A review by skywardstorytelling
Below by Kev Harrison

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

This had really good bones (no pun intended but yeesh, accurate). The concept was really creepy, and there were elements that were utterly terrifying. The central core of the story was really interesting, and I liked how it unfolded.

I wish that the author had given everything more time to play out - the book is so short and the chapters so brief that it felt like it all went past in a whirlwind, and that weakened the horror elements for me. The plot would really benefit from slowing down and letting the horror of it dawn on the reader, I think. I also wish that the characters had been more well-developed - I liked them a lot, but their motivations and personalities were sort of vague, given the brevity of the story. I would happily read a series about them going on adventures and uncovering creepy stuff (especially with that surprising but delightfully welcome queer representation!) but I think that Nick will never be going anywhere even remotely creepy ever again. Which is fair, given what went down.

Overall, I enjoyed this, but it would have been better if there was more of it.