Heather’s Bookshelf: Kill It With Fire
Author: Lindsey Kinsella
Released: 02/28/26
Genre: Sci-Fi Horror Novella
“Or perhaps, our DNA isn’t where this fear originates. Perhaps it instead sems from something more abstract—the soul. Without knowledge or experience of it, a part of our spirit might sense something lurking in the shadows. Something so malignant to our world that we know in our heart to fear it, even if we cannot quite grasp why. Something skulking in a far-flung part of the world, awaiting its opportunity to bring an end to us all.”
“Kill It With Fire” follows Bruce, a businessman in search of a new gas reserve for the firm he works for. He and his team visit the Scottish islands of St. Kilda against the advice of the locals.
Bruce wants nothing more than to heed the local’s advice, but he can’t seem to convince his team or ignore the possibility of a huge find. Arriving at the island, the cold and lack of electricity don’t exactly change Bruce’s mind. And then there’s the dead body …and the giant spiders…
While investigating the island, the team discovers an abandoned military base with evidence of suspicious and worrying occurrences. The caves are not much better, filled with more of those giant spiders and something big that’s lurking in the shadows.
Will Bruce and the team find out the truth about the island or will they succumb to whatever horrible things happened there in the past?
Trigger Warning: violence, animal death, adult language, death, fire-related violence, insects
Overall, I enjoyed this novella. The story is told through the POV of Bruce, who starts out as a self-centered and money-driven man who’s more concerned about gaining wealth than the environment, history or the warnings of the locals. Unfortunately for Bruce, he also has arachnophobia…on an island filled with giant, methane-filled spiders. While I personally do not have a fear of spiders, there were a couple of scenes within the story that absolutely made my skin crawl. One especially claustrophobic section caught my imagination with the author’s vivid descriptions. The setting was unique and facilitated the mystery surrounding the story and what happened on the island. Bruce was a great protagonist for this tale. He was just interesting enough but also too selfish and anxiety-ridden to be completely likable. Unfortunately, there was a lack of background and connection to any of the ancillary characters. More ancillary character development may have resulted in an enhanced emotional response as the events of the story unfolded. The author intersperses a few passages of historical or biological facts that are both interesting and relevant to the context of the tale. The ending had a twist I did not see coming and that also matched the mood of the rest of the book. I could see this as a book 1, if the author wanted to continue the story/lore.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A sci-fi horror novella that leans into arachnophobia with a twist!
Want to learn more about the author?
Check out my interview with Lindsey Kinsella
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