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merinereads's review against another edition
4.0
Schleichender Horror, der auf einer wahren Begebenheit beruht: Alma Katsu spinnt eine schaurige Story um die Geschichte der Donnerparty, welche 1846 in den Westen der USA wanderte und vom Wintereinbruch überrascht wurde.
Besonders gefällt mir, dass die Kapitel aus der Sicht von mehreren Figuren erzählt ist (welche nur teilweise fiktiv sind) und wie dadurch Spielraum für eine eigene Interpretation der Geschichte entsteht. Außerdem geben die verschiedenen Erzähler und Schicksale der Geschichte etwas emotionales und man leidet mit den Figuren mit, welche auf teilweise sehr unschöne Weise miteinander interagieren und ihre Standpunkte vertreten. Dadurch kann man auch nachvollziehen, warum das ganze so schrecklich schief ging und wie es dazu kommen konnte. Was genau damals wirklich passiert ist wird man wohl nie erfahren, die Fakten werden jedoch von der Autorin im Nachwort erläutert.
Genau dieser Mix aus Fakt und Fiktion hat das Buch für mich sehr lesenswert gemacht und wird aufgrund einiger verstörender Geschehnisse auch Horrorfans gefallen. Die Geschichte an sich ist schon schrecklich genug, die Autorin streut jedoch zusätzlich noch ein paar Schauermomente ein, welche die Atmosphäre zusätzlich verdüstern.
Besonders gefällt mir, dass die Kapitel aus der Sicht von mehreren Figuren erzählt ist (welche nur teilweise fiktiv sind) und wie dadurch Spielraum für eine eigene Interpretation der Geschichte entsteht. Außerdem geben die verschiedenen Erzähler und Schicksale der Geschichte etwas emotionales und man leidet mit den Figuren mit, welche auf teilweise sehr unschöne Weise miteinander interagieren und ihre Standpunkte vertreten. Dadurch kann man auch nachvollziehen, warum das ganze so schrecklich schief ging und wie es dazu kommen konnte. Was genau damals wirklich passiert ist wird man wohl nie erfahren, die Fakten werden jedoch von der Autorin im Nachwort erläutert.
Genau dieser Mix aus Fakt und Fiktion hat das Buch für mich sehr lesenswert gemacht und wird aufgrund einiger verstörender Geschehnisse auch Horrorfans gefallen. Die Geschichte an sich ist schon schrecklich genug, die Autorin streut jedoch zusätzlich noch ein paar Schauermomente ein, welche die Atmosphäre zusätzlich verdüstern.
alloutofwords's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Violence, Cannibalism, and Murder
neoromantics's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.0
literhottie's review against another edition
1.0
I was going to write a review but I’ve literally already forgotten what happened. I seriously spent 10 days on this?? I feel like I’ve just come out of a coma.
mangocult's review against another edition
5.0
Abandoning every comfort and safety your family has ever known to set out across America's endless heartland prairies (and more than one mountain range) to reach a new frontier on the coast is already promised to be a lean, perilous, and unforgiving venture. Doing all of this when the decks of the weather, the land, and the very people at your back are all stacked against you and ready to dash you against the proverbial rocks at a moment's notice is suicide.
There is a just-there-enough thread of uncertainty surrounding many of the motivations in this book to make it truly, deeply unsettling. For a novel that boasts relatively little true gore, the atmosphere is almost always underscored by a vague queasiness. The way that dozens of lives come together to tangle around a single few knotted strands before nearly all end up cut unimaginably short is a masterpiece when you look back on everything that transpired.
I'm also always a sucker for character motivations and assessments that aren't perfectly black and white. Someone can be a "bad guy" and also be a "good guy". Someone can be both evil and perfectly average. Someone can have the best of intentions and be thing that damns a hundred souls to starvation, death, and eternal torment in the vast and unsettled American west.
In short, this book was amazing. It had everything I've been looking for and then some, and I had to re-read the ending (iykyk) several times to make sure I was really getting what I thought I was getting.
Moral of the story: pack extra snacks, wash your hands, and respect the Old Country.
There is a just-there-enough thread of uncertainty surrounding many of the motivations in this book to make it truly, deeply unsettling. For a novel that boasts relatively little true gore, the atmosphere is almost always underscored by a vague queasiness. The way that dozens of lives come together to tangle around a single few knotted strands before nearly all end up cut unimaginably short is a masterpiece when you look back on everything that transpired.
I'm also always a sucker for character motivations and assessments that aren't perfectly black and white. Someone can be a "bad guy" and also be a "good guy". Someone can be both evil and perfectly average. Someone can have the best of intentions and be thing that damns a hundred souls to starvation, death, and eternal torment in the vast and unsettled American west.
In short, this book was amazing. It had everything I've been looking for and then some, and I had to re-read the ending (iykyk) several times to make sure I was really getting what I thought I was getting.
Moral of the story: pack extra snacks, wash your hands, and respect the Old Country.
taylorlanxon's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual content, Cannibalism, and Murder
robotnik's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
Oops, unpopular opinion, I guess???
I've seen The Hunger mentioned a lot in horror cycles so I was excited to finally read it, but it was pretty disappointing.
The historical events of the Donner Party are equal parts horrific and tragic, and there was so much to work with for a tale about it and yet I feel this book honestly missed the mark. It went for the very stereotypical "oooo evil supernatural curse" route to explain away the cannibalism that happened instead of just going with the desperation of people trying to survive in dire circumstances that would have made a far more interesting story.
