Book Review: Red Hail by Jamie Killen
Red Hail was an extremely entertaining first contact-esk novel written in a dual timeline. The experiences of the characters sixty years apart made for a fast paced and enjoyable read.
It all started with the red hail, a freak storm taking place in the small city of Galina, Arizona during the 1960’s. Sixteen-year-old Anza sought shelter from the wild storm that caused the roads to resemble a bloody flood. She hides out with an older woman, Dove who had previously helped her with a medical situation hiding it from her father. From this point the two are linked as they try to figure out what is happening to their town. A series of plague like symptoms take over, causing the people and animals to exhibit strange symptoms.
Sociology professor Colin Ayres has spent years of his life researching the Galina plagues, deeming it a case of mass hysteria. Now in 2020, he is almost ready to publish his thesis when his partner Alonzo starts to exhibit similar symptoms. Turns out Alonzo isn’t the only one. Musician Sonia is called into her son’s school after Dylan stars “naming” without warning. The first sign of the plagues, shortly after Sonia herself starts to experience losses of time in which she is also found suffering the same fate. Contacting the professor, she offers her help in any way she can, desperately wanting to protect her son from what is to come. Colin, Sonia, and Alonzo must race against time (and intensifying illnesses) to stay ahead of the symptoms that caused brutal and bloody riots sixty years prior.
Red Hail was a lot of fun and was one of those reads that made me wonder why I don’t reach for sci-fi more often. My favourite aspect of this book was the way the story was told and how the structure itself allowed for the plague symptoms to become more intense and heightened the stakes for the characters in the current timeline. The reader experiences the Galina plagues as they occur in the 1960’s and the new wave affecting the descendants of the town in 2020. We follow Anza and Dove as the Naming, spasming and trance like stages of the disease rip through a small town and cause extreme unrest, bring underlying racism and religious affiliations to the surface. We get to see the ways in which this sleepy border town jump into action and try and take down as many notes as possible, conduct experiments and bring in outside help to try and find the answers.
In 2020 we see the connection to Galina made immediately due to Colin having spent a significant amount of time following the plagues. We also see that knowing what occurred and having some idea of what comes next doesn’t necessarily help and can cause more panic. As the timelines overlap the reader experiences the same symptoms in both 1960 and 2020. I thought this was really well done and a great way to build those stakes even though we knew what was going to happen next.
Another thing worth mentioning in Red Hail is the character work. Anza steals the show as someone coming of age who is both scared and determined to help those around her. She has to deal with teenage hormones, seeing her father panic and wanting to protect those around her all while being willing to throw herself into the thick of it as an asymptomatic part of the population. I thought she was such a strong character, and it was wonderful to see her develop into a young woman and then carry her knowledge into the future. Colin, Sonia, and Alonzo were also solid, and I felt connected to them as they raced against their rapidly shortening timeline. While all very different they showcased some great teamwork and the relationships felt authentic the whole way through. I came away from the book hoping they were still friends.
As much as I would love to get into the parts of this book which relate to the first contact mentioned in the teaser, I can’t really do so without getting into spoiler territory. So, you will have to read the book. What I will say is that it wasn’t overly cringy which can be the case in these types of story, I thought it felt like it had its place and was enjoyable. I had a great time with this one, like I said, it made me want to pick up some more sci-fi along the lines of Blake Crouch or Michael Crichton. I am very much looking forward to what Jamie Killen puts out next.
