For the most part gripping and fast-paced, Alma Katsu presents a cautionary tale disguised as plot-driven, supernatural horror. Set in late WW2 America, Katsu’s multiple, intersecting storylines blend fact with fiction to highlight the brutal treatment of Japanese Americans, a subject that has personal resonance for Katsu whose mother was Japanese and whose in-laws among the thousands forced into camps across America. Katsu draws too on Japan’s Project Fu-Go, an attempt to flood America with firebombs transported by air balloons, building on meteorologist Wasaburo Oishi’s research into jet streams. The project was largely unsuccessful but in May 1945 a civilian group in Oregon was killed by one of these devices. A fictionalised version of what happened, and of sole survivor Archie Mitchell, plays a pivotal part here.

Mitchell is the entry point for Katsu's vivid exploration of the white supremacist groups who revelled in demonising Japanese Americans. Their activities aided by a flood of official, wartime propaganda featuring deeply offensive, inflammatory caricatures of the supposedly dangerous, Japanese enemy within - even mainstream magazines like Time ran articles on “How to tell Japs from the Chinese.” Another major figure’s Fran, an intrepid, heroic, Jewish journalist hot on the trail of the Fu-Go incendiary bombs and a possible government conspiracy.

But at the heart of Katsu’s narrative are Meiko Briggs and small daughter Aiko, imprisoned in Idaho’s now-notorious Minidoka Camp. In Katsu’s imagined version, Minidoka’s Japanese internees are succumbing to an unknown disease, marked by violent outbursts and, for many, a painful death. Fran and Meiko are both attempting to solve the puzzle posed by this bizarre illness. One that involves mysterious sightings from Japanese mythology, yokai demons and the sinister, shapeshifting, spider-like yurogumo. Katsu’s characters’ experiences also contain echoes of the real-life history of racist, scientific experiments like Tuskegee.

The segments featuring Meiko and Aiko were frequently fluid and atmospheric, but Katsu’s writing felt quite unbalanced, veering between brashly commercial and eerily intense, often more intent on getting a message across than on subtleties of setting or character. The supernatural elements could appear awkwardly grafted onto the factual, and several scenes appeared to exist purely to hammer home Katsu's points about the similarities between America then and America now. It’s a reasonable comparison and, although Katsu originally planned this in response to Trump, the Covid pandemic and the horrifying increase in attacks on Asian Americans makes it even more timely. I appreciated Katsu’s inventiveness but aspects of her style and staging of her central themes were just too heavy-handed for me. I also struggled with the ending. But, in general, this has had a very positive reception, so for fans of writers like Stephen Graham Jones or anyone looking for socially aware, seasonal reading it’s definitely worth considering.

A simmering rage ★★★★☆

As a mysterious violence-inducing illness tears through an American Japanese internment camp, Meiko and her daughter Aiko are at great risk. Is there a link between the virus and the Japanese folklore which formed the backbone of Meiko’s father’s research?

Meanwhile, journalist Fran hears stories of mysterious airborne objects and minister Archie experiences one of these dangerous “balloons” first hand. Once a close friend of Meiko’s American husband, Archie is now caught up in a wave of anti Japanese sentiment gripping the nation, sharpened by his grief and by the illness which is sweeping his town.

A gripping and unusual horror story which is more alarmingly believable and real-world-based than it first sounds in the blurb. The only things which prevent this from being 5 star are the slightly tidy and anticlimactic ending and, at times, an overly ambitious combination of themes and genres.

I’m a big fan of Alma Katsu’s novels The Hunger (2018) and The Deep (2020) and this new historical fiction horror doesn’t disappoint.

Firstly, many,many thanks to Titan and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

This is another piece of fantastic historical fiction by the wonderful Alma Katsu. This time the story is set in the USA during the latter part of WW2. Following the events at Pearl Harbour America is still very jittery about Japan and a lot of Japanese folk living in the USA have been rounded up and moved to internment camps. At one of the camps in particular a virulent illness begins to sweep through the inhabitants. At first it seems like it may just be the 'flu but then some of the camp residents take a turn for the worse, becoming uncharacteristically violent and then dying. Meanwhile, mysterious parachutes or balloon type objects made of a strange, gritty paper begin causing havoc in western states. There there are explosions and deaths and anyone who so much as touches the mysterious papery debris seems to fall very ill soon afterwards.

This book is blend of actual historic events and Japanese folklore seamlessly woven together in a terrifying and unsettling manner by the author. And although the supernatural elements are extremely creepy it is the actions of the living and breathing characters that are the most disturbing. Human nature can be so much scarier than ghosts or demons.

This is clearly a very personal book for the author in view of her Japanese heritage and I would strongly recommend NOT skipping the Afterword in this book.

A fantastic and extremely thought provoking read.