I think most people are familiar with the story of the Donner party, but for those who aren’t, it’s a tale from back in the olde days of yore when a bunch of people rode wagon train style across country in the hopes of obtaining some free land and a chance at a better life and somewhere along the way they ran in to bad weather which made some people go a little mad. Yep, what started out as a dream ended up a nightmare.

The Hunger is a book that I am ashamed to admit I received as an ARC, but never got around to reading. Despite running the gamut of ratings amongst my friends, I actually kind of dug this one. I enjoyed the backstories of the various wagon train members and I’m always down for some potential zombie action.

My review is linked below and will show up on the Horror DNA Goodreads page. While the book didn't always work for me, I'm a big fan of the author's short stories and I will likely check out future novels. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review!

Once again, I read this book many moons ago, and I'm not certain why I failed to review it at the time.

Alma Katsu sucked me in with The Taker, and then became one of my favorite authors with The Hunger. The Hunger is a very different book from The Taker, but equally as compelling.

A reimagining of what really happened to the Donner Party, this supernatural "what if" was well thought out and fabulously executed. Horror and historical fiction are a combination I'd never considered, but Ms. Katsu did it so well, I'd love to see this sub-genre grow.

I've actually gone back and changed my rating to a five star because my admiration for it several years later most certainly warrants it.

The Hunger is a historical horror reimagining of the tragic events of the Donner Party. Now you ask yourself, what exactly is this? The Donner Party was a group of American pioneers who migrated to California from the Midwest. Delayed by a series of mishaps, they spent the winter of 1846–47 snowbound in the Sierra Nevada. Some of the migrants resorted to cannibalism to survive, eating the bodies of those who had succumbed to starvation and sickness.

Personally I had no knowledge on this event of American history so I had zero expectations but I still was dissapointed with this book. It didnt scare me at all and I dont remember much of what happened therefore it is forgetable. There are lots of people in this story – the majority of them based on real historical figures which resulted in me being quite bored.

It was extremely slow burn horror and when I read horror I like it to be action-packed. Alma even adds supernatural aspects which I thoght was a wrong decision because it made the book confusing. The writing of this novel is well executed but unfortunately the plot didnt do it for me.

THE HUNGER is an absolutely stunning narrative fiction of the misguided and tragic Donner Party Expedition to California of Summer 1846 - Spring 1847. Although not nonfiction, nonetheless the lives, backstories, and fates of those intrepid (or not) pioneers spring to vivid life. It would be a frozen hearted reader indeed who could not resound with these characters, thrill to the adventures, weep for the losses, fear the constant supernatural overtones. THE HUNGER is a novel no Thinking Reader can afford to overlook.

I'm a huge fan of Alma Katsu's Taker series, which is why I requested this book. I've never really been interested in the Donner party other than what we learned in history about the doomed group. I definitely enjoyed the supernatural take on the story. Katsu's writing is, of course, beautiful and amazingly descriptive. Having said that, the ending was quite abrupt and felt rushed. The characters' personalities and actions in the end felt disconnected from how they had been established throughout the story.

The Hunger by Alma Katsu is a novel based in the fact of one of the darkest and most terrifying moments in the history of the American West. An incident that has lived in lore and legend for hundreds of years.

"...The first thing they noticed when mist from the lake rose into their sights was the stink: the entire site smelled of carrion. The rich stench of decaying flesh mingled with the piney air, making it heavy as the group approached the shore. The smell of blood, with its tang of iron, seemed to spring from everywhere, from the ground and the water and the sky..."

Rations and quarrels plaque the wagon train, but when the body of a young boy is found, mangled and torn apart, does the Donner Party begin to wonder is there is something more to their series of misfortunes. Many of the party cannot help but feel that they are being tracked and hunted by something unseen.

"...A pack of wolves,' Reed said. But he sounded uneasy. 'That's what we've heard, as far back as Fort Laramie.'
'No,' Hastings insisted. I know wolves. I know how they hunt. This is different. The Indians know it, too.' Hastings let out a laugh that sounded as if he were choking. 'They took a boy, no more than twelve, I swear, and left him tied to a tree out in the woods back over the ridge. They just rode off and left him there. Left him for whatever's out there, feeding. i can still hear him screaming..."

