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Bear Season
When Jade Hunter goes missing in the Alaskan wilderness, everyone is shocked. She was scheduled to speak at an academic symposium but never turned up. What was Jade really doing in Alaska?
Blood is found in the woods and suspicion immediately falls on the reclusive survivalist Ursula Smith. She is swiftly arrested and convicted of Jade’s murder – even though a body has not been found.
Several years later, Jade’s doctoral thesis leaks online, fuelling rumour and conspiracy over the true nature of her disappearance, leading investigative journalist Carla Young to dig through Jade’s life and discover what did happen to Jade Hunter.
Blood is found in the woods and suspicion immediately falls on the reclusive survivalist Ursula Smith. She is swiftly arrested and convicted of Jade’s murder – even though a body has not been found.
Several years later, Jade’s doctoral thesis leaks online, fuelling rumour and conspiracy over the true nature of her disappearance, leading investigative journalist Carla Young to dig through Jade’s life and discover what did happen to Jade Hunter.
176 pages, Paperback
First published February 29, 2024
8 people are currently reading
616 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
August 4, 2024
Jade, a troubled PhD student, travels to Alaska for a conference, then disappears; though no body is found, a reclusive older woman is accused of murdering her. What really happened, and what do mythical stories about bears have to do with it all? Fairclough’s excellent debut frames the story as a factual investigation by a journalist, supplemented by Jade’s ‘doctoral thesis’ (actually a personal account of her life leading up to the Alaska trip) and a lengthy interview with the alleged murderer. I loved the storytelling here; I raced through it. Just wish it had been longer!
August 6, 2024
“In this thesis, part academic inquiry, part fairy tale and vision quest, I document a journey to Bear, whose teeth and claws will tear away the skin of this life, whose jaws are gateways to the next.”
Twenty-five-year-old Manchester graduate student Jade Hunter travels halfway across the world to attend a folklore conference in Fairbanks, Alaska, where she fails to register for the event and promptly disappears into the wilderness. Although her body is never discovered, eccentric survivalist Ursula Smith, who lives alone in an off-grid cabin, is quickly convicted of her murder. A few years later, catching a crime documentary about the case on late night TV, investigative reporter Carla Young sees something in the footage of Ursula’s cabin that compels her to dig deeper into the case.
Bear Season is presented in two main sections, Jade’s doctoral thesis, and the events surrounding Jade’s disappearance as related by the imprisoned Ursula to Carla, along with a prologue and epilogue. This is a short debut novella, and I devoured it in a day. The writing is beautiful, and each woman’s separate story, as well as the story of how they relate to one another, is engrossing. "Jade, Ursula and I were three points spinning in the ether, light years apart from each other yet with orbits overlapping, converging.”
There are allusions to folklore and fairy tales, there’s the mystery of Jade’s disappearance, and there’s the tragedy of the misunderstood Ursula: "'Insane’ women, who disrupt the feminine ideals of serene wives, doting mothers, and chaste daughters, perverting the model of nuclear family, have, throughout our nation’s history, been objects of fear and loathing.”
I loved all of the moving parts of this story, but I don’t want to say too much because it is so short, so all I can basically do is gush about it and hope that it maybe gets on the radar of some people who would appreciate it. I would say don’t read this, though, if you want straight-up horror or if you’re bothered by an ending that’s open to interpretation. I honestly found myself wishing this book was longer, I definitely think it could have been, and I hope to see more by the author soon.
Twenty-five-year-old Manchester graduate student Jade Hunter travels halfway across the world to attend a folklore conference in Fairbanks, Alaska, where she fails to register for the event and promptly disappears into the wilderness. Although her body is never discovered, eccentric survivalist Ursula Smith, who lives alone in an off-grid cabin, is quickly convicted of her murder. A few years later, catching a crime documentary about the case on late night TV, investigative reporter Carla Young sees something in the footage of Ursula’s cabin that compels her to dig deeper into the case.
Bear Season is presented in two main sections, Jade’s doctoral thesis, and the events surrounding Jade’s disappearance as related by the imprisoned Ursula to Carla, along with a prologue and epilogue. This is a short debut novella, and I devoured it in a day. The writing is beautiful, and each woman’s separate story, as well as the story of how they relate to one another, is engrossing. "Jade, Ursula and I were three points spinning in the ether, light years apart from each other yet with orbits overlapping, converging.”
