First published back in March of 2016, Iain Rob Wright’s novella ‘The Yacht’ formed the third instalment within the ‘Year Of The Zombie’ series which saw a zombie story published (in ebook format) each month of 2016 from a variety of different horror authors. All twelve stories were later collected together and published within the ‘Year Of The Zombie’ (2018) anthology (which was also published in paperback format).
DLS Synopsis:
DLS Review:
DLS Synopsis:
Emily Tyler and her husband – the wealthy Ross Tyler – had been sailing the Costa de Morisco during the balmy July summer months, when things suddenly turned sour between them. Emily had been drinking, and to be fair, had gotten a tad drunk. However, that didn’t excuse any of what Ross did, nor the messages she’d discovered on his phone. The women he’d been sending all sorts of incident messages to.
They’d argued and things had gotten out of hand pretty quickly. Ross had flown into a blind rage and before Emily knew what was going on, her husband’s hands were around her throat in a vice-like grip. She’d done what she needed to, acting in self-defence. Emily had struck Ross hard over the head with a granite lamp, before leaving him on his own, out on the yacht’s rear deck for the night.
The next morning she’d woken with a stinking hangover and a feeling of dread. Her husband had been out there all night. Peering through the cabin window, she could see he was awake and moving about. Although there was something strange about him. Something not quite right.
Then when she tried to engage in conversation with her husband, he’d come at her again. A senseless blind rage, snarling and clawing, as if she was the one in the wrong. He looked more than a little dishevelled now. In fact, he looked decidedly rotten.
Maybe his injuries weren’t as bad as they looked. Maybe when he cleaned himself up, he’d be ok. Maybe he just needed to calm down, have a shower, and everything could go back to how it was before. Although the extent of his injuries looked serious. But he couldn’t be that wounded, could he? After all, the thing snarling before her couldn’t be her husband. Could it?...
A man who’s certainly not unfamiliar with post-apocalyptic fiction is British author Iain Rob Wright. In his debut novel ‘The Final Winter’ (2011), we saw the end of the world through the lens of a localised British pub.
This novella offers up another localised perspective of the apocalypse, that of a husband and wife aboard their yacht – the ‘Emily-Devine’ – as it sails off the north cost of Spain on a voyage to Portugal’s Silver Coast. It’s in this confined and isolated setting that we see the beginnings of a potential zombie outbreak. Or is it?
Being the third instalment in the ‘Year Of The Zombie’ series, we’re already ahead of the game when it comes to knowing what’s wrong with Emily’s husband. As soon as Wright starts to describe Ross’ actions as a flying into a blind rage, and how he doesn’t seem to respond to any of the injuries he’s suffered, we know exactly what’s up. Yeah, Ross isn’t well at all.
What follows is a sort of domestic abuse cum horror-thriller within the pressure-cooker environment of a yacht out at sea. A good half of the story is written in the past tense, as Emily gradually recounts what occurred the previous night, through the fog of her early-morning hangover. How Ross snapped and lashed out at her. How she’d fought back.
However, the layers which Wright brings in within the latter sections of the novella is where the story really takes us on a clever detour. Where we begin to question what Emily’s memories and her perspective on things are telling us. Oh yeah, we begin to question the reality of it all.
It’s certainly a compelling read, drawing you into the claustrophobic and isolated confines of the yacht. The character of Emily is also wonderfully fleshed out, with her own personal arch coming into play. You see, she’s always relied on others. Always been supported, hanging off the coattails of men – especially her husband and indeed her husband before Ross. Now she needs to be strong. She needs to rely on herself and not a man to save her.
The whole story with its interlaced layers works well. The open ending also works in its favour. Leaves you not so much wondering, but rather grinning at the twist Wright’s played us with. Altogether another solid addition to the ‘Year Of The Zombie’ series.
The novella runs for a total of 33 pages.
© DLS Reviews
