DEATH BITE by Michael Maryk and Brent Monahan

In the closing days of 2024 we learn that MAN IS THE PREY! In fact and fiction, on the ground and in the air or underwater, no one and nowhere is safe from nature's fury!

First up: it's almost 20 feet long, can kill a dozen men with a scratch of its fangs, and exists in a permanent state of pissed off! It's the near-mythical island taipan of Naraka-pintu, a tiny (fictional) hellhole between Australia and New Guinea. Locals call the island the gateway to hell, and as for the snake? The devil himself. Now, one of these demons is loose in San Diego, CA, and no one is safe from the DEATH BITE!

Authors Maryk and Monahan have crafted a winning monster here, a killer snake twice as long as its "mainland" (real world) variant, nurtured to extreme size and temperament by its isolated island home. The authors do a bang up job incorporating real snake science into their work, as well as the murky, dangerous world of exotic animal smuggling. Our giant taipan is being smuggled into the USA for Scott Miller's private zoo of dangerous snakes, with researcher Marcus Wrightson offered a sweetheart deal on the snake's rare venom if he'll help transfer it from the boat off San Diego to Miller's zoo in Florida.

Hardcover edition, 1979

Some shady characters have other plans, however, as does the snake ... Soon, our titan of terror is loose in the San Diego hills, and Miller and Wrightson are caught with their pants down explaining just what the hell they were thinking with their reckless scheme. Wrightson meanwhile has become entangled with Miller's mysterious assistant Ioka, and her connection to Miller's past may hold the key to the man's obsession with this demonic killer he's unleashed. The authors do a good job balancing some subtle character work with the unfolding action, especially the bad guys who we learn more and more about as their own harebrained plot for snakenapping unfolds.

This book belonged to George P. Asvos!

When Death Bite strikes, it's with a vengeance. However, just as most snakes can go a long time between meals, conserving their energy, so too does Death Bite rest between feedings, perhaps for a little too long. The middle of the book sags a bit, especially once all the pieces are in place and everything seems ready to cut loose. All the buildup leaves us rushing through the final 50 pages in a whirlwind.

Above, the Granada edition. Pacing aside, Maryk and Monahan's thriller seems ready made for a film adaptation, and Death Bite eventually made it to the screen as Spasms. The coolasscinema blog has an in-depth article on the troubled production of Spasms, including insight from Maryk and Monahan about their frustrations with the shoot. Co-author Brent Monahan has also written a bit about the novel and film adaptation at his personal website.

Maryk and Monahan's Death Bite earns a 3/4 rating for some lethal strikes amid languorous pacing.

Ace Books, 1980 (original pub. 1979)