There are allusions to folklore and fairy tales, there’s the mystery of Jade’s disappearance, and there’s the tragedy of the misunderstood Ursula: "'Insane’ women, who disrupt the feminine ideals of serene wives, doting mothers, and chaste daughters, perverting the model of nuclear family, have, throughout our nation’s history, been objects of fear and loathing.”
I loved all of the moving parts of this story, but I don’t want to say too much because it is so short, so all I can basically do is gush about it and hope that it maybe gets on the radar of some people who would appreciate it. I would say don’t read this, though, if you want straight-up horror or if you’re bothered by an ending that’s open to interpretation. I honestly found myself wishing this book was longer, I definitely think it could have been, and I hope to see more by the author soon.
February 7, 2024
I have been trying for a couple of weeks to come up with something to write about Bear Season. Something worthy of this book. Simply put, I loved it. Found footage about finding oneself, while lost in a wilderness of folklore and fairy-tales. Beautifully written and intriguing. Jade feels real, the story feels grounded; quiet and introspective.
February 26, 2024
I whizzed through this book in a couple of days, but it will stay with me for much longer. Layers mystery and allegory mean I keep puzzling over it, trying to find connections within the narrative and wondering what, if anything, was ‘true’. I also enjoyed all the references to lots of different folklore traditions from different cultures. A really great read.
August 6, 2024
3.5 stars
This book’s narrative unfolds through three distinct characters, each with a unique voice that adds depth and intrigue to the story. The shift in prose and perspective between them is particularly engaging. It's rare for me to find a multi-POV book with distinctive voices, but the author accomplishes it here.
The narrator’s style reads like a compelling true crime novel, while Jade's thesis diverges from the typical academic format with its lyrical prose. Jade is a fascinating and complex character and her thesis is both transformative and poignant. Her instability adds to her depth and I found myself sympathizing with her because she has no real support network. She slowly unravels throughout the novel and it was a beautiful mess that I couldn’t look away from, particularly when it came to her fixation on bears.
As I read, it became clearer where the story was heading. Ursula’s POV did drag a bit, especially since I was more interested in what was going on with Jade at that point. While Goodreads classifies this as a mystery and horror, it felt more like a character study than anything else. There is definitely no horror but there is quite a bit of folklore mentioned. Overall, this was a solid debut and I’m definitely interested in reading more from this author in the future.
This book’s narrative unfolds through three distinct characters, each with a unique voice that adds depth and intrigue to the story. The shift in prose and perspective between them is particularly engaging. It's rare for me to find a multi-POV book with distinctive voices, but the author accomplishes it here.
The narrator’s style reads like a compelling true crime novel, while Jade's thesis diverges from the typical academic format with its lyrical prose. Jade is a fascinating and complex character and her thesis is both transformative and poignant. Her instability adds to her depth and I found myself sympathizing with her because she has no real support network. She slowly unravels throughout the novel and it was a beautiful mess that I couldn’t look away from, particularly when it came to her fixation on bears.
As I read, it became clearer where the story was heading. Ursula’s POV did drag a bit, especially since I was more interested in what was going on with Jade at that point. While Goodreads classifies this as a mystery and horror, it felt more like a character study than anything else. There is definitely no horror but there is quite a bit of folklore mentioned. Overall, this was a solid debut and I’m definitely interested in reading more from this author in the future.
August 1, 2024
Wowee so much power in such a short book! But like really quietly powerful? Gobbled it up
August 27, 2024
Well this may be a short book but hoooo boy, does it pack a punch!
I finished this overnight during an insomnia episode (yay! 🙄🥱) and it absolutely blew me away. I don't want to give anything away and won't.
Given the recent popularity of the social media bear debate in light of continued and publicised violence towards women, this book is highly interesting and pertinent.
I love the metaphorical and transformational aspect of the story. I love the style of the writing, from the "Jade's thesis" section to the "interviews with Ursula" section.
Gemma Fairclough has produced something of extraordinary value here and makes us question, as women, what are we more afraid of?
Fantastic 5 star reading.
I finished this overnight during an insomnia episode (yay! 🙄🥱) and it absolutely blew me away. I don't want to give anything away and won't.
Given the recent popularity of the social media bear debate in light of continued and publicised violence towards women, this book is highly interesting and pertinent.
I love the metaphorical and transformational aspect of the story. I love the style of the writing, from the "Jade's thesis" section to the "interviews with Ursula" section.
