Want a historical horror cannibalism apocalypse novel with creatures from Buddhist belief? Look no further. The Black Hunger is a layered gothic horror. Stories within stories summing up the novel at large. I have not read many stories stimming from Indian mythology and horror, but this one was complex and satisfying.

I did feel like this was a bit slow for my personal taste and wanted more horror elements in it. I think that it didn’t really take off until about halfway through the book. But once it did, I found that I really enjoyed it. The writing was very well done, and the story was engrossing. (Despite myself thinking it a bit slow in the beginning –I did not struggle at all with getting into the novel, and never contemplated not finishing it).

I’m not usually a person to pull quotes out of books as well, but there were a few that stood out to me as I went though this.

I liked the way it ended and think that if this sounds like your cup of tea, that you should most definitely read it!

Dark, lyrical, and emotionally raw, The Black Hunger is a beautifully written blend of gothic horror and queer historical fiction. Nicholas Pullen delivers a haunting tale of grief, obsession, and something far darker that lurks beneath the surface.

The standout here is the characterization—John Sackville’s emotional unraveling is portrayed with chilling authenticity. His sorrow, guilt, and the slow surrender to the hunger within are all deeply resonant. The writing is atmospheric and immersive, full of shadowy tension and aching vulnerability.

If you enjoy gothic horror with emotional depth, queer themes, and a historical lens, this one is well worth reading. Pullen’s voice is distinct, and this story will linger long after the final page.

This homage to classic Gothic horror is very effective in evoking the language and style of the originals. What marks it as different is the gradual progression of ever greater modern horror tropes, especially body horror.

For the first half of the book, though, we enjoy a comfortably paced setup that ranges among Oxford, India (especially Sikkim), and the Orkney Islands. The story begins and ends with our principal narrator, John Sackville, Lord Dalwood. In the 1920s he is educated at Oxford in Oriental (their words) language and culture, and gets a posting to far northern India abutting the Himalayas. Tibet is on the other side, and a subplot involves Chinese encroachment on Tibet and the temporary flight of the Dalai Lama to India.

Lord Dalwood has a secret, though. From boyhood he developed a relationship with a commoner, Garret Benson, and successfully had Garret assigned to him as a servant at Oxford, and then in India. Homosexuality is a crime at this time and he will lose everything if he is revealed.

The book cleverly uses an epistolary format (similar to many Gothics like 'Dracula') to provide the back story of the horror that is coming. After some extensive background (my, they wrote long letters in those days, didn't they?) we return to Lord Dalwood's time to find out the culmination of centuries of preparation. At stake, of course, is the fate of the world. Or at least, humanity.

I quite enjoyed the lengthy setup – the author is clearly well familiar with Oxford, having attended it, and has an MA in history which makes him a qualified researcher. It shows. The sections on various forms of Buddhism were fascinating, although I suspect the renegade version that features in the book is fictional.

I am not a big reader of horror but more of historical fiction. This book was right up my alley. Fans of Gothic literature and historical fiction will enjoy the first half or so especially, while fans of horror may have to be patient for the payoff in the latter half of the book. Consequently, readers may feel dissatisfied at one end or the other depending on which way they lean.

The Black Hunger is a gripping and intense read that delves into themes of obsession, power, and darkness. Pullen’s writing is sharp and atmospheric, pulling you into a tense, unsettling world. The story moves swiftly, driven by compelling characters and a sense of unpredictability. While some twists feel a bit forced, the novel overall maintains a strong, haunting vibe.

This book was good! I liked it but didn’t love it. I definitely see potential in it and look forward to seeing what else the author does.

3/5 stars! This is a gothic horror by Nicholas Pullen. The premise was interesting but I feel like it went too desolate and gothic. It was draining to read and just achingly depressing. I kept waiting for there to be a reprieve or a moment of hope, but it didn't exist. I think it was beautifully written. It was just too grief-riddled for me to enjoy.

Thank you NetGalley and redhook for the advance reader.

First off I wanna say the premise of the story was really good and the writing was fantastic. Where I think it failed for me was in it's attempt to show case the colonization of other cultures and trying to be respectful, it ended up kinda demonizing parts of the religion even if it was done by white people. I also feel it fell into the trope of white savior a little to much. I would love to read other stories by the author and see how he grows.

I could not get into this book, so it is not for me. I did like the cover art and I did like the overall plot I read in the description.

Great book! It had all the fears of growing up. Make a choice. Turn the page or close the book. Enter the darkness if you wish!

