Tapeesa is newly out of high school and working in a fish processing plant in the Inupiat village, Chukchi, where she’s lived her whole life. Maybe that’s why people tend to assume she isn’t that bright―or maybe her mama is right and she does have bad blood. Either way, she knows the legend, and she knows the history. Her Ahna told her that the hungry creature―the kushtuka―appears to us in the form of someone we love. It will try to get us to follow it. Follow it where? Those who have gone no longer have throats to tell us.
The Kobuk River Valley of remote Alaska draws greedy white men time and time again. But whenever they come, death comes too. This time the white men are here for the long term, to create an open pit, a rare earths mine just north of the village. When her sister Esther goes missing, Tapeesa will do anything to get her back. Seeking justice, Tapeesa must track down the kidnapper in the darkening Arctic. What awaits beyond the warmth of her village is more horrible than she could imagine and closer to her than she knows.
I am famously awful at reading anthologies. At least, in my own mind I am. Every time I start one, it’s with the best of intentions. I plan to read at least one story per day, maybe two. Read them all. Take notes. Write a full review. And I HAVE done that in the past, occasionally.
But more & more, it just overwhelms me. I’ll find myself skipping stories, skipping days. Not picking the book up for a week. And then just never getting my shit together enough to write a review. The struggle continues, but for sure I want to read both of the NEVER WHISTLE AT NIGHT anthologies! The first one was actually gifted to me, so that was really cool. And I know that Mathilda Zeller’s story in there is considered one of the best in the collection, but in the meantime, Nightire sent me an ARC of her upcoming debut Indigenous horror novel, IT LOOKS LIKE YOU IN THE DARK.
I don’t think I ever talk about a book’s title? Or if I do, it’s infrequent. But something about the title of this one sends a chill down my spine. It’s just an extremely creepy combination of words, and it perfectly captures the vibe of the book.
The story is set in the mid 90’s in the Kobuk River Valley, a remote region in northwestern Alaska. Our main character is nineteen-year-old Tapeesa, who lives in the Iñupiat village of Chukchi. It’s a quiet life, and the only one Tapeesa has ever known. But it’s not to say that it’s an easy life, either. She lives with her younger sister, Esther, and their mother, who is an emotionally abusive alcoholic. And who is often reminding Tapeesa of the “bad blood” she believes lives in her daughter.
Tapeesa works in the local fish processing plant, and spends most of her free time with her boyfriend Pana, an accomplished dog sled musher.
One of the central conflicts in the story arrives quite suddenly, in the form of Hank Ferryman. Hank is newly arrived to Chukchi, with plans to reopen a deadly lead mine. Hank is white, wealthy, patronizing, and generally a huge scumbag. He tries to ingratiate himself to the people of Chukchi in a way that made my skin crawl. While he also, paradoxically, sometimes proves to be an asset to the village. A complex character in the book, for sure. One whose actions and motivations are hard to easily parse.
And looming over everything when the blood starts spilling is the myth of the Kushtuka, a shape-shifting creature that appears in the form of a loved one.
IT LOOKS LIKE YOU IN THE DARK is incredibly atmospheric & creepy. The landscape here is as hostile as it is beautiful, and you get a real appreciation for how the characters have adapted. The endless darkness. The biting cold and swirling snow. It’s all around you as you read and get further and further plunged into nightmare.
There’s almost a coming-of-age aspect to the story as well. There’s this struggle with both Tapeesa and Pana, where it’s like they are torn between wanting to leave Chukchi behind them, but they also feel such a deep connection to the place, and to their families. That said, Tapeesa’s home life is…not always great. Her mother is a complex figure, but some of her worst moments certainly fall under the umbrella of emotional abuse. Just something to be mindful of heading in.
This is a phenomenal debut. It’s rich with Native Alaskan folklore and culture, and works as a scathing indictment of predatory mining & colonialism. There’s a lot of pain and rage on the page here, but with an undercurrent of hope & love & beauty. I really dug this one a lot!
IT LOOKS LIKE YOU IN THE DARK releases October 13th! Big thanks to Nightfire for sending the ARC my way!
Grimdark Dad 