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ohhthehorrors's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Child death, Sexism, Body horror, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Violence, War, Antisemitism, Suicide, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Murder, Racism, and Xenophobia
thesaltiestlibrarian's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Huge thanks to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Horror. One of the best ways to critique society in fiction.
A good chunk of this book takes place in the horrific Japanese internment camps during WWII, which (thank God) are having a massive resurgence in the public eye as of late. "AsIaN-tArgEtEd HaTe CriMeS aRe NeWw." Yes, hello? It's the 1850s calling. They'd like a word.
Anyway, we're introduced to a cast of characters who seem to be completely disconnected from each other, never having met before. There's Archie, the newly-minted pastor of a small Oregon town's church; Fran, the intrepid Nebraskan reporter fighting misogyny and trying to figure out what kind of explosives are falling out of the sky that also cause people to fall violently ill; Meiko and her daughter Aiko, unfortunate victims of anti-Japanese rhetoric stuck in an Idaho internment camp. Aiko is seeing ghosts everywhere. Archie is suffering a tragic loss. Fran is under scrutiny from a mysterious person.
I don't feel comfortable saying more, because you really need to go into this with as little as possible. The burn is slow, the action is packed, and the characters are just fantastic. This is my first Alma Katsu, even though I have a couple of her other books stashed in my admittedly enormous and unwieldy Kindle library. But I'll be coming for those puppies real soon.
I highly recommend reading this in low light, or with a single lamp on. Lately my reading has been on the infrequent side of things, so when I got to THE FERVOR, it was mostly as night was falling. The darkness intensified the claustrophobia of Katsu's atmosphere, and DAMN can she write atmosphere. Every horror fan should get their hands on this one ASAP.
Horror. One of the best ways to critique society in fiction.
A good chunk of this book takes place in the horrific Japanese internment camps during WWII, which (thank God) are having a massive resurgence in the public eye as of late. "AsIaN-tArgEtEd HaTe CriMeS aRe NeWw." Yes, hello? It's the 1850s calling. They'd like a word.
Anyway, we're introduced to a cast of characters who seem to be completely disconnected from each other, never having met before. There's Archie, the newly-minted pastor of a small Oregon town's church; Fran, the intrepid Nebraskan reporter fighting misogyny and trying to figure out what kind of explosives are falling out of the sky that also cause people to fall violently ill; Meiko and her daughter Aiko, unfortunate victims of anti-Japanese rhetoric stuck in an Idaho internment camp. Aiko is seeing ghosts everywhere. Archie is suffering a tragic loss. Fran is under scrutiny from a mysterious person.
I don't feel comfortable saying more, because you really need to go into this with as little as possible. The burn is slow, the action is packed, and the characters are just fantastic. This is my first Alma Katsu, even though I have a couple of her other books stashed in my admittedly enormous and unwieldy Kindle library. But I'll be coming for those puppies real soon.
I highly recommend reading this in low light, or with a single lamp on. Lately my reading has been on the infrequent side of things, so when I got to THE FERVOR, it was mostly as night was falling. The darkness intensified the claustrophobia of Katsu's atmosphere, and DAMN can she write atmosphere. Every horror fan should get their hands on this one ASAP.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Grief, Death, Confinement, Hate crime, and Racism
Moderate: Sexism, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia
beersbooksandbooos's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Before I write my review I want to thank Putnam books for giving me a finished copy of The Fervor.
It was the cover that first drew me in, then I read the synopsis, and I knew right then I would love the book. Last year I read The Hunger and that is when I fell in love with Alma Katus. She is also the one who got me to read more horrors. Her writing is beautiful, the story telling makes it hard to put down.
With The Fervor you could tell it as a little more personal than her other books and that is what I really liked about it. Growing up I didn’t learn about the internment camps in school, it wasn’t until I graduated and started to really get into history that I learned about them. It felt like it was something America wanted to forget. There is a quote that really made me stop and think, am I doing this?
“Maybe he was afraid of the hateful nature of his fellow whites-well he could afford to pretend it didn’t exist because he was white, too.”
The theme of this book still can be seen today with all the hate going on in America with all the anti-Asian racism.
Alma Katsu has a wonderful way of drawing you in and making you feel like you are watching the story unfold. I started not liking spiders but now I can’t even look at them the same. I would definitely check the CW/TW before you read this book. There is a scene in the book that hit me a little harder than I thought because I am going through it right now. I really do highly recommend this book to anyone who loves horror and history, it was a great blend of both. My heartbroke and healed with the characters, I got attached to them all. I will be reading a lot more from Alma Katsu.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Xenophobia, Medical content, Racial slurs, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Medical trauma, Racism, War, Death, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Murder, and Violence
sarah2438's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
*I received a free Advanced Reader's Copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
I have some mixed feelings on this one. I really enjoyed the writing. There are some creepy parts that really did freak me out. I liked the range in characters, from the innocent child to the man corrupted by his grief. Overall, there are 3 main issues that I had that prevented me from giving a higher rating.
