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The Hunger

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The Hunger

By: Alma Katsu
Narrated by: Kirsten Potter
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"Supernatural suspense at its finest...The best thing about The Hunger is that it will scare the pants off you."—The New York Times Book Review

"Deeply, deeply disturbing, hard to put down, not recommended reading after dark."—Stephen King

A tense and gripping reimagining of one of America's most fascinating historical moments: the Donner Party with a supernatural twist.

Evil is invisible, and it is everywhere.

That is the only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the wagon train known as the Donner Party. Depleted rations, bitter quarrels, and the mysterious death of a little boy have driven the isolated travelers to the brink of madness. Though they dream of what awaits them in the West, long-buried secrets begin to emerge, and dissent among them escalates to the point of murder and chaos. They cannot seem to escape tragedy...or the feelings that someone—or something—is stalking them. Whether it's a curse from the beautiful Tamsen Donner (who some think might be a witch), their ill-advised choice of route through uncharted terrain, or just plain bad luck, the ninety men, women, and children of the Donner Party are heading into one of one of the deadliest and most disastrous Western adventures in American history.

As members of the group begin to disappear, the survivors start to wonder if there really is something disturbing, and hungry, waiting for them in the mountains...and whether the evil that has unfolded around them may have in fact been growing within them all along.

Effortlessly combining the supernatural and the historical, The Hunger is an eerie, thrilling look at the volatility of human nature, pushed to its breaking point.

©2018 Alma Katsu (P)2018 Penguin Audio Historical Fiction Horror Psychological Thriller & Suspense Scary Paranormal Fantasy Fiction Exciting Funny Suspense Dream

Critic reviews

An NPR Best Horror Novel

A Suspense Magazine Best Book of the Year

Winner of the Western Heritage Award

Finalist for the Bram Stoker Award

Finalist for the Locus Award

And one of...

The New York Times's 50 States, 50 Scares Picks

O, The Oprah Magazine's Scariest Books of All Time

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AARP Magazine's 20 Scary Books for Grownups

Forbes's The Five Best Horror Books of 2018-2019

Vulture’s 13 Great Horror Books Written by Women

Refinery29's 20 Terrifying Books for When You've Already Read All The Spooky Season Classics

BookRiot's 15 Favorite Historical Thrillers

BookRiot's 9 Great Camping Horror Books

BookRiot's Best Horror Books of the Decade

The Observer's Best Books of 2018

InsideHook's New Wester Canon Selections

Mental Floss’ 13 Essential Horror Novels From The Last Five Years

Goodreads’ The Most Popular Horror Novels of the Past Five Years

Shondaland’s 16 Spine-Tingling Reads for Halloween

Men’s Health’s Best Horror Books

“Supernatural suspense at its finest...It is strangely ethereal, yet gritty...But the best thing about The Hunger is that it will scare the pants off you....Enjoy the journey, one so entertaining that you almost don't mind feeling queasy at dinner.”—The New York Times Book Review

"Not only will Alma Katsu's acclaimed novel haunt you, it will give you empathy for the people forced to undergo such horrors."—O, The Oprah Magazine

“Katsu shows an acute understanding of human nature.…[She] is at her best when she forces her readers to stare at the almost unimaginable meeting of ordinary people and extraordinary desperation, using her sharp, haunting language.”—USA Today

Featured Article: Hungry for More? Don't Miss These Buzzy Listens Perfect for Fans of Yellowjackets


As any fan of the Showtime hit will tell you, Yellowjackets is an intense, character-driven story that melds elements of horror, drama, and thriller. The show follows the fictional Wiskayok High School Yellowjackets, a girls' soccer team whose plane crashes on the way to a tournament, stranding them in the wilderness. Pair the second season of the hit series with listens that explore survival against the odds, trauma bonds, and female friendship and rivalry.

Featured Article Hungry for More? Don't Miss These Buzzy Listens Perfect for Fans of Yellowjackets
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I very much enjoyed this book. A good western story, mixed in with some horror elements. Enjoy!

A great twist on the Donner Party

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Really disappointing and rushed ending. Felt like there were more than a few chapters missing. The build up was so great for such a flat payoff.

An unfinished thought.

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I truly enjoyed this book. I wasn't sure what to expect from it with it being a true story. I was hoping for really scary, and I didn't get that BUT I was not disappointed at all. I looked forward to having time to listen to the fateful events of the Donner party. I really liked the spooky twist the author put on a real story.

wonderful

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This book was slow to start at first, but eventually blossomed into a gripping story I simply couldn't stop listening to. The narrator does an excellent job at capturing the voices of each character, and there's quite a lot of them. I enjoyed the various relationships between family members and wagon train members, and their descent into panic and madness was quite effectively frightening. Overall, great book enhanced by a great narrator.

An Unsettling Tale With a Hunger That Creeps

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Was pleasantly surprised by this book. Ending was satisfying, creepy throughout and a decent twist. Liked it

Creepy with a great ending

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I really enjoyed this! Scary reimagining of the Donner Party story with a supernatural twist. Well written and performed.

Neat supernatural horror

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I really enjoyed this story. It was a whole different twist on the original story.
It was a little slow out of the gate, but once it started going it kept going & kept my interest. The different characters were easy to connect to & root for, while hating the characters in the story that deserved it.

The story had some awesome twists and turns & very original, in my opinion. The description of their travels, characters & creatures were clear & made it very easy to see it solid in your imagination!!

Kirsten did a great job in her narration!! She used the right emotions when needed & did good at the different characters within the story. She made no mistakes that I caught & spoke clearly.

I do recommend the book & the narrator as well. It was worth the credit!!

Very Filling

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I wasn't sure what I was walking into with this one but I wasn't disappointed at all. It's definitely on my list of books I'll listen to again and although it's a thriller I don't feel like anything is going to be lost in a relisten. The horror is very direct and in your face and I appreciate that.

Fantastic

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The setting/backdrop are excellent! This is right on the verge of being a great and terrifying story - it’s haunting and you are curious as to what happens next…but when ‘what’ happens, it’s underwhelming. Recommend reading, but manage your expectations.

So close to being great

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It was ok. The story got lost occasionally and took unnecessary detours. Not a true horror novel, creepy at best.

Creepy at best. Not horror.

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