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Arachnosaur

Richard Jeffries

2.78 · Rating details · 27 ratings · 18 reviews

After his superior officers are killed in action, Corporal Josiah Key assumes command of the 3rd Battalion, Marine Raiders. In the tiny village of Shabhut, Yemen, while trying to put the blast on ISIS forces, an even deadlier enemy emerges: ancient, unreasoning creatures who tear into both U.S. troops and terrorists without mercy, leaving brutally dismembered corpses in th ...more

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Kindle Edition, 304 pages

Published December 26th 2017 by Lyrical Underground

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Average rating 2.78 ·

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· 27 ratings · 18 reviews

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Dec 04, 2017 Sci-Fi & Scary rated it did not like it

Shelves: smallpress-kensington, request-netgalley

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for review consideration.

This was a hard review for me to write because I know the publisher isn't going to be happy with it, and I'm probably burning a bridge, but if so - so. It's honest feelings. I don't think I've ever been this put off by a book before.
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Okay, so when I saw this book on Netgalley, I was super excited because giant man-eating spiders. I love me some giant man-eating spiders. I even engaged in some ligh ...more

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Nov 26, 2017 Michael Hicks rated it did not like it

Shelves: horror, quit-dnf, netgalley

37% in and I am calling it quits. There's just too much puerile machismo chauvinism for me after the last couple chapters involved Daniels, one of the alpha-male leads, having sex with a hooker, who he then drugged and debated writing a score of B+ on her back in lipstick, before randomly attacking a whole bunch of other hookers just because. A short time later, she's woken up in the middle of a terrorist attack, prompting Daniels to use her as a weapon by throwing her at a terrorist like “a scr 37% in and I am calling it quits. There's just too much puerile machismo chauvinism for me after the last couple chapters involved Daniels, one of the alpha-male leads, having sex with a hooker, who he then drugged and debated writing a score of B+ on her back in lipstick, before randomly attacking a whole bunch of other hookers just because. A short time later, she's woken up in the middle of a terrorist attack, prompting Daniels to use her as a weapon by throwing her at a terrorist like “a screeching, wet, terrified cat.” Oh, and then he notices that palm trees look a lot like a hairy man's erection. I suppose I should have seen all this coming when a female soldier is all but fridged in the opening chapter to motivate Key, the lead hero, who is seemingly madly in love with her, and then never spares a second thought for. Jesus Christ, this fucking book.

The writing is all over the place, with nary a connective thread linking scenes. Action scenes happen in spite of any logical necessity, kind of like a lesser Michael Bay movie. There's lot of frenetic mayhem for no real reason, with the characters all randomly finding themselves thrust into one violent scenario after another just to satisfy Richard Jeffries need to write an action scene with clockwork regularity. It's all so coincidental as to be laughable. In one instance, Key goes to recruit a college professor, who has a meeting with a student. A chapter later, the student ends up being a suicide bomber intent on killing Key, even though there's no reason at all for this student to have expected Key to have arrived when he did. Ditto an attack on a nightclub where Daniels goes to bang and beat on prostitutes. It all just happens just because. There's a lot of mental wrangling necessary to create a justifiable off-page scenario for why these things are happening, and even that involves creating an ISIS uber-supervillian with NSA-level surveillance and logistics, with a dash of high-octane conspiracy theorizing to make it all work. And frankly, that feels like way too much fucking effort, and certainly more than Jeffries has put in here.

I've also had to stop a few times to make sure I'm reading the right book, because Arachnosaur is supposed to be about giant pre-historic spiders mauling everybody in sight. 37% in there's not been a single real spider attack. OK, there was a prologue set way back when in the prehistoric era, which seems even more superfluous a third of the way into the book then it did even at the very beginning. Oh, and there was something in the shadows in chapter two. Whoopie. Instead, the main focus has been on some kind of bioweapon making people explode. That might have been cool if the writing and plotting weren't so freaking bad, and if this book weren't being marketed as a massive arachnid horror title. Seriously, if you're writing spider horror, put some fucking spiders in your fucking book! Jesus Christ, this book.

[Note: I received an advance copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley.] ...more

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Jan 31, 2018 Sherry Fundin rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, mystery, paranormal, read-in-2018, science-fiction, supernatural, suspense, thriller, horror

I hate spiders. They totally creep me out and I love it, which is why I had to read Arachnosaur by Richard Jeffries. lol

Soldiers facing off against terrorists. Death, blood, bullets and savagery.