Gemma Fairclough has produced something of extraordinary value here and makes us question, as women, what are we more afraid of?
Fantastic 5 star reading.
March 9, 2025
I was so excited for this. An Instagram buddy had pulled my attention towards "Bear Season" last fall and literally a week later I found it in a Used Bookstore. I mean, if that wasn't a sign from the book Gods someone is messing with me! This idea of a fairy-tale/ mythological/ psychological Mystery with Horror leanings AND bears sounded like anything I could have wanted in a book. But now having finally read it, it was just fine to me and failed to reach it's potential, so why did the book Gods mess with me? I sometimes wish I could go into books and movies without hopes and expectations to avoid moments like this but then again it seems like there wouldn't be a point to begin with. Of course I want to be excited to start a new book. Disappointments come with that territory.
So first of all, 'fine' is not exactly an endorsement but it could have been easily much worse, I found this interesting and quite liked the concept. And I loved that this keeps itself vague, I mean it's almost impossible to give a clear genre classification because that would depend on your own interpretation and I think that worked perfectly well with this story. Where it failed me was when the execution didn't do what it needed to do imho. Meaning: this should have been a true mixed media book. See, we start with an introduction by an investigative journalist telling us about this missing person case that ended in murder charges against another woman, and now she would fill us in via the thesis the missing woman wrote in part 1 and an interview with the convicted murderess in part 2. And the big point here is that maybe no actual crime happened but instead the missing woman turned into a bear!
Just that we don't read neither a thesis nor an interview, both parts were written in 1st person and not even like a diary but like regular normal novel writing. She even mentions that the interviewed woman didn't want it to be printed as an interview because her words had been minced in that past but instead she'd prefer if this journalist would paraphrase things for her? Which makes no sense. Anyway, the idea that we are theoretically reading from each woman's POV yet still don't get truth and answers is a bit weird, I think keeping it in a more distant format would have made such a stronger impact. I really liked how the book starts and ends with an introduction and an epilogue by the (fictional) writer who is giving us this "true crime case" but it made it that much more disappointing that in between was just regular novel with regular narration, unreliable narrations, but still.
I also felt that especially the first part had the emphasis wrong. We are supposed to get the account of a woman, Jade, slipping into the delusion or the true fact that she is transforming into a bear but it contains so little about that. Instead we get a long passages on her breakup with her boyfriend, her daddy issues, her failing at writing her paper for uni. I understand of course that we get to see her fragile mind here and set the boyfriend up as a potential true culprit for her disappearance. Occasionally she utters little sentences on how nothing matters because she is no longer herself but transforming. But for me, I needed more on that. Why don't we get to see more of her actual research on mythology surrounding bears and women? There was so little and that would have been so fascinating and would have set up the trajectory of this story much better. I wanted more of how she got into this bear obsession, when did this start, where did it come from? The plot was just concerned with making us wonder whether it's real or not but we were mainly supposed to accept that that's where this woman comes from.
The little nuggets on message boards that follow Jade and almost iconize her, where people try to replicate what she did and believe in the mythology aspects, those were great. Would have loved to have more of that, again, but at least it helps to frame the events nicely. What I didn't like so much was how this author ties herself into the story of both of these women. That didn't work well for me because, again, I felt like it needed to be pushed further to not seem like a weirdly artificially constructed bigger picture mystery.
I am not sure I am expressing my issue with the book right. I did like the story underneath it all and I did not mind that it doesn't answer itself, that was the way to go here. I also was fine with how little this was a Horror story. But mostly I feel like it under-performs its own ideas. And for what it's worth if I am given the options to make up my mind about whether a character is having a mental breakdown or something supernatural is happening, I am the type who always chooses the mental health issues. And I really wish I could have gone with idea of the bear transformation, maybe then I would have liked it a bit better? But for that the novel needed to convince me and I don't think that would have been the right choice for this kind of story, to prove me something. The one thing done 100% right here is the ambiguity.
2.5*
So first of all, 'fine' is not exactly an endorsement but it could have been easily much worse, I found this interesting and quite liked the concept. And I loved that this keeps itself vague, I mean it's almost impossible to give a clear genre classification because that would depend on your own interpretation and I think that worked perfectly well with this story. Where it failed me was when the execution didn't do what it needed to do imho. Meaning: this should have been a true mixed media book. See, we start with an introduction by an investigative journalist telling us about this missing person case that ended in murder charges against another woman, and now she would fill us in via the thesis the missing woman wrote in part 1 and an interview with the convicted murderess in part 2. And the big point here is that maybe no actual crime happened but instead the missing woman turned into a bear!
