Night of the Big Heat
Encyclopedia
Night of the Big Heat is a science fiction
novel written in 1959 by John Lymington
. It tells the story of an unnamed British
island that is experiencing a bizarre and stifling heatwave.
named Harsen reveals, ultimately, that the reason for the extreme heat is that an alien race of spiders are "beaming in" scouts from their home planet via an improbable "radio wave" ray which generates intense amounts of heat as a side effect.
The spiders themselves are carnivorous and eat humans, and give off bodily heat intense enough to burn alive any person who gets too close to them. Together with Harsen, Patricia, and science fiction author Vernon Stone, the Callums try to make it to the island's radio station to call for help so that they can thwart the invasion.
(also known as Island of the Burning Doomed) by Planet Film Productions.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel written in 1959 by John Lymington
John Lymington
John Lymington was born John Richard Newton Chance in London. He was a prolific writer of short stories, children's literature, mystery and science fiction novels...
. It tells the story of an unnamed British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
island that is experiencing a bizarre and stifling heatwave.
Plot summary
The main characters are a former novelist named Richard Callum and his wife Frankie, who own a pub called the White Lion. Richard has hired a secretary to help out on his new book, Patricia Wells, who turns out to have an obsession for Callum. A visiting scientistScientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
named Harsen reveals, ultimately, that the reason for the extreme heat is that an alien race of spiders are "beaming in" scouts from their home planet via an improbable "radio wave" ray which generates intense amounts of heat as a side effect.
The spiders themselves are carnivorous and eat humans, and give off bodily heat intense enough to burn alive any person who gets too close to them. Together with Harsen, Patricia, and science fiction author Vernon Stone, the Callums try to make it to the island's radio station to call for help so that they can thwart the invasion.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
The novel was adapted into a 1967 film, Night of the Big HeatNight of the Big Heat (1967 film)
Night of the Big Heat is a 1967 British sci-fi horror film released by Planet Film Productions, based on a 1959 novel of the same name by John Lymington. It was released in the United States in 1971 under the title Island of the Burning Damned and was double-billed with All Monsters Attack...
(also known as Island of the Burning Doomed) by Planet Film Productions.