NNtG: Shadow Zone: Attack of the Mutant Bugs

What's a (Woo!) Party Summer without some bugs? And who better to supply the creepy crawlies than Shadow Zone? Well, probably a lot of other sources, but I've needed an excuse to come back to Shadow Zone. So far I've been two for two in terms of books I've liked from the series, so maybe we'll do well on our third going. Or maybe we'll finally get the one that ends up bugging me. It's Attack of the Mutant Bugs.

Mantises! You know we're in a nineties book when we got mantises on the cover. Mantises wearing clothing too, so we're really in for some creepy bugs. This cover is solid, due mostly to the solid use of lighting and the detail on the mantises, including the one further up on the cover. Some decent freaked out reactions from our kid protagonists as well. Props to the title font as well. Very fitting for the story at hand. Overall, another solid cover for Shadow Zone.

Katie Callaghan isn't having a good start to her summer vacation. Since leaving Brooklyn for her family's country house in Shelford, Massachusetts, things keep being not very ideal for her. Not only has it been raining for days, costing her a chance to go out and explore the countryside, but she has to spend all week with her cousin Miles Stengel, who is described by Katie as your prototypical nerd. Wears glasses, isn't interested in all the cool things she's into. He even likes to read books. You know, when not at school. Who does that? When sunlight finally starts to peek from the clouds, Katie makes her first move to get out of the house. Unfortunately for her, her mom wants Miles to tag along.

We learn that Miles is the son of Katie's Uncle Phil on her mom's side. She didn't really know him at first, but since meeting, she sees just how nerdy he really is and they haven't gotten along that well. And with Miles' parents gone to Europe for the summer (leaving him in the states for... reasons?) that means that Miles is going to be there all summer. Miles isn't thrilled with tagging along with Katie, but Mrs. Callaghan insists the two go together. So the two begin to bike through the small country town and soon stop at the Dunbar Mine. In the early 1900s, it was a sulfur mine that helped the town prosper, but in the 1920s, a cave in shut it for good. Though Katie still loves exploring it because I guess you gotta do something to stave off boredom.

Katie takes Miles down to the mine, despite his concerns. She shows him the nearby pyrite chips and all of the damage at the mine, but it still makes Miles nervous since, well, that's pretty much been his character so far. Katie starts jumping on a downed tree near the mine, but the branch beneath her breaks, and the tree tips over, causing a large crash in the mine. This in turn causes the mine to finally be opened up for more exploring. And again, despite Miles' concerns, Katie just wants to go down deeper into this deadly mine because I guess kids were really bored in the 90s and weren't as opposed to near death? 

As Katie begins to go down the hole, she feels something grab her ankle. Not only that, there are loud buzzing and clicking noises coming from below. As if from insects. Perhaps of the mutant variety? Either way, it's enough for her to cancel those spelunking plans and run back down the hill with Miles. Miles suggests telling Katie's mother, but Katie has other plans. Just forget about the creepy bug mine and just head to town for now. She meets with her friend Cody Wheeler, whose family has owned the Shelford General Store since the 1700s. She tells him what happened at the mine and Cody is excited. He thinks they should check the mine out to see what's in there. Maybe one of those old fashioned hats with the lights on it and stuff because kids were really bored in the 90s I guess. Miles is against the idea, but of course Katie doesn't care what Miles thinks.

But for now, Katie and Miles, along with Cody, head to their Grandma Stengel's house in town. Near the house of Freakenstein. Not his actual name, it's actually Mr. Doyle, but Katie says it fits the crotchety old man who lives in an old ramshackle house and raises mice. To screw with Miles, Katie tricks him into thinking Freakenstein's house is their grandma's. However this also backfires when the man shows up at the front door. So, Katie gets in trouble for the trick and because Miles blabbed like the snitch he is, she gets in trouble for it. But despite the trouble already stacked on her, Katie sneaks out with Cody to check the mine yet again.

