REVENGE IS A DISH BEST SERVED WITH BUTTER AND OLD BAY SEASONING

It's taken me awhile to get around to Part 2 of this series, but I figured what better way to ring out the old year than with a good ol' fashioned crab boil. Well, that, and the fact that Brian Keene recently announced that Clickers vs. Zombies, the fourth installment in this universe, was going to be released later this year. For those who haven't read Part 1, it is highly recommended for sinking your teeth into this one.

It's been 12 years since Hurricane Floyd swept in and all but wiped the town of Phillipsport, Maine, off the face of the map. Twelve years since, under cover of the storm, the Clickers invaded, decimating the small town's population. What the Clickers didn't destroy, the Dark Ones did. Only a handful of people (and a small handful at that) survived. Of the town's inhabitants there were only two, Melissa Peterson and celebrated horror author Rick Sychek. The rest were military personnel.

In the years following massacre of Phillipsport, there have been numerous disappearances, all linked to the Clickers and the Dark Ones, but the Government, fearing nation-wide panic, has opted to cover up the truth. Those who threaten to reveal what is actually going on, or come close to discovering the truth, disappear or are killed, which is why Rick and Melissa have gone underground, living under assumed names and trying to keep under the Government's radar. And now, once again, the East Coast is being threatened by another hurricane, and as Hurricane Gary moves onto shore, so too do the Clickers, herded by the Dark Ones. This time the Clickers are bigger. This time the Dark Ones are not just coming up to feed. They are pissed.

And they want revenge on those that were massacred following Hurricane Floyd.

Can the U.S survive an organized assault by the sea dwellers?

It's been said of movies that, with rare exceptions, sequels never surpass the original, and quite often fall far from what was accomplished in the original. In the literary world, I find that to be just the opposite, and Clickers II by J.F. Gonzalez and Brian Keene is no exception. Where the original novel put me in mind of the old nature strikes back movies I loved so much as a kid, this one takes things to the next level. We aren't dealing with mindless mutants surfacing to feed, but a thinking, reasoning race out for revenge.

It's obvious the authors are assuming the reader is already familiar with the Clickers and the Dark Ones, as they waste no time getting to the meat of the matter. You know what's coming, and you don't have to wait long. This isn't a rehash of the original novel set in a different location—that would be boring—but a continuation of the story. It follows a natural progression from what has gone before, and I am eager to see what happens in the next one. I can't recommend this one enough, but do yourself a favor and grab Clickers first.