A review by elaichipod
Thrum by Meg Smitherman

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

The previous book I read that instilled in me a similar, palpable dread was Annihilation.

This novella was insane! I was on edge the whole time and there were so many scenes that sent off alarm bells in my head. The plot and storyline are amazingly written. Cosmic horror is defined as the "fear and awe we feel when confronted by phenomena beyond our comprehension, whose scope extends beyond the narrow field of human affairs and boasts of cosmic significance," and this story most definitely embodies these sensations. The fear of the unknown and unknowable is painfully present throughout this novella and I loved it.

Things I'm Still Wondering About

I still have so many questions about the story, mainly because we now know that Ami is an unreliable narrator, but I genuinely cannot fathom if Dorian is "bad" or not. Also, the alien's name being Dorian is spot-on, especially considering the whole plot of Dorian Gray and how he becomes gory and scary as time passes. The sheer amount of times Dorian says "I read your welcome package" was also alarming. I don't even know how to explain why every time he said that, a seed of dread germinated, but it did. Even when he called her by her name for the first time and said he found out her name through the welcome package, it just didn't make sense to me. Also, Dorian constantly saying that the ship wants to protect her made me very suspicious. But since the ship is a living entity and it is also him, he's just saying he wants to protect her. I did guess that the ship and Dorian are one halfway through the book, but it was their intentions that made me a lot more curious. I'm also intrigued by why he's the last of his kind. Why him and how? What is his purpose and goal now?

Quotes

He’s watching me with an almost overwhelming intensity, his unblinking black eyes framed by unnaturally long lashes, head tilted down slightly, as if he’s starving and I’m a meal. But he blinks, his muscles relax, and he’s human again.

In my annotations, I literally wrote "this scares me because it's like he wants to eat her but not in a good way." I was both wrong and right.

But as quickly as it came, the relief curdles and sours. Dorian is not human; I know that. He only… he looks so…
“You’re confused about my appearance,” he says.
Yes. Confused, but… something else. Something deeper, a coiling snake of sensation in my chest. My skin hums with the sense of uncanny familiarity. What is he?

I’m whatever you want me to be, Ami.”

“Ami,” he groans. “I’ve waited so long for you.” 

 

Normally I'd love this, but I'm lowkey terrified. But it's so hard to not get seduced by this man, he's unfortunately so charming.

The enormous space, this humid expanse, is dark and mottled red. From the floor to the ceiling, it glistens like the inside of an organ. As if I’ve fallen into a massive stomach or aorta. The walls pulsate, moving slowly in and out, like the breaths of a living thing. And protruding outward from the ceiling, floor, and walls, are throbbing, slick, ichorous growths. Like tumors the size of houses. Countless thick filaments of vibrating tissue converge on each of these masses, connecting them from the ceiling to the floor and the walls, a latticed network of living matter.

There's a scene in Annihilation that gives me a very similar sense of dread. I love how this part was written.

“We underestimated the effects we would have on the human brain. When you came in here, we… Well, this is the first time we’ve truly seen you. If we had known, I wouldn’t have allowed you to…”

When he said "we" all I could think was that it's so over.

No matter how many times you try to go, you always come back.

dread. dread. dread.

“Listen, Ami.” I can tell he’s trying to be calm, but his tense jaw betrays him. “Whatever you’re going through, it’ll pass. Okay? It’s just some kind of weird space madness. You know this, right? He’s not—” Mahdi’s expression twists, and he looks away. “That thing on the ship,” he continues at last, “it wasn’t human.”

This whole part was CRAZY. And the deja vu scene.