"A Rage for Revenge (War Against the Chtorr, Book 3)" by David Gerrold
https://www.amazon.com/Rage-Revenge-Against-Chtorr-Book/dp/0553278444/

Book number three of a four book science fiction alien invasion series.
I reread the well printed and well bound MMPB published by Bantam
Spectra Books in 1989 that I bought new in 1989. I own a copy of book
number four and plan to reread it soon.

The book is dedicated to "for Frank Robinson, with love". There is also
a thank you list for several people including Robert and Ginny Heinlein,
Jerry Pournelle, and Richard Fontana, I suspect alpha readers and
discussion buddies.

This is very hard sci-fi. Do not pick up this book without having many
hours available to you to finish it. Once started, the book sucks you
in gradually so that you say, "just one more chapter". When you finish
the book at 5:50 am the next morning, you will be exhausted as if you
had just run a 10K. This also applies to the preceding and follow-on books.

I have read this book at least three times. Maybe four times. I lost
count many years ago.

The first book starts off with a series of plagues that devastate the
human population across the Earth. Then the weird plants start growing everywhere. Then the huge one meter to five meter long alien
carnivorous worms show up and starting eating people, cows, horses, etc.
The worms are very difficult to destroy without a combat rated
flamethrower.

In the second book, Jim McCarthy is now a lieutenant in the Army Special Forces. And things are getting worse. McCarthy and Duke are drafted
into an expedition into northern California to investigate secondary and tertiary worm homes but their assault helicopter crashes when the
Chtorran airborn plants cause the jet engines to fail. Then things get
very tough when the bunny dogs riding the worms show up.

I would advise skipping this book. The subjects are horrible and not
for the faint at heart or the squeamish. All of the States in the USA
except Hawaii have worm infestations with worm huts all over the place. Various cults of worm worshipers have sprung up of people actually
living with the worms and feeding their ... to the worms. There is also aberrant sex in the book.

Gerrold has claimed many times over the years that there will be a fifth
book and a sixth book and a seventh book in the series. I will believe
it when I see it. He stated once to us on his email list that book 5 is
so insane that he just could not finish several chapters in the middle
of the book. However, there is a taunting preview of book 5, "A Method
for Madness", at:

https://web.archive.org/web/20060321170726/http://www.gerrold.com/chtorr-5/page.htm

I am hoping that if Gerrold does not finish the books then his son will publish the books when he passes on. Who knows ? Gerrold is very
sensitive about people asking when he is going to publish the remaining
books in the series.

There is another review by James Nicoll at:
https://jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/the_world_stood_still

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars (45 reviews)

Lynn


--- PyGate Linux v1.5.1
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)