Review: Icy Alien Horror
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 8, 2014
Imagine a cross between "The Shawshank Redemption," John Carpenter's "The Thing," and "The Andromeda Strain," and you've got a pretty good idea what to expect in Robert Brumm's creepy horror novella "Desolate." Brumm takes all these plot influences and comes up with a wild tale of a killer alien beast in a remote locale.The book is set on a remote island in Antarctica, where some of America's (and Britain's) worst criminals serve out their sentences in a truly hellish existence. Without power and with little food, they spend their days working in the mines, extracting valuable ores for which the warden and guards have found a very lucrative off-the-books market. One day, the miners discover an alien spaceship buried deep in the mines, but, instead of additional treasure, the spaceship winds up giving those in the prison camp two very undesirable gifts. First, an illness that winds up killing most of the guards and convicts in a most agonizing manner, and second, a very nasty alien with some razor sharp claws that likes to rip people apart and eat them.Soon, there are only a handful of convicts left alive, including Howard Bell, a new arrival who is immune to the disease. The last half of the novella is a saga of Bell's efforts to remain alive, by going from the camp to a scientific research facility elsewhere on the island, and, later, by doing battle with the creature when it shows up.Although the story elements of Desolate are familiar, Brumm has combined them in a unique and entertaining way. Even though the book is short, a little over 100 pages, he takes his time setting up each part of the book before introducing the next plot development. As a result, we get a very good feel for the atmosphere of the camp and an understanding of what Howard is going through. First, we see how Howard, a rather ordinary person with a drinking problem who wound up killing several people, tries to survive the rigors of the camp by aligning himself with a more worldly wise con. Then, we see how Howard and the other few survivors cope with illness and alien danger and  a harrowing trip across the ice. Finally, there is a final showdown at the research center.The horrors and violence depicted by Brumm are gruesome, but the book never turns into sheer horror porn. Instead, the descriptions become part of the overall grim setting of the story. Surprisingly, Bell becomes a rather likable protagonist, a relatively decent person trying to survive the worst combination of perils imaginable. Brumm takes the time to give us enough insight into Bell's character to show he is not the same type of criminal as most of his companions, which allows the readers to empathize with him in his travails, especially as when he proves resourceful and tenacious. This leads to some rather harrowing suspenseful sequences, especially the final showdown with the creature.As a highly imaginative action horror story, I can easily recommend Desolate with one caveat. Desolate was originally written as a standalone novella, and the book comes to a dramatically satisfying and complete ending. However, Brumm later expanded the work into a novel-length trilogy by following up on some of the storylines in this book. The novel is also available on Amazon, and it's safe to say that those enjoying this book will undoubtedly enjoy the full novel as well. For this reason, I would suggest that readers may find better value by buying the complete trilogy, which reads as a seamless novel, than by buying this book and the other two thirds of the trilogy separately. However, regardless of whether readers purchase these separately or together, they are in for a compellingly hellish ride.