Mandibles [Hardcover]

Jeff Strand (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 2003

Fire ants. Even when they're normal sized, they're horrible, wretched insects whose sting causes burning pain.

But these ants are far from normal. And the city of Tampa, Florida has become infested with the oversized creatures.

From the demented author of GRAVEROBBERS WANTED (NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY) and PRESSURE comes a relentlessly paced novel of insect terror. As the city descends into pure chaos on a hot summer afternoon before the Fourth of July weekend, four groups of survivors must make their way to safety, past thousands of hyper-aggressive ants that can finish you off with just one searing sting.

Dustin, an entomologist, may have the secret to what is happening. Unfortunately, he's being held hostage by a pair of psychopathic convenience store robbers who are just as happy to let the city burn.

Packed with humor, action, and thrills, MANDIBLES is an over the top, large-scale, carnage-filled, insects-on-a-rampage extravaganza!

"No author working today comes close to Jeff Strand's perfect mixture of comedy and terror." -- Cemetery Dance

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 212 pages
• Publisher: Mundania Press LLC (June 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594260052
• ISBN-13: 978-1594260056
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,120,995 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jeff Strand was born in Baltimore, Maryland, but moved to Fairbanks, Alaska when he was six months old, so his memories of Baltimore are hazy. He grew up in the cold, where he desperately wanted to be a cartoonist. Then he wanted to make video games. Then he wanted to write movies. Actually, he still wants to do all of those things, but for now he's quite happy writing lots of demented novels.

He was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award in 2006, 2008, and 2010. His novel PRESSURE has been optioned for film; he's hoping the movie will be made soon so he can scream "My baby! What have you done to my precious baby?!?"

His novels are usually classified as horror, but they're really all over the place, from comedies to thrillers to drama to, yes, even a fairy tale (FANGBOY).

Because he doesn't do cold weather anymore, he lives in Tampa, Florida with his wife and two cats,

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Horror Novel with Lots of Laughs!, September 1, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Mandibles (Paperback)

by David Wilbanks

This is the best giant ant novel I've ever read!

OK. Big deal. So I've never read any other giant ant novels (are there any?). But there are giant bug movies, and that's how MANDIBLES by Jeff Strand reads, only it's much funnier and better written than the giant bug movies that I've seen. To tell the truth, I'm not a huge fan of this type of movie, but I am a fan of this novel.

Tampa, Florida has a problem: the fire ant population has decided to attack its citizens. Not only that, but these fire ants are much larger than normal, and they're all over the place. The ants carry a deadly sting and they are vicious. And, as if that wasn't perilous enough, there's also a couple psychopaths on the loose named Hack and Slash. Needless to say, this keeps things moving for our protagonists: an entomologist, a dentist, his assistant, some office workers, among others.

Author Jeff Strand has a sharp wit and knows how to pace a story. His wicked humor had me chuckling out loud several times as the book's characters think of creative ways to outwit the giant ants and killer psychos. Not that it's all joking around here; there's plenty of unsettling violence, blood, and bug guts to leave you cringing and creeping out.

So if the dark literature is getting a bit heavy for you lately, try this one for a bit of fun. Recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm still itching, April 1, 2009

By 

Lesley Conner (Smithsburg, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mandibles (Paperback)

This book rocks!!!! It was like taking Christopher Moore's humor and Brian Keene's death, doom and destruction, and squishing them together in an 80's monster flick. Who wouldn't love that? It is an incredibly fast read, with a vast cast of eclectic characters - most of whom end up as ant food. Also, on the plus side, unlike many books and movies within the horror genre, I couldn't pick out who was going to live and who was going to die within the first 20 minutes of starting the book. Some of my picks were correct, but there were plenty of surprises as well. So if you like psychopaths, giant ants, lots of gore and quirky jokes thrown in for good measure, then I would definitely recommend this book. I'm still itching with the thought of ants crawling all over me.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More Good Icky Bug, May 31, 2007

By 

Fred Rayworth (Las Vegas, NV United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mandibles (Paperback)

It is getting harder and harder to find good icky bug out there and I am glad I ran across this one. Giant ants, high body count, and a sense of humor make for a fun read. I really don't have much more to say except if you like icky bug stories, this one's for you! Highly recommended.