macandgeese's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
avangron's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
oopsadaisy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
shamson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Death, and Injury/injury detail
Minor: Sexual content
raptorq's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
I don't usually leave written reviews but this book is... so bad I want to save someone the struggle. I don't think the author even realizes how racist and culturally insensitive it is, among other things: colonial explorer obsession, the basis for the MC's relationship with the love interest being that she was his student traumatized by the power dynamic. What. Not to mention the Nazi reenacting, tribal tattooed white guy side character who everyone is mildly annoyed by but turns into a saviour. I was strung along by moderately interesting descriptions of geology and caving (the main plot sounds like a drug trip about connectedness the author had one time and wanted to base everything on) but everything falls apart when characters interact. Felt like a lot of self-insert fantasies all the way through to the end. Don't get me started on the dream sequences.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/injury detail, Death, Cultural appropriation, Medical content, Blood, and Abandonment
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, and Torture
Minor: Sexual content, Pregnancy, Suicide, and Rape
yarnbandit's review against another edition
3.0
Ha ha the nerd scientist is *fat* and likes *anime,* ha ha, what a *nerd*. So glad the author told us he was fat and liked anime so we’d know what a nerd he was.
skyfox24kd's review against another edition
4.0
I think I will leave this as a 4. The tension does build. I can say it is a bit of a horror novel for those with fear of caves and being stranded in the deep and starving, running out of light- that kind of thing. But there is more. There is another kind of threat. This isn’t some creature feature like some of the other works I have read. It was very different. It’s not your conventional threat in the darkness type of cave adventure. There are the real usual dangers of caving and then ones you can’t see. Double entendrè.
smlozinski's review against another edition
4.0
This one is so hard to rate. Let’s say 3.5, rounding up to four stars! I enjoyed the heck out of this, which I’ve come to realize is the most important element of reading for me, at least for my “fun” reading that I do when I could be watching a TV show or movie instead. The book was entertaining and I plowed through it in a couple of days.
I loved the premise. I have a hate/fascination thing with caves. Just reading about them makes me feel physically anxious, on the other hand, I am amazed by all there is to discover within the depths of the earth!
I do agree with most of the negative reviews, though. This book has a lot of “too much” going on. It’s one of those stories where the main character gets hit by a truck, and then a hot air balloon malfunctions and drops him in Brazil, and then he gets hit by a radioactive lizard, and then his wife ends up in an iron lung, and then he turns INTO a radioactive lizard spouting profundities about the meaning of life. That sort of thing.
Content wise, from a Christian perspective (particularly those of us who don’t buy into the evolution narrative and who see the Bible as reliable) there’s one sex scene and several times the Lord’s name is taken in vain. There’s violence and some gore, unsurprisingly.
There’s of course some weird stuff about the secrets of humanity (can’t get into it without spoilers) and blah blah, but of course it’s fiction and I wasn’t offended or anything, just rolled my eyes.
There’s one continuity error, and several other moments where I questioned how they got from point a to point b.
Despite these shortcomings, I still really liked the book. It’s great fun. Sort of Indians Jones meets a more corny bit of Crichton sci-fi fun. I think the author has talent, and I hope to see more from him. I liked the prose.
I loved the premise. I have a hate/fascination thing with caves. Just reading about them makes me feel physically anxious, on the other hand, I am amazed by all there is to discover within the depths of the earth!
I do agree with most of the negative reviews, though. This book has a lot of “too much” going on. It’s one of those stories where the main character gets hit by a truck, and then a hot air balloon malfunctions and drops him in Brazil, and then he gets hit by a radioactive lizard, and then his wife ends up in an iron lung, and then he turns INTO a radioactive lizard spouting profundities about the meaning of life. That sort of thing.
Content wise, from a Christian perspective (particularly those of us who don’t buy into the evolution narrative and who see the Bible as reliable) there’s one sex scene and several times the Lord’s name is taken in vain. There’s violence and some gore, unsurprisingly.
There’s of course some weird stuff about the secrets of humanity (can’t get into it without spoilers) and blah blah, but of course it’s fiction and I wasn’t offended or anything, just rolled my eyes.
There’s one continuity error, and several other moments where I questioned how they got from point a to point b.
Despite these shortcomings, I still really liked the book. It’s great fun. Sort of Indians Jones meets a more corny bit of Crichton sci-fi fun. I think the author has talent, and I hope to see more from him. I liked the prose.
lael's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
madarauchiha's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
3.0
❤️ 🧡 💛 💚 💙 💜 my about / byf / CW info carrd: uchiha-madara 💜 💙 💚 💛 🧡 ❤️
*looking at other very low star reviews* Um. I enjoyed it.
Hey it's horror, there's going to be some stupid goofy shit. And I don't know much about the accuracy of fictional caving. I had fun reading it and honestly, what more could you ask of a book? [maybe causing some additional mental illness, or prompting a half year of obsession over the material. But frankly those kind of books should only be ingested once a red moon.]
*looking at other very low star reviews* Um. I enjoyed it.
Hey it's horror, there's going to be some stupid goofy shit. And I don't know much about the accuracy of fictional caving. I had fun reading it and honestly, what more could you ask of a book? [maybe causing some additional mental illness, or prompting a half year of obsession over the material. But frankly those kind of books should only be ingested once a red moon.]