'Black Days' by Jackson Ellis

Jackson Ellis’ deeply strange and utterly original novel tells the story of Daniel Fassett, who, upon waking from a coma after a near-fatal car accident, finds himself lonely and with a much smaller pension than he had anticipated. His time in hospital inspires him to partake in a experiment with a local doctor, in attempt to hibernate throughout the winter. Ellis’ writing style has an unsettling quality reminiscent of Shirley Jackson.

That Daniel’s partner in this experiment was a Dr Butcher certainly seemed fitting; although he never physically “butchers” anyone, his motivations are much less compassionate than Daniel’s. From the start, it is more than a little ridiculous how fast a seemingly sensible doctor is convinced to create an artificial hibernation process, and then, having done this, open up this procedure to others. While Daniel wants to select candidates based on who he thinks would benefit the most, Dr Butcher quite clearly sees the process as an experiment, and chooses the next patients so that he can test on a wide range of demographics. This is exemplified by the horrifying moments in which he sedates Rebecka Pollard, and performs a cheaper version of the procedure on Joe Gooley.

‘Black Days’ deals with various uncomfortable themes. Daniel’s situation can be seen as a criticism of the treatment of workers by their employers, as he is completely taken advantage of and then loses a large chunk of his pension through no fault of his own. This novel also questions the role of the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated in our society; Daniel pities Joe Gooley, believing he has been punished enough, whereas to Dr Butcher, criminals should repay their debts to society through methods very different to a typical prison sentence.
I would like to mention how grateful I am to have been given the opportunity to read ‘Black Days’ early — I feel very lucky to have had a head start on this fascinating yet chilling story. ‘Black Days’ will be formally published on the 22nd of October this year, and will become available as an ebook in early 2025.