Book Review: The Black Hunger by Nicholas Pullen
Genre: Historical Horror
Age: Adult
Format: Audiobook
After listening to this as an audiobook, I almost crave (no pun intended) a physical copy. The writing is so captivating, yet there were moments in the audiobook I missed, or didn’t quite catch, and I feel like there’s so many small, significant moments throughout that I haven’t quite crossed into grasping every detail. And it’s the kind of book where every detail matters.
The book spans three POVs told in epistolary format, with an interesting structure I don’t quite know if I’ve seen before. If I have, it’s definitely a long time ago, and it feels like a structure you might come across in older gothic literature, matching the story quite nicely. Honestly, Pullen writes in a way that feels classical, and with this being historical fiction, it was hard to remember this had been released in 2024, not in the 1920s. This is sometimes to the book’s determinant, especially where the book dives into more Eastern cultures – it can feel, at times, too much like something written last century. Not to the point of being overt, but more slightly heading in that direction before veering back.
Where the book does deserve to be complimented is the way this older style of writing incorporates a beautiful queer love story, which doesn’t feel out of place or mined for tragedy, and is instead quite a sweet element, contrasting with the gothic horror elements in the rest of the book.
Historical Horror is a fascinating genre, and one I think is becoming more popular, while going from strength to strength, and Pullen’s novel deserves to be regarded among the top. If you like gothic that takes the gothic outside the home, that feels like it could have been written alongside Lovecraft’s works while still retaining more modern sensibilities, I definitely think you’ll enjoy The Black Hunger. Although I enjoyed the narration, I think I’d recommend print over audio for this, so as a reader you can really relish the prose.
Review by Elle Turpitt
Twitter: @elleturpitt
Bluesky: @elleturpitt.bsky.social
I purchased this audiobook.