Tamsen Donner is the younger and beautiful wife of the head of the wagon train and her aloofness spurs jealousy among the other women on the trail and lust among the men. It doesn't take long for rumors to run rampant. Tamsen is a witch and she is cursing the journey. But there is something following the Donner Party as it faces the cruel winter, mountain conditions.

"...You don't know what it's like, to be starving. The pain of it. It hollows you. It's all I can think about. Even my blood is starving.' He bent to put his face against her neck-he inhaled, he breathed in the smell of her body, he moved his tongue across her sweat, as a dog would. This broke her; it was as if some invisible barrier had been irrevocably breached, as if with a single movement he had undone God's work, and turned her from a woman to a sludge of flesh..."

As food runs out on the journey, isolated in the frozen mountains, the Donner Party must decide on how they will survive. But there is still something out, in the howling storm, in the darkness and it is waiting to feed. But where is the greatest danger, on the outside or within the Donner Party.

I loved Alma Katsu's prior novels, the trilogy of Supernatural eternal creatures that began with the Taker, and The Hunger is a bit of a departure from the prior tales. There is a strong supernatural element to this story but the human drama trumps the supernatural. The Donner Party is notorious in history. In The Hunger, Katsu enters into the drama a touch of the supernatural but doesn't lessen the impact of the human horror. The role of women in the trek across the wilderness and into the mountains and the arrogance of the Eastern American white male play a huge part of the doom of the Donner group. It in no small measure why the Donner Party was doomed.

Where the book struggles is in the supernatural aspect of the tale. Is it real or is it paranoia. For me, as the reader, I was never sure and that is a resolution I would have liked to have had. The Hunger, if it was written simply as a human horror drama would have excelled. As a supernatural horror tale it would have excelled as well. The blending of the two struggles.

Overall it is a good tale and the an author stepping out of genre and exploring her talent. And for that alone it is to be read and enjoyed.

I read a nonfiction book earlier this year concerning The Donner Party so I was fairly familiar with the events going into this book. However, this book went in a direction that I was not expecting it to go, and in the best way possible.
Honestly, I thought that maybe this was going to be some kind of zombie book based on the title and what I knew but that is not at all what was going on. I don't want to say too much, just because I like going in blind and I feel like that's what is best to do with this book.
I will say that the writing here was brilliant and there was so much tension that was built as the settlers got further down their trail. The character development was there, the pacing was there and the suspense was there, but I wanted a little *more*, hence the 4 star rating. The climax just wasn't as intense as I wanted it to be. The book as a whole was so well written and realistic in a way that there was a moment when I was walking across my apartment complex at night, and as I was thinking about this book, I freaked myself out a little! Not many things can do that to me, so I definitely give props for that.
Overall this book was great and I know I want to read more from this author!I read a nonfiction book earlier this year concerning The Donner Party so I was fairly familiar with the events going into this book. However, this book went in a direction that I was not expecting it to go, and in the best way possible.
Honestly, I thought that maybe this was going to be some kind of zombie book based on the title and what I knew but that is not at all what was going on. I don't want to say too much, just because I like going in blind and I feel like that's what is best to do with this book.
I will say that the writing here was brilliant and there was so much tension that was built as the settlers got further down their trail. The character development was there, the pacing was there and the suspense was there, but I wanted a little *more*, hence the 4 star rating. The climax just wasn't as intense as I wanted it to be. The book as a whole was so well written and realistic in a way that there was a moment when I was walking across my apartment complex at night, and as I was thinking about this book, I freaked myself out a little! Not many things can do that to me, so I definitely give props for that.
Overall this book was great and I know I want to read more from this author!

I love books that draw on true history! Although at times there was a little too much supernatural in it for me, this is a suspenseful read full of twists. It will really appeal to horror and suspense fans.

