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slou_i's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Death, Body horror, and Suicide
Moderate: Blood and Gore
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
4.0
“In the brief moment he'd touched the metal, he'd felt the danger of the place. This ship wasn't a gem on the ocean floor, waiting to be found. It was a trap.”
I had a fantastic first experience with Darcy Coates' writing last year, and I've been meaning to read more of her books ever since. I was fascinated by the claustrophobic vibe of the blurb of From Below with the mysterious ship wreck, the dive angle and the promise of something dark lurking within... And I have to say that this story definitely delivered for me. While a tad overlong, the ominous and claustrophobic vibe of this paranormal horror slash locked room thriller made it impossible to stop turning those pages. From Below actually uses a dual timeline structure, where we switch between the present with the dive team and 1928 on board of the SS Arcadia in the days leading up to its disappearance. I wasn't expecting the historical POV, but I understand why it was added as it gave the story so much more dept as well as adding to that ominous atmosphere. The fact that you, like the characters in both timelines, don't have a clear idea what is happening added a hint of urgency, and while certain parts did feel a bit repetitive, it wasn't enough to prevent me from wanting to know more. From Below definitely classifies as paranormal/supernatural horror, so make sure you are prepared for things to get proper creepy along the way... Especially in the second half of the story where things become more intense. Honestly, I'm not sure why the dive team even returns to the Arcadia after the second dive! I would have run away screaming instead... If you are looking for a properly frightening and tense paranormal horror read with a locked room vibe and a truly claustrophobic feel with the majority of the present timeline set 300 feet under water, From Below without doubt fits the bill. It's true that the story is a bit overlong and the pace isn't always consistent, but the plot itself is intriguing enough to keep you fully on board anyway.
Graphic: Grief, Blood, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Body horror, Confinement, Violence, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, and Suicide
melll_brisk's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Suicide
aurora16's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Body horror, and Death
lattelibrarian's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A group of deep-sea divers sign a contract to take footage of the sunken SS Arcadia, whose reasons for sinking are still theorized about. From the get-go, it seems that everything goes wrong. Unexperienced Aiden loses air quicker than he'd like. The ROVs malfunction. And there's still bodies, frozen in time, on the ship. Not to mention all of the torn wallpaper and messages on the wall...
There's an unexperienced diver, a diver with a strikingly bizarre and threatening journal, and hot-tempered digitizer. But even more, there's a pull down to the depths of the SS Arcadia. As unsafe and haunting as it is, our beloved characters can't help but to return.
Told in alternating perspectives from modern day to a countdown of when the ship originally sunk, Coates unravels for us the mystery of this sunken ship, but it certainly wasn't what I expected--which made it all the more fun.
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Confinement
afterplague's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Murder and Body horror
kier__'s review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Violence, Body horror, Cursing, and Injury/Injury detail
omega's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Death, Suicide, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis
beepsies's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, and Death
Minor: Death of parent and Grief
aetherkids's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror