In a quest to find my own literally voice and advance as a writer, I’ve had the pleasure of reading some pretty unexpectedly good books such as This is What you Want, This is What you Get after meeting the author and being able to help our mutual friend Billy Kraser ( Sticks:A tool in Time saga). Nonstop Amazon recommended this book to me and finally, I admit, because of the price and the alluring cover I decided to check it out, not knowing a damn thing about what it was about. Sometimes you can judge a book by it’s cover.
How many of us are fimilair with the story of the Donner Party? An early American tragedy of a ill fated journey of pioneers who got lost in the midst of a brutal winter during the 1840’s and resorted to cannibalism in a failed resort to stay alive. But what if there was something more to it, something sinister and supernatural? Is it a disease? Is a ancient curse in the untamed woods? Is it sheer madness that causes the Donner Party to turn on each other as they are stalked through this perilous journey while the threat swells from inside.
I have to say, I loved this book and found it a very cool read. It’s a slow burn kind of horror read which I enjoyed because there is some really creepy moments and a ending that had me on edge. The different characters are well developed and a few times I was surprised at there fates. The monsters are ambiguous, somewhere between the fabled wendigo and a Deadite from Evil Dead, but the story does well at making you wonder what form the “creatures” actually take. Alma Katsu, the author, has a nice flow to her writing and I give her credit for making a period piece that feels legitimate but not pretentious as some would. In the end, if you want a good solid horror book that builds with good characters and a cool premise, I highly recommend this book. I’ll drop a link for it on Amazon and may the gaming gods bring you glory.
