Sooner or later genre authors will write what is arguably their most epic book to date; and The Hive maybe Ronald Malfi’s entry into this category.
For King, there are multiple including The Stand or IT, which are so textured and long that they become shorthand for this work.
At around 750 pages, The Hive is Malfi’s largest story to date, but even like this reviewer, you are slightly daunted by large books; this one is worth those reading hours.
We are in Mariner’s Cove, which is changing with its inhabitants becoming entangled in a web that surrounds the titular hive.
While it has elements of small-town horror, Malfi throws in some cosmic horror that could have been plucked out of a Lovecraft tale as well as a commentary on cults.
On one side, we have the twisted ‘Stinger’, a man who has been attacked and mutilated by bees but believes he is leading a special calling to a Dragon from potentially another dimension.
On the flipside, we have a young boy who may possess the power to defeat Stinger and stop him from destroying Mariner’s Cove and its entire community.
Malfi plays with the severity of the situation with a rich bunch of characters outside of our protagonist and antagonist who in some cases questions their actions but seem unable to stop, after falling under the spell being cast by Stinger and a higher power.
The Hive is also vicious and doesn’t pull its punches, making it a more gruesome read in parts than you may have expected.
This might be Malfi’s finest work to date, as his list of future genre classics continues to grow.
The Hive by Ronald Malfi is available now in various formats from Titan Books.
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