Lilibet Bombshell's Reviews > The Fervor

When I was still in college (I graduated in 2017), I heard an episode of “Stuff You Missed in History Class” (I think that was the podcast anyway) about an operation Japan came up with during WWII that involved yanking teenage girls out of school to spend all day, every day, cutting and pasting together huge balloons made of washi paper that would then be turned into bombs set adrift across the Pacific Ocean using the jet stream air to carry them to the west coast of the US. Back then, when I first heard about it, I was fascinated by the topic, and even more fascinated that it actually worked (not to any real efficacy; but still, some of those balloons did reach the US mainland). That quirky little historical fact still pops up in my mind from time to time, as some historical facts do, because those balloons were the first weapons able to cross oceans. Good answer for a pub quiz, at any rate.

This operation is one of two true historical horrors that Alma Katsu uses as the basis for “The Fervor”, her latest excursion into historical horror fiction. The other being, of course, the Japanese internment camps here in America that followed the attack on Pearl Harbor. Katsu also uses these events as a clever opportunity to weave in the anti-Asian sentiments that have become more vocal and more evident ever since COVID appeared here in the US and some people (*cough*) felt it was the fault of Asian people (it didn’t seem to matter which Asian country or province you hailed from) that the disease had made it to our shores.

I find it funny that when it comes to fantasy books, I have to really be impressed when Japanese demons and spirits are part of the story in order to consider it a good book, but I get absolutely giddy as a schoolgirl when they make an appearance in horror novels like this. I think it’s the symbolism of it all. In a fantasy book they’re actual characters that are portraying the demon or spirit, but in a horror book like this, they are a symbol for something larger and more meaningful than simply being a fox spirit. They are the portents. They are the foreshadowing. They are some of the exposition. They are part of the plot and storyline. They are part of the cultural makeup of some of the characters. They portray inner thoughts and feelings of characters that we aren’t receiving in other ways. So to see them here makes me so happy.

The narrative here is tightly woven and well-directed. Even though the book takes time to get the characters where they need to be for the big finish, it never feels like wasted time. There are things that absolutely need to happen in order for there to be no plot holes or loose ends, and Katsu trusts us readers to stick with her as she sets a steady pace in order to get there on her clock. You can trust that if she leaves a character (since this book is told from a few different POVs) in a sticky situation and we are worried for them she will get back to them in a few chapters and we’ll pick up and get our questions answered. No loose threads, no holes left open for the plot to fall through. The story stays steady and beating strong.

This is my first Kastu novel (I’ve read a couple of short stories), but it won’t be my last. I was thoroughly engaged.

Thanks to NetGalley and G. P. Putnam Son’s for granting me access to this novel. This review is coming from my ARC backlist.