Mixed feelings for this one. I had too many issues with it while reading: particularly the pacing though, it dragged on at times and I couldn’t focus enough to even care for the story. It shows lots of promise, the plot and the characters were interesting, it just needed more work in my opinion.

This book was more dense than what I was expecting, which made it difficult to get into. I made it about 20% of the way in before deciding this was not the book for me.

A prime example of modern gothic horror, this delectable novel features a diverse cast of characters and a wonderful plot that pushes the reader to keep reading deep into the night. The epistolary style of this novel was well suited for the story presented, and It harkens back beautifully to novels like Dracula, where you can clearly tell the author gathered some inspiration. The complexity of the queerness and the tenderness of the relationships between characters has me turgid with anticipation for Mr. Pullen's future works.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Redhook Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for my review.

One of my favorite genres to read this Gothic historical horror grabbed my attention from the beginning. While parts were slow I overal really enjoyed this book .
Definitely recommend if you enjoy the same genres.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read and review this book

This as not a good read for me. The first part is tedious, long winded, and extremely boring details that I thought were drawn out. The entire book is tedious with tiny spurts of interest that then get bogged down by uninteresting and unnecessary details.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley.

Utterly captivating from page one. I started this late last night and finished it at about 5 AM, and I'm still haunted by it many hours later.

The main leads's tenderhearted gay romance was the real heart of the novel for me. The horror elements are a slow burn; nothing supernatural starts to happen until about the midpoint, and so instead you spend an incredible amount of time to really get to know John and his beloved Garrett. This slow, creeping horror made me really care about what happens in the late half of the novel because I had grown so fond of the both of them. Pullen mentions Dan Simmon's The Terror by name in his acknowledgments, and that's definitely the "vibe" you should expect going into this. It's slow with a ton of historical research to build up the world within the page. If you didn't like The Terror, you won't like this.

This was a no-brainer for me with my own interests in Buddhist and Hindu philosophy and religion, and to the best of my knowledge, the author's own research held up authentically, except of course for the elements exaggerated or made into a new thing for the very interesting antagonist group I won't spoil. It's certainly a different conception of Nirvana than what I grew up with!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author Nicholas Pullen, and the publisher for the ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is one of the more interesting things I've read lately. This is primarily told through letter and diary excerpts, and feels like an attempt at an old Hammer movie set in late WWI, but with gay soldiers involved. I didn't get too much of a sense of some of the characters because we are limited by the epistolary format, but how things ended up unfolding was interesting. Solid read at the end of the year.

I LOVED this book. It was dense with a lot of historical context, lots of characters, and a lot to digest but it paid off in a big way. I don’t want to give away much because you just have to experience this one. I am usually let down by the ending of book that get this bleak and dark — NOT by this one. Horrific and perfect. 👌

A gothic horror? Perfect for me, but actually no. Something about this book just wasn’t engaging for me, even though I can appreciate that it was written technically well. One of my favorite books of all time is Dracula by Bram Stoker and this book was definitely giving those vibes. I’m not entirely certain why I couldn’t get into this; my best guess is that my ADHD was hard at work and I couldn’t handle the lack of chapter breaks. I also went back and forth on whether this book was being culturally insensitive, exotifying Buddhism, and pushing the problematic “white savior” trope. I really did enjoy the main character. And I found his love story to be quite sweet. I also think the creepy atmosphere was well done. However, this book wasn’t giving me enough to rate it higher. Some of the issues (mentioned above) in this book would make me hesitant to recommend it to anyone. I see that this is a debut, and I would still keep tabs on additional work by this author, because he has something going for him.

I think there is still an audience for this book, but I do think one should be aware of the concerns outlined above (and much more thoughtfully discussed in other reviews). The pacing/lack of consistent chapter breaks was the primary factor leading to a lower rating for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Redhook for the e-arc!
Absolutely obsessed with this cover! Something about it is so captivating and I simply had to pick this book up. I didn't quite know what to expect when I started this book but wow did this deliver an amazing queer horror story. The writing style was a bit tricky to get into but once I got the hang of it I was truly captivated. the atmosphere is unbelievably present while reading the book and I really liked the premise of saving the world from a cult.

I was totally drawn in by this cover and the pitch but I knew immediately upon cracking this open that it would not work for me. But I hopped on the struggle bus and pushed on until maybe 12% and then skimmed a bit more until 16% and it is here that I gave up.

Maybe I'll give this another go later on but between the long heavy paragraphs of history and religion and a really uncompelling narrative voice, despite hints at something tragic at the end and all the hindsight knowledge of moments he should've turned back, I just.. don't think I would get much further if I gave it a second chance.