The Night Diver

One of the best things about the horror genre is the skill at which writers and creators manage to distill specific types of terrors in their works. Sometimes it could be a kind of horror that you have a faint understanding of, but never really experienced it, until a writer like Ronald Malfi comes around and makes that horror very much vivid and real in your mind. Bone White specifically breathes terrifying life into horrors of the arctic, suffusing it with violent dangers both physical and supernatural. The book pulls no punches with its bloody details, starting off with a serial killing that gets grislier as one of our main characters, Detective Jill Ryerson investigates its details. But aside from the actual killing, Malfi also paints the frozen landscape of Alaska as a violent threat in its own right. It causes people to go missing, to go mad, or maim them horribly through frostbite and subsequent amputations. Even if the rather menacing denizens of the aptly named town, Dread’s Hand, Alaska aren’t posing a threat, the icy wasteland is always there to keep you on your toes (assuming it hasn’t frostbitten them off).

The story also follows Paul Gallo, a schoolteacher who lost contact with his brother after he traveled to Dread’s Hand, Alaska. He decides to fly out there after learning of a serial killing that took place there, thinking that his brother may be a victim that would need identification. He is an interesting character, with his own set of flaws and demons that propel his actions through the story. The novel alternates between the perspective of the detective investigating the serial killing, and Paul Gallo’s own search for answers, which helps keep the story moving in a way that doesn’t get stale. However, I will say that the story does slow down slightly in the middle while Paul Gallo is staying in the town where his brother disappeared. This part serves to build more tension, and add questions that keep percolating in the back of your mind, as Paul begins to pull the veil behind what horrors exist. I didn’t mind the slowdown, since it added to the very real confusion and terror one might feel when exploring such a place, all the while trudging through an unforgiving landscape. But I would have slightly preferred a bit more of a faster pace during this section.

I will say that the story itself does slip into high gear at the last act, with all of its reveals about the brothers, the town, and the horrors within it. The foundation is laid through all of the story, and it clicks together for the most part. There are some parts of the supernatural events that don’t seem entirely clear, but I think that also kind of makes sense, considering that the supernatural isn’t something that fits rules that we humans have created. Overall, I had a great time with this story, and I would very much recommend this to anyone who enjoys a supernatural horror story, especially one that is set in the arctic, much like other horror favorites of mine, like Event Horizon and The Shining.

My final rating for this book would be: 4/5 Stars