Just that we don't read neither a thesis nor an interview, both parts were written in 1st person and not even like a diary but like regular normal novel writing. She even mentions that the interviewed woman didn't want it to be printed as an interview because her words had been minced in that past but instead she'd prefer if this journalist would paraphrase things for her? Which makes no sense. Anyway, the idea that we are theoretically reading from each woman's POV yet still don't get truth and answers is a bit weird, I think keeping it in a more distant format would have made such a stronger impact. I really liked how the book starts and ends with an introduction and an epilogue by the (fictional) writer who is giving us this "true crime case" but it made it that much more disappointing that in between was just regular novel with regular narration, unreliable narrations, but still.
I also felt that especially the first part had the emphasis wrong. We are supposed to get the account of a woman, Jade, slipping into the delusion or the true fact that she is transforming into a bear but it contains so little about that. Instead we get a long passages on her breakup with her boyfriend, her daddy issues, her failing at writing her paper for uni. I understand of course that we get to see her fragile mind here and set the boyfriend up as a potential true culprit for her disappearance. Occasionally she utters little sentences on how nothing matters because she is no longer herself but transforming. But for me, I needed more on that. Why don't we get to see more of her actual research on mythology surrounding bears and women? There was so little and that would have been so fascinating and would have set up the trajectory of this story much better. I wanted more of how she got into this bear obsession, when did this start, where did it come from? The plot was just concerned with making us wonder whether it's real or not but we were mainly supposed to accept that that's where this woman comes from.
The little nuggets on message boards that follow Jade and almost iconize her, where people try to replicate what she did and believe in the mythology aspects, those were great. Would have loved to have more of that, again, but at least it helps to frame the events nicely. What I didn't like so much was how this author ties herself into the story of both of these women. That didn't work well for me because, again, I felt like it needed to be pushed further to not seem like a weirdly artificially constructed bigger picture mystery.
I am not sure I am expressing my issue with the book right. I did like the story underneath it all and I did not mind that it doesn't answer itself, that was the way to go here. I also was fine with how little this was a Horror story. But mostly I feel like it under-performs its own ideas. And for what it's worth if I am given the options to make up my mind about whether a character is having a mental breakdown or something supernatural is happening, I am the type who always chooses the mental health issues. And I really wish I could have gone with idea of the bear transformation, maybe then I would have liked it a bit better? But for that the novel needed to convince me and I don't think that would have been the right choice for this kind of story, to prove me something. The one thing done 100% right here is the ambiguity.
2.5*
March 27, 2025
Thank you Freya for this wonderful book - I loved it! The layout of the 'thesis' and the journalists interview was so engaging and unique, and the story read like a modern day fable
March 1, 2024
i loved this novel!!!
from the blurb/info available on kickstarter, i’d anticipated a found footage, true crime novel, which is usually out of my comfort zone. this was partially true; a stitched together narrative, certain unreliability, and a missing girl. however, i realised this wee novel contains everything i usually look for: weird women and weird things happening to them! 💖
i really do wish this was twice as long. the author paints a stunning picture of a bleak Alaskan town with mistrust sewn into its bones, reveals a suffocating relationship and a woman’s quietly creeping independence, and gives us droplets of magical realism and folklore i was desperate to get more of. i was halfway through before i even realised, i had been completely drawn into this world
it really is so special to follow a book on kickstarter. indie publishing is a difficult gig so to contribute and feel involved in the project is always so fun, and to see novels as brilliant as this take shape is an honour. congratulations to everyone involved! 🐻
from the blurb/info available on kickstarter, i’d anticipated a found footage, true crime novel, which is usually out of my comfort zone. this was partially true; a stitched together narrative, certain unreliability, and a missing girl. however, i realised this wee novel contains everything i usually look for: weird women and weird things happening to them! 💖
i really do wish this was twice as long. the author paints a stunning picture of a bleak Alaskan town with mistrust sewn into its bones, reveals a suffocating relationship and a woman’s quietly creeping independence, and gives us droplets of magical realism and folklore i was desperate to get more of. i was halfway through before i even realised, i had been completely drawn into this world
it really is so special to follow a book on kickstarter. indie publishing is a difficult gig so to contribute and feel involved in the project is always so fun, and to see novels as brilliant as this take shape is an honour. congratulations to everyone involved! 🐻
March 26, 2024
An extraordinary, multi-layered book. Kafkaesque in places. For me a parable of grief.
