The Hunger

I found it poorly written and lacking in horror.

Hmm what to even say. I mean it is scary, nervwracking and honstly kind of wounderful and amazing. Would so most deffintly recemend to anyone else

I liked it but I think it had the potential to be a lot spookier.  The flashbacks to the characters' secrets and sad backstories takes away from the potential spookiness. I thought the thing with Tamsen being in love with her brother was super weird and unnecessary

Well written, an interesting take on a historical event. It was a little slow in
some places, and there are some POVs I probably could have done without . I also found the end a bit abrupt, especially for such a slow burn book. Over all a pretty good book though and the characters I did like were enjoyable to read. I think anyone who loves horror and historical retellings would greatly enjoy it.

Apart from the fact that every major characters in the book were feeling some kind of sexual tension all the time, it was a pretty well written, enjoyable horror novel. 4/5 ⭐

I really appreciate horror that has a grounding in reality. The psychological element is key for me. The Hunger ticks all these boxes, being firmly based on a real story. The Donner Party is very much part of the American mythos, but is a bit less known elsewhere. The story of a group of pioneers who had a disastrous attempt to cross to California in the early years of westward expansion in the US. The reality of what happened to the is truly horrific - the rumours of cannibalism in order to survive and the shear number of them who died on the trip. Katsu adds an intriguing hint of supernatural - some mysterious tribe influenced by a spirit that drives people to acts of extreme violence. The reality of how real this supernatural thing is is left entirely up to the reader - and I love that type of ambiguity.

This was a brutal read, fitting for such a brutal event. Thoroughly enjoyed!

Wow. What a page turner. I'd read this again even if it were 2000 pages long.

I was so excited about this book, but it didn't grip me, unfortunately.

There was just enough ambiguity in this to make me wonder - are the monsters/zombies/skinwalkers real or just people in desperate situations trying to make sense of their lives? I don't know but this was a great read!

...the true horror of this novel comes from those character interactions. The tension between the characters is already clear from the first chapter, but the author pulls that tension tighter in slow degrees, oftentimes during quiet moments when no one else is looking. The themes, too, become clearer as the tensions ratchet higher: threads connected to misogyny, racism, and classism are all in play in the story. Secrets build upon secrets as the wagon train continues on its journey, eroding the already-tenuous connections between the characters until it is utterly destroyed. In the meantime, flashbacks explain why certain characters joined the wagon train, while also providing hints as to the motivations guiding their actions in the novel???s present.

Full review here: https://wp.me/p21txV-GI

This is totally my thing. Historical fiction with a large blob of horror. This is a great book but I found myself wanting more detail and more character development. That said its probably the book I have enjoyed the most this year so far.