Road of Bones review: Christopher Golden’s Siberia-set horror novel will chill you to the bone

There’s an immersive quality to reading Christopher Golden’s Road of Bones (St. Martin’s Press) during the coldest month of the year. While you don’t need to be hunkered on the couch with a raging snowstorm at the door to enjoy this Siberia-set horror thriller, those who have experienced truly intense cold temperatures will feel a knowing terror as the wild events of this novel unfold.

Road of Bones centers on Felix Teigland, a struggling documentary producer in need of a hook for his next potential project. He thinks he’s stumbled onto a sure thing with a trip through Siberia’s Kolyma Highway, known as the Road of Bones. A remote highway through the Russian Far East, the highway owes its nickname to the thousands of gulag workers who died while constructing the massive 1200 km+ highway and were summarily buried beneath the road.

Felix has brought along his long-suffering cameraman Prentiss on the trip in order to film something to whet the appetites of potential investors. Prentiss, meanwhile, is tagging along because he wants to be sure Felix finally pays him back for all of the prior unsuccessful schemes he was roped into working.

Things quickly spiral out of control once Felix and Prentiss make their way to the tiny town of Akhustm (“the coldest place on Earth”) where they are meant to pick up their local tour guide. In addition to battling the brutal -40 degree weather, they are set upon by bloodthirsty and confoundingly intelligent wolves tracking their every move. Their group soon expands to include a shell-shocked and seemingly mute 9-year-old girl, who may have a connection to the madness closing in on them as they make their way along the dangerous Road of Bones, with the mysterious creatures in full pursuit.

Christopher Golden knows how to construct an involving page-turner and the concept of setting a supernatural thriller in one of the most remote (and coldest) places on the planet only adds to the suspense. Like The Thing crossed with The Road, Golden combines the terror of battling an unknown force in a secluded location with an unrelenting road trip from hell. It’s a tight and claustrophobic read that works best when it focuses on the relationship of the odd-couple at the heart of the story, with Felix’s drive and passion leading both men into an unimaginable location and situation.

With elements of wild folk-horror that only add to the real-life atrocities behind the story of the highway, Road of Bones is a nail-biting thriller that you’ll plow through during the next snow day.

Road of Bones is available now.