The Ritual

Four friends who knew each other at university have lost touch over the years. They plan a hiking trip through the forests of Sweden's Arctic Circle to close the distance. On the trail, the old resentments none of them has voiced begin to surface.

Injuries slow the group, and they decide to leave the marked path for a shortcut through ancient woodland. Soon they are lost, and their food is running low.

Deeper in, they come across traces of pagan rites and sacrifice. They also sense something bestial moving among the trees.

The book is horror that sits between a survival story and folk horror. It first appeared in 2011, and in 2012 the British Fantasy Society gave it the August Derleth Award in the best horror novel category. A 2017 film adaptation stars Rafe Spall.

The question driving the second half is whether four men who can barely talk to each other can hold together long enough to get out of the forest.