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Book Review: The Fervor by Alma Katsu

Cover art for The Fervor by Alma Katsu

The Fervor by Alma Katsu

G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2022

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593328330

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook

( Amazon.com | Bookshop.org )

 

 

The Fervor takes place during World War 2 and alternates between five points of view. Meiko Briggs is a Japanese immigrant married to a white man, Jamie Briggs, a pilot in the army. She and their daughter Meiko are living in the Japanese internment camp Camp Minidoka, where residents are becoming infected with an illness that makes them violent and murderous. Archie Mitchell is a pastor who saw his pregnant wife and several children killed in an explosion thought to have been a Japanese bomb, who was friends with Jamie and has now gotten entangled with local white nationalists. Fran Gurstwold is a Jewish woman reporter who witnessed a similar explosion and decides to investigate locations where she suspects other explosions have happened. These alternate with journal entries from 1927 by Mieko’s father, Japanese scientist Wasaburo Oishi, who discovered poisonous spiders related to the yokai jorogumo, that cause the illness now spreading through the camps and nearby towns. The story follows Mieko, Aiko, Archie, and Fran as their stories intersect and begin to make sense in the context of Oisho’s writings, while dealing with a coverup by the government.

 

Katsu notes that this book differs from her previous ones because rather than portraying a specific historical event she was using a wider lens to explore the bigotry and violence against Asian-Americans in the past as a way to deal with it in the present, so while period details are correct , events and places may have been moved around for plot purposes.

 

This was a fascinating book, and better than The Deep. I am a fan of yokai whenever I see them, and I enjoyed the way Katsu incorporated this into the book. The portrayal of Archie as a person who is drawn into a white nationalist group due to weak character rather than malice, was accurate and well-written. Unfortunately, there continue to be too many people like him today.

 

Contains: racial slurs and violence

 

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

 

Posted on January 26, 2023 by , Reply

Graphic Novel Review: Abe Sapien: Dark and Terrible Volume 1 by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, and Scott Allie, art by Sebastian Fiumara and Max Fiumara

Cover art for Abe Sapien: Dark and Terrible by Mike Mignola, Sebastian Flumara, and Max Flumara

Abe Sapien: Dark and Terrible Volume 1 by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, and Scott Allie, art by Sebastián Fiumara and Max Fiumara

Dark Horse Comics, 2022

ISBN-13: 9781506733784

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

 

Abe, a humanoid amphibious man and member of the B.P.R.D, after awakening from a coma and mutated, leaves the B.P.R.D. to search for his connection to the mutated monsters threatening to wipe out humanity. He just doesn’t know where to look, let alone if he is even asking the right questions.

 

Necromancer Gustav Strobl searches for his own answers when his deal with the Devil ends up falling apart after Hell collapsed in Hellboy in Hell. He is convinced that Abe has the answers to making a contract with the masters of the impending apocalypse.

 

In the first chapter, Abe finds himself in a small town hiding in a church for sanctuary, after fleeing an ordeal in a railway car. The priest is surprisingly welcoming, but Abe’s presence becomes known after a contentious sermon. The priest and a number of the congregants are among those who have mutated. The priest is dragged out for a lynching, and that’s when all hell breaks loose.

 

The B.P.R.D are in close range to help Abe, but they do not forget their mission to bring him back to headquarters.

 

In chapter 2, “The New Race of Man,” Agent Vaughn, killed by the creature the priest became in the previous chapter,  has been somewhat resurrected at the hands of necromancer Gustav Strobl. Abe flees to the Salton Sea and meets Judy, Barry, and Gene camping near giant eggs laid by enormous monsters. Judy and Gene, believing a newly hatched creature is the key to humankind’s next step in evolution, are met with frustration from Barry, and he threatens and injures Abe in the process.

