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Spider Legs by Piers Anthony and Clifford A. Pickover

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New, Improved, and Updated for Kindle! Preface to the Electronic Edition We originally conceived of Spider Legs partly as a farce within the genre of science fiction. In theater and film, a farce often entertains the audience by means of improbable situations. Also, we had considered the notion of presenting Spider Legs as a graphical novel, given the novel's vivid imagery, and we invite interested readers to submit possible illustrations that we might feature on a Web site for Spider Legs. Note that pycnogonids, or sea spiders, are real; however, the life cycles of the large, deep-sea forms, especially members of the genus Colossendeis, are still largely unknown to scientists. We hope the quirkiness, dread, and Théâtre de l'Absurde elements of Spider Legs continue to resonate with readers of this revised electronic edition. Piers and Cliff at their island retreat, while writing Spider Legs:

The ultimate crustacean encounter, updated in the e-book edition. Strange things are born in the ocean's depths...

Millions of readers have enjoyed the books of Piers Anthony, including (but certainly not limited to) his undeniably popular Xanth and Blue Adept series. Now in collaboration with celebrated non-fiction author Clifford A. Pickover, he brings us a disturbing tale of our own world, and the strange creatures with whom we share it. It is said, and truly said, that there are more things under heaven and earth than there are almost anywhere else; true as well that many of them lurk, unsuspected, far below the surface of the planet's ocean. For thousands of years, mankind has simultaneously trusted in the sea's proverbial generosity, and used it as a dumping ground, trusting that in its vastness his garbage will be swallowed up and forgotten. But that was never really true. And now, in an age when the overcrowded Earth swarms with hungry inhabitants whose waste chokes even the sea, whose greedy demands overtax its seemingly endless bounty, strange things are born in the ocean's deeps - strange things that the ocean throws back upon the land.

April, 2014 Review: "I recently just finished reading your book titled: Spider Legs. I am a biology PhD student studying sea spiders (or pycnogonids) as part of my dissertation. I came across your book in an online web search while looking up some general information about the group. I am a huge fan of science fiction/monster movies and this was actually the first science fiction novel I have ever finished. I found that I could not put your book down as I was reading it; I was amazed and excited by the amount of scientific accuracy in describing the pycnogonids as well as the nice twist in how the giant spider came about. Anyway, I just wanted to send you an e-mail about how much I enjoyed reading your book and appreciated your choice in the subject material (there are not enough books on strange and obscure marine creatures)." Sincerely, Steve L.

"Pickover has collaborated on a novel with the prolific Piers Anthony, and the combination of Pickover's theory and Anthony's fantasy should yield an intellectual tour de force without precedent." - West Coast Review of Books

"...Provocative scientific speculation and detail." - Publisher's Weekly

"Return with us now to the Sci-Fi days of yesteryear; with monsters from the deep, vacationing professors from prestigious institutions, damsels in distress, and science gone mad in an orgy of bloodshed terrorizing a Newfoundland fishing village! ...You'll definitely get a kick out of this." - SFRevu.

"Shades of Peter Benchley! Spectacular..." - BookPage Fiction Review

"Quite a change of pace for Anthony.... The characters are sketched in skillfully, but from the outset we know this is going to be mainly about suspense." - Science Fiction Chronicle

This book features giant sea spiders known as Pycnogonids that terrorize the people of Newfoundland, Canada.
 

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