Key struggles to make sense of what was happening to him, a concussion messed with his mind. Could he believe what he was seeing? The squad had been slaughtered. How many were left besides him? He wanted answers.

And….we know something worse is coming his way.

Key and Daniels are opposites, but work we ...more

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Dec 02, 2017 Chris rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2017-reads, horror, sci-fi

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I confess…I was there for the spiders. I thoroughly enjoyed Sarah Pinborough’s spider saga (Breeding Ground and Feeding Ground) and am also following the more recent current series by Ezekiel Boone (The Hatching and Skitter, with the third in the series coming out soon). I even watch cheezy “only seen on Netflix” spider monster romps and with enough beer even like those. I was supposed t ...more

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Nov 08, 2017 Joyce rated it it was ok

2 stars

I agree with another reviewer in that this book is not what I expected. I wanted a novel set not in a foreign country, but in a city. There was too much military and not enough frightened citizens running around trying to survive.

I want to thank NetGalley and Lyrical Underground for forwarding to me a copy of this book to read.

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Dec 26, 2017 Cheryl rated it it was ok

Merry effing Christmas

So I decided to read this book on Christmas because I really love monster books. Mistake.

This ended up being a military "thriller" with a few giant spiders thrown in. Out of 300+ pages, I'll bet less than 10% of them had anything about the title spiders on them. I could be wrong but I don't think so.

Oh, and misogyny...this book takes place in the Middle East including Yemen and Dubai - not areas known for female enlightenment. But a good portion of the ill treatment of wome ...more

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Oct 28, 2017 Reading Reindeer 2021 On Proxima Centauri rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2017_a-z_new-weird, 2017_frightfall_lovecraft, 2017_horror, 2017_indie, 2017_new-weird, 2017_october_horror, 2017_reads, a1-i-own-books, a1-netgalley, armchair-middle-east

Review: ARACHNOSAUR by Richard Jeffries

I totally loved this suspenseful, adventure-rich, horror-thriller, and this is fantastic praise from a lifelong Arachnophobe! This novel has everything for the discerning reader seeking a heart-pounding ploy, implacable horror, lots of scares, and well-delineated character!

Lest you expect yet another terrorism battled by sterling and stalwart Americans, 2-dimensional good-guys vs. Evil, please do think again! This story has Nature vs. Humanity, Apocalypse p ...more

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Nov 23, 2017 Elizabeth rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley-kept, netgalley-read

A some what different take on us vs monsters, and who would come out on top, while I have read other books that kind of deal with a similar situation , it's still a little bit different , and while I did like it and enjoy it ,I just didn't love it which is why it just gets 4 stars from me. With that said I would like to think NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read it and see what it was about in a change for my honest opinion ...more

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Jan 23, 2018 Lianne Burwell rated it it was ok

Shelves: netgalley, horror

I have a weakness for monster stories. They are a guilty pleasure of mine. For example, I went (by myself) to see Godzilla in the theatre. Come on, giant monsters stomping cities? Definitely a fun couple of hours, despite the plot holes, because I really like the characters.

So, when I saw Arachnosaur on NetGalley, I thought that would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, some guilty pleasures turn out not to be pleasures, and this was one of those.

Basically, two soldiers are the only survivors i I have a weakness for monster stories. They are a guilty pleasure of mine. For example, I went (by myself) to see Godzilla in the theatre. Come on, giant monsters stomping cities? Definitely a fun couple of hours, despite the plot holes, because I really like the characters.

So, when I saw Arachnosaur on NetGalley, I thought that would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, some guilty pleasures turn out not to be pleasures, and this was one of those.

Basically, two soldiers are the only survivors in an attempt to take out a terrorist group in the middle east. They are recruited to figure out how the terrorist group became so dangerous, especially since the senior survivor swears he saw another soldier blow up from the inside out.

The answer, of course, is giant primordial spiders found by the terrorists, who are trying to turn the effects of the spider webs (that's what makes people go boom) into a weapon that they apparently want to sell for reasons never stated.