December 1, 2024
The experience of this novel was really unique— a “true crime case” told in summarized interviews, author interjections, and an abridged doctoral thesis that was incredibly satisfying to explore. While I found the second half a bit slower and less engaging, this was a really atmospheric and tense story that I had a good time with.
May 13, 2024
Sometimes you come across a book that manages to do something new. Explore ideas that you may have never come across before, or ideas that have been discussed, but approach them from a new direction. Bear Season is one of those books. It takes a very unusual theme and approaches it in a totally original way so the end result is like nothing you have read before.
Jade Hunter goes missing a wild and uninhabited area of Alaska. Nothing is seen of her again, there is no body and no one really knows what happened to her. In spite of this, a reclusive woman is arrested and convicted of her murder. Later, Jade’s thesis is leaked online which may give clues about what happened to Jade and it leads a journalist to start digger deeper into her disappearance. So what we have here is a story told through the eyes of the reporter and Jade’s own words in her thesis.
I think this book is a bit like Marmite, you are either going to love it or hate it because it is not straightforward, the themes it explores are a little off the wall and it disobeys a lot of the “rules” of writing. However, I really loved it. I enjoyed its unique approach, the esoteric ideas and the tone of the book. I found it profoundly creepy and disturbing and anything that can make me feel something different, that provokes a reaction, is going to get a thumbs up from me.
Bear Season is a short book, but packs a big punch. I think it will appeal to fans of Yellowjackets or His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet (two very different pieces of work I know but trust me on this, there is an area of crossover.) Give it a try, what do you have to lose?
Jade Hunter goes missing a wild and uninhabited area of Alaska. Nothing is seen of her again, there is no body and no one really knows what happened to her. In spite of this, a reclusive woman is arrested and convicted of her murder. Later, Jade’s thesis is leaked online which may give clues about what happened to Jade and it leads a journalist to start digger deeper into her disappearance. So what we have here is a story told through the eyes of the reporter and Jade’s own words in her thesis.
I think this book is a bit like Marmite, you are either going to love it or hate it because it is not straightforward, the themes it explores are a little off the wall and it disobeys a lot of the “rules” of writing. However, I really loved it. I enjoyed its unique approach, the esoteric ideas and the tone of the book. I found it profoundly creepy and disturbing and anything that can make me feel something different, that provokes a reaction, is going to get a thumbs up from me.
Bear Season is a short book, but packs a big punch. I think it will appeal to fans of Yellowjackets or His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet (two very different pieces of work I know but trust me on this, there is an area of crossover.) Give it a try, what do you have to lose?
June 20, 2024
"Bear Season" is as much true crime as it is dark fairy tale and you never really know what has truly happened. It reads a bit like found material, but has a strong weird fiction vibe to it. Reading it felt like a fever dream, you just do not know what to think, you cannot tell what is real. Fascinating and somehow entertaining! 4 stars
June 19, 2024
Performs the magic trick that all good novellas perform, in that it feels complete while simultaneously leaving you wanting more. I especially loved the middle section of Jade's thesis, and wanted to spend much more time in that character's head.
April 24, 2024
Very good debut by a Manchester- based author!
August 6, 2024
I’ve somehow found a sub-genre of books that can be described as “women maybe turning into animals but then again maybe they’re just having a mental breakdown?”. Odd but I’m into it
February 3, 2025
Given the number of people thanked by the author, it seems a shame that none of them had the guts to say that the book is not very good. It basically doesn't answer the questions how and why is the main character becoming a bear and why is she drawn to the dangerous Alaskan wilderness where she ends up naked but under the wrapping of her dead mother's mink coat ???
Books about unfulfilled women trying to find a place in the world are a dime a dozen, which makes this a crowded field for Fairclough to enter. Some readers are going to howl but it is metaphorical and is meant to be considered as part of a world of magical (??) realism (???). I have to say that Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm have set a high bar that this book is nowhere near reaching. Some readers giving it 5* reviews seem happy at the open-ended nature of the book. I'm not one of them because I like my books to have a beginning, middle and end and in that order. I do get that we meet Jade as a woman who rails against being unfulfilled, whether as an unhappy daughter or an unrequited woman living in a squat at the mercy of a domineering lover but watching her trying to resolve her situation by "becoming a bear" and then replying to a long-distance "call of the wild" - I was grateful that it was a novella because, if nothing else, it was short !! Of the three main characters, I wish that there had been more focus on Ursula Smith, the survivalist who takes in Hunter and finds her humanity reawakened after a life that had been full of hard knocks. I would have liked to know more about why she killed one of the policeman who was involved in the search for the missing Jade as that episode was skipped over, even by the investigative journalist, Carla Young, who, amazingly, had a connection with Smith that I won't reveal because it stretches coincidence beyond any acceptable elasticity.
