by Ronald Malfi
(Edited) Blurb:
On a routine crabbing expedition in the Bering Sea, Charlie Mears and the rest of the men aboard the trawler "Borealis" discover something unbelievable: a young woman running naked along the ridge of a passing iceberg. The men rescue her and bring her aboard the boat. But they will soon learn her horrible secret.
My Reaction:
I thought a horror novella might ease me back into the wonderful world of reading, after the painful ordeal of The Far Pavilions (which took me forever to read-- and I didn't actually even finish it). Also, the cover art and title were appealing.
I wanted something brief, to the point, and exciting enough to keep the pages turning. To give credit where it's due, Borealis certainly is short, and it does get right to the point. Things happen pretty quickly, and at least I managed to finish it, which is a nice change of pace after two DNFs in a row.
But.
I'm sorry. I must come across as such a complainer in most of my book reviews. I am picky, I admit, but if you're not going to be honest, why bother with reviews? The problem is, I didn't really enjoy Borealis.
This was at least partly due to a mismatch between book and reader. It's not that I don't like horror, but I want atmosphere over guts. This had too much gore for me.
More importantly, I would've appreciated a few more hints as to what the "woman" was. The beginning was intriguing (reminded me strongly of the opening of Peter Straub's Ghost Story, which was the best part of that novel, too), but after finishing the book, I look back and find it frustratingly vague. (She ages like a normal person? Or can she take on whatever appearance she wants at any time?) I need a little more to go on, to be satisfied by horror. I want to have at least a theory about the nature of "the Enemy".
I'm still not sure what to think about the ending. I couldn't believe that was it! Not a satisfying conclusion, at all.
To sum it up, it could've been better.
