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The Quarry
The College... peaceful and idyllic, bordering picturesque Lake Limestone, known locally as the Quarry. Until Dale awakens an ancient evil lurking deep beneath the waters. Becomes one with it. And Emilio loses his best friend and wants to know why. An obsession that will unravel the terrifying secrets of... The Quarry.
226 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 30, 2012
11 people are currently reading
265 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
January 14, 2017
I'd like to give this story about 9 stars!!
Excellently written, finely-detailed, good locale staging, with a keen eye for the horrific as a subtle leading up to the big noise, and that gentle contrast of “everything’s all right” propaganda with the concerns, anxieties, and fears of those in the know, the “old men” who labored in the quarry during its heyday, before its abrupt closure.
I truly loved this book. It’s exciting, well-written, well-characterised. The author doesn’t telegraph the upcoming horror, he just sets out gentle hints which make the reader want to speed on to find out what’s upcoming, and what lay in the past that nobody seems to know about or want to know about. The characterisations are special; for example, Dale, who could have been drawn from life (based on individuals I’ve known). In fact, throughout the story I found it all so realistic that I felt as if I lived right there in town and knew the folks, recognized the settings, and right along with the townspeople, feared and worried about the quarry. This is the kind of novel that just makes me want to keep on reading and never stop; I want it to be a neverending story.
Excellently written, finely-detailed, good locale staging, with a keen eye for the horrific as a subtle leading up to the big noise, and that gentle contrast of “everything’s all right” propaganda with the concerns, anxieties, and fears of those in the know, the “old men” who labored in the quarry during its heyday, before its abrupt closure.
I truly loved this book. It’s exciting, well-written, well-characterised. The author doesn’t telegraph the upcoming horror, he just sets out gentle hints which make the reader want to speed on to find out what’s upcoming, and what lay in the past that nobody seems to know about or want to know about. The characterisations are special; for example, Dale, who could have been drawn from life (based on individuals I’ve known). In fact, throughout the story I found it all so realistic that I felt as if I lived right there in town and knew the folks, recognized the settings, and right along with the townspeople, feared and worried about the quarry. This is the kind of novel that just makes me want to keep on reading and never stop; I want it to be a neverending story.
October 11, 2014
An absorbing tale of small town horror, involving a long dormant evil rising up from the waters of a quarry, and threading it's way into the populace. The fact that there is a college campus at the edge of these dark waters adds to the suspense, turning the "normal" insularity of a small town into a double edged sword, keeping it's secrets both within the community, and outside the boundaries of the college itself.
Gunnells weaves an engaging story, portraying his characters with both a refreshing honesty and a sharp eye for the foibles that make them ring true.
Highly recommended.
Gunnells weaves an engaging story, portraying his characters with both a refreshing honesty and a sharp eye for the foibles that make them ring true.
Highly recommended.
November 9, 2014
The Quarry is more than just a great horror tale. It has substance. Mr. Gunnells has written a classic tale of terror with wonderful characters, both likable and unlikable, and a bad-ass no-regards creature. Set in a small college town, the story revolves around an old quarry and the students of Limestone College and an evil that lurks there. If you like horror that isn't over the top, is solid in its telling, and deals with a bit of finding one's self, this is a book that you should read.
May 9, 2012
I now consider myself a Mark Allan Gunnells fan, even if I am not quite a horror fan. I think The Quarry, a "tale of ancient evil" set on the campus of a small private school, Limestone College, in Gaffney, SC, where there IS an old limestone quarry, now filled with water. These are places Gunnells knows well. He grew up in Gaffney and went to Limestone College, and he uses this intimate knowledge to make this a richer, a more textured tale.
The Quarry, as locals call Lake Limestone, is a character itself, with secrets hidden in its watery depths. They say when the mine closed in 1951 an underground spring filled the Quarry in days, forming Lake Limestone. But some locals know otherwise and they aren't telling. When some thirty years a chunk of land falls into the lake, these men remember the secret hidden below, and are glad that "swimming, fishing, and even boating are prohibited on the lake."
Flashforward to 2010. And we know that what lurks down below is still there. But Emilio Gambell, a Limestone student doesn't, nor does his best friend, Dale Sierra--Dale who decides to break a few rules and go scuba diving into the Quarry at 1 a.m. in the morning. Dale is one of those who likes to not only push the envelope, but break through it on occasion. When two hours pass, the amount of air in Dale's tanks, Emilio panics and starts pulling his friend back up. When Dale finally surfaces, something is wrong: "somehow he's lost his tanks and mouthpiece and even his LED light. He had only one flipper, and there was a tear in the left arm of his wetsuit" (24). Dale is weeping and muttering, "It kissed me." He shrugs off Emilio's help, refuses to talk about whatever trouble he had run into down below and goes home to sleep. Emilio watches as "the darkness slowly swallowed Dale, and Emilo was left alone by the lake" (25).