I note that many of the very positive reviews are written by women. Am I missing something because I'm a bloke?? Answers on a postcard...
Books about unfulfilled women trying to find a place in the world are a dime a dozen, which makes this a crowded field for Fairclough to enter. Some readers are going to howl but it is metaphorical and is meant to be considered as part of a world of magical (??) realism (???). I have to say that Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm have set a high bar that this book is nowhere near reaching. Some readers giving it 5* reviews seem happy at the open-ended nature of the book. I'm not one of them because I like my books to have a beginning, middle and end and in that order. I do get that we meet Jade as a woman who rails against being unfulfilled, whether as an unhappy daughter or an unrequited woman living in a squat at the mercy of a domineering lover but watching her trying to resolve her situation by "becoming a bear" and then replying to a long-distance "call of the wild" - I was grateful that it was a novella because, if nothing else, it was short !! Of the three main characters, I wish that there had been more focus on Ursula Smith, the survivalist who takes in Hunter and finds her humanity reawakened after a life that had been full of hard knocks. I would have liked to know more about why she killed one of the policeman who was involved in the search for the missing Jade as that episode was skipped over, even by the investigative journalist, Carla Young, who, amazingly, had a connection with Smith that I won't reveal because it stretches coincidence beyond any acceptable elasticity.
I note that many of the very positive reviews are written by women. Am I missing something because I'm a bloke?? Answers on a postcard...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 28, 2025
This was definitely a fascinating- and fast - read about a woman who may have transformed into a bear. Along the way, we have glimpses into her academic and personal life as we follow her to Alaska to deliver a paper that she may or may not have written. It was quirky, scholarly and managed to touch on some central themes in women’s lives.
April 23, 2025
okay idk if I’m getting the book all that much but I think maybe the bear is not a literal bear which really changes the book for me lol.
Ate this book up- not sure if I loved it but got me thinking that’s for sure
Ate this book up- not sure if I loved it but got me thinking that’s for sure
December 26, 2024
I would have liked more of the folklore studies side of things and less of the overbearing older man side of things but alas
January 9, 2025
the bear is a metaphor. the bear is also a bear.
May 21, 2024
A fascinating novella
I absolutely loved Bear Season. The format - part doctoral thesis, part pieced together recollections of a convicted killer, pieced together with footnotes by a journalist, is done brilliantly. It plays into the modern fascination with true crime convincingly.
But there’s also far more here than simply a titillating true crime style story. Bear Season ponders isolation in its many forms, through loss, through choice, through sexuality. It infuses its story with the possibilities of the speculative. It knits together it’s two parts expertly and it’s well written.
There’s, I think, an influence of Marian Engel’s novel, Bear, here too. I almost feel like Bear Season could have been written in conversation with Bear. Jade’s desire to seek out Bear, to become a bear, to transform, seem a kind of deviation on the themes of Engel’s novel. But I could be way off!
This is a great novella, expertly crafted. Highly recommended.
I absolutely loved Bear Season. The format - part doctoral thesis, part pieced together recollections of a convicted killer, pieced together with footnotes by a journalist, is done brilliantly. It plays into the modern fascination with true crime convincingly.
But there’s also far more here than simply a titillating true crime style story. Bear Season ponders isolation in its many forms, through loss, through choice, through sexuality. It infuses its story with the possibilities of the speculative. It knits together it’s two parts expertly and it’s well written.
There’s, I think, an influence of Marian Engel’s novel, Bear, here too. I almost feel like Bear Season could have been written in conversation with Bear. Jade’s desire to seek out Bear, to become a bear, to transform, seem a kind of deviation on the themes of Engel’s novel. But I could be way off!
This is a great novella, expertly crafted. Highly recommended.
July 12, 2024
This was done in a really cool way with different transcripts, academic writing, and regular first-person narratives. I always appreciate a footnote in a novel! I hope this author writes more.
