“Borealis” by Ronald Malfi is an intense novella of supernatural horror. Malfi is a strong writer and provides great character development and realistic setting details to create a wonderfully creepy and suspenseful tale of horror in the frozen waters of the Bering Sea.
I will reprint the book’s teaser because I think it reveals just enough of the plot without spoiling any of the fun:
“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. By the time they find out why she was alone on the ice—and what she truly is—the nightmare will have begun, as one by one she infects them with an evil that brings about unimaginable terrors.”
The story creeps forward in dreadful way, reminiscent of classic Lovecraft or Howard. It reminded me a lot of such Weird Tales of old while being firmly grounded in modern reality. The monster is more suggested than overtly described which added to the uniqueness of the novella.
This was my first encounter with Malfi’s writing. I suspect he has spent some time in the Arctic regions because this novella really captured what one imagines it must be like to be trapped up there in a horrific situation. It reminded me of some of the best tales in this kind of setting—Dan Simmons’ The Terror or either film version of John W Campbell Jr’s Who Goes There? (The Thing)
Highly recommended—I will definitely check out more of Malfi’s work.
– George Wilhite
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
