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georgiaaa's review
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Xenophobia
Moderate: Hate crime, Murder, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Confinement, and War
magellen's review
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Timely and well tied to our present, The Fervor echoes our current denialist attitude about illness, othering, and white nationalists in america. Katsu turns a historical mirror on us and demands we look, be uncomfortable in our complicity and our ignorance, and do better.
<spoilers>the supernatural elements drop off sharply towards the end in a way that's somewhat disappointing, but ties in to the fact that while the illness is exacerbating rage, the real monster is intolerance and racism and white fragility. On one hand it's sort of mask off the fear to it's real source, on the other damn dude I wanted a spider demon.</spoilers>
<spoilers>the supernatural elements drop off sharply towards the end in a way that's somewhat disappointing, but ties in to the fact that while the illness is exacerbating rage, the real monster is intolerance and racism and white fragility. On one hand it's sort of mask off the fear to it's real source, on the other damn dude I wanted a spider demon.</spoilers>
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Hate crime, Violence, War, Classism, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia
ten_telegrams's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, War, Xenophobia, Child death, Death, Grief, Blood, Bullying, Confinement, Gaslighting, Hate crime, and Medical content
Moderate: Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Hate crime, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Toxic relationship
archaicrobin's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is my first book by Alma Katsu, and while I felt The Fervor was a bit repetitive and dragged on at times, I still enjoyed what the author was trying to accomplish. Meiko and her daughter Aiko are being held at a Japanese internment camp in Minidoka Idaho while her husband is off fighting the war as a pilot. Things are horrific at the camp but everyone there does their best to be what they call “good Japanese” in hopes of laying low and being spared the cruelty that the racist white peoples are capable of.
Despite being amicable, Meiko and Aiko are soon torn apart as a strange illness rampages through the camp, and it is soon revealed that this outbreak is not an accident. Katsu does an excellent job of tying in history and fantasy, while still managing to comment on the dangers of nationalism and white supremacy. It’s devastating to see what Meiko and Aiko are forced to deal with simply because they are Japanese, and even more devastating to know that this kind of racism is still around. That people today are following disgusting rhetoric like this in todays age. If you don’t understand why terms like “kung fu flu” and other derogatory terms for Covid spread by the disease that is Trump are problematic and disgusting, then pick up this book and you’ll see why.
While I do wish this was more supernatural and had more Yokai or Japanese lore, I do love that Katsu wrote a book that’s not only historical, but interesting, and provides a marginalized perspective.
I look forward to reading more by Alma Katsu in the future
Despite being amicable, Meiko and Aiko are soon torn apart as a strange illness rampages through the camp, and it is soon revealed that this outbreak is not an accident. Katsu does an excellent job of tying in history and fantasy, while still managing to comment on the dangers of nationalism and white supremacy. It’s devastating to see what Meiko and Aiko are forced to deal with simply because they are Japanese, and even more devastating to know that this kind of racism is still around. That people today are following disgusting rhetoric like this in todays age. If you don’t understand why terms like “kung fu flu” and other derogatory terms for Covid spread by the disease that is Trump are problematic and disgusting, then pick up this book and you’ll see why.
While I do wish this was more supernatural and had more Yokai or Japanese lore, I do love that Katsu wrote a book that’s not only historical, but interesting, and provides a marginalized perspective.
I look forward to reading more by Alma Katsu in the future
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Violence, War, Confinement, Gaslighting, Murder, Death, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Xenophobia
ericarobyn's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
The Fervor by Alma Katsu is a gut-wrenching tale of violence, hatred, propaganda, and sickness. Set in the 1940s during the war in which darkness surrounds, there are also strong elements of love and bravery with the characters that we follow.
Content warnings:
Forced confinement, hate crimes, and miscarriage.
Forced confinement, hate crimes, and miscarriage.
Set as a tale that jumps between various characters, readers get to see the different perspectives and feelings about the state of the world from the main characters.
- First, we have a woman and her daughter who are stuck in an internment camp that are terrified when a sickness begins to spread.
- Next we have a man angry at the world after the loss of his wife after finding something in the woods.
- Then we have a reporter who has picked up on a story that she can’t just let go.
- In addition to these characters, we also get snippets of journal entries throughout.
Each individual storyline was intense in its own way and each flowed perfectly into the overall story-arc. I loved that each section slowly began to give us more information so we could start putting the puzzle pieces together.
Even with all the hard emotions that came up by reading this, I just couldn’t put the book down. I needed to see what was going to happen with each of the primary characters!
I don’t want to go too far into the plot, as this is a book that I think readers need to just dive into. But I will note that had no idea there were internment camps that forced Japanese Americans into them during the war. Over 120,000 people of Japanese heritage were relocated to the camps in the 1940s.
I love historical horror for exactly this reason, it shines a light on true, very real horror. It gets readers to learn more than what history lessons in school glosses over, and opens up the avenue to learn more. I certainly have a lot to learn about this, and I’m so grateful Alma Katsu opened that door for me.
The Afterword is also not to be missed.
My Favorite Passages from The Fervor
Rumors flow like wasps through the camp, each story more outrageous than the last. It was impossible to know what was true with all the lies, many of them coming from the guards.
Could it have been a ghost? The thought popped into her head, unwelcome. She didn’t believe in ghosts, not while the sun shined, but it was hard to feel as certain at night.
There were always inner demons to be fought.
My Final Thoughts on The Fervor
Within these pages, there are so many elements that will make your skin crawl and your blood boil. The heartbreak you will feel while reading this is definitely worth the experience. It’s an especially important considering the rising tension in the US yet again recently.
