Book Review

[kenjari]

From Below
by Darcy Coates

This horror novel was eerie and frightening. The main story follows a deep sea dive team as they explore the wreck of the Arcadia, an ocean liner that sunk mysteriously in 1928. The secondary plot follows the strange and disturbing experiences of the crew in the two weeks before the Arcadia sank. Something terrible caused the ship to sink, and that something may still be there.
This was one of the most effective and unnerving horror novels I've read. Deep sea diving is inherently risky and thus a little scary all on its own, and adding in a haunted shipwreck just increased the tension up to 11. The descriptions of the wreck and the way the team moved through it were very evocative and unsettling. The characters were engaging, too, and it was easy to root for them and care about them. I felt very invested in them and what they were seeing and doing. Coates is very good at building tension and dread and then providing a very good payoff. My heart rate went up so many times while reading. I don't think I'll be going on any cruises or taking up scuba diving any time soon.

Comments

[sovay]

Deep sea diving is inherently risky and thus a little scary all on its own, and adding in a haunted shipwreck just increased the tension up to 11.

I'd never even heard of this book! Thanks for the heads-up, or -down, as the case may be.

[rachelmanija]

I just read and LOVED this. Thanks for the rec! (via sovay.)