Since leaving the U.S. Marine Corps, Maxwell McTavish bounced around from one dead-end job to the next. Currently, he was employed as a security guard at a bar in Arizona. 

But he never forgot his tour of duty in Afghanistan. During the day, while monitoring al-Qaeda strongholds, he experienced a quiet dread. In the thick of a firefight, however, there was no time to be scared. Like all good soldiers, Max put his head down and did his job. 

He felt the exact same way during his vacation on Paradise Island, a très cher French Polynesian resort. At first, he felt awkward mingling with all the rich and beautiful people. But later, when giant (and hungry) mutant centipedes erupted from the island’s beaches, Max’s military training kicked into hyperdrive. 

He had witnessed men blown apart by rocket-propelled grenades and shot to hell with AK-47s, but he’d never seen anything like the destruction caused by the “mega freaks” from Paradise Island. Not only did these mutant bugs look like prehistoric monsters, but their appetites were insatiable. 

Exploding from the postcard-perfect beach, the first centipede was a 50-foot blur of red and black that announced its arrival with a horrific hissing noise that sounded “primal and angry,” according to author Mike MacLean, “yet almost mechanical.” Its horrible mouth pulsated with anticipation ready to rip and tear. Take a look at the book’s front cover for a highly stylized version of the titular creature. 

Max was somewhat successful in his attempt to keep the resort safe from the Hexbug-like baby centipedes, but he needed help stopping the bigger freaks. He needed a sidekick. Enter Erin Johansson, a cute and funny bartender who looked a bit like Merida, the Disney Princess of DunBroch. 

Armed with a decorative spear taken from a nearby cabana, Erin quickly went to work. She immediately  “killed the fuck” out of a large 50,000-pound centipede all by herself. Max was impressed with her bravery. “You handled yourself like a true badass,” he told her. “You would’ve made one hell of a Marine.”

Erin was certainly tough, but she was also kinda sexy—even when she was wrassling a baby centipede in the shower. And if you’re curious, there were lots of sexy ladies on Paradise Island being attacked (and devoured) by the creepy-crawly mega freaks. 

Over all, Mega Freak: Bloody Paradise is exactly the sort of monster novel you’d expect from MacLean, the writer responsible for movies such as Sharktopus and Piranhaconda. It’s zany and sexy and violent and icky. And the best part? I bet we’ll see Max and Erin again sometime soon.

[ Mega Freak: Bloody Paradise / By Mike MacLean / First Printing: April 2025 / ISBN: 9781923165588 ]