This novel follows the ill-fated Donner Party on their infamous trek west. I was a little confused at the beginning - there were so many characters to keep track of! But, eventually, I settled into the story and was kept captivated. Loved the supernatural flavor and it was still suspenseful even though you pretty much know from the beginning that all of the characters are doomed. Made me nostalgic for a game of Oregon Trail - especially if it could include the horror element of this book!

WOW just wow , what a story to read, loved how the author took a part of our history and give it a new twist, and made it so more creepy then it already was, from the very beginning it had me pulled into the story ,so much that I was up all night reading it , didn't lay down until about 11:10am when I was about 90% into the story. and even then I want to keep on reading, with that said I would love to say think you to Netgalley for giving me a change at reading and review it .

THE HUNGER, by Alma Katsu, is a well written, original take on what "could" have happened to the infamous Donner Party. While everyone has heard of the fatal 1846 attempt at crossing to California, and what the members succumbed to in order to survive, this novel takes it on a different note altogether.

". . . Snow kept secrets . . . "

Katsu bases her novel on giving us great details on the various members of the Donner-Reed party, including a fascinating fictional tale of what they might have been like during those final months.

". . . I don't believe in monsters . . . Only men who behave like them . . ."

While the "enemy" was given a more distinct face here, it was the events that happened amongst the party members and the dynamics between them that really captivated my attention. Even with the given catalyst, this novel felt very character-driven to me.

. . . Hope . . . could be a very dangerous thing, especially when dealt to desperate hands."

Overall, I felt this was a very original novel, with a smooth writing style and characters that you wanted to know and believe in. Unfortunately, in my personal case, every time I started getting "caught up" in a particular character or two's events, my mind would jump in with what happened to them by the end of the journey. This was in no way the author's fault, just my own knowledge sabotaging my enjoyment by not letting me get too close to any of the characters. Had the REAL names and characters not been used, I probably would have mentally "allowed" myself to get more into their lives and believe that things could work out in different ways. As it was, the reality-check kept me from getting the most out of this one.

. . . the mountains, like most beautiful things in this world, were deadly . . . "

A great writing style from an author I'd like to read more from in the future.

Recommended.

So I'll start by saying that a lot of my favorite bloggers loved "The Hunger" and I'm so glad they did. I also think I kind of set myself up for disappointment with this one because I wanted it to be horrific and terrifying and as the terror was more subtle and atmospheric (which I usually like) I felt a let-down. Also, I've seen "The Hunger" described as a "slow burn" type of novel but for me, it was more like "smoldering."

So basically this is a tale about the infamous Donner party. However, there's a twist and instead of just facing insurmountable obstacles related to travel, the time of year and terrain, they also face a supernatural entity. Now I probably couldn't spoil this book if I tried because I'm still not sure I figured out what the "being" was - in fact, upon finishing, I dubbed it the vamp-shifter-wendigo-zombie-witch-thing.

I also don't think I really connected with any of the characters, which is something I have discovered is important for me when reading a book. I don't necessarily have to like them, but I have to feel something, and I just didn't in "The Hunger." I did have two I liked more than the rest, and one I despised and I'll give Katsu credit for making me feel badly for the one I hated in the end. However, to be honest, in the end I just wanted it to end.

So as I said, I'm sure lots of people will be and are enjoying this book. I did like Katsu's writing and plan to check out more books by this author. However, I think if you don't set your expectations high and are okay with slow-paced novels (and I mean SLOW - like wagon train slow), then give "The Hunger" a chance.

I received this book from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

As expected, Alma Katsu knocked this one out of the park. A brilliant mix of historical fiction, which on its own is creepy enough, and horror creates an unputdownable read that will make you sleep with the lights on!

