Horror and Hope: Unraveling the Eco-Horror of Kristine Ong Muslim

  Kristine Ong Muslim is a Filipino author known for her distinct works in speculative fiction, eco-horror, and poetry. Although she has published works internationally, when compared to mainstream Filipino authors who write in more traditional genres or are widely read about, she will, of course, appear lesser known, not to mention how the genres of her works are also quite niche in the Philippines. Her works often tackle the ideas of environmental degradation, dystopia, and existential dread, all of which the average reader does not read.

In her works, there are four main key themes all of which I will elaborate further:

• Environmental Collapse and Eco-Horror - It specifically focuses on the consequences of human exploitation towards the environment, often painting a bleak picture on the future of the planet and its environment. In her work "The Sorrow of Islands" from her Age of Blight book series, Muslim shows a post-apocalyptic world, wherein the remaining human survivors struggle to survive on isolated islands. The story explores the themes of environmental degradation and the irreversible damage humans have caused to the planet. 
• Dystopia and Post-Human Futures - For those who don't know, dystopia is a imaginative future, wherein the world is filled with great suffering and society has either become totalitarian or post-apocalyptic. So in her works, she regularly imagines stories that take place in societies that have collapsed or been negatively impacted by technology, environmental decay, or social breakdown. These type of her works often reflect the concerns for the possible futures of our world. A good example of this would be "The Man I Could Be" which is also from Age of Blight, in which peoples lives are controlled by machines. This story shows the dark possibilities of a future wherein human identity is endangered due to the advancement of technology.
• Alienation - This is a bit of a harder theme to explain, but essentially alienation in her works means the characters are often emotionally isolated and alone from each other and society. Alienation does not at all involve aliens from space. Alienation is key to the way Muslim explores the human condition in an ever-changing world, wherein technological advancement and environmental change make human troubles infinitely small to the grand scheme of things. One of the examples for this would be "Astrid" from The Drone Outside, wherein the protagonist named Astrid feels very isolated. She lives in a world where her every action is monitored by a drone (which is why the book is titled that way). Astrid's growing sense of isolation leads her to question her own existence and purpose in society.
• Blurring of Reality and Fiction - This is a simple one, a lot of her stories have a dream-like quality to them, in which what is true and what is fiction is mixed together seamlessly. An example of this would be "The Quarantined", the characters are quarantined and go through dream-like events that make them question what is real. 

My thoughts:

    Overall, I think that she is a fantastic and creative author. Although I haven't fully read her works, just from their synopsis, their genres and sub-genres and their titles I can tell she is a very innovative person. I love how she uses her works as a way to spread awareness about the environment and the damages us humans have done to it. I also love how she tackles the feeling of alienation in her works, personally, I prefer it when authors explore more personal themes in their literature such as isolation and loneliness; not that I'm a lonely person of course, it's just my preference.