The Well

The Well #1

by David J. Nix

Fifteen generations before, the horror of Surface chased Singer’s desperate ancestors into the vast underground bunker of the Well. In a moment of darkest despair, Singer unsuccessfully attempts to breach the long-obstructed hatch that leads outside – to certain death, as everyone knows! In punishment, he is cast down from the most privileged level of Seven into the hell of the Well’s lowest layer – the damp, crowded, and stinking Pit. Despite the bleak turn of events, Singer’s harsh new surroundings begin opening his eyes to the truth of the Well and of humanity, his revelations helped along by the wise old Tech and his too-forward, too-unconventional, too-maddening daughter.

Resigned to his prison far from Seven, Singer’s hope rekindles with the discovery of a means to climb the central shaft that leads back to Seven – and to the outer hatch. He joins uneasily with the Tech’s daughter in a lunatic plan to ascend the shaft and escape the Well. But can they dare hope to succeed? And if so, will they find a livable world outside on Surface? Or will the terror that propelled their ancestors underground have the final laugh? These questions seem unanswerable, for no resident of the Well is equipped to imagine what lies above … especially not Singer!

117 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 24, 2014

About the author

Engineer by day and writer by night, David broke into traditional publishing in 2020 writing historical romance for Entangled Publishing under the pseudonym Sawyer North. In a stroke of luck, a photo of him wearing a cowboy hat on a Regency romance writers’ social media page landed him the opportunity to write a three-volume progressive western series for Sourcebooks in 2022. His love of researching history and bringing it to life – especially the stories of forgotten women – has led him lately toward writing historical fiction. He has a podcast in the works, Plot Twisted History, that tells true historical stories from a writer’s viewpoint – in service of the surprises and plot twists along the way.

David has called Austin home since 1998 with his wife and three children, where he fully embraces the city motto of “keep Austin weird.” He is a member of Regency Fiction Writers and Romance Writers of Central Texas, female centered organizations that have taken him under their wing and shared their collective wisdom.

Reviews

[Sandra Sandel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was very pleasantly surprised. I very much enjoyed this book and am starting the 2nd book now. I highly recommend this to just about anyone who would like a quick yet satisfied read. Love the ending ;)

[David Nix · Rating 5 out of 5]

I published this novella in the dying days of 2014. I was surprised that the first Amazon review appeared within days, and thankful that it was a solid "5". This story is a departure from the YA content I normally produce - I wrote it for adult sci-fi lovers. Developing characters and plot in the constraints of 30,000 words was a challenge, but it forced me into an economical style that I grew to appreciate very quickly. If you are a lover of sci-fi and post-apocalyptic stories, I hope you consider giving "The Well" a shot!

[M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different and deeply interesting. The hierarchy inside the well. Singer and the others. The turn of events.

I liked it from the beginning and all the way to the moment the outside hatch was finally opened. How did they live? Why did they accept it? Or didn’t. Watching mentalities change, relationships grow, alliances form. All that kept me reading. But then I really liked it, when the truth about the outside world was revealed. I was certainly not expecting that. Not at all. Now I wonder, what will they do next? How will they go from there? So… On to book 2.