And so this dark tale begins and darkness continues to swallow the innocent and the damned. Emilio knows things aren't right with Dale, and enlists the aid of Dale's girl friend, Connie, for help. Dale's violent repulsion of their help confirms this, but he was tired, he was injured--he'll get better, right? Emilio becomes desperate to help his friend and at the same time, continue to live his student life of classes and work, and deal with his alcoholic mother and come to terms with his homosexuality. Connie wants to believe Dale is better, that he is still her lover. Dale knows better: something is happening to him, he is missing hours of time, and the Quarry keeps drawing him back. Then a student disappears. And another. Things get more complicated for Emilio when he meets and falls in love with a campus security guard as Dale's behavior gets worse--breaking things off with his girlfriend, telling, then begging Emilio to stay away.
Darkness has come out of the depths for this small little college in a small South Carolina town. Gunnells skillfully and gracefully weaves together these different narrative threads of friendship, love, coming out, growing up, and a malign and old evil into a compelling and layered story. Emilio's drunk mother blames him for her ruined life and humiliates him time and again. Norman, the guard who becomes Emilio's boyfriend, is trying to work at a job that is getting increasingly dangerous and go to school. Dale, whom Emilio describes as a "sweet guy who went out of his way to make everybody feel included," becomes suspect number one for murder and kidnapping. These layers--the back story, the tangential narratives--make this a rich novel and the horror all the more terrifying. The mundane, the normal craziness of life, coupled with an evil that is almost beyond comprehension, that has waited centuries to be set free. Events, mundane, ordinary, sweet, and dark and light, culminate in a terrifying climax. Does evil win--or lose--and what price must be paid, what sacrifices will have to be made?
This is a compelling novel by an up-and-coming novelist. I hear there is a sequel coming. I can't wait to read it.
The Quarry, as locals call Lake Limestone, is a character itself, with secrets hidden in its watery depths. They say when the mine closed in 1951 an underground spring filled the Quarry in days, forming Lake Limestone. But some locals know otherwise and they aren't telling. When some thirty years a chunk of land falls into the lake, these men remember the secret hidden below, and are glad that "swimming, fishing, and even boating are prohibited on the lake."
Flashforward to 2010. And we know that what lurks down below is still there. But Emilio Gambell, a Limestone student doesn't, nor does his best friend, Dale Sierra--Dale who decides to break a few rules and go scuba diving into the Quarry at 1 a.m. in the morning. Dale is one of those who likes to not only push the envelope, but break through it on occasion. When two hours pass, the amount of air in Dale's tanks, Emilio panics and starts pulling his friend back up. When Dale finally surfaces, something is wrong: "somehow he's lost his tanks and mouthpiece and even his LED light. He had only one flipper, and there was a tear in the left arm of his wetsuit" (24). Dale is weeping and muttering, "It kissed me." He shrugs off Emilio's help, refuses to talk about whatever trouble he had run into down below and goes home to sleep. Emilio watches as "the darkness slowly swallowed Dale, and Emilo was left alone by the lake" (25).
And so this dark tale begins and darkness continues to swallow the innocent and the damned. Emilio knows things aren't right with Dale, and enlists the aid of Dale's girl friend, Connie, for help. Dale's violent repulsion of their help confirms this, but he was tired, he was injured--he'll get better, right? Emilio becomes desperate to help his friend and at the same time, continue to live his student life of classes and work, and deal with his alcoholic mother and come to terms with his homosexuality. Connie wants to believe Dale is better, that he is still her lover. Dale knows better: something is happening to him, he is missing hours of time, and the Quarry keeps drawing him back. Then a student disappears. And another. Things get more complicated for Emilio when he meets and falls in love with a campus security guard as Dale's behavior gets worse--breaking things off with his girlfriend, telling, then begging Emilio to stay away.
