Blood Cruise by Mats Strandberg

On the Baltic Sea, no one can hear you scream.

Welcome aboard the Baltic Charisma.

It has been quite a while since I’ve read any proper stomach-churning horror, so when I heard about Blood Cruise by Mats Strandberg I was immediately sold. Chaos, death and destruction on a booze cruise. What could be better?

The premise of the novel is deliciously simple. Hundreds of people are trapped on a slightly dated, rundown cruise liner with a creature who views humanity, and more specifically warm human blood, as a tasty treat.

I firmly believe the best horror exists in a vacuum; isolation always ramps up the sense of tension. Once underway, the Baltic Charisma is entirely closed off from the rest of the world. This choice of location adds an extra layer of suspense to the narrative. The author gets to play around with our primal fears. Though a cruise ship seems large, there are only a finite number of places you can hide, and this creates a sense of claustrophobia. For some characters there is also the fear of the unfamiliar or unknown. Passengers could easily become lost or disoriented when all the corridors look the same. Add the opportunity of a violent, extremely painful death into the mix and I think we have a winner.

Try and picture it, you are caught in the midst of this monster related mayhem. What would you do? You could just hurl yourself overboard, but the sea temperatures would kill you swiftly. What about the life rafts? Sadly, they can only be used under a specific set of circumstances and events have ensured that isn’t going to happen. So, what do you do? Look for somewhere to hide from the madness, or stand and fight?

The passengers on board the Baltic Charisma only ever expected to be on the ship for 24 hours, so their inhibitions disappear. People get drunk, over eat and indulge in whatever lewd behaviour they can get away with. I’m not sure if it was deliberate or not, but I kept seeing subtle allusions to the seven deadly sins in the story. Gluttony, sloth and lust to name but a few. There are examples of excess at every turn. I have to admit that part of me was quite happy that so many passengers turned out to be victims. I know that sounds horribly callous but a lot of them exhibit the worst traits of humanity. They all pretty much deserved what they got.

There are a small number, a few exceptions, that you want to see survive. There are two children, Albin and Lo, who are forced to face horrors no one should ever have to experience. It’s not their fault their respective parents wanted to go on a booze cruise. Both Albin and Lo are traumatized but still manage, somehow, to keep going. I’m significantly older than both of them and I know would likely be dead within a matter of minutes.

Pia is another interesting case in point. A member of the Charisma’s staff, she believes in helping customers above all else. Even after everything she goes through she holds onto that belief. It makes the ultimate resolution to her thread of the narrative that much more satisfying.

Of all the characters on board the Baltic Charisma, I think I found Dan Appelgren to be the most intriguing. His transformation from failed Eurovision hopeful to karaoke host, and then to something far more evil (if that were possible) is fascinating. While everyone else panics and fears the monsters in their midst, Dan goes entirely the other way and embraces the situation wholeheartedly. He is sick and tired of his day to day existence and when an opportunity arises that offers this burnt-out hedonist the chance at something completely new, he seizes it.

Chapters alternate between different characters’ point of view. This approach is really effective. As the night gets bloodier and bloodier (and it really does) we get the chance to see the same scenes from differing viewpoints. I could easily picture this as a horror movie. There would be plenty of opportunity for lots of great jump scares.

A word of warning to the squeamish amongst you, this book revels in all its gory glory. Throats get ripped out, eyeballs pop and people die a whole host of unpleasant deaths. Personally, I found Blood Cruise is just the right side of gruesome for my taste. It should be noted however that I enjoy my horror suitably visceral.

My experiences with Scandinavian fiction have all been extremely positive and this novel is no exception. If you are a horror fan than I strongly suggest you check this novel out. Things start slow, but when all Hell finally breaks loose, it does so with an unrestrained glee. We’re over half way through 2018 and Blood Cruise is definitely going to be a strong contender for my horror novel of the year. Tense, emotional, and at times downright nasty. I loved it.

Sticking with a nautical theme, I’ve decided that my musical recommendation to accompany Blood Cruise is the soundtrack to the 2002 horror movie Ghost Ship by John Frizzell. C’mon, it had to be something creepy didn’t it?

Blood Cruise is published by Jo Fletcher Books and is available now. Highly recommended.

As an aside – I’ve been thinking about it and, after reading Blood Cruise, I am going to have to add another mode of transport onto the list of those I can no longer use. I’ve checked back and historically the list included airplanes (The Three by Sara Lotz), trucks (White Knuckle by Eric Red) and trains (Hell Train by Christopher Fowler). Now I can now add cruise liners. If I do use any of these methods of transport then horror fiction assures me the chances are I am going to get maimed, eaten, stabbed, used a human shield, infected, possessed by evil forces or killed. Possibly all of these less than ideal options in one go. Best not to risk it.