Horror

“The protesters outside are getting louder. Their chants are still faint, but somehow clearer than before. Or maybe that’s just Ophelia’s guilty conscience.” Ophelia’s guilty conscience will be the true ghost haunting her in the mysteriously abandoned planetary station she’s assigned to work in, and where she eventually gets stranded after some strange happenings. Ophelia is a therapist in need …

The Fireman is a suspenseful thriller deeply concerned about the ambivalence of tribal behavior, with its fantastical elements amplifying the alluring side of its powerful feeling of belonging, while also warning us of its many dangers: the things we do to be part of a group, after all, can be terrifying. The story revolves around an apocalyptic pandemic. There’s a …

It’s rare for a book to show its fangs before it even starts. But Mira Grant manages that with Into the Drowning Deep, in the Dedication Page of all places, where she simply writes, “For Mike and Marnie. Stay away from the water.” It’s a chilling warning and a statement of intent: this horror novel is basically a thalassophobic’s worst …

Written by Michelle Paver, Dark Matter is a by-the-books horror novel that could have used many more pages to develop its characters and themes. The protagonist is Jack Miller, a middle-class young man who hates his job as a clerk and is in desperate need of a purpose. So, when the opportunity of becoming a wireless operator in an expedition …

This review contains spoilers. A crime thriller written by Stephen King, The Outsider has a great start, pushing its characters to their limits while making them face questions regarding the limits of reason and, paradoxically, the terrible consequences of acting based on emotions alone. Its second half, however, brings the pacing to a halt, with the introduction of an uninteresting …

The Damned, a horror novel written by Andrew Pyper, works better than the author’s previous foray in the genre: although it’s still full of problems, the book at least has a better protagonist than The Demonologist and a more efficient structure. The story follows Danny Orchard, a man who was pronounced dead for a few minutes during a fire when …

Written by Josh Malerman, Bird Box is a post-apocalyptic horror novel about a world where people are haunted by unfathomable creatures that drive everyone who lays eyes on them mad. The book, however, fails to take advantage of this terrifying premise, unable to present compelling characters and scenes packed with tension. The protagonist is Malorie, a woman who finds herself …

Written by Andrew Pyper, The Demonologist seeks to mix a horror story with the typical structure of a thriller while building an allegory on depression. The novel may contain a couple of exciting scenes, but its incoherent story is ultimately incapable of sustaining itself. The novel’s protagonist is David Ullman, a university professor and specialist in the most famous work …