Worm

Worm by Tim Curran
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

After an earthquake, first black sludge bubbles up from the depths of the earth, then a ravenous horde of gigantic, razor-mawed worms. Can any of the denizens of Pine Street, or even the entire town, survive?

First off, I got this from Netgalley. Thank you, Netgalley!

This is a B-movie horror flick that has been transmogrified into a book somehow, and an ebook at that. Ever see Tremors? It's like that, only without Kevin Bacon and with a lot more horror, gore, and what is most likely liquified fecal matter. Throw in something akin to tentacle-porn and we're up and running.

Worm tells the story of a neighborhood that's laid waste by cyclopean worms from the depths of the earth. No one is safe, not old people, mothers, deadbeats and their wives' effeminate dogs, or Italian guys who cheat on their frigid wives. The worms are hungry and don't care who they eat, often focusing on the breasts, faces, or genitals.

I could mention the characters by name but the gore is the star of the show. People getting mauled by gross worms was what I picked this up for and that's what I got. The writing was par for the course for a gore book of this time but I did catch myself quoting bits to my girlfriend while she was trying to watch TV.

Some people died in particularly inventive ways that I won't spoil. If this was a movie, it would have to be directed by one of the Italian gore directors like Fulci or Argento.

The ending was fairly believable for a book about worms the circumference of garbage cans but I was hoping for a less hopeful one. 3.5 gore-splattered stars! I'll have to be on the lookout for more Tim Curran.

View all my reviews