The Rats Take Manhattan

Several years ago, Hunter Shea, one of my favorite creature/cryptid authors, released a Must Read titled Rattus New Yorkus. As you may know, I love me some creature/eco-horror, and I also, as a Native New Yorker, love when NYC is under siege by vermin, creepy crawlies, supernatural terror, or whatever. If the Big Apple is doomed, I'm reading it. So when I saw that Shea was releasing a sequel, it automatically jumped to the top of my TBR pile.

Manrattan picks up several years after the events in Rattus New Yorkus. The rats have been defeated, but for Chris and Benny Jackson, the thrill of living in New York died, and when it came time for the residents of the city to return, the Jackson had opted to relocate to Westchester -- and rats were something they no longer handled as part of their pest control/extermination company.

When a close friend who is also in the pest extermination business calls and asks for their help, both Chris and Benny say no, 1. because it's NYC, and 2. they no longer deal with rats. But their former associate is adamant that they come. It's not a rat, he swears, but an escaped capybara, that's how big it is. So, against their better judgment, they venture into the city to lend a hand. Only, it's not a capybara.

It's a rat.

The size of a small German Shepherd.

As soon as the situation is handled, they hightail it back to Westchester, only to be summoned back to New York by the military as consultants on this new menace threatening New York. It seems the fool-proof rodenticide that turned rats into horny incubators for multiple rat litters that eventually overran NY has had some unforeseeable long-term side effects. The rats are no longer hyperbreeding machines; they've just grown to mammoth proportions, and there's a helluva lot more than at first thought. Now, Chris and Benny's in-and-out consultation has turned into a life-threatening escape from New York.

I've yet to read a Hunter Shea novel that failed to deliver the thrills and chills, and Manrattan is no exception. The tension runs high and is broken up by the humorous back-and-forth dialogue between our two favorite exterminators. Each encounter with the Ratzillas is more over-the-top than the previous one, so there are quite a few eye-roll moments that are very much intentional, and you find yourself looking forward to their next run-in to see how the author is going to top the last one. The only problem I had with Manrattan was the ending, which just didn't work for me. It leaves things open to a sequel, which I don't mind, but it's one of those open-ended cliffhangers that I hate. And while most of the cliffhangers I've read seem to be plotted into the story, this one seems unintentional, like the author didn't know where else to take it, so rather than fumble for an ending, he just decided to end it, and in doing so, leaves the reader hanging, frustrated in that we have to wait until the sequel (if there is a sequel in the works) is released to find out what happens.

If cliffhanger endings don't bother you, this is definitely one to check out. But make sure you read Rattus New Yorkus first.