Review: Simian by Jesse Przewoznik

Blurb:

Baldur Resch has returned. Once the leading mind of primatology, twenty years of silence has brought the Doctor's credibility—and sanity—further into question. Desperate to prove theories that were long ridiculed by his peers, Resch invites a team of journalists into his secluded Congolese estate.

Fallon Presley, along with her friends and mentor, travels to the mysterious Carlota Island, where the history and horrors of the jungle are waiting. One night with Baldur Resch will reveal who holds the favor of nature and evolution:

Man or ape?

Review:

There is just something about stories featuring eccentric scientists that calls to me at a level I can’t quite articulate. And when blended with elements of horror, it becomes an irresistible combination. So when I saw Jesse’s post on threads about their short novel that brings together the two, I jumped straight in. And what a dark, thrilling ride it has been.

This book is primarily a work of horror. The author’s focus is on the dark ambiance and the thrill of confronting the unknown that lurks in the shadows–the primal fear shared by all living beings. And their vivid presentation brings this dark atmosphere to life beautifully. While the story and the plot are quite light, the prose and the sense of foreboding it conjured kept me hooked throughout.

Baldur Resch is a once-renowned scientist who has since been ostracized by the mainstream scientific community. The reason? His controversial belief that humankind was an evolutionary misstep! And the pinnacle of Her achievement lies elsewhere.

His strange, esoteric quest led him to the Carlota Island in Congo, where the wilderness has kept a dark tangent of history buried for a long time. And that is precisely where our protagonists are headed. Strapped for cash, and struggling with the downhill slope of career, for the members of our crew - an interview with the researcher who disappeared from the scientific community after a demonstration gone horribly wrong, is an opportunity of a lifetime. They have done their homework, they think they have prepared for the perils of Congo–and they are, of course, all wrong. Because Baldur Resh has not been sitting idle. Over the last twenty years, his research on primatology has brought to life something that nobody is prepared for.

Since this is a relatively short book, to go into any more details would take away from the experience. And the author’s own words present this dark saga far more beautifully than I possibly can. So if you have a few free hours, just dive into this gory horror saga, and be prepared to emerge gasping for breath.

‘All the jungle seemed alive–it was as he feared from the beginning. The Congo had stirred. Woken. And he was the focus of its piercing emerald gaze.’