Elizabeth “Liz” Raleigh has lost everything: her job as a police detective, her partner, her fiancé, and her peace of mind. After a month of solitude at a cabin in the woods, she finally feels as though she’s ready to move on.
But in one terrifying night, everything changes. Liz’s partner, Brody, appears in the form of a ghost. He’s one of millions that have returned to haunt their loved ones. Brody can’t remember how he died and Liz is determined to keep the secret of it buried, for it means dredging up crushing memories. Along with him comes an unearthly forest purgatory that swallows up every sign of human civilization across the world. The woods are fraught with disturbing architecture and monstrous wolves hungry for human souls. Brody says he escaped from them and that the wolves are trying to drag him and others ghosts back.
As winter closes in and chaos erupts across New England, Liz fights desolation, resurfacing guilt, and absolute terror as she tries to survive one of the most brutal winters she’s ever seen.
The Wild Dark is a thrilling and emotionally intense apocalyptic horror novel. It’s the first book in The Wild Oblivion Series by talented horror author Katherine Silva. The genre-bending novel features dystopian horror, paranormal elements, and complicated romance. The story has a very atmospheric start, and once the dystopian storyline begins, the main storyline is fast-paced and thrilling until the very end. The story follows Liz Raleigh, a former cop who’s secluded herself in a cabin in the woods after her life has fallen apart. Her solitude is cut short when a terrifying nightmare takes over the world where monstrous beings from purgatory are unleashed and ghosts return to haunt the living. Liz is visited by the ghost of her former police partner, Brody, whose death she feels responsible for. The story quickly becomes increasingly horrifying when hellish woods begin to overtake the landscape and massive, bloodthirsty demonic wolves prowl around. Along with the obvious horror, the story has supernatural and spiritual elements, and the author’s depiction of a world where the veil between the living and the dead has thinned is fascinating and highly original from an apocalyptic perspective.
The storyline toggles back and forth between “Then” and “Now.” The “Then” chapters fill in readers on the backstory of Liz’s relationships with her ex-fiancé Josh and police partner Brody but also provide a respite from the propulsive and thrilling present-day chapters. It might have been more effective and exciting to have had the second half of the book solely made up of the “Now” chapters.
The story is rich with authentic, flawed, and multidimensional characters that readers cannot help but root for. Liz is a damaged character, still struggling over the breakup with her fiancé and feeling immense guilt for the death of her police partner. For the entire story, she is haunted by grief and guilt, and it’s always in the shadows waiting to swallow her whole. Through her haunted and unpredictable inner dialogue, readers may wonder if an apocalyptic event is really occurring or if the horrific events are a manifestation of her overwhelming grief and guilt. On the flip side, she demonstrates a tenacity and fearlessness in the most frightening and harrowing circumstances that proves she’s not ready to give in, making her quite admirable and likable. Readers will likely be rooting for her despite some very frustrating decision-making she makes that lands her in a lot of trouble on multiple occasions.
For most of the story, readers are kept in suspense as to how Brody died and why Liz feels so responsible. The truth is presented at just the right moment after readers are given enough backstory to have a deeper connection with the characters. The relationships between all the characters feel very authentic and are filled with emotionally intense dialogue, giving the feel of conversations in a high-stakes action film. Silva’s hauntingly immersive prose allows readers to easily visualize all the horrifying scenes, especially where the characters are trapped or in imminent danger. During many of these scenes, the book is difficult to put down, and readers will be rooting for the characters to succeed. This book would be ideal for an illustrated special edition, with its numerous, vividly descriptive, horrifying scenes and breathtaking landscapes.
The horror elements come early in the story and then fall off as Liz’s backstory in the “Then” chapters takes up more space, making the story more of a dark dystopian thriller. Fortunately, for horror lovers, the story escalates back to horrifying intensity towards the end, with an overall ominous feeling that a happy ending and conflict resolution are far off, if possible at all. The explosive cliffhanger ending includes a surprise twist and will have readers eager to read the sequel soon afterward. For readers who choose to read this book as a standalone, the ending can also be seen as cathartic and open to interpretation.
In summary, The Wild Dark is a paranormal horror thriller that will keep readers on edge from its ominous start to its dramatic conclusion. It’s a book that’s difficult to categorize as it contains major themes of friendship, loss, grief, and complicated romance and most definitely takes a fresh approach to the conventional apocalyptic narrative. What readers will likely find most memorable in the story are not the frightening or thrilling scenes, but instead the compelling and heartbreaking relationship between Liz and her ghostly protector and companion, Brody. Their relationship is the driving force behind the story, and with its complexity and emotional beauty, it makes the story multilayered and remarkable. Narrator Lisa Roumain does a phenomenal job creating an atmospheric and suspenseful listening experience from start to finish, injecting a lot of emotion and intensity into her performance. If a thrilling apocalyptic story with complex characters and romance sounds intriguing, give this book high consideration! You won’t be disappointed, and you’ll be eager to read the sequel soon after!
