There’s been numerous discuss of ‘physique horror’ this previous Fall, with movies like The Substance popping out and making fairly the (bloody) splash. The Queen by Nick Cutter is also thought of physique horror, which is outlined (in accordance with Wikipedia) as a subgenre of horror that that deliberately showcases grotesque violations of the human physique. I’ll be sincere in saying that I didn’t notice this may be the type of horror that Cutter’s newest e-book was centered round, however I typically get pleasure from his writing, which made me choose this newest one up. I’ve reviewed just a few of his earlier books, and even those who he writes underneath his actual identify Craig Davidson I’ve at all times preferred, and this one was additionally a very good learn, though I’ve just a few minor complaints I’ll get into. For now, the squeamishness you’ll really feel watching the trailer under gives you a glimpse into what you possibly can count on in The Queen.
Plot Abstract
Margaret is a senior in highschool, however she hasn’t attended in a month. She hasn’t even left the home after her greatest buddy Charity disappears. Charity hasn’t been seen since a disturbing incident at a celebration that’s hinted at all through the e-book, however not revealed till about 3/4s of the way in which in. Margaret decides to lastly depart the home after receiving a model new iPhone that’s dropped off at her entrance door, and it appears to be receiving messages from Charity. It instructs her to go to sure locations round city, and Margaret is hopeful this implies Charity continues to be alive. However the areas turn into stranger and stranger, and after witnessing a desecrated mattress within the bowels of their college’s furnace room, Margaret begins to query whether or not Charity is actually behind the texts, and whether it is her, whether or not she needs to be discovered in any respect. Whereas Margaret is on her grotesque scavenger hunt, we meet a deranged billionaire who has an unhealthy fascination with bugs, and he’s simply landed in Margaret’s city. He’s additionally in search of Charity, however for very totally different causes. The primary few pages of the e-book opens with Margaret trapped in an industrial kitchen, with harmful creatures exterior of the doorways, able to kill her, so we all know the scavenger hunt the day earlier than gained’t go properly. I don’t need to reveal any additional plot factors to keep away from spoilers, however Cutter does a terrific job of bringing us again to this place in the direction of the tip of the e-book and wrapping up the plot from there.
My Ideas
By selecting to start the e-book with a fast glimpse into Margaret’s lethal scenario, Cutter is ready to lend an air of suspense to her creepy scavenger hunt the day earlier than, with out freely giving an excessive amount of of the approaching plot factors. As a horror novel it comes as no shock there can be lifeless our bodies, so when that is confirmed for us proper off the bat, it doesn’t damage something, it simply guarantees the inevitable. It additionally acts as a pleasant reminder to what we’re working in the direction of as readers, which to be completely sincere, is required, because the plot begins to lose steam about half method via, just because it begins to really feel unnecessarily convoluted. Cutter pulls it again collectively nevertheless with the arrival of the villain billionaire, and the momentum as soon as once more hurries up when him and Margaret lastly meet.
Those that get squeamish round bugs ought to give this one a move, however I’ll admit to being (weirdly) relieved that this e-book isn’t actually concerning the cruelty that people can do to at least one one other; as a substitute its a reminder that animals, people, bugs, nearly everyone are hardwired to behave in a sure method. Having instructed the story from a teenage woman’s perspective, the theme of friendship, bullying, highschool drama additionally performs a big position, though as soon as having been a teenage woman myself, this POV didn’t at all times ring true for me. Curiously, Cutter addresses this resolution within the acknowledgments, which I appreciated. Nevertheless he does a implausible job of depicting the complicated, terrifying, and chilly onerous truths of highschool social stratas and one’s ‘standing’ inside these;
“Most of those that watched the video couldn’t have picked Charity out of a police lineup. But immediately she was essentially the most identified pupil in school. When the video crossed the net threshold into different colleges, she grew to become essentially the most identified particular person on the town. Identified is problematic. Identified isn’t beloved, it isn’t revered, it isn’t admired. It may be essentially the most dehumanizing factor of all, turning into identified.”
-p.225 of The Queen by Nick Cutter, ARC version
One will at all times consider King’s well-known novel Carrie once we discuss horror novels that finish in highschool college students being slaughtered, however I haven’t learn that e-book (or seen the film) so this overview gained’t profit from any comparisons or evaluation on that entrance. Nevertheless I’ll say that the selection to set a horror novel throughout the lives of highschool college students helps readers settle for the unacceptable, or consider the unbelievable. It’s a scary time in a single’s life, so having grotesque horror to distract from that’s at all times a welcome escape.