkie dump, once home to happy rats, is now teaming with rodents writhing like mad and scurrying the hell out of there, dropping like flies as the legion of roaches take no prisoners. But rats, and a vast dump… just aren’t enough. When a dog is found sans eyes and mutilated, and a drug addled trespasser disappears leaving only a trail of gore behind, it’s time to bring in the big guns. Dr. Peter Hubbard and his assistant are brought in from the mainland in an attempt to find out what exactly is driving the rats mad. But I’ve already told you, it’s not the rats. Our core group of characters will find this out too, as the island turns into a war zone in a man vs. insect hole of hell. The Nest, written by Eli Cantor under the pen name Gregory A. Douglas, is about as good as a book involving over-sized, teamwork oriented roaches devouring everything in their path is going to be. The characters and the island are totally believable, man and insect alike. I buy it. Sold! There’s that real “small town on an island” feel going for it (and there is a feel for that, surprising how many dumb bastards meet their end on a homey island), and the people, whom are far from perfect, really don’t make a “I’m a character in a book well aware of our sneaker-sized roach problem… let’s have sex under this tree” kind of move. Hell, it’s important. My biggest complaint would have to be the “insert here” lustful hero/heroine sex scene, which is just out of place. Get the hell out of my super-roach book, right now!

If it’s the written bloodshed buffet you’re looking for, bon appetit! While our people characters spend a good portion of the time attempting to learn of the rat madness, there’s no shortage of roach mayhem. There’s masses of them, and they take down anything and everything. Men, women… and children, by the boat loads. Zero reservations about taking anyone down, and taking them down in gloriously graphic detail. So if you’ve no problem with the aforementioned, and perhaps wonder what roaches burrowing through your skull read like, have a go.

It’s a book that’ll have you doing that uncomfortable head tilt as you read it, but if that’s anywhere near your thang, this one is well written and worth a look.

Made into a movie, The Nest (1988)