Full credit to John Everson for writing the first story that made me, an absolute arachnophobe, shiver with horrified disgust as his spiders made themselves known in this novella that acts as an extended prologue to his novel, Violet Eyes. (I even shivered involuntarily as I wrote that sentence.)

Violet Lagoon could have been truly brilliant on that basis. However, I had numerous issues with the sheer stupidity of most of the four characters within this story, and really had to work hard to suspend my disbelief that anyone could be that dumb when it came to dealing with what was clearly a life or death situation.

That doesn't change the fact I've ordered my paperback copy of Violet Eyes though, and am looking forward to seeing what Everson can do with his nasty spider/flies when they're unleashed on the wider population ...

3.5 Clear and Apparent Death Wishes for Violet Lagoon.