Most of the horror was honestly non-existent that I feel awkward even calling it a horror. The focus of the story was 75% on the melodrama between caravan members. Every single person here seems to be an asshole, and we got more about how people are cheating on each other and who's wanting to sleep with who and this guy is a creep who peeps on his daughters and that guy is hiding his homosexuality from his wife and kids and this guy is not bothering to hide his rapey vibes than we got the actual plot that we wanted to read. It's such a focus and yet absolutely zero of the characters are likable, thus causing their inevitable fates to not invoke any real emotion over it. That just feels like a big shame, especially considering several of these people were actual living, breathing people and it feels like a big disservice to their memory with how they were treated in the narrative.
It wasn't all bad, but it definitely felt like it was bloated with a lot of stuff that felt unimportant and was boring compared to what was wanted. When it actually found time for that, it was good. But sadly those moments were far too few.
I've seen The Hunger mentioned a lot in horror cycles so I was excited to finally read it, but it was pretty disappointing.
The historical events of the Donner Party are equal parts horrific and tragic, and there was so much to work with for a tale about it and yet I feel this book honestly missed the mark. It went for the very stereotypical "oooo evil supernatural curse" route to explain away the cannibalism that happened instead of just going with the desperation of people trying to survive in dire circumstances that would have made a far more interesting story.
Most of the horror was honestly non-existent that I feel awkward even calling it a horror. The focus of the story was 75% on the melodrama between caravan members. Every single person here seems to be an asshole, and we got more about how people are cheating on each other and who's wanting to sleep with who and this guy is a creep who peeps on his daughters and that guy is hiding his homosexuality from his wife and kids and this guy is not bothering to hide his rapey vibes than we got the actual plot that we wanted to read. It's such a focus and yet absolutely zero of the characters are likable, thus causing their inevitable fates to not invoke any real emotion over it. That just feels like a big shame, especially considering several of these people were actual living, breathing people and it feels like a big disservice to their memory with how they were treated in the narrative.
It wasn't all bad, but it definitely felt like it was bloated with a lot of stuff that felt unimportant and was boring compared to what was wanted. When it actually found time for that, it was good. But sadly those moments were far too few.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Cannibalism
godofwar's review against another edition
1.0
there's not really a single thing i enjoyed and writing something that could count as a genuine "review" just isn't something i'm feeling up to right now so i'll just list my main takeaways here:
- the overall plot feels incredibly messy in its presentation and conclusion, the handling of certain themes like incest and abuse and assault feel moreso like they were included for the shock value and to make it seem more "atmospheric" and terrifying.
- the horror is... boring. the most horrifying thing in the book is a very out of place instance of homophobia where one guy is incredibly violent to the other but both make it out to be a ~sexual thing and then he ends up being murdered after calling his 'partner' a slur multiple times and trying to kill him. this adds nothing to the plot and its presence, again, feels like it's for the Shock Value. i don't know how to fully put into words how this makes me feel + how harmful i feel it is but it really was upsetting.
- there are other "romances" present and they seem to be more of the focus than anything. maybe if they weren't so boring i would care more about the connections between the characters but i just don't.
- the mythology doesn't feel too fleshed out, and the inclusion of indigenous culture is really uncomfortable - despite katsu stating in the acknowledgements that she didn't want to play into stereotypes and tried to avoid tropes and acknowledged the mistreatment of native americans and misinterpretations of their cultures, it still ends up coming across as exactly that. (to me, at least. maybe it's just me.)
- the writing just isn't that good.
i'd been wanting to dive into this for a while, so it was really disappointing to finally pick it up only for it to be such a mess. i've been trying to be a little more lenient because i feel like i give out too many one stars but... sometimes a book just deserves it.
- the overall plot feels incredibly messy in its presentation and conclusion, the handling of certain themes like incest and abuse and assault feel moreso like they were included for the shock value and to make it seem more "atmospheric" and terrifying.
- the horror is... boring. the most horrifying thing in the book is a very out of place instance of homophobia where one guy is incredibly violent to the other but both make it out to be a ~sexual thing and then he ends up being murdered after calling his 'partner' a slur multiple times and trying to kill him. this adds nothing to the plot and its presence, again, feels like it's for the Shock Value. i don't know how to fully put into words how this makes me feel + how harmful i feel it is but it really was upsetting.
- there are other "romances" present and they seem to be more of the focus than anything. maybe if they weren't so boring i would care more about the connections between the characters but i just don't.
- the mythology doesn't feel too fleshed out, and the inclusion of indigenous culture is really uncomfortable - despite katsu stating in the acknowledgements that she didn't want to play into stereotypes and tried to avoid tropes and acknowledged the mistreatment of native americans and misinterpretations of their cultures, it still ends up coming across as exactly that. (to me, at least. maybe it's just me.)
- the writing just isn't that good.
i'd been wanting to dive into this for a while, so it was really disappointing to finally pick it up only for it to be such a mess. i've been trying to be a little more lenient because i feel like i give out too many one stars but... sometimes a book just deserves it.
eviesellers's review against another edition
3.0
a historical fiction/horror story about the donner party should be absolutely terrifying, but this book felt extremely tame. the supernatural twist to the plot was fine, but pales in comparison to the real story and the even more horrifying idea of pure human desperation that makes the real donner party's story so chilling.
itsheyfay's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Outing, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Homophobia, Medical content, and War