The second of three novels tied into Irwin Allen’s Land of the Giants (all written by Murray Leinster), The Hot Spot finds the passengers and crew of the Spindrift setting down on an island they hope is uninhabited. I don’t know if its a novelization of another episode of Land of the Giants (however loosely based it may be). My assumption would be that it isn’t. It does include the character of Marjorie, introduced in Leinster’s first Land of the Giants novel (based in part on the pilot episode), but never seen on the television series. She was a passenger on another suborbital flight on Earth that somehow wound up on the Land of the Giants.

Captain Steve Burton decides to seek refuge on an island in the hopes that the giants they encountered earlier (in the first novel) will think they’ve disappeared for good. If they don’t have to worry about being captured by the giants they can turn their attention to trying to get back home. Unfortunately, the island they land on is inhabited.

Land of the Giants #2 Front – Copyright 1969 Pyramid Books

There are giant spiders with giant spiderwebs. And the Spindrift is caught in one such web. Steve is forced to confront the monstrous, eight-legged creature before he and the others can tackle the sticky webbing covering the Spindrift. But another spider comes along, one trailing sacks of its eggs behind it. Inside could be hundreds of tiny spider babies — tiny to the giants but disturbingly large to humans.

Then, to make matters worse, a boat arrives at the island. It is a giant ship with giants aboard. Is it a simple fishing boat, going about its daily business, or has it somehow tracked down the Spindrift? There’s a centipede attack. The giants hunt wild hogs. And one of them finds the Spindrift. Aboard are Dan, Wilson, Valerie, Betty and Marjorie.

Steve, Fitzhugh and Barry (with Chipper the dog) must make their way to the giants’ boat, sneak aboard, get into the Spindrift and somehow blast off before the giants realize what they’ve found. They manage to do so but then things get even worse. They have to make repairs and to do so they have to land back on the island.

The Hot Spot is chock full of problems for the Spindrift. Just when it looks like they’ve made it out of one bit of trouble they find themselves in another. The giants fire rockets at the Spindrift, hoping to destroy it. Steve and the others venture out into a giant farm looking for food. Once inside, they become trapped. After escaping they decide to try to trick the giants into thinking a whole fleet of tiny ships are flying about the planet.

Land of the Giants #2 Back – Copyright 1969 Pyramid Books

I thoroughly enjoyed The Hot Spot, despite the fact that at the time I read it I hadn’t seen a single episode of Land of the Giants. I still haven’t. Maybe one day soon I’ll be able to find the time to sit down and watch a few episodes. If they’re anything at all like this novel, I’m sure I’ll like them.

Plus, there’s still the third tie-in novel, Unknown Danger, that I have to read. The Hot Spot ends with Wilson calculating that the same space warp that brought them to the Land of the Giants is going to reappear. Steve pilots the ship towards it. Does Unknown Danger pick up where The Hot Spot leaves off? I don’t know. If I ever get my hands on a copy we’ll see.

Related posts:

1. Bookshelf: Land of the Giants
2. Q & A: Lucan, Hot L Baltimore, Winky-Dink And You, Dr. Shrinker
3. Land of the Giants Promotional Spot

I’ve never seen Land of the Giants, although I want to. All 51 episodes have been available for free at Hulu.com (U.S. viewers only, unfortunately) for a while now but I just haven’t had the time to sit down and watch any. That’s unfortunate because Murray Leinster’s Land of the Giants appears to be based — at least in part — on the the pilot episode. The word “novelization” isn’t mentioned anywhere (the cover states that it is “based on the spectacular ABC-TV series”) but the novel chronicles the journey of the Spindrift from Los Angeles to the Land of the Giants.

Land of the Giants Front – Copyright 1968 Pyramid Books

Because I haven’t seen the pilot episode of Land of the Giants I can’t say how similiar the story in the novel is. The series premiered on September 22nd, 1968 and Land of the Giants was first published in September of 1968. So it must have been written some time earlier. It’s likely Leinster was working with scripts and production material when he wrote the novel so even if he was trying to stick close to the plot of the series there could easily be differences resulting from changes made during production of the series.

In any event, Land of the Giants begins by introducing the crew of the Spindrift: the pilot, Steve Burton, the co-pilot, Dan Erickson, and the stewardess, Betty Hamilton. Interestingly, the passengers, aside from young Barry and his dog Chipper, aren’t even named for quite a long time. Valerie Scott (often referred to as “the girl”) is named on page 47. The remaining two passengers — Fitzhugh and Wilson — are introduced on page 50 but never get first names. The bulk of the novel revolves around Steve Burton and Dan Erickson. That may be the way episodes of the series worked as well.

One aspect of Land of the Giants that I don’t believe was reflected in the television series was the introduction of Marjorie. She’s found caged in a shed, a captive of two giants who also capture Valerie. Steve frees Valerie and later returns with others to save Marjorie, who reveals that she was a passenger on another ship like the Spindrift (the Anne) that crashed on the Land of the Giants. The others are all dead. Marjorie returns in the second Land of the Giants novel, also written by Murray Leinster, and may be an original creation of his.

Land of the Giants Back – Copyright 1968 Pyramid Books

Perhaps once I get a chance to watch the pilot episode of Land of the Giants I’ll revisit this novel. But as someone who hasn’t seen the show, it was a fun read. Leinster does a fine job explaining the “science” that brought the Spindrift to the Land of the Giants. And he makes the giant’s society seem real. I’d be interested in what a fan of Land of the Giants thinks of the novel. Is it an interesting take on the concept of the series or are the differences frustrating?

Related posts:

1. Bookshelf: Land of the Giants #2 – The Hot Spot
2. Bookshelf: Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
3. Land of the Giants Promotional Spot