Reviewed by GradyRichards
Ronald Malfi’s “Snow” begins in Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, with the cancellation of all flights in the onslaught of a tempestuous snow storm. Todd Curry is on his way from his home in New York to see his son and ex-wife for Christmas. When his flight is canceled, he is desperate to get to Des Moines- desperate not to break his promise to his boy and disappoint him once again. Todd rents a car and, along with a few fellow travelers, heads off across Illinois and into Iowa, against the warnings of more sensible people. Along the way, their car suffers a breakdown outside a dark little town in the midst of some very strange and very dangerous phenomena.
In another review by Andrew Monge, “Snow” is described as “a zombie survival novel,” but Mr. Monge didn’t care to elaborate on the fact that Malfi’s cadaverous creatures are far more mysterious and deadly than mere zombies. The “zombies” Monge refers to are better described by characters in the book as “skin-suits” as the zombie-like people found within were simply puppets under manipulation of a greater cast of antagonists which is never given its own name. The puppeteers of these “zombies” are slender, spectral creatures made up of swirling devils of snow flakes, their bodies almost impossible to see through the storm- and intangible, to make things worse. Bodies and bullets alike pass right through these creatures and, more than that, the snow creatures can pass through the crack under the door, the hole in the wall, or the open chimney flue with ease, elevating the level of danger greatly beyond the scope of traditional “zombie” novels. In fact, I wouldn’t categorize this as a zombie novel, to begin with... the “skin-suits” which vaguely resemble their undead counterparts are really only witnessed a few times. Much more of the conflict is with the intangible creatures themselves.
But I guess I haven’t mentioned the kicker... these swirling snow devils are able to make their arms palpable for short periods of time, after drawing forth energy- and these arms less like human limbs and more like the Grim Reaper’s sickle. They use these arms to stab into the bodies of living people, sucking inside of them and turning the body into the undead puppet referred to as “skin-suit.”
Overall, Malfi’s writing was very fast-paced and lucid. There weren’t many- if any- moments where I lost sight of what he was describing. Although I had never heard of him before picking up this paperback in the book store, he truly displays a knack for suspenseful writing and he possesses the dark vision that plays such a vital role in elucidating horror tales. I will definitely be picking up his next book. The dialogue was just as natural as the narrative- which is important to me because I can’t read a book where the characters talk like sitcom actors. Not only was the writing itself intriguing, but the story itself. I read this book in two sittings, absolutely unable to put it down, other than the one time when I needed to sleep.
Characters are another thing I can’t read without. If a character isn’t real to me, neither is the story. Malfi’s characters were not only real, they were genuinely likable. Todd Curry, the protagonist, was not a typical survival hero, though he did possess the moral code, level of intelligence, and other generic attributes necessary to this type of stock character. However, he was far from the “I can solve any problem I face” mentality we see so often with books of this type. A true Byronic hero, he was plagued with self-doubt and worry, and he did well to turn these weaknesses into a foil which brought out the best in him.
The other characters were just as important to me and to the story, but one thing I do agree with in Andrew Monge’s review was this excerpt here:
“My biggest gripe with SNOW is that the characters are expendable. Early on in the story some characters were being developed, then suddenly died during a battle. This pattern continued throughout SNOW, causing me to stop caring about all of the secondary characters because I knew they weren’t going to be around for very long. Now, is it realistic that lots of people would die in a situation like this? Probably. But after I started disconnecting from the characters, it made an already dark story even more bleak for me.”
When rating this novel, I have to take into account that I sincerely couldn’t stop reading until I found out what happened next... then next... then next. The originality of the common “creature feature” scores huge points with me, as I’m a fan of the subgenre, but slightly jaded by the less profound. Again, the style of writing and characters therein scored points with me, as did a conclusive and satisfying ending... with an inconclusive and elbow-nudging epilogue hinting at the possibility of a sequel in the future, should Malfi decide that the story isn’t finished.
All in all, I rate Ronald Malfi’s 2010 novel, “Snow” an 8 out of 10. It wasn’t perfect, but it was damned good. I assure you I’ll be reading it again within two years, reading his next book as soon as it’s released, and recommending it to friends and fellow fans of the genre.
