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Book Review: The Deep by Alma Katsu

cover art for The Deep by Alma Katsu

The Deep by Alma Katsu

G.P. Putnam, 2020

ISBN-13: 978-0525537908

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook ( Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )

 

Those who enjoy historical horror devoured Alma Katsu’s The Hunger, which should have taken home the major awards last year, will take the plunge into The Deep, a cross-genre tale that is beautifully disturbing and might even top her previous novel. Perfect timing, as it’s up for top honors at the Stokers this year.

Whereas her last novel mined the ill-fated travels of the pioneers who traversed the Donner Pass, this one dives into the mystique of the Titanic, with a twist. The ship had a sister – the Britannic. This ship was retrofitted to be a hospital to be used during the war.

The story is told by Annie Hebley, a young woman who takes a job as a maid on the Titanic, alternating chapters between the time prior to the sinking and after the disaster. Annie meets the enigmatic Mark Fletcher, a father of a infant and husband to an even stranger character, Caroline, and finds her fate forever intertwined with theirs. As the chapters alternate between her time on both ships. Annie left her  home to see a strange one on the high seas, but is quickly drawn to Mark, who holds a dark secret.

When Annie takes a job on the Britannic after recovering from the sinking of the sister ship, her life turns from serving as a maid to serving as a nurse, where she learns the horrors of war firsthand. Her mind has yet to heal, though, a fact that rears its ugly head when she encounters a man in one of the beds of the wounded. She is convinced it is Mark. Yet, why won’t he admit it to her? Her sanity begins to further unravel as readers are treated to the unreliable narrator motif… or are they?

In the part of the story told prior to the sinking of the Titanic, horror soon creeps in as other passengers, the rich Madeline Astor and her husband, are convinced something sinister has boarded the ship with them – or was built into the hull of the Titanic. After a tragic death, the passengers sense this presence growing, something that Annie seeks to explain while attempting to help Mark and his daughter, who may be facing a much more heinous foe. By the time the ship hits the iceberg, Annie realizes the scope of the disaster matches her own cracking psyche.

The Britannic is supposedly built to be safer and sturdier than the predecessor. Lightning can’t strike twice, can it? Annie’s relentless quest to convince Mark of what truly happened spirals into the dark currents of the Atlantic as it seems the forces that plagued the first ship may have followed her there as well.

What sets this novel apart from other disaster stories is the research Katsu has imbued between the pages. She nails every detail of the period, the ship itself, and the events that occurred on both ships, in a manner that could be exhausting in lesser hands. Instead, The Deep envelops the reader in its setting and drags them down until the final page. Her characters breathe and bleed through the chapters in both stories here, with minor players carving out roles which further both the mystery and the horror.

Highly recommended as both a horror novel and a suspense tale that should widen Alma Katsu’s audience even further.

 

 

Reviewed by David Simms

Editor’s Note: The Deep is a nominee on the final ballot for this year’s Bram Stoker Award in the category of Superior Achievement in a Novel. 

 

Book Review: Only the Dead Know Burbank by Bradford Tatum

Only the Dead Know Burbank by Bradford Tatum

HarperCollins Publishers, 2016

ISBN: 9780062428752

Available:  Paperback, Kindle edition

 

Only the Dead Know Burbank starts out in post-World War I Germany, after the Spanish flu epidemic has passed. Maddy Ulm, a young woman whose mother cast a mysterious spell on her before her premature death, pulls herself out of her own grave. She discovers she cannot die, but she also cannot age, and when she eats, she tastes nothing but ash. She knows nothing of where her mother has gone; she is alone. She sets out to find…something? Someone? She’s not quite sure. She eventually meets and joins up with street performers, including Mutter, an injured soldier with a love of theatrics. Together, they perform dramatic traumas and seeming resurrections on the small stage. Then Maddy discovers film, and her love of the horrific. When Universal Pictures discovers one of her masterpieces, Maddy travels to Hollywood. There, she meets and works with some of the Hollywood greats, creating some of the most memorable images in horror history. She channels her innate knowledge of the supernatural, fear, death, and undeath into her art, but is never allowed to head the projects she loves so much. She wants more. Throughout her story, she catches glimpses of her mother, occasionally meeting with her and her father. As the story progresses, Maddy discovers more about herself, her family, and what she is capable of.

I was apprehensive about this at the beginning. Maddy’s childhood is nothing more than a mother providing for her child and surviving the only way she knew how—through sex, death, and art. Maddy was never shielded from anything happening, and was even present at times. It would be fair to say Maddy was never treated as a child. She came into the world observing the adult world through her mother, a very cold woman who withheld any kind of affection from Maddy. Dealing with her mother makes Maddy a survivor, and she develops skills that aid her through the rest of her life, leading her to become an extremely strong female character.

Mutter is another character in this story worth mentioning. Mutter, before his injury, was a German soldier who Maddy encountered briefly when her mother was entertaining the troops. Maddy feels a strong attachment to Mutter, and he acts as a protector to her, providing her with the familial love that she never experienced as a child.

The historic figures written into the story are fantastic. Cheney was given a very respectful characterization, but I think Tatum was even more sensitive to Boris Karloff. Being an avid fan of Karloff’s, I was pleased with the sensitivity and respect he gave to his characterization of one of the genre’s greatest actors. Maddy is especially drawn to him because of the kindness in the man’s eyes, and his physical stature. She was looking for someone to play the creature in Frankenstein, rejecting the director’s demand for the horrific, and instead obtaining someone with a certain sorrow in the eyes, something which Maddy herself comes to grips with along the way in her own life. Tatum clearly did his research on early horror cinema in both Berlin and Hollywood, and combined with his original approach and well-drawn characters, this is a pleasure to read. Recommended.

 

Contains: physical and psychological abuse, some sex

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

 

 

Book Review: On Her Majesty’s Behalf: The Great Undead War, Book II by Joseph Nassise


On Her Majesty’s Behalf: The Great Undead War: Book II by Joseph Nassise

Harper Voyager, 2014

ISBN-13: 9780062048783

Available: Paperback, Kindle

 

This is the second book in The Great Undead War series (the first book is By The Blood of Heroes. Normally I would never start a story in the middle, but I jumped at a review copy of this novel because I have read and heard great things about Joesph Nassise’s work.

This isn’t just another post-apocalypse undead story; it hits several popular genre publishing trends at once. The Great Undead War is an alternate history/zombie/steampunk series. It’s a combination that in lesser hands could easily fail, but Nassise pulls it off.

In this novel, set during the Great War (World War I), the world is under siege from zombie hordes created by German chemical weapons. Our hero, Major Burke,  and his company, are given the job of getting into zombie-occupied London to rescue the royal family. They must battle their way through zombies: the shamblers of the first novel, and the more vicious shredders.

This short novel is a rare case where I could have handled another hundred pages. The pace is great, and the action moves quickly. The vibe is that of a military action novel, but it also succeeds as a horror novel. It is well written and thoroughly researched.

This is a great crossover novel. I highly recommend this book for readers who like adventure fantasy, zombie novels, steampunk, and military adventure fiction. Libraries should also have this available for young adult readers ages 14 and up– they will love it. I intend to go back and read the first book, and will be in line when the next one comes out.

Contains: Zombie violence

Reviewed by David Agranoff