History Literature / Scorpion

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->"''A seething swam of flesh-searing claws and death-dealing venom seeking out human prey...''"
-->-- '''Cover Blurb'''

''Scorpion'' is a 1980 horror novel written by Michael R. Linaker. The Long Point Nuclear Plant in Kent has raised hackles among the locals, and Christine "Chris" Lane often leads anti-nuclear protests outside the plant, despite security chief Vic Condon planting agitators in their midst in an effort to discredit them and give him an excuse to send his security {{Mooks}} out to knock some heads together.

But soon the people of Kent are experiencing a rash of mysterious illnesses. People are being stung and becoming very sick. Chris' friend Les Mason is among them, and his arm has become grotesquely swollen and black from where he was stung. At the hospital, local physician Dr. Renshaw is baffled and has to call in poison specialist Allan Brady from the hospital's Tropical Disease Research Unit. Allan discovers that the venom afflicting poor Les is more powerful than anything he's ever seen! Poor Les dies in horrible agony in short order.

It soon becomes obvious that Kent is under siege by a plague of deadly scorpions which threaten the entire population...

''Scorpion'' was followed by a formulaic sequel, ''[[Literature/ScorpionSecondGeneration Scorpion: Second Generation]]'', whose only real difference is that this time the scorpions are giant.

See also ''Literature/{{Scorpions}}'' by Mike Cook.

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!!Tropes used in this novel:
* AbhorrentAdmirer: Vic Condon has a lecherous desire for Chris.
* AntagonistTitle: Being that the primary foe of the book are scorpions.
* ArtisticLicenseBiology: For some reason, the plot description on the back of the [=NEL=] edition of ''Scorpion'' describes the title critters as "thousands of black scuttling ''insects''."
* BodyHorror: The effects of the venom are quite gruesome.
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: The scorpions' venom causes their victims to turn black and puff up "like sausages," and die in immense pain.
* MeanBoss: Allan's superior at the hospital, Dr. Camperley, who is very cruel to his employees and out to make a name for himself.
* ScaryScorpions: Which inexplicably attack people en masse like an ant swarm and eat their flesh.

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* BigCreepyCrawlies: In ''Second Generation'' only. In the first book, the scorpions are normal-sized, just ''very'' deadly.

* NuclearNasty: The back cover for ''Second Generation'' describes the now gigantic scorpions as "irradiated, mutant."

''Scorpion'' was followed by a formulaic sequel, ''Scorpion: Second Generation'', whose only real difference is that this time the scorpions are giant.

->''A seething swam of flesh-searing claws and death-dealing venom seeking out human prey...''

* MeanBoss: Allan's superior at the hospital, Dr. Camperly.