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The Beneath
It’s an ordinary school day, but Lily is about to step into a nightmare. The girl rushing out of the Tube tunnel tells a crazy story about an underground community and a charismatic leader with an evil plan. How can Lily trust her? It’s only when Lily finds herself in the labyrinth beneath London that she learns the horrific truth – about the Farmer, the Crop and about herself.
- GenresYoung Adult
368 pages, Paperback
First published March 4, 2015
6 people are currently reading
112 people want to read
About the author
S.C. Ransom
5 books33 followersSue Ransom, the author of the Small Blue Thing series, is based near Chichester in the UK. She used to have a completely different life, but she wrote her first novel as a birthday present for her daughter, and things snowballed from there. Four published books later, she is now a full time writer.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 27, 2020
It was an exciting read, and I liked how fast paced it was because I struggle with slow and dense reads but this was NOT that!
I thought the whole plot idea was so clever, and you could tell that everything about been planned out so there weren’t any plot holes.
I struggled slightly at first with this book but once I pushed on past the first few chapters I was hooked, there were so many secrets and surprises contained in those pages that had me shocked sometimes.
I would totally recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery and action books, it isn’t my favourite book but I definitely enjoyed it quite a lot! ❤️
I thought the whole plot idea was so clever, and you could tell that everything about been planned out so there weren’t any plot holes.
I struggled slightly at first with this book but once I pushed on past the first few chapters I was hooked, there were so many secrets and surprises contained in those pages that had me shocked sometimes.
I would totally recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery and action books, it isn’t my favourite book but I definitely enjoyed it quite a lot! ❤️
July 30, 2023
To była przygoda, której się nie spodziewałam. Może i nie powala, ale dała mi inne spojrzenie na pewien aspekt - kult. Motywem książki jest występowanie sekty i jak bardzo się różni życie człowieka z powierzchni, a ludzi żyjących w podziemnej sekcie. Polecam cieplutko!
I żegnajcie... Lily, Will, Aria, Nan....
I żegnajcie... Lily, Will, Aria, Nan....
May 6, 2015
The Beneath is the latest offering from English author of The Small Blue Thing trilogy S.C. Ransom. The Beneath is written with a similar audience in mind but it is in a much more sinister vein.
The network of tunnels underneath New York has been widely immortalised and I think I first fell in love with the societies that form in under city tunnels in the TV series Beauty and The Beast of the late 1980′s. The Beneath has a similar premise but is set half a world away.
In the tunnels under London, far below the tunnels used for the Underground, lives a community that has survived for hundreds of years. Their leader is the Farmer and he is the only one who can control the Crop, a vicious beast used to keep the community in their designated areas. The community began with the outcasts of society and survived the centuries with reproduction, as the generations passed the inhabitants came to know only the teachings of the community, especially as it related to the world Above.
Lily is a London teenager living an isolated life and struggling with bullies at school. She had an average life up until not too long ago when scandal rocked her family, leaving her living with an ex-nanny while her family are half a world away.
One afternoon as she waits on the platform for her Tube train she is confronted with the sight of a girl running down the track in front of the train, trying to outrun it. Without a second thought Lily ends up leaning into the track to pull her to safety with seconds to spare – and that was the moment Lily’s life took a dramatic turn.
The rest of the review is live at: http://bookgirl.beautyandlace.net/boo...
The network of tunnels underneath New York has been widely immortalised and I think I first fell in love with the societies that form in under city tunnels in the TV series Beauty and The Beast of the late 1980′s. The Beneath has a similar premise but is set half a world away.
In the tunnels under London, far below the tunnels used for the Underground, lives a community that has survived for hundreds of years. Their leader is the Farmer and he is the only one who can control the Crop, a vicious beast used to keep the community in their designated areas. The community began with the outcasts of society and survived the centuries with reproduction, as the generations passed the inhabitants came to know only the teachings of the community, especially as it related to the world Above.
