The Hive by Ronald Malfi ~ a Review

by MK French

Following a violent storm, the residents of Mariner's Cover are changing. There's a collective obsession developing, with random items calling out to them to be collected. The residents hide these precious trinkets, and will do anything to keep them safe from each other.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

April 2026; Titan Books; 978-1803365671
audio, ebook, print (608 pages); horror 

The Hive is a chonker of a book, and reminds me of Stephen King's The Stand. Like that long book, we follow several people as their regular daily lives change and shift in ways they don't understand. Ellen's son Cory displays psychic ability she never knew about before. Retired heart surgeon Michael finds a door he's inexplicably possessive of and seems to connect places. Alex avoids work to do a nonsensical but important task, and his daughter is sure her colander helmet is important. Raj no longer understands language and draws symbols all over town. People are able to share thoughts and dreams, and they aren't sure why it's so important. The glimpses of who they were serve to showcase how odd the changes made them. 

The Horror

It's a slow, creeping dread infusing the page, with some elements of body horror and unreality that make up the horror aspect of the book. People are slowly trying to build something, and a collective consciousness is driving the effort. 

While there's some blood and violence, it's not a gory book. It's the quiet and disturbing horror of losing yourself and your purpose to another mind, to losing humanity in service to something that doesn't care about you or anything around you. The town is changed over the course of the story, and not necessarily for the better.

Buy The Hive at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.

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