Was recommended this book from the Fangrrls' SFF monthly recs series, and it definitely did not disappoint. I am a sucker for alt-history paranormal thrillers, so I should've known this would be my catnip. After having seen Stephen King recommend it via Twitter, I realized that Katsu's writing style in this reminded me of some of King's best ensemble horrors - with each chapter told from a different character's POV, helping to flesh out the world there. The only thing I didn't so much care for was it felt like there was a lot of solid build-up to the reveal and then [everyone died or sort of departed from the story "off screen"], which made the ending feel a bit anticlimactic in comparison, but admittedly this book creeped me out so much that I had to stop reading it before bed at night. I'm hoping this gets adapted into a miniseries, because it would make an excellent one.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I have always thought the Donner Party story was interesting so I thought a book about it that throws in some supernatural elements would be pretty cool, I was wrong. 

It's told in third person but we get multiple points of views of several of those on the wagon trail. It was slow going but I was okay with that as I figured it would take a bit of build up to get to the good stuff. There are some parts that are letters or flashbacks to before certain characters decided to sign up for the party going to California. Gives you some background information on the characters. 

I really don't know what to say about this story except it was so boring. It's about a piece of history and the author took a lot of liberties with it to make it into the story she wanted. Not to far into it a boy went missing and they found him malled and they thought it was wolves but then the more they are on the trail other things happen. We learn bits from the flashbacks or letters about certain things. Bryant is a guy who is interested in Indian stories and he comes across some strange stories about Na'at's and the Anawai who might have been cannibals then there was something about creatures. 

Sounded like that would be really interesting except we verily get any of the stuff that sounded cool. I felt like the story travel about as fast as the wagon party itself. I knew it was about them trekking across the plains but I thought there was going to be a lot more cool stuff to break up the monotonous of the slow trail plotline.

Because Tamsen Donner used herbs a lot of them thought she was a witch, then when things go wrong it was easy to blame her for them. She of course had nothing to do with it. Her daughter heard dead people. I liked Charles Stanton and Mary Graves the best out of the characters. Staton would have been better off if he would have left the group and went on on his own. He was a very brave person in the story and in real life. 

By the end I was ready to just skim through and find out what was going to happen to everyone. I had looked up the Donner Party so I knew who died and who lived and how they were rescued and it was interesting to see the different ways the author decided to kill off certain characters but really I just wanted it over. 

I do have to admire the bravery of those who blazed a trail across the wild west in search of gold and a new life. It had to be really courageous to pack up your family and hope you bring enough food to feed your family and hope you all make it there alive. I guess I was just hoping for more horror and supernatural element and I didn't get it so I was unsatisfied with this read. I really feel like I read something totally different than those on goodreads.

~ Under the Covers


The Hunger by Alma Katsu is a retelling of the misfortunes that plagued the Donner Party in search of a new life. Ms. Katsu not only relayed the story with vivid imagination, she wrote of realistic situations and hard decisions of survival. It will make you think. A fair warning, though this book is infused with supernatural elements, it did not soften the horror of the story. Yes, there is murder(s). Yes, there will be gruesome deaths. And Yes, as what the Donner Party is famous for, there is Cannibalism.

On a yearly basis, the Donner Pass(named after the Donner Party) go through bad snow seasons in which the highways are known to be very dangerous areas. So, every time we pass by this area, The Donner Party always come up in conversations. But even with the information I knew, it didn’t prepare me for The Hunger. I was floored with what the Donner Party had gone through; starvation, desperation, fear, and loss. At some point, I kept hoping there would be an alternate ending to make light on things, but to no avail. However, a character’s decision in the end, gave a whole lot of reprieve. It is exactly what I would do. I commend her for it.

With The Hunger, Alma Katsu does for the doomed Donner party what Dan Simmons did for the Franklin Expedition in his massive work, The Terror, giving the ill-fated cross-country voyage a supernatural twist while maintaining historical authenticity (well, to a degree anyway).

In May 1846, a group of American pioneers set out for California in a wagon train led by George Donner and James Reed. Their journey was beset by a number of problems and delays, which ultimately caused them to be stuck in the mountains of the Sierra Nevada during the start of an early and very harsh winter, and with barely any supplies left. Starving and stranded, the travelers wee forced to resort to cannibalism in order to survive.

Or did they?

