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From the nugget of a story in Indigenous dark fiction anthology Never Whistle at Night to full length novel. I loved Kushtuka and as soon as I heard Mathilda Zeller was developing it into a full novel, it was an immediate preorder. Luckily, I also got to listen to the audio, narrated by Zorga Qanauq, who you might know from North of North. (Excellent show. Season 2 is dropping on Netflix November 5). Zorga’s read combines performance and cultural authenticity that both grounds and elevates the audio experience.
IT LOOKS LIKE YOU IN THE DARK IS FANTASTIC. Atmospheric, mysterious, and a totally satisfying reading experience if you love revenge thrillers and horror.
Tapeesa, who lives in a remote area in the Kobuk Valley is on the precipice of staying or venturing out for college when a mining company arrives and attempts to ingratiate itself with the community. Then, her sister goes missing. As Tapeesa’s grandmother says, “Sedna [the goddess of the sea] is angry.” And the body count goes up.
Over the last several years, it’s been BIPOC horror, and specifically Indigenous horror that’s really redefined my perception of the genre. When you come up during peak SK, Child’s Play, and the Saw movies, you end up with a fairly limited view of the horror genre. Or at least I did. But what constitutes horror to marginalized communities is vastly different than just the blood and guts scares of old. And it’s not that I didn’t know this, as someone who is Japanese American). But the horrors are deeper, rooted in history and lived experience, and folklore. And it’s books like It Looks Like You in the Dark that have made me realize, I actually am a horror reader.
While It Looks Like You on the Dark has a complete ending, it’s labeled on the publisher site as part of the Kobuk Valley series, so I can’t wait to see what’s next.
Mathilda is on book tour for It Looks Like You at Night with upcoming stops in Chicago, Albuquerque, San Diego, and Brooklyn. The full list is available here.
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