As someone who has been tasked with removing any evidence of spiders from our house so that our youngest daughter can sleep at night, I understand the phobia spiders induce. I don’t share it, but I get it. O’Halloran is on another level, however, and his passion shows in his writing.

There is a sense of division in the title Silk and Venom. This aligns with the love-hate relationship people have with spiders. O’Halloran seeks to close that divide.

The tone is breezily conversational. It’s exactly what’s needed when explaining things that you don’t like: it’s informative, educational and comforting. Readers who have an aversion to spiders might just see them in a new light, thanks to O’Halloran.

When describing some spiders as fluffy and beautiful, O’Halloran could be talking about pet cats. He describes dancing peacock spiders with adoration. His tone does change when needed, however. Although the vast majority of spiders are no danger to humans, he does warn of Sydney’s funnel-webs.

There are details of the intricacies of web design and purpose. While it would seem that spider webs are designed purely to trap prey, they can sometimes work as tripwires, alerting spiders to intruders. And not all intruders are prey … some prey on the spiders themselves. Not all silk is used for web design. A cowboy-like spider uses theirs as a lasso. There are hopes also that spiders’ neurotoxic venom may have pharmaceutical benefits.

For all his efforts, O’Halloran might be preaching to the choir. The people who would get the most out of Silk and Venom (like our youngest daughter) are least likely to read it. And that’s a pity.

Reviewed by Bob Moore

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

James O’Hanlon has travelled around Australia and the globe uncovering the secret lives of insects and spiders. If it is small, mysterious and lacks a backbone, James has an insatiable desire to find out what it is and what it does.

He has published over 30 academic papers and his popular science writing has appeared in ABC News, Australian Geographic, The Conversation and Biosphere Magazine.

He is an award-winning science communicator and was the 2021 recipient of the Varuna–New England Writers’ Centre fellowship.