‘Borealis’ – Wile E. Young (NightBlight Press)

Page Count: 99 Pages

I’ve read a few books with Wile E. Young’s name on the cover (you can see what I thought Here, Here and Here too) and without fail, they’ve all been excellent reads. So when I saw Wile E. Young’s name on the cover of ‘Borealis’, the book pretty much bought itself ;o)

And then I promptly left it on a shelf and forgot about it until yesterday. To be fair, I bought my copy back in December last year and that was the worst time, that I can remember in a long time, for getting anything read. It’s 2025 now though and in the spirit of actually reading books that I already own (instead of just buying more), I thought it was way past time that I gave ‘Borealis’ a read.

It isn’t the right time of year; it isn’t the right geography. But the lights are still there.

Drifting out of the stars, the people of Atlanta, Texas are eager to sit on their porches and take in the sight of this “once in a lifetime” event.

Even when they crash their cars, they watch. Even when they’ve been standing outside all night, they watch.

And unbeknownst to those below, the lights are watching too.

Around the flat, there are any number of books books that I’ve started and then put down after a few chapters. There is so much going on right now that if a book doesn’t grab me right away, it’s far too easy to get swept up in the next thing that needs doing. ‘Borealis’ was not one of those books. I had a hospital appointment, yesterday, and normally I wouldn’t have been too keen but not this time; it was the ideal excuse to have more time to spend with ‘Borealis’ and I polished the book off over a couple of sittings. I’d be hard pressed to find a more effective slice of Cosmic Horror outside of the classics, I think ‘Borealis’ is that good.

Wile E. Young really captures the initial sense of unease at a meteorological event that shouldn’t happen in Texas, building on this unease and slowly turning it into outright terror as people fall prey to the Borealis and its purpose becomes clear. What I love about this approach is how Young leaves you in no doubt that when Cole sees the Borealis for the first time, it is already too late for the human race. A sense of cold inevitability is part of what good Cosmic Horror is all about for me and Young nails it here. The future is set well before Young pulls the curtain back and shows Cole just how petty and insignificant humanity is when set against the dealings of a vast cosmos.

Another thing that I think Young does particularly well with ‘Borealis’ is capturing that sense of disconnect between humans and what I’m going to call the ‘Aurora People’ (because why not?) I remember reading ‘The Colour out of Space’, back in the day, and feeling the horror but also feeling sorry for an alien form that was trying to communicate but wasn’t able to make itself understood. I got that same feeling here with what felt like the Aurora People trying to share their vision but not making themselves understood. Cole only got half the message (if that) and that just made it more terrifying for him. There’s an irony here that I enjoyed.

I’ve got work in the morning so will leave it here. ‘Borealis’ was superb though, it really was, especially with that downbeat ending. If you like your Cosmic Horror then I’m certain that you’ve picked up ‘Borealis’ already. If you haven’t though, do something about that sooner rather than later and… Don’t look up.