Lily is a London teenager living an isolated life and struggling with bullies at school. She had an average life up until not too long ago when scandal rocked her family, leaving her living with an ex-nanny while her family are half a world away.
One afternoon as she waits on the platform for her Tube train she is confronted with the sight of a girl running down the track in front of the train, trying to outrun it. Without a second thought Lily ends up leaning into the track to pull her to safety with seconds to spare – and that was the moment Lily’s life took a dramatic turn.
The rest of the review is live at: http://bookgirl.beautyandlace.net/boo...
January 27, 2015
An exciting and fast paced read. A mix of contemporary and dystopian which works nicely with some really clever ideas which are quite frightening when you think about them too hard.
January 2, 2018
I loved this book, which isn't to say I didn't have issues with it, because I did, but overall loved it.
So this book was something else, either I've never come across anything like it or there really isn't much else like it out there.
It starts with Aria? Who is running from a community living underneath London,
She 'accidently' bumps into Lily who just so happens to save her from being smushed by a train and turns out to be the very person Aria is suppose to be finding anyway.
All very convenient but I still loved it,
Fast forward and Aria is trying to come to terms with how different the 'Above" is from her community underground and also from how the Above is described to the community by their mad leader.
This whole section is probably my favourite of the book, I just loved getting inside Aria's head and thinking 'Yeah this would be crazy to experience'.
The plot was very twisty, which worked and I liked that the author could have gone for one of those paranormal type books but didn't, I'm really living these Cult, kidnapping, something unusual in the real world books at the moment, it's a nice refresh from the paranormal subtype genre while also being different enough from the real world to be interesting.
Although I really liked this book, I liked the plot, the premise ect, one thing I cannot get over is the writing, there was something really odd and stagnant about the wording of some sentences, i could overlook it after a while but it did feel weird, almost like the author didn't want to use an apostrophe in words so 'Don't' was ' do not' all the time, and it just gave the whole book a very formal undertone, and the characters would say the weirdest things at times
Like Will the love interest once said 'Lily I do not seem to be wearing my shit, could I perhaps have it back' something to that degree and it just felt weird?
So this book was something else, either I've never come across anything like it or there really isn't much else like it out there.
It starts with Aria? Who is running from a community living underneath London,
She 'accidently' bumps into Lily who just so happens to save her from being smushed by a train and turns out to be the very person Aria is suppose to be finding anyway.
All very convenient but I still loved it,
Fast forward and Aria is trying to come to terms with how different the 'Above" is from her community underground and also from how the Above is described to the community by their mad leader.
This whole section is probably my favourite of the book, I just loved getting inside Aria's head and thinking 'Yeah this would be crazy to experience'.
The plot was very twisty, which worked and I liked that the author could have gone for one of those paranormal type books but didn't, I'm really living these Cult, kidnapping, something unusual in the real world books at the moment, it's a nice refresh from the paranormal subtype genre while also being different enough from the real world to be interesting.
Although I really liked this book, I liked the plot, the premise ect, one thing I cannot get over is the writing, there was something really odd and stagnant about the wording of some sentences, i could overlook it after a while but it did feel weird, almost like the author didn't want to use an apostrophe in words so 'Don't' was ' do not' all the time, and it just gave the whole book a very formal undertone, and the characters would say the weirdest things at times
Like Will the love interest once said 'Lily I do not seem to be wearing my shit, could I perhaps have it back' something to that degree and it just felt weird?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 27, 2017
This book was average. It had an interesting story and cool characters but ultimately it never made me go 'WOW I want to keep reading.'
The two main girls in the story are very distinctive and unique. I enjoyed watching their relationship grow. I also liked the idea of the people living in an ancient cult underneath the tube. This was the most interesting thing about the book; this bizarre idea that people could live down there.
The addition of the crop which is used to kill off outsiders or people who defy the farmer was really cool. It wasn't a surprise when the creatures were described and I found out what they truly were. But it was still a sinister revelation.
