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Beneath
Enjoy The Descent, 28 Days Later, and 30 Days of Night? Then you'll love Beneath!
Dig deep enough and you'll always find the Devil.
With the increasing disappearance of miners and a mysterious groan from deep under the earth, rumors begin to circulate of an ancient and deadly curse.
When Mason's friend goes missing, he leads the search for his good friend. He slips and falls, crashing into an old, disused segment of the pit. Surrounded by evil creatures in the pitch darkness, can he find his way out to warn the locals? Or will the monsters escape and wreak havoc before he gets the chance?
Enjoy this thrilling page-turner FREE now!
Dig deep enough and you'll always find the Devil.
With the increasing disappearance of miners and a mysterious groan from deep under the earth, rumors begin to circulate of an ancient and deadly curse.
When Mason's friend goes missing, he leads the search for his good friend. He slips and falls, crashing into an old, disused segment of the pit. Surrounded by evil creatures in the pitch darkness, can he find his way out to warn the locals? Or will the monsters escape and wreak havoc before he gets the chance?
Enjoy this thrilling page-turner FREE now!
ebook
Published January 17, 2019
191 people are currently reading
191 people want to read
About the author
Perrin Briar
118 books109 followersPerrin Briar is an English author best-known for his Blood Memory series, black comedy Keeping Mum, and revenge tale Square. He was born in Huntingdon, grew up in Norfolk, graduated from Bournemouth, worked in London, and then chucked it all in to live in South Korea.
He has written for BBC radio, and worked in the production and development departments of the BBC, ITV and Channel 4.
** Sign up to Perrin's newsletter at www.perrinbriar.com/mailing-list/ and get four free stories, news of forthcoming new novels, competitions, special prices, advanced novel previews and exclusive email-only serial story Skip! **
He has written for BBC radio, and worked in the production and development departments of the BBC, ITV and Channel 4.
** Sign up to Perrin's newsletter at www.perrinbriar.com/mailing-list/ and get four free stories, news of forthcoming new novels, competitions, special prices, advanced novel previews and exclusive email-only serial story Skip! **
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
February 6, 2018
This is a clever little horror story. It captured my attention on page one and for myself that is so desirable when I start a book because I now have ability to hopefully lose myself within the pages of the story. (A great feeling when you have books that you just can't put down). The story was creepy, scary and tension filled! The only flaw was it was too short! Lol. It is a short story. Very well written and I will read more of this author's books!
If you enjoy a short story, I highly recommend this book!
If you enjoy a short story, I highly recommend this book!
July 14, 2018
Beneath by Perrin briar I don't even know where to begin only to say what waste of time it's not a book it a couple of pieces of paper my god you get more excitement from
an episode of supernatural (the TV series) please don't bother with this😖
an episode of supernatural (the TV series) please don't bother with this😖
January 25, 2018
First story I've read by this author, and I'm hooked. Not as twisted as Stephen King, but an excellent story line. Just wished this book could have been longer. Right as I got REALLY intrigued (and scared) and wanted so badly to get out of that dark mine, the story was unfortunately over. Certainly makes me want to read more from Perrin Briar!
January 25, 2018
Beneath by Perrin Briar is set in a very small coal mining town where mining coal is the only industry and activity. If a person were not involved in coal mining, they would not live there. In this short story, the reader can see that coal mining has not increased much in sophistication from the advent of coal mining, at least not in this town. Miners went into the darkness. Equipment failure of any type had the high probability of resulting in fatalities. There was an almost unbreakable bond of brotherhood joining coalminers so that in the event of a disaster, the slogan was like one used by the US military, “No one left behind.”
On Mark Johnson’s first day on the job, he had fallen into a mineshaft. He was found alive but in such terrible physical condition that death was a preferred option. While we know from this that death is familiar to miners and that it is one of the risks of the job, the latest periodic disappearances concerned the community. Miners were disappearing once per week.
Daniel and Mason were completing a shift and leaving the mine to go home. Mason dropped something and had to go back for it. He didn’t return. Daniel felt an obligation to look for Mason. Daniel found much more than he was looking for, things that would affect the entire community.
