The Hunger
Book description
"Deeply, deeply disturbing, hard to put down, not recommended reading after dark." - Stephen King
After having travelled west for weeks, the party of pioneers comes to a crossroads. It is time for their leader, George Donner, to make a choice. They face two diverging paths which lead to the…
Why read it?
3 authors picked The Hunger as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
A meticulously researched retelling of the Donner Party tragedy, Katsu's book is a slow-spooled tragedy and creeping horror of intense claustrophobia and distrust.
And that's before the supernatural elements take hold! This book is meaty, with a lot to chew on and a ton of character drama packed into its relatively brief word count, but you'll leave it thinking quite differently about the forces that shaped our American frontier...
From T.L.'s list on to read instead of going out in the elements.
Alma Katsu is a brilliant writer of historical horror, and in The Hunger, she focuses on the tragedy that befell the group of pioneers known as the Donner Party in the mid-1800s. History is a bit of a spoiler here because if you’re familiar with the real-life story, you already know things aren’t going to end well for the majority of the characters. But Katsu’s imaginative take on what happened to them is still gripping and chilling. She balances multiple points of view extremely well and manages to make a familiar tale so compelling that I missed subway stops while…
From Nicole's list on contemporary horror written by women.
I love the work of Alma Katsu, in part because I love historical horror, but also because nobody does it better than Alma when it comes to crafting atmospheric stories set in a very real and distant past. I loved this one so much my wife and I took a trip to visit Donner Pass, just to get a feel for where The Hunger is set. It’s a cold, terrifying journey into the heart of one of America’s greatest—and most terrible—mysteries.
From Andy's list on horror writers who aren’t Stephen King.
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