FimFiction Link - Short ID: 544169/the-gilderoy-expedition
Published: Oct '23
The Gilderoy Expedition is a 22k word Horror Adventure. Not many of those.
In this totally not 'At the Mountains of Madness' inspired fic, we follow a series of letters and journal entries made by the crew of a military airship is sent by Cadance to find the crew of a research vessel that disappeared months prior while in an expedition to research ice cores in the Matti Ths Aioniotitas glacial formation. I wonder what could've happened to them!
What follows is an intriguing tale as the military ship finds the remnants of the previous expedition's camp, as well as the journal of the leader of the expedition, Lord Gilderoy, and we learn about his true intentions behind this trip.
I'm pleased with this story. It was well paced. It let the suspense build and it doled out just enough information as it progressed that you never feel it's going around in circles, or things are rushing. That's not to say it was perfect.
There's this thing bad found footage movies do. They tend to forget they're supposed to be found footage and end up with the characters acting as tripods so they can properly frame and show whatever is happening. I've come across a few journal and epistolary style stories that fall in that trap too. Why is the character who's in the middle of experiencing a mental breakdown and/or being eaten alive still write in his diary? It's a hilarious mental image, but not one that mixes well with a serious horror story.
Gilderoy Exploration does NOT do that. When shit hits the fan, the characters have to deal with things more important than making daily journal entries. There is still enough information to understand most of what's happening—which is already surprising for this type of horror story—without sacrificing much of the mood and pacing.
I guess I would've wanted to witness a bigger fallout once the crew realises just what hides under the ice, but I understand there were bigger worries than keeping the journal entries constant.
Overall, it's an enjoyable horror story that does its best within the constrains set by its format. Definitely recommended.