 

The next day, Barry is found dead on the beach. Abe offers to investigate. As he digs deeper, he discovers what happened to the creature that emerged out of one of the giant eggs on the beach, as well as the truth behind Barry’s death. Meanwhile, Vaughn tells all he knows to Strobl about Abe and is offered a choice: to remain a traveling companion and be restored to full life, or be left as he was before Strobl found him.  

 

Abe makes it to Arizona in chapter 3, “The Shape of Things to Come,” and befriends a Mexican family along the way. He wonders why they aren’t afraid of him. Elena tells him the monsters they are used to coming across are all too human. Elena tires of being teased by those around her after telling Abe of her father being convinced he is a shapeshifter and fleeing to the desert. A mysterious goat saves them from being murdered at the hands of a white trigger-happy militia member.

 

In chapter 4, “To the Last Man,” Abe reports a car accident to the local police chief, J.J., who invites him to take part in the investigation of pustules found on the corpses of Sutton Ranch’s horses  that may cause more mutations if they aren’t taken care of. Zombie-like creatures are terrorizing the small town.

 

J.J. questions the recent squatters, and acts as though Suzy Alexander and Abe are putting too much pressure on him about further investigating them. He doesn’t know how right their instincts are. Strobl finds an old “friend” has returned.

 

Chapter 5, “The Garden (I),” is told from two angles, one from the Man who saved a Woman and another from the terrorized Woman being held captive by the Man. He stands guard on the roof, and shoots when he sees Abe coming. There is an interesting intertwining of the tales of the two people, previously unknown to each other, and Abe coming to the rescue. The last panel of the comic is simply an olive branch, which is a lovely touch.

 

After saving the Woman, Grace, from her imprisonment in the crooked house, Abe welcomes her as a traveling partner in chapter 6, “The Healer.” They meet up with a couple whose son is succumbing to the effects of mutation. The find a faith healer who says he has been surviving on the water from a creek and clay and reveals an old Jesus statue, who tells Abe he cannot be healed.

 

In chapter 7, “Visions, Dreams, and Fishin’,” Grace and Abe come upon an old woman in their travels. They find a place to camp, Abe dives for fish. He meets up with that old woman again to find something he wasn’t expecting, her own mutation. Abe and Grace come to some uncomfortable conclusions after dreaming their own nightmares.


In chapter 8, “Sacred Place,” Strobl continues his search for answers about the fish man and woman who creates fire. Abe and Grace travel to Rosario, TX, where Abe was shot. Reunited with Judy and Gene, they find B.P.R.D agents to take him home.

 

This volume includes a sketchbook of character designs, covers, and storyboards with notes by Sebastián Fiumara and Max Fiumara, and collects Abe Sapien paperback volumes 3-5.

 

The opening image of Abe crouched in a confessional is reminiscent of one of Bernie Wrightson’s illustrations of Frankenstein’s creature hiding in a shed. It really sets the tone for the entire book. Abe feels lost in his own skin, especially when he is confronted with those who see him as a monster. Reading Abe’s storyline is much different from Hellboy’s, since Abe is more subdued and just a different personality. The artwork provided by Sebastián Fiumara and Max Fiumara is well executed, especially regarding high tension and action panels. I recommend this for fans of the Mignola universe, not just Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. Abe is front and center, and his journey may not suit everyone’s storytelling tastes. Highly recommended.

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on January 6, 2023 by , Reply

Booklist: Great YA Horror of 2022

Wow, it’s been a great year for YA horror! I feel like we are seeing much more diversity than in the past, which is great, and it isn’t just surface: it’s essential to many of these stories.  I read more than I got reviewed for Monster Librarian, and there were definitely other great reads  (Angel Falls by David Surface and Julia Rust, Bitter by Akwake Emezi, How to Succeed at Witchcraft by Aislinn Brophy, Prelude to Lost Souls by Helene Dunbar, and My Dearest Darkest by Kayla Cottingham to name a few) but these are the ones that stand out from the rest.

 

Cherish Farrah by Bethany C. Morrow:

 

This is outstanding social horror. Morrow wrote that she initially intended this for an adult market but it hits the mark as a YA crossover.