March 30, 2024
On its website, Wild Hunt Books is described as an indie publishing house founded in South London in 2020. It shares the same ethos as its “little sister”, Wild Hunt Magazine, set up in 2016 to celebrate weird and surreal fiction and to give a platform to emerging authors in the said genres. Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, Wild Hunt Books has issued its first publication – Bear Season by Gemma Fairclough – with a second (The Burning Child of Bantry by Hanna Nielson) set to follow soon.
Bear Season is certainly an auspicious start to Wild Hunt’s publishing campaign: a gripping Gothic novel imbued with echoes of myth and folklore. Its protagonist is Jade Hunter, a doctoral student from the UK who goes missing after travelling to a folklore symposium in Alaska to deliver a talk about bears and their relationship to women in fairy tales. Ursula Smith, a reclusive survivalist, is convicted of her murder but, with no body ever found, Jade’s disappearance remains a tantalising mystery. Interest in her case is fuelled by the online leak (and subsequent deletion) of Jade’s doctoral thesis, which suggests that Jade’s obsessive interest in the figure of the bear was more than simply academic....
In both theme and narrative structure, Bear Season reworks familiar horror tropes into a work which is thoroughly original and compelling. Fairclough resorts to the time-tested Gothic formula of found texts and unreliable narrators. As indicated in its subtitle, the novel is, purportedly, a report “On the Disappearance of Jade Hunter by Carla G Young”. Young is an investigative journalist who gets hold of the leaked doctoral thesis and the abstract of Jade’s proposal for the Alaskan conference, and presents them as “evidence” alongside her theories about Jade’s disappearance. Young’s report is also based on several interviews with supposed murderer Ursula Smith. Yet, none of the “voices” represented here can be fully trusted – it is unclear whether Jade intends her seemingly bizarre beliefs to be taken seriously although that seems to be the case; Ursula is widely considered an eccentric old woman who might have an interest in hiding the truth and her “statements” are not quoted directly but paraphrased by Young; Young herself, one suspects, has personal motives in investigating the matter.
As in the best weird/uncanny fiction, one is left wondering where the truth lies, and whether the mystery has a supernatural explanation. In a brilliant touch, the “report” references real-life events and academic works (for instance, the McCandless case, authentic folk tales, the “therian” phenomenon, and the studies of Bruno Bettelheim on fairytales), further blurring the lines between truth and fiction.
There is much to unpack in this work. The setting – the awe-inspiring yet threatening beauty of the Alaskan terrain – gives a nod to the Romantic Gothic’s obsession with the natural "Sublime" as well as to survival/Polar horror. This complements the novel’s exploration of the sometimes fluid boundaries between man and beast. There is also a strong undercurrent of feminist Gothic – Jade’s identification with the figure of the bear is her way of escaping from an increasingly claustrophobic relationship.
With its myriad themes and “meta” elements, Bear Season could be deemed a work of literary post-horror. If this description makes it sound dull, fear not: it is also (or perhaps, first and foremost) a page-turner with plenty of chills and thrills.
https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/20...
Bear Season is certainly an auspicious start to Wild Hunt’s publishing campaign: a gripping Gothic novel imbued with echoes of myth and folklore. Its protagonist is Jade Hunter, a doctoral student from the UK who goes missing after travelling to a folklore symposium in Alaska to deliver a talk about bears and their relationship to women in fairy tales. Ursula Smith, a reclusive survivalist, is convicted of her murder but, with no body ever found, Jade’s disappearance remains a tantalising mystery. Interest in her case is fuelled by the online leak (and subsequent deletion) of Jade’s doctoral thesis, which suggests that Jade’s obsessive interest in the figure of the bear was more than simply academic....
In both theme and narrative structure, Bear Season reworks familiar horror tropes into a work which is thoroughly original and compelling. Fairclough resorts to the time-tested Gothic formula of found texts and unreliable narrators. As indicated in its subtitle, the novel is, purportedly, a report “On the Disappearance of Jade Hunter by Carla G Young”. Young is an investigative journalist who gets hold of the leaked doctoral thesis and the abstract of Jade’s proposal for the Alaskan conference, and presents them as “evidence” alongside her theories about Jade’s disappearance. Young’s report is also based on several interviews with supposed murderer Ursula Smith. Yet, none of the “voices” represented here can be fully trusted – it is unclear whether Jade intends her seemingly bizarre beliefs to be taken seriously although that seems to be the case; Ursula is widely considered an eccentric old woman who might have an interest in hiding the truth and her “statements” are not quoted directly but paraphrased by Young; Young herself, one suspects, has personal motives in investigating the matter.
