Crabs Series by Guy N. Smith, Charlie Adlard

The Welsh coast basks in summer tranquility, then the drownings begin... Not until the monstrous crustaceans crawl ashore, their pincers poised for destruction, does the world understand the threat it faces....

Their claws were strong enough to snap a man in half. Their shells were impenetrable, even by a six-inch naval gun. Their eyes glowed with malevolence, and as they tore their victims limb from limb they seemed to grin with sadistic delight. Never before had the world seen such an army.They started with the odd fisherman. Then they tackled bigger boats. Finally they moved onto land, and spread death and terror before them... moreTheir claws were strong enough to snap a man in half. Their shells were impenetrable, even by a six-inch naval gun. Their eyes glowed with malevolence, and as they tore their victims limb from limb they seemed to grin with sadistic delight. Never before had the world seen such an army.They started with the odd fisherman. Then they tackled bigger boats. Finally they moved onto land, and spread death and terror before them. The occupants of Hayman Island had just one hope: if they could find the crabs' spawning ground they might have a chance. There were three weeks before the full moon. After that the crabs' numbers would be beyond control, and then they would be truly invincible... less

Rouse suddenly let out a piercing SCREAM releasing him from the paralysis of sheer terror in which those malevolent red eyes had held him. In panic he turned and tried to scramble up the slippery rockface. But his feet could not grip; slowly he began sliding back down, ever closer to that nightmarish form that was rapidly approaching, its huge claws waving in the air, its powerful jaws opening and closing in anticipation…

One man only saw them and him they killed, hunted him down through the dense reed beds, trapped him, drove him mad with terror before they pulled him to pieces and ate every bloodied shred of his body. And then it was quiet again - for a little while, until they came ashore again. On that holiday beach there were hundreds of men, women and children. Food!

They lurched out of the water - moon-driven, coldly mad in their need to destroy, to kill, to eat. In their hundreds, huge and evil, they crawled, waving their claws of death, feeling their way towards their prey...

The Girls Listened Intently. The wetlands were silver and shadow in the moonlight. The salt marsh grasses rustled. Out on the mudflats, curlews called mournfully. The Girl Shivered. The incoming tide trickled and lapped up hidden creeks. Soon the wildfowl would be winging down, the waders feeding and squabbling at the water's edge. The Girl Struggled. Despairingly, she pulled at the ropes that held her, naked and spreadeagled, a human sacrifice for the Crabs... moreThe Girls Listened Intently. The wetlands were silver and shadow in the moonlight. The salt marsh grasses rustled. Out on the mudflats, curlews called mournfully. The Girl Shivered. The incoming tide trickled and lapped up hidden creeks. Soon the wildfowl would be winging down, the waders feeding and squabbling at the water's edge. The Girl Struggled. Despairingly, she pulled at the ropes that held her, naked and spreadeagled, a human sacrifice for the Crabs. Huge, eaten away by the mutating disease that doomed them, they were returning, dragging themselves out of the water, intent only on tearing apart and devouring their enemy: Man. less

In 1978 the Crabs attacked Australia’s Great Barrier Reef with horrendous loss of human life. Amongst the fatalities was Harvey Logan, big-game hunter. The world believed that these terrible crustaceans had been annihilated but Harvey’s son, Brock, was sure that one day they would emerge from the oceans once more on a rampage of bloody carnage. Brock was also a hunter and he waited patiently for three decades. He wanted revenge as well as a Crab trophy for his collection... moreIn 1978 the Crabs attacked Australia’s Great Barrier Reef with horrendous loss of human life. Amongst the fatalities was Harvey Logan, big-game hunter. The world believed that these terrible crustaceans had been annihilated but Harvey’s son, Brock, was sure that one day they would emerge from the oceans once more on a rampage of bloody carnage. Brock was also a hunter and he waited patiently for three decades. He wanted revenge as well as a Crab trophy for his collection. Then the crabs returned, this time on the Solway Firth and Brock’s hunt began. less