Upon searching the mine with a flashlight, Katie and Cody spot something not human. Very not human. As in giant mantises. They start to chase the kids but manage to escape in time. However, with Miles following them, they get caught by the bugs. Suddenly one of them starts to talk, introducing himself as Sal Brancuso of Mine Shaft 2. He's also very Italian sounding, so get in all your stereotypes folks. The other mantises are Hank Doyle, Drillbit, Rizzo and Pyrite Joe. And a large angry looking mantis with a black exoskeleton named Blaster. They used to be normal, non-mantis human beings, miners who worked in the Shelford mine in 1922. However, the cave-in trapped them inside and, for reasons yet to be explained, it turned them into mutant mantises. This has all the makings of a mid-90s cartoon.

When Katie mentions the town, the mantises get angry, as it was the mine owner and the mayor that sent them down the mines despite it not being safe. Blaster then sheds his old mantis skin to reveal a more deadlier version. He goes to eat the kids, but Hank calls him off, telling him that, obviously, they weren't at fault for getting them trapped in the caves, so they should just go eat in the forest instead. This gives the three kids a chance to run for it. When they make enough headway, Cody says that it must be weird for someone to one day turn into a bug. How very Kafka-esque. 

Katie knows that no one will believe them about the giant bug men, so she opts not to tell her parents (also since she was grounded for the earlier incident and sneaking off would just get her in deeper crap). Doesn't stop Miles from blabbing to Katie's mom, who doesn't believe him because... I dunno the size of bugs in this town, but I can buy her not believing giant human mantis hybrids. Katie, more logical then the genius kid, tells Miles that #1. No one's believing them on this. #2. You're just getting people in danger by getting them involved. And #3. They'll find a way to fix this themselves. 

That night, Hank shows up in Katie's room to warn her. The mantises are losing their humanity by the day. They still follow Hank since he's the mine foreman, but each day the mantis instincts overtake them, making them more dangerous. And since Blaster is the one most determined to attack the town for revenge, Hank fears the other mantises will follow suit. The only way to stop them is to get them back underground and back into the Shadow Zone, where they'll be able to feast on all the underground animals and bugs for however the hell long a mantis man can live I guess. Hank also wants to make peace with his son Hank Junior before he loses his humanity. He hands Katie a pocket watch and soon it dawns on her that Hank Junior is Freakenstein.

Katie tells Miles about all this, and him being still dense as a post, thinks they should tell someone about all of this. As they talk, they hear the noise of mantis clicking and check the nearby barn and holy shit this was a dark moment I never expected. Half-eaten cows, pigs and horses, chickens with their heads torn off. Blood everywhere. The still alive animals screaming in agony. Sweet merciful crap that is a nightmare image if ever there was one. Props to Shadow Zone, never thought they'd ever go THAT dark. 

So, with Blaster and the mantises seemingly ready to take it out on the town, especially whoever is the descendants of the mine owner and the mayor. This gives them two things to do. Get the pocket watch to Freakenstein and find out who the descendants are and warn them. Katie and Cody head to Freakenstein's and they show him the pocket watch. He's confused, then angry when Katie mentions his dad being alive. So angry that he almost has a heart attack. Wow did this book ramp up. After recovering, he's none too pleased about the whole situation and kicks them out. So that failed. They head to the historical society to see what Miles found out, only to find that Blaster and some of the mantises are inside and already knocked out Miles and a woman named Mrs. Porter.

Hank shows back up and argues with Blaster over not attacking anyone and eventually the mantises leave. Miles and Mrs. Porter wake up, though she, I guess, somehow didn't see the giant mantis men who attacked her. Miles tells Cody and Katie that Mrs. Porter was the granddaughter of the mine owner, so that explains the attack. After they leave, they run into Hank, pissed they haven't given the watch to his son. Angry enough to believe that maybe they were never on his side to begin with and maybe that the town should suffer. Well that was a sudden heel turn. 

At day camp the next day (a punishment for the whole wrong address incident), Cody and Katie are forced to play capture the flag. Miles shows up to tell them about who the mayor was when Cody and Katie are forced to play capture the flag. But the only thing caught are the other campers who get surrounded by Blaster and the mantises. And stung with some sort of poison that knocks them out. There's also way more mantises now than before, possibly clones. Hank shows up again, surprisingly still trying to calm the situation. Katie and the others help the campers escape into a sugaring facility covered in maple syrup. When the mantises enter, they get caught in the sticky syrup and disappear. Everyone's safe for now. Also the other campers get convenient amnesia, so they don't remember anything about giant mantis humans.