Darkness has come out of the depths for this small little college in a small South Carolina town. Gunnells skillfully and gracefully weaves together these different narrative threads of friendship, love, coming out, growing up, and a malign and old evil into a compelling and layered story. Emilio's drunk mother blames him for her ruined life and humiliates him time and again. Norman, the guard who becomes Emilio's boyfriend, is trying to work at a job that is getting increasingly dangerous and go to school. Dale, whom Emilio describes as a "sweet guy who went out of his way to make everybody feel included," becomes suspect number one for murder and kidnapping. These layers--the back story, the tangential narratives--make this a rich novel and the horror all the more terrifying. The mundane, the normal craziness of life, coupled with an evil that is almost beyond comprehension, that has waited centuries to be set free. Events, mundane, ordinary, sweet, and dark and light, culminate in a terrifying climax. Does evil win--or lose--and what price must be paid, what sacrifices will have to be made?
This is a compelling novel by an up-and-coming novelist. I hear there is a sequel coming. I can't wait to read it.
April 17, 2012
Traditional scream out loud horror with flesh and blood characters and a sense of foreboding from cover to cover. A straight-up fun read by a gifted new writer. Don't miss it!
Read
January 12, 2013Interesting, but I lost interest and just couldn't bring myself to go back. Dragged way too much in the middle.
Want to read
January 23, 2013Downloaded a handful of freebies for the Kindle, this is one of 'em.
December 13, 2021
Exciting
Great start and it keeps you going. Dale,Connie and Emilio are the main characters in this book. They're college kids and they have an essay to write which starts this mess.
Dale is the kind of kid that doesn't listen and so he goes for a dive that wakes up this creature.
Connie is Dale's girlfriend and Emilio is his best friend.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a great read. It's a page Turner.
Great start and it keeps you going. Dale,Connie and Emilio are the main characters in this book. They're college kids and they have an essay to write which starts this mess.
Dale is the kind of kid that doesn't listen and so he goes for a dive that wakes up this creature.
Connie is Dale's girlfriend and Emilio is his best friend.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a great read. It's a page Turner.
June 11, 2023
The Quarry was a lot of fun! I enjoyed the story and the characters and I thought the story was well-written. The end was a bit predictable, but it didn't affect my enjoyment of the story. I look forward to reading more from the author.
May 3, 2012
The Quarry takes place at a picturesque college campus on the edge of a Quarry named Lake Limestone. The lake is 400 feet deep and the students are warned to stay away from it. It was formed in the 1950′s, when a work truck tapped into an underground spring, filling the quarry and leaving all the work vehicles at the bottom of the lake. At least thats the story that everyone thinks is the truth.
One student on campus named Dale decides to find out what really lies at the bottom of the lake. He scuba dives to the bottom and comes back forever changed and this is when the horror really starts. People start dying on campus and something evil is stiring. Dale’s friends go on a search for answers to what lies beneath, but what they find has been there since the dawn of time and may be unstoppable.
The Quarry is one part mystery and one part horror. You dont know for sure what is in The Quarry and what is truely responsible for the killings until the very end. The book leaves you suttle hints as to what is going on, but leaves you guessing. The Quarry is not an over the top bloody horror story, its much more reserved then that. While none of the death scenes are gruesome or very long, they are still scary because Mark Allan Gunnels makes you care about all of his characters and you don’t want to see them meet an untimely demise.
That is what maked The Quarry a great read, because you are invested in the characters. Even for the bad ones you get to know them, you feel for them and you see them change throughout the story. You see Dale change from a popular kid to a raging psychopath. You see his girlfriend go from self assured and confident to questioning everything she once believed and Dale’s freind Emilio goes from a timid coward, to finding out what kind of person he truely is. You also see the supporting cast go through changes, with each one being different from how they started out.
I had a couple of minor complaints about The Quarry. One was that I wanted a little more action, I think the maint point of the stories was to build strong characters and see how their lives change when faced with extreme circumstances. So I guess to much action would have taken away from the character development, but I thought there were parts where a little more action could have made the story more interesting. My other complaint was that I was a little disappointed with the end. The ending was satisfying but I wanted a happy ending for all of the characters because I liked them so much. I guess its not horror if you don’t kill off a couple of people and make your main characters suffer. The Quarry is a masterpiece and I look forward to reading more from Mark Allan Gunnells.
One student on campus named Dale decides to find out what really lies at the bottom of the lake. He scuba dives to the bottom and comes back forever changed and this is when the horror really starts. People start dying on campus and something evil is stiring. Dale’s friends go on a search for answers to what lies beneath, but what they find has been there since the dawn of time and may be unstoppable.
The Quarry is one part mystery and one part horror. You dont know for sure what is in The Quarry and what is truely responsible for the killings until the very end. The book leaves you suttle hints as to what is going on, but leaves you guessing. The Quarry is not an over the top bloody horror story, its much more reserved then that. While none of the death scenes are gruesome or very long, they are still scary because Mark Allan Gunnels makes you care about all of his characters and you don’t want to see them meet an untimely demise.
