Book Review | Black Forest by Laramie Dean

Nathan is haunted by ‘deaders’, disfigured creatures that were once human. After a séance to banish them fails, he leaves high school for a university in Montana. However, when young men start disappearing from campus, he realizes the deaders have returned and they are more terrifying than ever. With the help of his new friend Theo, Nathan investigates the disappearances. But he is confronted by something even worse: a creature with glowing yellow eyes and giant wings. As reality begins to unravel, Nathan must discover the truth about Theo before he too vanishes.

They want to eat me up, he thought distinctly. Until there’s nothing. Until I break apart and dissolve and there isn’t any Nathan. Until there’s nothing left.

Black Forest is a hallucinatory horror that tells the story of a young man who can see ghosts. It explores his coming-of-age journey as he discovers crushes and new love while coming to terms with his identity and abilities. While the ghosts are creepy, I found myself more affected and disturbed by Nathan’s relationships with the people in his life. There’s the toxic ex-boyfriend, the unrequited best friend love, the curious college friend offering something more. They offer various potential paths in his life, but he seems to always make the wrong choices.

I was invested in Nathan’s story and the nightmarish aspect of his narration. I could feel his confusion and fear as he wondered if certain things happened, or if were they just in his head. He goes through several disturbing experiences, which add to his troubled mind. The final third of the book goes bonkers as his grip on reality gets looser. Students are disappearing on campus, or are they? Those scary ‘deaders’ pop up more frequently, seemingly wanting something from him. Nathan is vulnerable and can’t speak up for himself, which leaves an opening for something otherworldly to move into his life. It culminates in a dark ending that felt quite emotional to me. This book portrays the reality of forgotten young queer men, particularly those dealing with their sexuality and mental illness. I imagined how different it would have been for Nathan if he had a mentor or a trusted adult to help guide him through his situation. Where Nathan ends up makes perfect sense, yet I wish it was different for him.

Black Forest is a remarkably haunting horror story about the desire to belong, whatever the cost.

About the author: Laramie Dean

Photo by Dustin Scarpitti