As in the best weird/uncanny fiction, one is left wondering where the truth lies, and whether the mystery has a supernatural explanation. In a brilliant touch, the “report” references real-life events and academic works (for instance, the McCandless case, authentic folk tales, the “therian” phenomenon, and the studies of Bruno Bettelheim on fairytales), further blurring the lines between truth and fiction.
There is much to unpack in this work. The setting – the awe-inspiring yet threatening beauty of the Alaskan terrain – gives a nod to the Romantic Gothic’s obsession with the natural "Sublime" as well as to survival/Polar horror. This complements the novel’s exploration of the sometimes fluid boundaries between man and beast. There is also a strong undercurrent of feminist Gothic – Jade’s identification with the figure of the bear is her way of escaping from an increasingly claustrophobic relationship.
With its myriad themes and “meta” elements, Bear Season could be deemed a work of literary post-horror. If this description makes it sound dull, fear not: it is also (or perhaps, first and foremost) a page-turner with plenty of chills and thrills.
https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/20...
October 4, 2025
Bear Season is the type of book that defies genre. It is classified as horror (I read as part of the Small Spec Book Awards), yet I reads more like a literary mystery with a fantastical element ( whether real or imagined, that is certainly up for debate). The storytelling via a collection of writings (found manuscript, conference abstract, journaling, and investigative reporting) was unique and resulted in a story with shadows in the corners as no piece had all the information. While I did not find the story horrifying, I was captivated by the folklore and literary exposition. It’s perhaps a different answer to the recent viral internet question, “if alone in the woods, would you rather meet a man or a bear?”
4.5 ⭐️
Thank you to Wild Hunt Books for the complimentary copy as part of the SSBA judging process.
4.5 ⭐️
Thank you to Wild Hunt Books for the complimentary copy as part of the SSBA judging process.
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March 18, 2024I'm having trouble giving this a star rating because, objectively, I have some small issues with this book, but it also, shall I say, sunk its claws into me.
Jade has bucked her father's expectations to study fairy tales, her advisor has balked at her thesis, and her boyfriend is a demeaning eco-warrior d-bag who is annoyed rather than proud that she's been asked to speak at a symposium in Alaska.
Jade's utter isolation and questioning of the human experience reminded me of Earthlings in the best way.
Jade has bucked her father's expectations to study fairy tales, her advisor has balked at her thesis, and her boyfriend is a demeaning eco-warrior d-bag who is annoyed rather than proud that she's been asked to speak at a symposium in Alaska.
Jade's utter isolation and questioning of the human experience reminded me of Earthlings in the best way.
December 30, 2024
An absolutely brilliant book. Part novel, part thesis, part investigative journalist report, this book transcends both form and genre.
Fairclough's writing is as addictive as it is beautiful, the way she brings the settings, characters and themes to life is impeccable. I devoured this book in two days - it probably would have been one sitting was I not under the weather with a cold and needing to regularly stop to sleep. This book has actually probably made me more ill because I forced myself to stay awake at times to read it - a testament to its brilliance.
Fairclough's writing is as addictive as it is beautiful, the way she brings the settings, characters and themes to life is impeccable. I devoured this book in two days - it probably would have been one sitting was I not under the weather with a cold and needing to regularly stop to sleep. This book has actually probably made me more ill because I forced myself to stay awake at times to read it - a testament to its brilliance.
July 22, 2025
I devoured this little, incredible book in a couple of days! Bear Season is a mix of found footage, folk horror and fairy tales, brilliantly plotted, beautifully written. I was gripped and would love more (it's just over 160 pages), though at the same time I'm satisfied with the execution and the ending. Really keen to read Gemma Fairclough's next novella, The Retreat, soon!
April 14, 2024
I want to be kinder to this interesting novella from Gemma Fairclough. In it, a UK grad student disappears into the Alaskan wilderness after going to attend an academic conference. Traced together from the student's writings and the work of an investigative reporter, this isn't so much of a whodunnit, but what-actually-happened-here sort of story.
I longed for a third act here that could provide some resolution, but I think leaving ambiguity was perhaps the author's goal.
I longed for a third act here that could provide some resolution, but I think leaving ambiguity was perhaps the author's goal.
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