1. My biggest issue is that it feels a lot like a pandemic novel, rather than a creepy exploration of Japanese myths. I wanted more focus on the jorogumo, the kitsune, and all the demons Aiko says she can see. But these things were hardly topics. Beyond that, the pseudo science was too much for me-- I just wanted to say "that's not how that works!"
2. Considering the story is told from four perspectives, which I would say are pretty well balanced in terms of how much time each character gets, I really wanted some of them to show more depth. I wanted to know more about Aiko seeing the demons. I wanted to know more about Fran's affair with Richard-- not having any attempt at justification just left a bad taste in my mouth when I thought of her character. She also neglects her cat. Maybe we weren't supposed to like her? Finally, I also wanted to know more about Jamie, who felt very flat to me in the few memories we saw of him.
3. It's petty, but I'm from Idaho, close to where the camps were located, so I have to say it: Southern Idaho is not a prairie, it's a desert. The word prairie is used 13 times to describe the setting, and it took me out of the story every. Single. Time. It's a small detail but for it's annoying for those who know, and it would've been an easy fix.
All of this to say... I still liked the book. It was compelling and fun to read. It's not anything that I would urge people away from, and I'm sure there will be plenty of readers that aren't bothered by these issues. But I just wasn't quite satisfied.
Thank you again to NetGalley for the ARC!
TW: spiders, racist slurs, racist language
I have some mixed feelings on this one. I really enjoyed the writing. There are some creepy parts that really did freak me out. I liked the range in characters, from the innocent child to the man corrupted by his grief. Overall, there are 3 main issues that I had that prevented me from giving a higher rating.
1. My biggest issue is that it feels a lot like a pandemic novel, rather than a creepy exploration of Japanese myths. I wanted more focus on the jorogumo, the kitsune, and all the demons Aiko says she can see. But these things were hardly topics. Beyond that, the pseudo science was too much for me-- I just wanted to say "that's not how that works!"
2. Considering the story is told from four perspectives, which I would say are pretty well balanced in terms of how much time each character gets, I really wanted some of them to show more depth. I wanted to know more about Aiko seeing the demons. I wanted to know more about Fran's affair with Richard-- not having any attempt at justification just left a bad taste in my mouth when I thought of her character. She also neglects her cat. Maybe we weren't supposed to like her? Finally, I also wanted to know more about Jamie, who felt very flat to me in the few memories we saw of him.
3. It's petty, but I'm from Idaho, close to where the camps were located, so I have to say it: Southern Idaho is not a prairie, it's a desert. The word prairie is used 13 times to describe the setting, and it took me out of the story every. Single. Time. It's a small detail but for it's annoying for those who know, and it would've been an easy fix.
All of this to say... I still liked the book. It was compelling and fun to read. It's not anything that I would urge people away from, and I'm sure there will be plenty of readers that aren't bothered by these issues. But I just wasn't quite satisfied.
Thank you again to NetGalley for the ARC!
TW: spiders, racist slurs, racist language
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
rachelunabridged's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
I think I can safely say I'm a fan of Alma Katsu after this read. She's very talented at mixing fact with fiction in her stories, and I really dig her particular flavor of historical horror. I love the way she effortlessly combines supernatural horror with the ugly, realistic horror of human nature. While she grabs your attention with the more fantastical aspects of her story, she simultaneously guts you with acts of terror based on real-life events, in case you forget that sometimes the real monsters are other humans.
The Fervor follows the plight of Meiko, a Japanese-American woman, and her daughter Aiko, both of whom have been forced to relocate to an internment camp during World War II. Treated as enemies in their own home, they try to keep their heads down and survive the poor living conditions. Things take a turn when a mysterious illness spreads through the camp, and Meiko must do whatever it takes to save herself and her daughter.
I really enjoyed this read a lot. The combination of the nuanced exploration of the Japanese-American experience during WWII with Japanese mythology was so well done. I've always found Japanese mythology to be fascinating, and this book really scratched that itch for me.
I think I can safely say I'm a fan of Alma Katsu after this read. She's very talented at mixing fact with fiction in her stories, and I really dig her particular flavor of historical horror. I love the way she effortlessly combines supernatural horror with the ugly, realistic horror of human nature. While she grabs your attention with the more fantastical aspects of her story, she simultaneously guts you with acts of terror based on real-life events, in case you forget that sometimes the real monsters are other humans.
The Fervor follows the plight of Meiko, a Japanese-American woman, and her daughter Aiko, both of whom have been forced to relocate to an internment camp during World War II. Treated as enemies in their own home, they try to keep their heads down and survive the poor living conditions. Things take a turn when a mysterious illness spreads through the camp, and Meiko must do whatever it takes to save herself and her daughter.
I really enjoyed this read a lot. The combination of the nuanced exploration of the Japanese-American experience during WWII with Japanese mythology was so well done. I've always found Japanese mythology to be fascinating, and this book really scratched that itch for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Racism, Violence, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, and War
Minor: Miscarriage
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