This is a very short story that describes well the daily concerns of miners. Those concerns are fact and placed in the context of a horror story with difficult-to-describe monsters. The short story occupies 40% of the download followed by an excerpt from the author’s longer novel, Resistant. I make it a practice not to read excerpts appended to teaser short stories. I like Briar’s writing style and give this short story four Amazon stars but if I decide to read Resistant it will be in the longer version. This short story is a good presentation of the author’s writing talent.
On Mark Johnson’s first day on the job, he had fallen into a mineshaft. He was found alive but in such terrible physical condition that death was a preferred option. While we know from this that death is familiar to miners and that it is one of the risks of the job, the latest periodic disappearances concerned the community. Miners were disappearing once per week.
Daniel and Mason were completing a shift and leaving the mine to go home. Mason dropped something and had to go back for it. He didn’t return. Daniel felt an obligation to look for Mason. Daniel found much more than he was looking for, things that would affect the entire community.
This is a very short story that describes well the daily concerns of miners. Those concerns are fact and placed in the context of a horror story with difficult-to-describe monsters. The short story occupies 40% of the download followed by an excerpt from the author’s longer novel, Resistant. I make it a practice not to read excerpts appended to teaser short stories. I like Briar’s writing style and give this short story four Amazon stars but if I decide to read Resistant it will be in the longer version. This short story is a good presentation of the author’s writing talent.
January 27, 2018
A quick spooky read that was over way too quickly. I hate the total darkness and felt the characters fear.
January 26, 2018
A short story on possibly the beginning of the zombies from the Resistance series.
A group of miners are working down a deep mine and one by one miners are disappearing. No-one talks about it. Stay together, try not to be left alone and stay in the light.
Mason is a young man with a wife and family who has no choice but to work down the mine. There are just no other jobs for someone like him. Him and his work partner hear something, but stay in the light and keep an ear out as they continue working carefully.
At the end of their shift something happens and Mason is left with a decision. Should he do what is right or think of his family and leave?
There are some sort of creatures or monsters in the depths of the mine and this could link in with the resistance series quite well, at its end.
An enjoyable short from the author on his favourite topic. Quick and easy to read.
A group of miners are working down a deep mine and one by one miners are disappearing. No-one talks about it. Stay together, try not to be left alone and stay in the light.
Mason is a young man with a wife and family who has no choice but to work down the mine. There are just no other jobs for someone like him. Him and his work partner hear something, but stay in the light and keep an ear out as they continue working carefully.
At the end of their shift something happens and Mason is left with a decision. Should he do what is right or think of his family and leave?
There are some sort of creatures or monsters in the depths of the mine and this could link in with the resistance series quite well, at its end.
An enjoyable short from the author on his favourite topic. Quick and easy to read.
February 2, 2019
This short story had unfulfilled potential. That is all.
February 9, 2019
While Beneath had a ton of potential (I like the idea and most of the sequence of events), the execution left much to be desired. I found myself spending most of my time mentally editing at least every second line. The endless sentence fragments drove me crazy, as did the fact most of these fragments began with "and" or "but". Some paragraphs contained too much word repetition, while other areas rambled without giving out any useful information. Most annoyingly, the same 100 or so words from the first chapter were repeated four times. Four! Once at the start, once at the end makes an acceptable callback. Repeating the same handful of lines four times hits eyerolling levels of irritation.
So much of the set up is wasted as Mason's experience with temporary blindness never comes into play. He almost always has a working headlamp on him, and even when his finally breaks he comes across a new one a minute later. I'd hoped he'd spend more time in navigating in the darkness, utilizing the skills so emphasized by Briar at the beginning at the novella.
A solid editing job would correct all of this and make for a more enjoyable read.
My favourite part of Beneath is the ending - not in a snarky "thank god that's over" way, but because I finally found myself drawn in by Mason's doomed final stand. I enjoy bleak endings, and knowing that for all his good intentions, Mason will bring death sweeping over his home town hits the right spot.
