#daphne fauber

[carica-ficus]

Review: BOREAL: An Anthology of Taiga Horror

Authors: E.M. Roy, Akis Linardos, Vincent West, Jon Gauthier, K.L. Massey, Nicole Lynn, J.R. Santos, Neil Williamson, Marisca Pichette, Ren Graham, J.S. Betula, Ally Wilkes, Daphne Fauber, Bryan Holm, Johan Buck, Airic Fenn, Brian Rowe, H.V. Patterson, LB Waltz, SJ Townend, Sarah Musnicky, Kuzma Mac

Editor: Katherine Silva

Date: 02/02/2025

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

_________________________________________________

Knowing I'm a big lover of ecohorror, a friend of mine introduced me to this gorgeous new anthology that's about to hit the shelves. Naturally, I was instantly interested, especially considering I have been longing for some winter forest vibes. Needless to say, this anthology proved to be the perfect choice for my cravings.

The collection features 22 short stories from 22 different authors, offering a diverse take on the subject of northern forests. Each story offers a completely unique perspective on the assigned theme, but they are also complimentary to one another, giving this anthology a unified feel.

If something stands out from this collection, it's the stunning visuals. The authors managed to portray the taiga as a unforgiving wilderness, but also as a place of beauty. There's a lot to admire about the depictions of the forests, especially the feeling of otherness, peculiarity, and divinity, and the stories manage to perfectly convey humanity's reaction to them through the characters. In turn, it's easy to become engulfed in this collection and truly fall in love with everything it has to offer.

Choosing taiga as the main theme for this anthology turned out to be a perfect choice for some incredible ecohorror. The dark, unfamiliar surroundings of the forests define the featured stories and create a sense of unease that stems from knowing the woods hide something people could never truly understand. In turn, the characters are rendered merely as a passive component to the narrative, guided by something much higher than them. It is a grim reality that reflects onto the reader themselves - there is so much that we don't know about nature and its ways. Facing that fact is horror in itself.

This theme ties itself seamlessly into the notion that a singular organism is insignificant on its own, but that it's still indispensable in the grand order of things. While such a thought might seem comforting at first glance, the authors manage to extract its terrible, indefinable truth - we, as individuals, are at the mercy of a greater power, whatever it may be - a god, a species, or nature in itself. People are as important as they are allowed to be, and confronting this belief is utterly horrifying.

On the other hand, there are stories that portray forests as something positive, no matter how scary or different. They are a place separate from humanity, governed by rules often conflicting to those of regular society. This thought inspires many authors, especially those who decided to focus their work on queerness or femininity. In these cases, wilderness offers peace, comfort and safety, but also allows the characters the opportunity to create their own destiny. In these cases, forests signify freedom, and the collection does a wonderful job to highlight its cost, as much as its reward.

While I wasn't equally captivated by each story, they were all quite interesting and offered me something I haven't yet encountered anywhere else. They managed to beautifully portray the relationship between people and nature, and offered gorgeous visuals and gruesome narratives. This collection is a real treat for all ecohorror lovers and a perfect introduction to the genre to all those that are yet to indulge in it.

"BOREAL: An Anthology of Taiga Horror" is out 25th of February and you can read more about it here! Thank you Strange Wilds Press for the ARC!