Book Review: Black Bloom by Felix I.D. Dimaro
Title: Black Bloom: A Story of Survival
Author: Felix I.D. Dimaro
Release date: April 22, 2022
As somebody who reads a ton of books, I always love when your TBR aligns and you find yourself reading several books close to each other that all seem to share a commonality between them.
Case in point – recently I read the stunning ‘Helpmeet’ by Naben Ruthnum. This was followed closely by ‘The Hungry Earth’ by Nicholas Kaufmann. And now, along comes ‘Black Bloom.’
All three feature aspects that are the same, yet different, but all three feel like a tonal trilogy of sorts and it is fantastic.
When Dimaro announced ‘Black Bloom’ I was pumped. Look at the cover! Read the synopsis! If you’ve ever read any of Dimaro’s work, you know you’re in for a bleak, sorrow filled affair and this one was no different.
What I liked: The story follows a man, recounting what has occurred in his life since the first black dandelion was reported. It’s a simple set up, but Dimaro leads us through the days as the world falls into chaos, quarantine and ultimately a place with no hope.
Oddly, when I started reading this, a tweet went viral-ish on my timeline. It said something along the lines of; “What if the planet itself is harvesting us and now its had enough and ready to fully consume its children.” Powerful and frightening and with the ongoing and increasing global climate crisis, topical.
That is the idea that Dimaro pushes through this, as the world becomes infected and when we see the horrifying events that take place and what happens to those infected, it’ll leave you shaking with fear. I loved it. Much like Shyamalan tried to showcase in his hit-or-miss movie, ‘The Happening,’ Dimaro shows us just what Mother Nature is capable of.
What I didn’t like: I loved this one, but there was one minor annoyance I had, and that was the continued reliance on using the phrase; “if only I knew what was going to happen,” and then insert bits after. We all know something horrible is happening and we all know things are going to be worse, so for me, personally, I found that phrase lost its suspenseful nature after the second or third time of it popping up.
Why you should buy this: Dimaro writes smart, topical and extremely emotional stories. His characters are flawed, beat down but all possess a humanity that shines through and makes you want to root for them. Even after Eunice becomes infected, we want to see her improve so desperately. That’s on account of Dimaro’s strength as a writer.
This was a great read, and one that I want to say I had fun with, but that word isn’t correct here. This was a well done climate-body horror piece, one that definitely will leave you rattled.
5/5