So much of the set up is wasted as Mason's experience with temporary blindness never comes into play. He almost always has a working headlamp on him, and even when his finally breaks he comes across a new one a minute later. I'd hoped he'd spend more time in navigating in the darkness, utilizing the skills so emphasized by Briar at the beginning at the novella.
A solid editing job would correct all of this and make for a more enjoyable read.
My favourite part of Beneath is the ending - not in a snarky "thank god that's over" way, but because I finally found myself drawn in by Mason's doomed final stand. I enjoy bleak endings, and knowing that for all his good intentions, Mason will bring death sweeping over his home town hits the right spot.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 6, 2018
Beneath - a review by Rosemary Kenny
This tiny novella is action-packed from the first line and it grips the reader in a breath-stealing vice of tension to the very end.
Miner Mason has recovered from his temporary blindness, but is paranoid about the return of darkness.
When an increasing number of fellow miners disappear, his paranoia about the darkness of the mine are reinforced.
Who is the first to vanish in the mine? What do the other miners think has happened to him?
What does Mason do to calm his fears? When Daniel goes missing what does Mason do?
Who does he find in the lower levels of the mine?
Why is he shocked by this person's appearance?
How does Mason escape from the mine - and who follows him?
A fascinating, if very brief tale, that makes one think not only about the expected dangers of old-fashioned mining by hand but also the unexpected ones! Hopefully the story can be developed further in a sequel, preferably full-length, novel in the near future.
This tiny novella is action-packed from the first line and it grips the reader in a breath-stealing vice of tension to the very end.
Miner Mason has recovered from his temporary blindness, but is paranoid about the return of darkness.
When an increasing number of fellow miners disappear, his paranoia about the darkness of the mine are reinforced.
Who is the first to vanish in the mine? What do the other miners think has happened to him?
What does Mason do to calm his fears? When Daniel goes missing what does Mason do?
Who does he find in the lower levels of the mine?
Why is he shocked by this person's appearance?
How does Mason escape from the mine - and who follows him?
A fascinating, if very brief tale, that makes one think not only about the expected dangers of old-fashioned mining by hand but also the unexpected ones! Hopefully the story can be developed further in a sequel, preferably full-length, novel in the near future.
June 13, 2018
The dark scares most people cause it brings to life all of our fears and beneath is all about the dark. The dark down in the coal mines of a coal mining village called Hollow where Mason is a miner, working to provide for his family in a job full of danger at the best of times but more so at the worst of them! In the pitch dark of the deep mine, monsters thrived and they were out to get the miners, one at a time and Mason was lost, so terribly lost in the darkness. Phew I don't think I'll sleep easy tonight at all after reading this chilling short story. If thee is anything Perrin Briar knows how to write it's horror, spine chilling horror stories and Beneath is a good example of this and it is furthermore a lead to the full length novel Resistant. So if you enjoy horror stories I am sure you will love this short story and jump right in to read the full length novel which is just as creepy!!
February 4, 2019
I'd like to give this 3.5 / 5 stars but unfortunately I can only give whole stars.. What a page turner this was.. pleasently surprised! Little bit disappointed with the ending would be my main critique. It felt like a "Leave it to the readers imagination" type of ending which to me felt incomplete, but a few more pages wouldn't have gone astray... I won't expand further as I don't want to ruin the ending for anyone.
As I was reading this I was wondering why my progress felt so slow (I was keeping an eye while reading my Kindle as it was getting late) when this book was supposedly only 50 or so pages only to suddenly reach the end of the tale.. The story is actually only 13% of the entire book, with the remainder filled with a preview for another book. Really didn't like that unexpected easter egg at the end as I really thought I was only scratching the surface of this story.. You've been warned!
As I was reading this I was wondering why my progress felt so slow (I was keeping an eye while reading my Kindle as it was getting late) when this book was supposedly only 50 or so pages only to suddenly reach the end of the tale.. The story is actually only 13% of the entire book, with the remainder filled with a preview for another book. Really didn't like that unexpected easter egg at the end as I really thought I was only scratching the surface of this story.. You've been warned!