Stay safe. If you’re having a hard time with the current news cycle, you’ll want to tread lightly here. But please do give this one a read when you can!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Hate crime, and Miscarriage
dirtwitch's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Racism, Xenophobia, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Antisemitism, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Gaslighting, Hate crime, and Misogyny
Minor: Miscarriage
ohhthehorrors's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Child death, Sexism, Body horror, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Violence, War, Antisemitism, Suicide, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Murder, Racism, and Xenophobia
thesaltiestlibrarian's review
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Huge thanks to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Horror. One of the best ways to critique society in fiction.
A good chunk of this book takes place in the horrific Japanese internment camps during WWII, which (thank God) are having a massive resurgence in the public eye as of late. "AsIaN-tArgEtEd HaTe CriMeS aRe NeWw." Yes, hello? It's the 1850s calling. They'd like a word.
Anyway, we're introduced to a cast of characters who seem to be completely disconnected from each other, never having met before. There's Archie, the newly-minted pastor of a small Oregon town's church; Fran, the intrepid Nebraskan reporter fighting misogyny and trying to figure out what kind of explosives are falling out of the sky that also cause people to fall violently ill; Meiko and her daughter Aiko, unfortunate victims of anti-Japanese rhetoric stuck in an Idaho internment camp. Aiko is seeing ghosts everywhere. Archie is suffering a tragic loss. Fran is under scrutiny from a mysterious person.
I don't feel comfortable saying more, because you really need to go into this with as little as possible. The burn is slow, the action is packed, and the characters are just fantastic. This is my first Alma Katsu, even though I have a couple of her other books stashed in my admittedly enormous and unwieldy Kindle library. But I'll be coming for those puppies real soon.
I highly recommend reading this in low light, or with a single lamp on. Lately my reading has been on the infrequent side of things, so when I got to THE FERVOR, it was mostly as night was falling. The darkness intensified the claustrophobia of Katsu's atmosphere, and DAMN can she write atmosphere. Every horror fan should get their hands on this one ASAP.
Horror. One of the best ways to critique society in fiction.
A good chunk of this book takes place in the horrific Japanese internment camps during WWII, which (thank God) are having a massive resurgence in the public eye as of late. "AsIaN-tArgEtEd HaTe CriMeS aRe NeWw." Yes, hello? It's the 1850s calling. They'd like a word.
Anyway, we're introduced to a cast of characters who seem to be completely disconnected from each other, never having met before. There's Archie, the newly-minted pastor of a small Oregon town's church; Fran, the intrepid Nebraskan reporter fighting misogyny and trying to figure out what kind of explosives are falling out of the sky that also cause people to fall violently ill; Meiko and her daughter Aiko, unfortunate victims of anti-Japanese rhetoric stuck in an Idaho internment camp. Aiko is seeing ghosts everywhere. Archie is suffering a tragic loss. Fran is under scrutiny from a mysterious person.
I don't feel comfortable saying more, because you really need to go into this with as little as possible. The burn is slow, the action is packed, and the characters are just fantastic. This is my first Alma Katsu, even though I have a couple of her other books stashed in my admittedly enormous and unwieldy Kindle library. But I'll be coming for those puppies real soon.
I highly recommend reading this in low light, or with a single lamp on. Lately my reading has been on the infrequent side of things, so when I got to THE FERVOR, it was mostly as night was falling. The darkness intensified the claustrophobia of Katsu's atmosphere, and DAMN can she write atmosphere. Every horror fan should get their hands on this one ASAP.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Grief, Death, Confinement, Hate crime, and Racism
Moderate: Sexism, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia
rachelunabridged's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
I think I can safely say I'm a fan of Alma Katsu after this read. She's very talented at mixing fact with fiction in her stories, and I really dig her particular flavor of historical horror. I love the way she effortlessly combines supernatural horror with the ugly, realistic horror of human nature. While she grabs your attention with the more fantastical aspects of her story, she simultaneously guts you with acts of terror based on real-life events, in case you forget that sometimes the real monsters are other humans.
The Fervor follows the plight of Meiko, a Japanese-American woman, and her daughter Aiko, both of whom have been forced to relocate to an internment camp during World War II. Treated as enemies in their own home, they try to keep their heads down and survive the poor living conditions. Things take a turn when a mysterious illness spreads through the camp, and Meiko must do whatever it takes to save herself and her daughter.
I really enjoyed this read a lot. The combination of the nuanced exploration of the Japanese-American experience during WWII with Japanese mythology was so well done. I've always found Japanese mythology to be fascinating, and this book really scratched that itch for me.
I think I can safely say I'm a fan of Alma Katsu after this read. She's very talented at mixing fact with fiction in her stories, and I really dig her particular flavor of historical horror. I love the way she effortlessly combines supernatural horror with the ugly, realistic horror of human nature. While she grabs your attention with the more fantastical aspects of her story, she simultaneously guts you with acts of terror based on real-life events, in case you forget that sometimes the real monsters are other humans.
The Fervor follows the plight of Meiko, a Japanese-American woman, and her daughter Aiko, both of whom have been forced to relocate to an internment camp during World War II. Treated as enemies in their own home, they try to keep their heads down and survive the poor living conditions. Things take a turn when a mysterious illness spreads through the camp, and Meiko must do whatever it takes to save herself and her daughter.
I really enjoyed this read a lot. The combination of the nuanced exploration of the Japanese-American experience during WWII with Japanese mythology was so well done. I've always found Japanese mythology to be fascinating, and this book really scratched that itch for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Racism, Violence, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, and War
Minor: Miscarriage
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