Miles tells Katie and Cody that while the mine owner wanted the mining delayed due to some unsafe conditions in the shaft, the mayor, a Benjamin Wheeler, forced it to go on schedule. That's when everyone clues in that the mayor must be the great grandfather of Cody Wheeler. So now Cody's more involved in this than before because once Blaster realizes that, he's next on the chopping block. They meet with Katie's mom. They tell her again about the bugs, but that's pretty pointless. While she heads out of town, Katie and Miles stay with Grandma Stengel. Also Cody learns that his house was ransacked. So that whole thing about Blaster knowing is now pretty damn official.

That night at Grandma Stengel's, Katie and Miles are about to head next door to Mr. Doyle's house, but soon find that the watch is missing. The next day however, they head outside only to find a mutilated mouse. One of Mr. Doyle's pets. They also find Hank. The three then see Grandma Stengel give the watch to Mr. Doyle and telling him that it was a sign that his father didn't intend to abandon him. So, while Hank didn't get a chance to make his peace in person (or in bug-person), he at least  has that. That's the good news. The bad news is that with that loose end tied up, Hank is losing more of his mind. 

The three kids end up back at the mine as it's finally time to send the mantises back underground. Hank is there too, but slipping in and out of humanity pretty quickly. Suddenly the group gets ambushed by Blaster and the mantises with Blaster grabbing Cody and running off with him into the mine. I mean you could have killed him right then and there, but kids book. Though given the mutilation in this book, maybe they could have. So now they need another plan. So this time they have Hank lure the mantises while Katie and Miles create another syrup trap. However, Hank actually brings the bugs to the kids and are ready to attack before he snaps out of it. As the kids grab Cody, they run out to escape before dropping the syrup trap and burying the mantises inside, including Hank who is at peace with that.

A little time passes. Katie and Miles get along better, and Cody's fine after the bug attack. While at the carnival they spot an attraction named after the book and chuckle at that. They stop that chuckling when they spot a newspaper article mentioning that the Dunbar mines are going to be excavated. So they all agree that they're going to need a ton more maple syrup.

So that's three for three on Shadow Zone books I liked. This one might be my least favorite of the three, but still really good. Far darker a book than I thought going in with the barn scene being one of the goriest moments in any of these kid horror books. Almost distressingly so. There's also a lot of action throughout the plot and the mantis humans do feel like threats. You also get why they want revenge on the descendants of the people who wronged them. It's compelling stuff. But there are some issues. Namely not too much detail on exactly how the miners mutated into mantis people. Radioactive materials, some sort of change in DNA, a bizarre osmosis? And how have they been able to stay alive for so long? The obvious answer is the Shadow Zone, which likely was what loomed over the miners and transformed them. It's not super well explained, but I'll take it.

Katie is an okay protagonist. Not as unique as the others I've covered. Miles is part genius part really dumb to constantly try to suggest telling others about the mantises. And while not as fleshed out as other Shadow Zone books, it's at least nice to see them start to get along better after this whole ordeal. Cody exists, but given he's vital to the plot given his lineage, he's not superfluous Clay either. Hank is also a decent character. Being the last shred of humanity in the mantises and the only one who isn't fueled on revenge, but rather making peace with his son. And yeah, having it be the watch instead of Mr. Doyle/Freakenstein seeing his giant mantis dad and dying of a heart attack is the smartest move here. I do wish Blaster and the others had more character, but it's also not a deal breaker either.

So yeah. Another solid book. Lots of action, some legitimate scares, a decent plot and good pacing that never feels it has to slow down. An easy read and an easy recommend. So far, Shadow Zone has delivered in the kind of horror stories I'm looking for. Hopefully that trend continues, but if it ends eventually, I won't be that bugged either. Attack of the Mutant Bugs gets an A-.