Hello all!
I am so glad to be back and bringing you reviews after a short break.
I briefly had the plague after avoiding it diligently the last few years. Luckily I had plenty of books to keep me company, and now that I’m back in my office I am really looking forward to sharing one of those books with you: Below by Laurel Hightower.
This post may contain affiliate links. I’ll receive a small commission through your purchase, and I’m so grateful!
My Experience Going In
As most of you are probably already aware, I don’t like knowing much about books when I start them. I much prefer being completely surprised. This is why I often pitch books in reviews before I dig into any details, and why I seldom include a synopsis.
I actually knew quite a bit about Below prior to reading it, however.
This was one that I was excited for when it was announced, but then there was so much hype surrounding it that I didn’t think it could possibly live up to my expectations. It’s been on my TBR since its release, but I finally felt like I had enough distance to give it a fair go.
What I was not expecting was for the book to exceed my high expectations.
Why I Recommend Below
If you, like me, want to go in blind, now is your chance. Obviously the review will be spoiler free, but I am going to dissect a few elements in the upcoming sections.
I will tell you now though, if you’re looking for an eerie, edge-of-your-seat style read, this is the one for you. It is a fast-paced novella that can be read in a single, tense sitting and it’s an absolutely singular experience. It incorporates different elements of horror, and is a perfect balance of grounded real fears and wild, off-the-rails events.
What Worked For Me
Obviously I’m going to get into specifics here in just a minute, but I want to start by saying that there was very little about this title that didn’t work for me in some way or another. The novella incorporates a lot of different elements in a seamless way that makes it almost difficult to pull out specific elements.
Still, there were a couple things I did want to draw attention to.
Addy
My favorite element of the book was the main character, Addy. I don’t think the story would have worked if Addy were not immediately sympathetic and didn’t experience a full character arc. Her self doubt causes internal fears that build tension just as effectively as the horrendous, external circumstances.
She is a character who finds her strength during the story instead of starting out strong and being tested. A trend I have read a lot in horror recently is the strong female protagonist who is ready for anything and determined to prove it. While that’s a character archetype that I love, it was refreshing to see a woman constantly on the verge of giving up and constantly surprising herself when she doesn’t.
Even though the entire book takes place over only one night, you know that the protagonist will not leave the same person she entered.
The Setting
One thing I’m a sucker for is a weird little place where weird things happen. That’s probably my favorite type of setting in indie horror; Tales From the Gas Station, Welcome to Night Vale, and Stories From a Search and Rescue Officer all come to mind for their very unique and almost abstract setting.
The majority of Below takes place up on a stretch of road in the mountains that is known for electrical interference and strange occurrences. Having that eeriness established so well into the setting made me more forgiving of horror tropes like the faulty audio, automotive difficulties, and lack of cellphone service that otherwise might have come across as trite and predictable.
The Variety
I mentioned this briefly in my pitch, but I adore when there are different subgenres of horror mixed together. Below prominently features a cryptid storyline, but the building dread is mostly psychological. There are a couple of unexpected slasher-adjacent elements worked in as well that I found to be such a pleasant surprise.
Mothman!!!
It feels almost like cheating to have chosen this book, because even if it had been terrible, I still would have liked reading about Mothman.
I am a big sucker for cryptid lore and seeing one of my favorite horror creatures incorporated into a story like this was a big win right out of the gate.
A lot of Mothman stories are very silly and exaggerated, so I was all the more impressed by how grounded and genuinely terrifying this title was.
What Didn’t Work For Me
There was one element that suffered in comparison to everything else, and that was the ending.
The last line was absolutely perfect and it’s difficult to complain about where the story stops. I am inclined to nitpick a bit about how we got there.
The entire book was paced so quickly moving from one unexpected fear to another. Each chapter conclusion brought its own flavor of dread and kept me feverishly turning pages.
I did feel like this faltered right at the end. We get a strong confirmation of Addy’s character arc, at the end of the penultimate chapter. Then, the final chapter slows way down to hammer it in. It felt almost like an epilogue filled with wrap-up content.
I won’t say that it didn’t add anything to the story, because that last line truly was special. I did feel like it slowed to a crawl in that last stretch, where the flow had been otherwise immaculate.
Conclusion
All in all, this was one that I was delighted to read. It’s one of the rare titles that lives up fully to the hype surrounding it.
It was eerie, it was inventive, and if you’re looking for a new horror read I cannot recommend it enough. Laurel Hightower is an absolute legend in the indie horror community. It’s because she delivers us quality content every time. That goes double when she’s writing about Mothman.
Thank you so much for checking out my review.
Until next time, happy reading!
More of Cat’s Book Reviews!
Cat Voleur is a published writer of dark, speculative fiction and full time horror journalist. In addition to freelancing scripts and articles on the genre, you can find her co-hosting the Slasher Radio podcast. She currently resides in a house with her army of rescue felines. When she isn’t writing, gaming, or consuming horror content, she will undoubtedly be pursuing her passion for fictional languages. You can find Cat’s work on her website, and don’t forget to follow her on Twitter. If you’re interested in learning more about Cat, check out her origin story.
