From Below

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This was an unexpected and extremely enjoyable read by author "Darcy Coates". I appreciated the atmospheric and tense storytelling and I also became very engaged with all the characters. The story starts slowly and continues to build while giving hints of what is to come yet the reader will be completely surprised by the turn of events and the last forty percent of the book had myself holding my breath at times and feeling nervous at the disturbingly creepy happenings within the ship and what the poor crew were experiencing. I really was sitting on the edge of my seat by the time I finished this book. This was a terrific, eerie and spooky story for anyone who loves a good horror story taking place deep within the ocean. I now am a true fan of "Darcy Coates" and will look forward to reading many of her books. SS Arcadia vanished without a trace and made its bed on the ocean floor. Why did the ship lose communication with the outside world, veer off-course, and sink without cause? And what became of its passengers? I've read a solid handful of Darcy Coates' other books in the past. I would say that most of them have been enjoyable; her stories are generally well-written and fun to read. However, there are some that are mediocre at best, and unfortunately that's where this story fell for me. It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book as well as those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters which contain reflections on self-mutilation, mental illness, suicide, murder, & others. My personal problem was all the technical details made the read more of a "chore" to get through at times. My attention would be on a great scene, only to be derailed by silt moving (for the 500th time), or something else that took me "out of the moment". There was also one part that could have added so much more, if elaborated on, in my opinion.

From Below Movie Review | AVForums

If you are able to suspend disbelief, even for horror stories that aren't going for all-out silly, then you are in for a treat.

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from below: a reading list with Marcus Rediker History from below: a reading list with Marcus Rediker

The author perfectly captures a creepy atmosphere and builds tension with every dive the characters take, truly riveting. Each location and sensation is described in a way that is both thrilling and chilling. What sets these books apart is that they are not overwhelmingly dark, as is often the case in horror novels. For that, I like more Darcy Coates's books.Which brings me to my next problem with this read: the characters. I found that most of the characters in this book felt really underdeveloped. We keep being told how the characters are, but some of them consistently act contrary to what we are being told throughout the story. (Cove is supposed to care about her team's safety above everything, yet she is constantly making bad decisions that put her team in danger. Roy was presented as reliable and experienced in diving, yet caused a lot of problems for the team throughout the story.) Additionally, the motivations for most of these actions felt very weak and unconvincing to me. Its a mix of C and assembly (but mostly C), written from "scratch". I wrote about it in detail here if you are interested:

From Below - Horror DNA From Below - Horror DNA

And the actual horror of the ship is never explained. The closest description any of the characters get to them is calling them "zombies." So yeah, they're ocean zombies... but not, because they make it clear they don't want to eat the divers, just keep them entombed in the ship with them. Why? Dunno. How? Dunno. At one point, it's implied that the carbon dioxide awakens them, but then it's later implied that it's the simple presence of other living creatures. Unclear. Unexplained. Also? Where'd they come from? Dunno. Never touched upon. I needed something to explain this story, because everything the divers do is just stupid as hell and utterly inexplicable.I have read quite a few books by author, Darcy Coates, but I think this book is one of her best books yet! The story just grabbed me right away and took me on a fast pace into the deep sea as the tension of the book took me on a roller coaster ride of emotions from breath-hitching moments of anxiety to throat closing claustrophobic atmospheric intensity as I barreled my way through the storyline! In the walls…” The voice from the radio groaned, and the sound seemed to travel not only through Phillip’s headset but into his bones as well, causing them to ache. “The walls.”