ATTACK OF THE BLACK SCORPIONS: A Horror-Creature Thriller Paperback – May 31, 2022

We meet lots of people in the opening as an illegal desert fracking operation unleashes prehistoric monsters.From then on terror mounts, and we follow Dan Montgomery and Tom Hernandez as they pull everyone on the campgrounds together to fend off the hungry beasts.The cast list with thumbnails was a nice help to keep track of the characters and doubled as a scorecard to check off each piece of “scorpion food” that was munched.The story reminded me of Jurassic Park. However, instead of everyone just playing dodge the beastie,these clever heroes fight back with everything they can scrape together which made it more exciting.Fighting alongside them was great fun and adventure!

I don’t post many reviews on Amazon, but I have to warn you that this is one bloody no-holds-barred sci-fi horror tale.The action takes place over three nights in SoCal’s Mojave Desert. It depicts a series of brutal attacks on campground vacationers at a state park called Desert Rocks, with the attacks all committed by some big-honkin’ prehistoric scorpions.Author Gregory’s visual descriptions are vividly clear. But what really drew me in was his ability to juggle many unique characters and make me care about them.At first, the novel made me recall those old creature features I love, where bugs and dinosaurs emerged or mutated to menace mankind after nuclear bomb tests had irradiated the normalcy of small size out of them. However, Gregory's work differs in that he ruthlessly pushes the envelope, using an almost clinical approach in showing the campers’ life-or-death struggle. A gripping yarn, for sure, but definitely not one for the young’uns or the squeamish.Particularly fun is the painstaking cooperation and hurried ingenuity shown by the random cross-section of people, all selflessly led by the compassionate Dan Montgomery and neighbor Tom Hernandez. It’s as if the author is saying that Americans can still pull it together and succeed when their survival is at stake. And, by gum, we could all use a dose of that right now.So if, like me, you’ve burnt-out on the recent flood of so-called “elevated horror” (the latest silly tag for psychological horror), then ATTACK will give you a welcome change of pace.The illustrations were an unexpected bonus, BTW. They include keen portraits of the campers and a photo-real layout of the monsters’ frightful anatomy.

Enjoyed this book. Not sure why the author needed a cast list at the beginning rather than simple back stories. Weird to have artist rendering of each character. Can't us readers use our imagination? Strange need. Second book in a row for me with author character renderings. Anywho, great action and good gore as well. No more gore than any recent cryptid book. I liked the characters too and enjoyed imagining them my own way. I would recommend this book.

The story featured larger than life car sized scorpions, which sorta reminds me of the monsters from old timey horror films. They are big, they are dangerous, and they all get loose after a dumb, reckless boss screws up at work. These Things start flooding the desert munching up people, and unfortunately they like hunting down Campers (and their easily broken into campers while they are unaware).I appreciated Dan Montgomery’s character, and how he’s one of the hardworking folk who gets into this mess. Also, I was not expecting who survives and who gets snipped!

I love 50's Atomic monster flicks like Them and Black Scorpion. So, as hokey as this book sounded, I chose to remain optimistic... until I flipped it open. This book is poorly written and poorly conceptualized. The cover art is cheesey and if not for the "mature readers" label I would say it's a kids' horror book. The first page has a character index with cartoon avatars for each character which I have never seen done before and it immediately made me not want to read this book. I endeavored to read a few pages at least and that was all it took to turn me off to this book. Usually stories like this start off slow and sinister, only fully revealing the creature(s) after sufficiently creepy build up. This book gave way too much away. We already know its about giant scorions but that doesn't mean you have to drag them out in the first few pages. The dialogue is also very stiff, like something from a bad 70's Grindhouse flick. After a few minutes I'd had enough and tapped out.

A really great addition to the Giant Insect genre of horror! And not just resting on the giant insect appeal, all the characters are completely fleshed out making it easy to keep track of what's happening to who.Lots of great set ups that make you excited for what's going to happen next, each kill is different and horrifying in its own way, and perfect use of illustration to give you an idea of what's going on (the photo of what's happening in the last battle really made me feel like I was watching a movie).Definitely worth the buy. The kind of book you can read over and over again.

The giant bug genre doesn't get enough respect, as far as I'm concerned. This is a delightful addition to the canon, and is really about as good as they get. Scary and suspenseful, with distinctive, well observed characters, rendered with craftsmanship and discretion that refuses to condescend to what elitists imagine the audience to be for this kind of material. Can't wait for the movie.

This would make a great movie; I hope David Gregory can make it happen.The book was a decent read.

If you adore blood, guts, and terrifying graphic depictions of creatures that will haunt your subconscious for weeks, you will find yourself picking up Attack of the Black Scorpions and unable to put it down. Gregory's novel is face-paced, detail-heavy, and laden with language that instantly transported me into the world of ravenous scorpion monsters and the havoc they inflict on Dan Montgomery and his camper associates. A particularly interesting element to note is the incredible character portraits created by Gregory himself, an addition that really sets this book apart from the rest. The visual aids fuel an already amazingly descriptive novel. This is a brilliant introduction if you are new to reading horror fiction, with every feature of all the best monster movies translated gloriously into print.