REVIEW: Hostile by Luke Scull
Hostile, the debut horror novel from grimdark fantasy author Luke Scull, delivers a deceptively deep psychological thriller on par with the best work of Catriona Ward or Gemma Amor.
Hostile opens at the Longleat Safari and Adventure Park in the Wiltshire countryside of southwest England. Savannah Grace is a new animal keeper at the animal sanctuary, home to an assortment of creatures from around the world, including a rare silverback gorilla. However, there is trouble in Savannah’s wildlife paradise when a chimpanzee goes missing and is discovered later with blood-red eyes and a sudden, uncharacteristic thirst for violence.
The chimpanzee incident is just the start of an affliction that spreads rapidly across animal life in Wiltshire, affecting everything from insects and spiders through domesticated pets, whose unexpected violence catches their owners especially off guard.
What is the origin of this abrupt change in animal behavior? Could they be infected with a newly mutated virus? Or is there a supernatural force at play taking control over these otherwise innocent creatures?
Although Hostile opens with Savannah Grace, the main protagonist of the novel is John Sharrock, a fantasy author who has just scored his first major book deal. But the pressure of writing a bestselling novel proves too much for John, whose mental health takes a significant toll, alongside the relationship with his beloved wife:
‘I lost myself,’ John said. ‘I became someone else. I lost sight of what was important.’
I honestly thought I knew where Luke Scull was heading with these various plot threads, and I was prepared to write a review saying that Hostile is an entertaining thrill ride but too predictable. Then the last quarter of the book knocked me senseless. I wasn’t prepared for the psychological depth (and associated plot twists) that emerged in the latter part of the book. By the end, Hostile left me genuinely shaken up in a way that few books have done before.
Altogether, Hostile is highly recommended for fans of psychological horror. Luke Scull’s first entry in the horror genre proves to be an expertly crafted, emotionally raw journey into the dark recesses of the soul. Although Hostile is Scull’s first horror novel, I hope it won’t be his last.
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