Along the way, the two soldiers pick up a pilot named 'Speedy' Gonzales, a doctor who is both female and Arab (and can whip up a serum that does something pretty ridiculous to save the lead at the end), a prostitute who name keeps changing from Lailani to Leilani and back (sloppy editing there). There's also a captain who is a good guy but turns into an antagonist later, and a retired general who recruits them in the end for a 'we fight the monsters no one believes in' type organization. (preview chapters from the sequel appear at the end of the book)

I could have taken the plot falling apart and the ridiculous science at the end if the characters were likeable, but unfortunately, Daniels made me want to throw my ereader at a wall. He's crude and sex-obsessed, likes to sleep with lots of prostitutes around the world (not sure why he isn't in palliative care from all the STIs he must have), and his idea of good sex is being a jackhammer (seriously, no foreplay at all?). He also uses drugged condoms to take out a woman twice in the books (seriously?).

Then there's the prostitute whose name keeps changing spelling. Supposedly, she finds Daniels' confidence appealing, and his jackhammer imitation to be good. When the whorehouse is attacked (for no apparent reason), she jumps on his back, and he just runs around with her, and when confronting attackers without a weapon of his own, he plucks her off his back and throws her at the attacker like an angry cat. Sigh. And after that, she comes with them and helps? Oh yeah, and it turns out that one of her jobs is going to Abu Dhabi and working as a dominatrix. I kid you not.

Add all of this to soldiers in the middle east who have never heard of The Empty Quarter (hell, even *I* know what that is, at least in general).

Finally, the climactic scene had me going 'ew', and not in a good way.

All in all, I really can't recommend this book to just about anybody. And yet, the preview chapters for the next book in the series kind of appealed. But only if there's nothing better to read at the time. ...more

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Jun 08, 2018 Angela rated it it was ok

Shelves: ebooks, first-reads, horror, netgalley, read-2018

To be perfectly honest, I requested this book based solely on the front cover and the title, because why wouldn't I?! Giant prehistoric spiders, yes please!
Unfortunately this book doesn't quite live up to it the awesome title and cover. The writing is clunky and I honestly couldn't differentiate between the vast of the characters as they all had the same personality and similar descriptions, and the chauvinistic and misogynistic aspect to the entire book was, quite frankly, fucking appalling. I ...more

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Oct 05, 2017 Maggies Daisy rated it really liked it

Shelves: war, syfy, mystery, horror

As much as I loathe spiders they have a weird fascination for me. Two of my favorite movies are Eight Legged Freaks and Arachnophobia and if this book was made into a movie it will also be added to the list of movies to watch time and again. The military acronyms were a little hard to follow but since I got it as a kindle version through Netgally I was able to quickly get the information quickly. There was lots of action, unique characters, creepy ancient spiders and some really bad ass villains ...more

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Feb 16, 2020 Schizanthus Nerd marked it as dnf

Shelves: kindle-food, netgalley

DNF @ 29%

“quelling the urge to write B+ on her spine in lipstick.” I’m sorry. What???

I was interested in this book because of the arachnosaurs! I thought this would be a lot of fun. However, I have zero interest in getting to know this misogynist sidekick loser.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lyrical Undergound, an imprint of Kensington Books, for the opportunity to read this book.

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Jun 03, 2018 Josef Hernandez rated it it was ok

This one just did not work for me at all

For a full review, please go to https://areviewerdarkly.blogspot.com/... and follow me on Twitter @josenher ...more

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Oct 22, 2017 Steve Bender rated it really liked it

I receivewd this ebook in a Goodreads Giveaway program in exchange for an honest review. It was a fast-paced thriller reminiscent of Rambo or Clive Cussler. Interesting descriptions of Yemen and the UAE. I enjoyed the book.

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Oct 29, 2017 Tena rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2-goodread_wins

I won this kindle version in a GOODREADS giveaway.

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Nov 03, 2017 Sandy rated it did not like it

I didn't know what I expected but this wasn't it. I found it very hard to get I to it. I didn't really like it very much. ...more

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Dec 12, 2017 CJ rated it did not like it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. When Corporal Joe Key’s Marine battalion is all but wiped out in Yemen, he is enlisted by an elite unit to go back and find out what happened. What he discovers is only the tip of an iceberg that spans millennia.

Prefacing this review by saying that I saw the giant spiders and gaudy green title on the cover of Arachnosaur and knew I had to read this book. I love b-grade natural horror films so I was hoping for was the literary equivalent of Arachnoquake or Dinoshark. Something fun and silly invol ...more

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OutlawPoet rated it it was ok
Nov 06, 2017

Mar 06, 2018 Clipinchick marked it as to-read

I received this book for free from the author/publisher in response for an honest review of the book. I have not had the opportunity to read this book at this time. I will add my review of this book once I have read the book. Thank k you for allowing me the optometrist review your work. I look forward to reading this book.

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