This is a fantastically creepy novel, and I couldn't help devouring it once I'd begun. Fantastic writing, compelling story-telling and characters, and all of the atmosphere and horror to keep every page turning. I've already picked up another book by Brosky, I enjoyed this so much!

Absolutely recommended. ( )

I received an e-Galley ARC of The Beyond, authored by Ken Brosky, from publisher Timber Ghost Press for review consideration. Edits: Beverly Bernard. Cover art/design: Greg Chapman. Interior design: Firedrake Designs. What follows is my honest opinion, given freely.

Certain set ups for a story just guarantee I’d be, not on high alert, but paying attention if I was there myself. Space, water related activities for example are big ones for me. Caves and tunnels too, I’ve found, because creepy things can happen, but also they can collapse or you can get stuck, and that is terrifying. Sarah Lotz’s The White Road has a scene, a few actually, with a cave system that is not for the faint of heart, it adds a whole layer of horror to that novel. So I dove into this one ready to be bothered, happily so. Horror fans love to poke the bear. Imagine the bear being a pinata filled with reactions to what you are reading, you never know what will fall out, not really. It’s a fun game.

So I was thrown a bit by how casually Trump was mentioned in relation to the coal industry, in just a small tiny part of the beginning. And it struck me, that it was happening, the start of his presidency being part of a time stamp in fiction that we read, and that’s all it has to be, can be. It felt surreal, it felt a little wrong as well, and then I went to the next sentence and kept reading. That opening scene of walking down into the mine is a great hook for the whole novel, would be a great cinematic shot if ever made into a movie. By the time you start to worry about what’s going on it’s already too late, once you’ve noticed the red glow you’re not leaving the tunnel.

I think this has a story that you can enjoy as deeply as you want, you can read it through and be done, thinking that was a good twisty book. Or, you can start thinking of the doorway in the tunnels and the choices that went into putting us where we found ourselves in the novel. It wasn’t infinite universes, we had very specific path a and path b, and I find myself thinking on that often, if there is a reason, and how it was tied up in the tunnels. I think this is a book that many will enjoy, horror, thriller, small town horror and suspense would be accurate genres to place it in. Brosky has written a town to stay away from, things to fear and people to mourn. I look forward to reading his next work. ( )