A drifter named Hal gets more than he hankered for when he takes up work at a Maine (where else?) textile mill, only to be lumbered with a cruel boss, bent on sending him into the murky depths, where a rat infestation with a difference waits for him. What unfolds is a classic piece of gloomy, monster horror these rodents are mean, mutated and take all manner of grim form as Hal stumbles deeper into his own nightmare and the waiting incisors of a colony matriarch that even James Cameron would be impressed with. What is perhaps most commendable about this contained piece is that King was in his early twenties when he wrote it for Cavalier. But all the hallmarks of the writers growing strengths were here, as well as his penchant for bypassing cheap schlocky scares and pulling the musty rug out from under us with a despairing ending.
Shaun is a former contributor for a number of Future Publishing titles and more recently worked as a staffer at Imagine Publishing.
He can now be found banking in the daytime and writing a variety of articles for What Culture, namely around his favourite topics of film, retro gaming, music, TV and, when he's feeling clever, literature.