 

Cherish is a Black girl adopted by progressive, wealthy, privileged white parents. Farrah is the only other Black girl at the private school they attend.. They have been best friends since fourth grade. Farrah’s father has lost his job and she is staying with Cherish’s family while her parents sell their house and look for new jobs. Farrah is in an antagonistic relationship with her mother, who she also identifies with. There is something wrong with Farrah, and something odd about the situation with Cherish’s family. All of them seem to be individually following their own, different narratives but it is hard to spot because Farrah is the point of view character and she is very focused on controlling situations to her advantage, so she doesn’t notice it in the other characters. There are a few scenes with disturbing body horror and several near-drownings that made this hard to read, but it is really a compelling, dark, and chilling book.

 

Cover art for Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White

Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph Wright

 

This follows trans boy Benji through his flight from the evangelical doomsday cult the Angels, who have infected him with a bioweapon that will eventually turn him into a genocidal monster. Benji finds support through a group of queer teens surviving in the ruins of their community center and they come up with a plan to destroy the Angels and prevent another apocalypse.

 

The Weight of Blood by Tiffany L. Jackson

 

Carrie was my first King book, and since I read it as a teenage girl, probably the most impactful. So I was curious to see the differences between the original and this race-bent version. The bones of the original are there but Jackson has updated the story, added depth to many characters, and brought issues of race and class to the fore.

 

Cover for The Honeys by Ryan La Sala

The Honeys by Ryan La Sala

 

Mars, a nonbinary teen, decides to go to the summer camp their sister attended after she dies attempting to murder Mars, and join their sister’s cabin, The Honeys, known for living in a cabin near the beehives where they are responsible for tending the bees. But something sinister is going on under the surface. This one is so creepy, and original. You’ll never want to go near bees again.

 

The Whispering Dark by Kelly Andrew

 

Wow, this is a wild ride. If it doesn’t make the Stoker shortlist it will be an absolute shame.

 

Delaney is Deaf (with a cochlear implant) and has brittle bones. She has always seen and heard shadows (her deafness plays a role in this). Now she has been admitted to Godbole College. Students at Godbole all have some kind of occult ability: most have died and come back.

 

Several months into the year, a missing Godbole student, Nate Schiller, is discovered severely hurt in Chicago. Unknown to Lane, Nate had died and was haunting her, but has found a way back: he is now possessed by a dark godlike force that is destroying his mind and body. When Lane visits it senses a more acceptable vessel. And then the story goes into truly strange and scary territory.

 

These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall.

 

Helen Vaughan and her mother left Harrow, the Vaughan family estate, when Helen was seven, and return for the first time for her grandfather’s funeral. Her grandfather leaves Harrow to her, if she will agree to be its mistress, live there for a year, and go through a ritual at the end to see if the house accepts her. Basically all of her family except her cousins Desmond and Celia are terrible people who clearly do not have her best interests at heart. The house itself is designed to seem to be a spiral labyrinth, or trap, for a dark force, and Helen finds herself wandering for hours, hearing voices tell her to “find the heart of Harrow.” The descriptions of the house are amazing, in some ways reminding me of Hill House. When her cousins leave she begins a cautious friendship with Bryony Locke, the Harrow Witch, who wants to release it. She and Bryony find a journal in cipher which Helen gets Desmond to crack, which tells a disturbing story about the founder of the Vaughan family and the gruesome way the family has kept the dark god trapped. It is foreshadowed, but the story completely flips in an unexpected and satisfying way.

 

Parts of the story, especially names, are inspired by Arthur Machen’s story The Great God Pan. Women in that story have very little agency, and Marshall gives it back in the form and actions of Helen Vaughan in this book. I think this is the best of Marshall’s books I’ve read to date and will be surprised if it isn’t on the Stoker shortlist.

 

Posted on December 21, 2022 by , Reply
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