A Novel of Indeterminate Ethnicity

SENSATION by Nick Mamatas (2011 PM Press / 208 pp / tp and eBook)

From Cthulhu cults to suburban nuclear bomb creators, you never know what you're gonna get when you crack open a new novel from Nick Mamatas...SENSATION is no exception.  And despite a few head-scratching moments, this was a hard one to put down.

It seems a centuries-old war between a rare species of Costa Rican wasps and an intelligent breed of spiders has spilled over into human society.  While the spiders are able to latently control people and change the course of human history, the wasps' victims are usually chaotic and cause worry among the arachnids.  In SENSATION, the wasps sting an average New Yorker named Julia who quickly begins to change into a radical anarchist after leaving her hubby during one intense sex scene (and I don't mean that in the pornographic sense).  The spiders keep dibs on Julia's movements by living inside the heads of "men of indeterminate ethnicity."  (I should state here that the first 50 pages or so feature some truly funny scenarios and dialogue...something I didn't expect from Mamatas).  When Julia begins to influence other like-minded radicals, the spiders begin to worry the wasps may be planning something big, as Julia's husband Ray watches her actions on the news, wondering what on earth is going on.

SENSATION is told from the spider's view points (and--I THINK at times--from the wasp's), and while it was a bit confusing to follow at times, Mamatas makes it work.  The underlying question here (do humans have free will or is something else controlling them?) is quite frightening, and considering this novel suggest insects are, makes this whole thing downright creepy (and I say this in a positive way).  This is another original, well-written--if uneven--tale from Mamatas that can be consumed in a sitting or two.





Now where did I put that can of Raid?...