Welcome to Cat & Jonathan’s Horror Corner!

That’s right, we’ve entrusted Cat and Jonathan with a whole new feature of their own – a corner of the Hive where they can read horror books together and then tell us all about them. I’m expecting dry caustic remarks and grumbling, and that’s just from Jonathan…

For their first first discussion, they’ve chosen Leigh Radford’s debut zombie pandemic One Yellow Eye:

Kesta’s husband Tim was the last person to be bitten in a zombie pandemic. The country is now in a period of respite, the government seemingly having rounded up and disposed of all the infected.

But Kesta has a secret . . .

Tim may have been bitten, but he’s not quite dead yet. In fact, he’s tied to a bed in her spare room. And she’s made him a promise: find a cure, bring him back.

A scientist by day, Kesta juggles intensive work under the microscope alongside Tim’s care, slipping him stolen drugs to keep him docile, knowing she is hiding the only zombie left. But Kesta is running out of drugs – and time. Can she save her husband before he is discovered? Or worse . . . will they trigger another outbreak?

One Yellow Eye is due for release 17th July 2025 from Tor – you can pre-order your copy HERE

Cat: So it’s the inaugural Fantasy Hive Horror Chat… hi Jonathan!

Jonathan: Hi Cat! So excited to get this off the ground!

Cat: I was so intrigued to start with a pandemic-esque zombie book post-2020. Are we masochists or just dedicated horror fans?

Jonathan: Is there a difference from the middle distance?

Cat: Fair point.

Jonathan: I have been avoiding pandemic books until about now, it’s been a bit too close to the bone, but I felt enough time had passed that I might be able to approach it now

Cat: Same

Jonathan: Having said that, having lived through Covid 19 definitely changes how we approach reading these kind of stories

Cat: I liked the idea of it having happened – there’s been a zombie outbreak in London, it was quarantined and now we’re at the stage of urgently keeping watch and finding a cure. Seemed very proactive. But yes, that strange Year That Wasn’t makes a huge difference

Jonathan: Yes, I felt beginning the story after the pandemic was a really good idea – especially as it’s a book about grappling with loss and grief

Cat: The balance between grief and hope – and a strong undercurrent of the thin line between the two – was walked very well, I thought. ‘What would I do in that situation’ horror

Jonathan: I think so. I think that was actually my favourite aspect of the book – living in the quiet aftermath of mass and personal tragedy

Cat: Our heroine remarks on that. The quiet horror of being alone (ish) at home, having closed the door on the social aspects of post-pandemic life. Like those days of taking your single permitted walk through streets that rang silently akin to ’28 Days Later.’ She takes what power she can grab to do something, anything. Admirable, if desperate

Jonathan: Yes. I really liked, in particular, the scene where Kesta is throwing a birthday party for her zombie husband – it’s tragic and bleak and hilarious and moving all at once. A difficult balance to achieve

Cat: Yes! That reminded me a bit of the recent Resident Evil game which did the same; party hats and death. Blackest of humour, but also very human, as anyone in health or support services will know, I think. Which is why… I couldn’t finish. Alas. Hubby’s a Paramedic who worked during 2020, and when the descriptions began of how the zombie outbreak started, I had to tap out. It was too close to home and almost too well-written in how accurate it was!

Jonathan: Yeah I get that. I don’t work in the NHS, but I do work in bioscience and had to go to work during the pandemic. I felt the research she did for that was mostly really good. The bit where I thought it was getting a bit silly turned out to be an aspect of how far off the rails Kesta has gone

Cat: I found myself highlighting certain passages that described it all so beautifully: Underneath the surface of central London, this laboratory had been cauterized from everyday life.

Jonathan: As a result I found it extra stressful – I know exactly how illegal and unethical gain of function research is, and also just how many health and safety regs Kesta is breaking every damn chapter!

Cat: I bet! I can imagine many readers screaming at her for her decisions – while kind of understanding, up to a point. Love does weird things!

Jonathan: Yeah. Like I said, I did feel there was a point where it was getting a bit silly, but then the book zooms out a bit and shows you just how far off the rails Kesta has gone. It was quite well done I think

Cat: Zombies are inherently a bit silly; the skill lies in reminding us that they were us, not so long ago. Very big parallels to disability – long Covid especially

Jonathan: For sure, and zombies have been so done to death (haha). But I think the author is genuinely doing something fresh with it

Cat: Exactly! The skill and language used is just beautiful. And painful.

Jonathan: But yeah, I really loved how the book captures the messiness and craziness of grief, the inability or unwillingness to move on. She writes beautifully

Cat: My favourite was: ‘‘Morning,’ she replied, wondering if a guilty conscience would show up on the X-ray.’

Jonathan: Haha!

Cat: Science versus emotion

Jonathan: On which note, I felt it really captured the confused attitude a lot of folk have post-Covid – the whole oh, why haven’t you gotten a cure yet

Cat: Definitely. Like it’s easy!

Jonathan: When research takes a whole bunch of time, the ethics clearance, the experimental duplicates, everything that goes into making it safe. The author has a good sense of both the excitement and the routine of scientific research

Cat: Perfectly reminded me of the 2020 press conferences, with scientists explaining to us, while politicians tried to spin things…

Jonathan: Yes absolutely

Cat: Her love for subject shines, definitely. It was never boring. I’d 100% recommend this to readers who are brave enough!

Jonathan: I felt the side characters were really good as well – by the end you realise just how much her friends care for her, despite the shit she puts them through!

Cat: It’s a mad situation and the best support is a close-knit community. Except when your zombie husband is being hidden in the bedroom, obviously

Jonathan: The book is a great example in general of how horror can be used to explore issues that are too raw to approach any other way

Cat: Exactly. The timing for this book is excellent really – not too far distant from pandemic times that it can’t be appreciated. It’s rather like ‘Shaun of the Dead’ dropping when it did as a social commentary, and ‘Night of the Living Dead’. I’m very intrigued to see how ’28 Years Later’ hits soon. (And if I can cope)

Jonathan: Well again with all of those texts and this one is that horror always reflects the anxieties of the time

Cat: True. I’m starting to see commentaries calling for more horror to reflect on world events now and act as a call to arms, almost. Powerful stuff. So it’s a good book, even if a bit too raw for me

Jonathan: Yes, I’d recommend it to anyone interested in literary horror fiction with a strong stomach

Cat: Who understands the connection of horror and humanity

Jonathan: And yeah, shows how all the best horror is rooted in character – none of this would work if Kesta wasn’t such a brilliantly drawn protagonist

Cat: Definitely! You want her to succeed and find a cure. It’s almost like a disaster movie, watching her crisis progress as slowly as a zombie’s shuffle. I am intrigued as to how it ends. May gird myself and return in due course.

Jonathan: I would recommend it – I felt it ended really well

Cat: That’s great to know

Jonathan: Just, y’know, don’t expect a cheery resolution for everyone!

Cat: Fair point! But so long as it sticks the landing. A happy ending could involve brains for everyone…!

Jonathan: Not for our politicians! But yes. Given it’s a debut as well I’m intrigued to see what she writes next

Cat: Absolutely. Glad to have been sent this one. Even if I’m a wuss.

Jonathan: I mean that’s the risk we take with horror. What makes it so thrilling is that it can hit us where we live

One Yellow Eye is due for release 17th July 2025 from Tor – you can pre-order your copy HERE