Below

BELOW by Laurel Hightower feels like a relentlessly paced pulse pounding episode of the X-FILES. The only things missing are Scully and Mulder. Jam packed full of the weird, the bizarre, the unknown, and the unexplainable.Addy is haunted by the voice of her ex-husband. No, he hasn’t passed on to the other side and this isn’t anything supernatural. His words live rent free in her head, echoes speaking up to give his (unwanted) opinions and judgements whenever Addy is unsure or lacking conviction in herself. There is another man whose voice is currently present in Addy’s life as well, this via CB radio. A trucker, a stranger who seems nice enough, helping to guide Addy through the dark mountains of West Virginia as the weather quickly begins to deteriorate.I’ll just say that things do not go as planned for Addy and Mads, the trucker. It’s at this point that Hightower cuts the brake line and smashes the accelerator down through the floorboard. BELOW reaches out of the impenetrable blackness, grabbing you around the throat and squeezing, only allowing you to finally catch your breath once you have turned that final page. This novella does not stop. It does not rest. Addy is dealt blow after blow after blow, both psychologically and physically. Only her grit and resilience can aid her in somehow escaping from the living nightmare she finds herself trapped within.Most people will be drawn to BELOW due to the enigmatic red eyed presence of the Mothman, but there is so much more to be mined from this tale's surprising cavernous depths. The X-FILES famous line is “I want to believe” meaning in whatever it is that may or may not be lurking out there, but this novella is about wanting (no not wanting, needing) to believe in one's own self, in trusting one's own voice. About having the confidence to spread your wings (maybe even shadowy feathered wings) and stride down your own path in life with head held high.There were some truly creepy, spine chilling moments in BELOW. One in particular I was not expecting but that would have made me nope right on up out of there if I found myself in that situation. The small cast of characters, the desolate road, and the nighttime darkness all coalesce into a palpable sense of claustrophobia and isolation. And though Addy, and through her you the reader, is adrift in a tide of darkness there is that ever present tingling crawling up your scalp, the sensation of being watched, of hidden eyes tracking your every move that you can't quite shake.BELOW by Laurel Hightower is a completely different beast than her novella previous CROSSROADS but it still packs a raw emotional punch. There is a vulnerability to be found in Hightower’s prose. A flaying away of one’s outer layers until all of their inner demons, fears, and insecurities are laid bare for all to witness, along with the struggle of facing them head on, whether for better or for worse. On top of that throw in strange phenomena, disorentating horrors, the Mothman, and you’ve struck horror gold. Hightower for me is a must read author. A TBR jumper straight to the top anytime she has a new release. If you have yet to check out her work, what are you waiting for?I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review consideration.

This was an alright novella.The premise is great, the author is obviously talented as a writer, and there were some really great spooky moments throughout.That said...There were times in the story where I feel like the author wasn't really sure of where they were going with it, there are a couple of unresolved hooks in it, and there were points where the author should have been a bit more succinct.All in all, though, it was a good story.

**"With her gaze focused on her feet while her mind scrambled for purchase, she was in excellent position to see the hand, bone white and four-fingered, reach from the night and clasp her ankle."**BELOW by Laurel Hightower was a gratifying read with neverending twists, the interminable thrill melting away the pages. Combined with the skill of the writing making this an incredibly easy read, Below is an enjoyable book that I would recommend to anyone who likes paranormal horror, even though some of the questions are left unanswered and the ending didn't fully make sense.BELOW Trigger Warnings at the bottom of the reviewConsidering this is a novella, there's a ton packed in. You leave the story with a lot of mysteries, but also an experience unlike any other. There are so many twists and developments, it's almost nonstop, making you want to keep flipping pages all the way through the story.This is especially easy to do with the effortless flow of the writing. This book had an excellent ability to grab its reader and keep them until the final pages closed.**"The snow fell heavy while she climbed, but the inches of accumulation silenced the hillside. Flakes collected in her hair and on her eyelashes, and her feet and hands were soon frigid, her fingers too stiff to grab onto trees and brush on her way up."**The characters, particularly the main character, have some surprising depth, and the MC is actually dynamic, going through some changes by the end of her ordeal.Overall, she was likeable, but there was something a bit off about her. Her decision making capabilities, logic, and the voices inside her head all made her seem a bit separated from a realistic character, not too far apart, but far enough to take me out of the story briefly from time to time.In conclusion, this IS a good story, and it exceeded my expectations in writing style and excitement, but fell short in explanation and motivation. On the scale of whether I recommend it, I find it's good enough to weigh decidedly on the side of recommend. It's a thrilling, dark little story that'll entertain any horror buff.BELOW Trigger Warnings (POSSIBLE mild SPOILERS AHEAD):~Past emotionally abusive relationship that is frequently mentioned and heavily on the MCs mind~Dead bodies, described in detail~Blood, brains, guts, dismembered limbs (it gets a bit gross a couple of times, but I wouldn't describe it as "excessive")~Hydrophobia~Claustrophobia~Intense; scary; monsters; and near blindness from how dark it is

𝘐𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.What would make having car trouble stranding you in the middle of nowhere on a cold snowy night any worse? Mothman, that’s what.I related to Addy, the main character’s feelings of inferiority and having constant running imaginary dialogues in her head. And in that sense, the character development was probably the strongest thing about this story. I like seeing characters get to a point of saying, “no” or telling others off when they wouldn’t dream of it at the beginning of the story. I was completely creeped out by the presence of things in dark water—which, by the way, NO!—and found it really cool and interesting how the creature’s presence manifested in certain ways, like say, through a radio. Just little things like that usually wind up being the most memorable somehow.There were a few things that felt a bit like loose threads by the end, but that didn’t keep me from reading the bulk of this book in one sitting. And while I know that’s common for some readers, in my case, that (almost) never happens. I found myself wanting to know what was coming next at the end of each chapter. I recommend BELOW to anyone looking for something eerie to read on a dark winter’s night with a main character you’ll root for the whole way through.Read if you liked: The Mothman Prophecies, Mothman Haze, The Descent, No One Will Save You.

Lectura breve, en su mayoría intensa, un par de capítulos ligeramente prolongados. Una excelente constante de esta lectura es que al cierre de cada capítulo hay excelentes cliffhangers que te atrapan con revelaciones muy atemorizantes, pero se quedan ahí, esos cliffhangers no crecen o lo hacen muy poco, lo cual decepciona ligeramente en materia de narrativa, volviéndose una historia más instalada en la exposición de ideas que de resolver la historia en sí. Recomendable para amenizar un par horas de lectura.

I never thought I could enjoy monster horror as it always seemed ‘too’ far fetched, until I read Steve Stred’s ‘Incarnation’ and decided it was such a fun read that I would just enjoy it for what it was and go with the flow. With ‘Below’ I began following much along the same lines but the emotion with which Hightower writes with takes the story to a whole nother level. This truly deserves all the stars!

Really enjoyed this fast paced read from Laurel Hightower, centering on one woman's awakening of self and Mothman as the unlikely protector of sorts, after a gruelling journey in the middle of the night.

Magnificently paced and refreshingly unpredictable. Hightower elevates the creature genre to new heights with pitch perfect characterization and a well-written protagonist who undergoes believable and satisfying growth. I was also struck by this novella’s strong sense of place and atmosphere. All around, do yourself a favour and pick it up. This is one of the best horror novellas in recent years.