The Warm Hands of Ghosts
by Katherine Arden (Del Rey, 2024)
audiobook read by January LaVoy & Michael Crouch (Penguin, 2024)
Arden captures the normalised horror of the First World War, and both the overwhelming mental trauma and what must have been near-surreal fatalism of those who lived through it. Though the speculative element is neatly entwined, the story perforce remains downbeat, bemired.
Dead Voices
by Katherine Arden (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2019); audiobook read by Renee Dorian (Listening Library, 2019)
Arden pitches the fright level just about right for MG dark fiction. This sequel to Small Spaces is told mainly from Coco’s perspective, though with enough from Ollie’s that it seems a bit too omniscient. Brian’s side-lining also feels a tad unnatural.
Small Spaces
by Katherine Arden (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2018); audiobook read by Renee Dorian (Listening Library, 2018)
Arden’s characters shine. There’s a good mix of everyday and supernatural elements, but the story devolves somewhat into a standard horror run-around (self-contained but with surprisingly little emotional closure). Dorian’s audiobook reading has just the right dash of middle-grade enthusiasm to it.