Katsu gives the historical record a slight twerk, and while she works tightly within the confines of what we know of the Donner party she still manages to deliver an interesting alternative, threading in a fine line of horror that weaves its way through the expedition and culminates in a savage finale. The Hunger is a slow-burn work of quiet horror, one that draws on Native American folklore to deliver moments of hearty suspense in several well-depicted scenes of terror.

What makes the horror truly effective, though, is the cast of characters Katsu focuses on. The supernatural threat is well depicted, but the Donner party itself is a microcosm of horrors and threats all its own. Taking a group of people and thrusting them into a situation, in this case a months-long journey, that slowly breaks down and decays their trust in one another is fraught with its own perils. Tacking on a mysterious horror lurking in the dark, stalking them across the plains and the Great Salt Lake Desert and up into the snowy, impassable mountains of the Sierra Nevada only serves to amplify the frayed nerves of both the Donner party and readers alike.

While I dug the heck out of The Hunger and appreciate its gentle reminder that I really do need to read more works of historical horror in this vein, I do wish Katsu had spent more time on the grislier affairs this expedition is best known for. An awful lot of anticipation is built toward these travelers' final months, and while it's all very necessary and quite well-told, we're short shrifted by the time December and January 1847 roll around. I will admit, though, that I am a bit of a gore hound, and one that has perhaps been spoiled by small press horror titles that aren't afraid to dive headlong into the darkness. I found myself wondering what Jack Ketchum would do with this book's climax, and I wish Katsu would have been more willing to deliver on the depravity she'd spent so long building toward. I really wanted to see her dig into the blood and guts of it all and get her hands filthy. After nearly 300+ pages, the finale is too much telling and not enough showing, and feels practically weightless in light of all that came before.

This reservation aside, though, The Hunger was ultimately satisfying despite a climax that didn't forcefully enough deliver on the promise of Alma Katsu's premise. Had there been more pages devoted to exploring and fleshing out the last few grisly months of the Donner party, this could have easily been a five-star read for me. In the end, it feels like too much was glossed over for the sake of playing it safe, which is unfortunate to say the least. Still, the characters are superb and have engaging histories, and there are some worthwhile shocks along the way that give The Hunger plenty of intrigue to keep the pages turning.

[Note: I received an ARC of this title from the publisher.]

Oh wow this is some pretty cool reading. I had been unaware of this tragic pioneer crossing of the ill-fated wagon train from Springfield, Illinois to California in 1846. What begins as a new beginning for 90 men, women and children ends in one of the most terrible tragedies in America’s history.

This is a jaw dropping story to start with, but soon transformed from fact into a seamless mix of fact and fiction by author Alma Katsu. This lady has quite a wicked mind, creating a mesmerizing and supernatural nightmare for the Donner Party and a superb mystery for me to try to work out.

There is a nice slow build at the beginning of the book, where I got to know the basics of the main characters before things started to go off-key. What develops is a really creepy atmospheric read that builds from random happenings, that singular can be dismissed, but increase with frequency and seriousness. I am not going to go into much detail of the story because that would really spoil all the nerve-racking, eerie and jumpy moments like I experienced. I was driving myself mad with trying to guess what was happening and boy it was not disappointing.

Alma Katsu, describes just how ordinary and naive these people were, from their varied backgrounds and how ill prepared they were for such a trek. The landscapes were stunningly described with vivid imagery. The hot scorched earth where nothing would grow, to the pass with blinding snow that was deeper than the bellies of the horses. Just wow! It is all so rugged, beautiful and full of hidden dangers. I just kept looking back at the book cover which captures the feeling of isolation, loneliness and sheer take your breath away perfection.

There are some pretty colourful characters in the story that are not as much travelling to a better life as leaving one they want to forget behind. The story, is in places, very graphic when describing the dead, so just a little warning there but it is also so droolingly brilliant!

Crazy history comes to life in this supernatural thriller. I loved what the author did with this material. For the most part it's a page turner... I personally think that the end was a bit lackluster but I'm very excited to have a new and capable author in the horror field. I can't wait to read what's next.