That is what maked The Quarry a great read, because you are invested in the characters. Even for the bad ones you get to know them, you feel for them and you see them change throughout the story. You see Dale change from a popular kid to a raging psychopath. You see his girlfriend go from self assured and confident to questioning everything she once believed and Dale’s freind Emilio goes from a timid coward, to finding out what kind of person he truely is. You also see the supporting cast go through changes, with each one being different from how they started out.
I had a couple of minor complaints about The Quarry. One was that I wanted a little more action, I think the maint point of the stories was to build strong characters and see how their lives change when faced with extreme circumstances. So I guess to much action would have taken away from the character development, but I thought there were parts where a little more action could have made the story more interesting. My other complaint was that I was a little disappointed with the end. The ending was satisfying but I wanted a happy ending for all of the characters because I liked them so much. I guess its not horror if you don’t kill off a couple of people and make your main characters suffer. The Quarry is a masterpiece and I look forward to reading more from Mark Allan Gunnells.
July 5, 2012
“THE QUARRY will wrap you by the throat, and slowly pull you into the madness below. Mark has a way of bringing supernatural evil down to reality. Reading THE QUARRY, you fall in love with his characters, only to fear when the Big-Bad comes for them.
As a busy writer myself, and avid blogger, it took me a bit to finish this masterpiece. THE QUARRY is well written from page one, to the last. This is not a tale to read lightly. Like the quarry itself, this story runs deep. And the ending was perfect! No spoilers here, just that it couldn't have been any better.
I have a PDF and Kindle copy, but plan to buy a print copy here soon. This is a tale that belongs on the book self next to the masters.”
~Dale Eldon, author of the soon to be released, Smell of the Dead
As a busy writer myself, and avid blogger, it took me a bit to finish this masterpiece. THE QUARRY is well written from page one, to the last. This is not a tale to read lightly. Like the quarry itself, this story runs deep. And the ending was perfect! No spoilers here, just that it couldn't have been any better.
I have a PDF and Kindle copy, but plan to buy a print copy here soon. This is a tale that belongs on the book self next to the masters.”
~Dale Eldon, author of the soon to be released, Smell of the Dead
October 6, 2012
If you like Stephen King -pre The Dark Tower series, then you will like this.
I certainly did.
I do most of my reading at night- and I found myself sharing what I had read the night before over breakfast the next morning. I only do that when I am really enjoying a book.
The story was riveting and really well paced. I don't want to spoil it for future readers but I was left wanting to know more about the origins of the being- yet found it a satisfying tale in itself.
I have already purchased "Asylum" by the same author - if it is as Good as "The Quarry", I will ahve to officially declare myself a Mark Allan Gunnells fan.
I certainly did.
I do most of my reading at night- and I found myself sharing what I had read the night before over breakfast the next morning. I only do that when I am really enjoying a book.
The story was riveting and really well paced. I don't want to spoil it for future readers but I was left wanting to know more about the origins of the being- yet found it a satisfying tale in itself.
I have already purchased "Asylum" by the same author - if it is as Good as "The Quarry", I will ahve to officially declare myself a Mark Allan Gunnells fan.
October 10, 2012
This story is set at a college, near an old abandoned mining quarry... I work at one that's not abandoned lol so, I thought this would be a good way to start October off. I was right. This was a great book. The suspense and action are non-stop. No harm comes to the cinnamon rolls... Lol Definately recommending this one. 4 out of 5 books.
October 21, 2012
I'd be interested to hear what a younger reader made of this. I felt that there was too much 'domestic' and relationship detail that I could have worked out for myself, and, although the basis of the story was terrifying, the writing didn't convey the depth of terror that would have surrounded the events.
May 28, 2012
A good story and it kept me interested for the most part. Some decent characters and a good plot throughout. A few minor things here and there probably could have been a little better, but nothing major that continued writing won't fix. I enjoyed it. Worth checking out.
April 2, 2012
Fun book to read; reminds me of books and movies from the 80s.
May 27, 2012
Delivers Stephen King-style chills (ordinary people in extraordinary situations). The ending was not what I had hoped for!
January 25, 2013
For anyone that loves an "IT LURKS..." thriller, this will be right up your alley. Well written and fast paced, The Quarry is worth exploring!
November 3, 2015
This was an OK book. It's not the typical type of book I read, but it wasn't too bad.
November 17, 2012
In the middle of this one right now. Enjoying the hell out of it.
December 28, 2017
MAG is the future.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews