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K.J. Charles's Reviews > Fever
Fever
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A standalone horror novel from JLH, yes please. There is a sweet romance element in it but it's very much a subplot. Premise: a pair of con artist brothers get caught up in the Klondike gold rush and head up to stake their claim. Unfortunately there's something scary in the woods.
I am absolutely here for something scary in the woods, particularly the element of 'don't answer if something calls your name' which is exquisitely terrifying. But honestly a large part of the terror here is entirely natural. The description of the travel to the Klondike, the physical challenges and mental exhaustion and the life there in a log cabin in sub zero temperatures is...I think I said 'man, fuck this' aloud at least twice. You know what, I don't want gold that much. No thank you.
But we absolutely believe our protags do. The horror is really an externalising of the horrors humans create: greed, selfishness, and the particular expression of those in colonialism: invading, destroying, taking what isn't theirs. The gold-rushers bring their destruction with them; they *are* their own destruction, and the only escape lies in true change. Which is a challenge with the weak, flawed characters of this book. (Not a criticism: the narrator's weakness in particular is horribly plausible in its execution, reminding us you don't have to be an official Bad Person to do bad things: sometimes just going along with stuff is enough.)
Hugely atmospheric, proper spooky, and offers an intelligent, interesting engagement with the historical setting. I wolfed it down.
(I had an ARC from the author, with whom I have co-written. )
I am absolutely here for something scary in the woods, particularly the element of 'don't answer if something calls your name' which is exquisitely terrifying. But honestly a large part of the terror here is entirely natural. The description of the travel to the Klondike, the physical challenges and mental exhaustion and the life there in a log cabin in sub zero temperatures is...I think I said 'man, fuck this' aloud at least twice. You know what, I don't want gold that much. No thank you.
But we absolutely believe our protags do. The horror is really an externalising of the horrors humans create: greed, selfishness, and the particular expression of those in colonialism: invading, destroying, taking what isn't theirs. The gold-rushers bring their destruction with them; they *are* their own destruction, and the only escape lies in true change. Which is a challenge with the weak, flawed characters of this book. (Not a criticism: the narrator's weakness in particular is horribly plausible in its execution, reminding us you don't have to be an official Bad Person to do bad things: sometimes just going along with stuff is enough.)
Hugely atmospheric, proper spooky, and offers an intelligent, interesting engagement with the historical setting. I wolfed it down.
(I had an ARC from the author, with whom I have co-written. )
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Kris
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Apr 21, 2024 08:27PM
OOO!!!!! Yes please.
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You might enjoy reading Jack London's "White Fang" and "Call of the Wild". London wrote both after he went through the Gold Rush. They are mirrored stories - don't know if it was intentional - White Fang is a wild wolf-dog who is tamed into a loyal sled dog, and Buck form CotW is a loyal family dog dog-napped into becoming a sled dog who escapes into the wild. The tone of both is imperialistic by today's standards, but the adventure is very immediate.
