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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
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