My major qualm with the story was the tacked on romance. Yes Lily fancies a boy but why this boy then agrees to go with her on a suicidal quest (with his dog, which was super inconvenient and made me worry that the dog might die. SPOILER: thankfully it didn't) is mind boggling. Its also mind boggling that during the tense descent into the tunnels these two manage to have moments of flirtation. THIS IS NOT THE PLACE PEOPLE. I don't know maybe I am being too unfair but personally the romance between these two characters seemed very unnecessary and the book would have been far more suspenseful and sinister if the boy wasn't in it at all.
Solid read but not something that gripped me enough to go 'yes I will read this before bed'.
The two main girls in the story are very distinctive and unique. I enjoyed watching their relationship grow. I also liked the idea of the people living in an ancient cult underneath the tube. This was the most interesting thing about the book; this bizarre idea that people could live down there.
The addition of the crop which is used to kill off outsiders or people who defy the farmer was really cool. It wasn't a surprise when the creatures were described and I found out what they truly were. But it was still a sinister revelation.
My major qualm with the story was the tacked on romance. Yes Lily fancies a boy but why this boy then agrees to go with her on a suicidal quest (with his dog, which was super inconvenient and made me worry that the dog might die. SPOILER: thankfully it didn't) is mind boggling. Its also mind boggling that during the tense descent into the tunnels these two manage to have moments of flirtation. THIS IS NOT THE PLACE PEOPLE. I don't know maybe I am being too unfair but personally the romance between these two characters seemed very unnecessary and the book would have been far more suspenseful and sinister if the boy wasn't in it at all.
Solid read but not something that gripped me enough to go 'yes I will read this before bed'.
February 21, 2018
This book holds a worthy lesson on the value of friendship. Before Lily had met Aria, she was living with her Nan, had been left behind by her family and abandoned by her friends, who tormented her daily. As she is adjusting to this lonely life, she incidentally saves Aria from being crushed by a Tube train as she carelessly runs along the tracks. Bewildered by how close she came to danger, Lily confronts the girl and questions her into what she was doing. It was in that moment that the world Beneath was brought to light, and Lily learns the bizarre truth of the Community and the leader that guides it underground.
The Beneath was an excellent read, perfect for anybody wanting to experience a society that varies differently from our own. It showcases how much we take the freedom we have for granted, and the limits we can go to in order to help out one another. Aria's world is a dark and deceitful place of unforgiving control, where even the simplest mistakes can face dire consequences and the worst thing you can ever do is betray the rules of the Farmer.
The Beneath was an excellent read, perfect for anybody wanting to experience a society that varies differently from our own. It showcases how much we take the freedom we have for granted, and the limits we can go to in order to help out one another. Aria's world is a dark and deceitful place of unforgiving control, where even the simplest mistakes can face dire consequences and the worst thing you can ever do is betray the rules of the Farmer.
March 11, 2018
A thriller of a book when Lily goes underground in order to find out some mysterious things.
It definitely made me falling of my chair. When you start reading it you can't stop
It definitely made me falling of my chair. When you start reading it you can't stop
May 23, 2020
An interesting concept and a fast-paced book, but nothing particularly exciting... Not a bad book but not amazing either. It's just meh.
May 18, 2024
Amazing book. Would be an even better movie. I could not put this book down!!
June 4, 2015
Having read the Small Blue Thing trilogy before this book, I had great expectations for SCRansom's new novel and I was not disappointed. This is a thrilling read for any young adult and is a must for anyone searching for an action-packed novel with an air of mystery and suspense. SCRansom captures the teenage voice in her switching narratives and sensitively handles the topic of bullying and overcoming bullying, a real-life problem that contrasts successfully with the more supernatural aspects of the novel. A great book in more ways than one!
August 8, 2014
Another great story by S.C. Ransom. Lots of suspense, lots of adventure, a bit of romance. A combination of urban fantasy and a dystopian society, this is a definite 4.5 stars that any teenager should enjoy.
February 17, 2016
IT WAS AMAZING, THE SHOCKS ARE AMAZING ALONG WITH IT
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews