by tony jones Rats! The prolific Hunter Shea takes a rodent size bite out of the Big Appl 34 years after reading James Herbert’s seminal masterpiece “Rats” I find myself once again reading a novel about the pesky rodents we all love to hate. Herbert certainly raised the bar for visceral violence in his 1970s cult classic, but flash-forward forty odd years and the prolific American Hunter Shea finally turns his pen to rats. He was bound to eventually as this author really loves a creature-feature, everything from giant iguanas in “Jurassic Florida” to Nessie herself in “Loch Ness Revenge”. In 2019 we’ll probably see the giant iguanas fighting Nessie in a Hunter monster mash-up! So, Hunter Shea loves this type of trashy, fast-paced, cartoony horror, and to be fair he’s really good at it. This latest creature feature has just as much in common with the trashy b-movies of the 1950s as it does with the pulp horror of the 1970s, gleefully mixing it all up. Like the majority of his output “Rattus New York” is undemanding fun, with sketchily drawn characters, and moves at such a lick you’re never going to get bored. It’s a quick read and so so easy to enjoy you will have to stop yourself from finishing it in one sitting (I read it in two). When it’s loaded with ridiculous scenes of scared and angry mums stomping masses of giant rats trying to chomp on their babies you’ll just keep on reading and before you know it the novella will be finished. The plot is a simple one of nature biting back at mankind. A scientist, Dr Randolph Finch, releases a new rodenticide, Degenesis which is supposed to sterilise rats and prevent them from breeding, making them easier to kill. Of course, something goes wrong with the formulae and the rats get bigger, harder to kill, and more dangerously, more intelligent. Some of these rats were so clever I thought one of the blasted critters was going to start playing the piano! The scientist Finch is actually just a supporting character in the novella, the main characters being a pair of city exterminators, the soon-to-be divorced Chris and Benita Jackson. This pair were top-notch leads and the comedy banter between them was great. “Rattus New York” is seen from the point of view of exterminator Chris, who is still in love with his soon-to-be ex-wife. When out on a couple of local jobs they notice that groups of rats are both more aggressive and intelligent. Having been in the game for twenty years, they are startled to see rats using incredible guile to avoid traps and attack humans in packs. Before long a massive lair is discovered under Grand Central Station where millions of rats are hiding. And plotting! Quickly, the authorities realise what has happened to all the homeless people…. The fun is just about to start and Hunter Shea begins to move swiftly through the gears. Chris and Benita were entertaining lead characters, with Chris reminding me slightly of the exterminator Vasiliy Fet in Chuck Hogan and Guillermo del Toro’s “Strain” trilogy and they really find their legs once the action heats up. The novella is littered with fast moving action sequences, mass attacks, blood baths, but never loses its sense of humour. It’s not deep or fancy and if you fancy switching your brain into neutral for some shlock horror look no further. However, I did wonder whether Hunter Shea missed an opportunity to come up with something meatier than this final 112-page novella? I felt there could have more substantial set pieces and more battles and with the rat invasion taking place over a longer period. The potential of this story was so great I felt that a chance was missed to create something less formulaic. I really liked the way the novella closed, but again there could have been much more detail in the lead up to this conclusion which was a bit rushed. Perhaps more characters could have been involved resulting in a more challenging and involved work? Small quibbles. Either way, I’m also fine with this readably trashy horror which was good company for a couple of hours. “Rattus New York” is the second instalment of a trilogy called “One Size Eats All”. The first book, “Jurassic Florida” came out earlier in the year and “The Devil’s Fingers” concludes the trilogy in October. Tony Jones
 COVER REVEAL: THE SILENT PATIENT BY ALEX MICHAELIDESComments are closed.
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