Tatratea by Alex Woodroe is one of those books that leaves you staring at the final page thinking, “What the hell did I just read?” It is an unusual blend of eco-horror, science fiction, cosmic horror, and psychological disorientation, and it took me a while to figure out what kind of story I was actually reading. Part of that confusion was probably my own fault, because the book’s setting sent my expectations in a very specific direction. When I saw that this was a horror novel set in the Romanian wilderness of Transylvania, I immediately assumed I was getting some variation on the Dracula story. Given how many books I’ve encountered this year that have played with vampires, Dracula, and the mythology surrounding Transylvania, that was where my mind went. Instead, Woodroe took me somewhere I absolutely did not expect. So no, this is absolutely NOT a Dracula story or even a vampire story of any kind for anyone who was wondering.
The story follows Errata, a researcher working for an organization known as the Institute in a future where humanity has been almost completely wiped out. An alien presence known as the Source has taken over Earth, and only around two hundred humans are believed to remain. Errata is sent to investigate Tatratea, an isolated manor where the Institute has detected strange activity that could provide information about the entity responsible for humanity’s devastation. What initially sounds like an investigation of an abandoned estate quickly becomes something much stranger. The house and its surrounding flora have become active participants in the story, and Errata finds herself relying on the plants as she tries to understand what has happened there and why the Source seems to be affecting reality itself.
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