Scan barcode
A review by whatyoutolkienabout
Among the Living by Tim Lebbon
5.0
I adore horror and a lot of Tim Lebbon’s other work but being someone who is also rather concerned about climate change I was excited to dive into this one and I have to say I was not disappointed in the least. We get Lebbon’s mastery of horror from a new angle. A pseudo survival horror and best of all, because I love fungi in all it’s weird and wonderful forms, a sort of cordyceps fungi that is potentially going to infect the wider world.
Now I never go in for full or any spoilers if I can help it. So what I will say is the writing is fantastic and the pacing really brings home the urgency. The first couple of paragraphs easily set the scene, including the broken friendship between activists and those who would exploit the earth further for the minerals it can offer. This in itself was a good set up since we have two groups of people from different ethical and political view points who will potentially have to work together to get out alive. I will say I wasn’t particularly fond of any of the characters, besides Bethan and Goyo, but given this is an horror book I wasn’t planning to get attached anyway!
I did enjoy the survival aspect as well as the dangers. I also liked how this was ultimately left a little ambivalent to if the contagion was natural, a type of fauna or flora from eons ago or something more. Lebbon does a great job at creating a local tradition and folklore around the contagion as well. And that ending was perfect, even if it left me wanting more.
The final thing I liked about this is it did make you think. Yes this is fiction but could something like this be lurking frozen in permafrost and what could happen if or when it’s released. If you love horror and particularly eco-horror this is one you can’t miss.
Now I never go in for full or any spoilers if I can help it. So what I will say is the writing is fantastic and the pacing really brings home the urgency. The first couple of paragraphs easily set the scene, including the broken friendship between activists and those who would exploit the earth further for the minerals it can offer. This in itself was a good set up since we have two groups of people from different ethical and political view points who will potentially have to work together to get out alive. I will say I wasn’t particularly fond of any of the characters, besides Bethan and Goyo, but given this is an horror book I wasn’t planning to get attached anyway!
I did enjoy the survival aspect as well as the dangers. I also liked how this was ultimately left a little ambivalent to if the contagion was natural, a type of fauna or flora from eons ago or something more. Lebbon does a great job at creating a local tradition and folklore around the contagion as well. And that ending was perfect, even if it left me wanting more.
The final thing I liked about this is it did make you think. Yes this is fiction but could something like this be lurking frozen in permafrost and what could happen if or when it’s released. If you love horror and particularly eco-horror this is one you can’t miss.