March 9, 2018
I really enjoyed this short story. It reminds me of H. P. Lovecraft's horror story "The Beast in the Cave." Not the same, mind you, but similar themes and setting. The suspension is built exceptionally well and the ending is truly chilling. Though, I will say the first part (or prologue) gave the ending away a bit too much. I would have preferred the story without it. It was also a much quicker read than I thought it would be. It says on Goodreads that it's 73 pages, but the story itself is less than half that. The rest is a preview of Briar's full-length novel. I didn't mind this, but I thought it was a bit of a misnomer because I was expecting a 73-page story. But still, the story itself was truly terrifying!
For more of my reviews, check out my blog: https://madamewriterblog.com/
For more of my reviews, check out my blog: https://madamewriterblog.com/
March 2, 2019
Beneath, a short portion of a Zombie book.
A short, first part of a Zombie book, that leaves you wanting more.
Chris wakes up, trapped in his car, that he obviously hit while driving drunk. He finally manages to get himself out of the car. Out, that is, after drinking what little is left, in the rubbish of semi- empties lying on the passenger seat floorboard.
Not too far from his home, when he crashes, he stumbles home.
Chris isn't the brightest bulb in the bag, and he's definitely not in good shape to be able to survive a Zombie Apocalypse. BUT, you'll have to read this book to find out, what happens next!!
A short, first part of a Zombie book, that leaves you wanting more.
Chris wakes up, trapped in his car, that he obviously hit while driving drunk. He finally manages to get himself out of the car. Out, that is, after drinking what little is left, in the rubbish of semi- empties lying on the passenger seat floorboard.
Not too far from his home, when he crashes, he stumbles home.
Chris isn't the brightest bulb in the bag, and he's definitely not in good shape to be able to survive a Zombie Apocalypse. BUT, you'll have to read this book to find out, what happens next!!
February 21, 2018
"Enjoy The Descent, 28 Days Later, and 30 Days of Night? Then you’ll love Beneath! "
So going into this, I expected vampires in a mine...based on the quoted blurb. I wasn't wrong. This was well done, quick and interesting.
I do think it's weird that the text of the ebook had this story and a sneak peek at a novel...but I think the novel peek was longer than the story. I'm not complaining, that book certainly seems interesting and I'm pretty sure I want to read it. I just thought it was odd.
So going into this, I expected vampires in a mine...based on the quoted blurb. I wasn't wrong. This was well done, quick and interesting.
I do think it's weird that the text of the ebook had this story and a sneak peek at a novel...but I think the novel peek was longer than the story. I'm not complaining, that book certainly seems interesting and I'm pretty sure I want to read it. I just thought it was odd.
February 5, 2018
Comes with the first six chapters of Resistant, which takes up about half the page count.
A mining community is losing individuals underground... Eventually it seems that they are becoming some form of shambling zombie (I read somewhere that this might be the origin of the troubles in Resistant). A short story, despite being broken into chapters - there is a beginning, middle and a sort of end (even if it doesn't resolve things) which satisfies my sense of completeness.
A mining community is losing individuals underground... Eventually it seems that they are becoming some form of shambling zombie (I read somewhere that this might be the origin of the troubles in Resistant). A short story, despite being broken into chapters - there is a beginning, middle and a sort of end (even if it doesn't resolve things) which satisfies my sense of completeness.
February 7, 2018
Short and quick
A small mining town is experiencing a troubling series of disappearing workers, vanishing from their comrades in the dark of the mines.
What follows is a few introductory chapters of "Resistant" , I'll admit I'm intrigued by what I've read so far. I thought i was all done with the vampire stuff, but I'll give this a whirl.
A small mining town is experiencing a troubling series of disappearing workers, vanishing from their comrades in the dark of the mines.
What follows is a few introductory chapters of "Resistant" , I'll admit I'm intrigued by what I've read so far. I thought i was all done with the vampire stuff, but I'll give this a whirl.
February 17, 2018
This is an interesting book in which the main character, Mason, is doing his job as a miner and his staff keep dying. It turns out that they turn into something in his nightmares, an undead in which tries to attack him and comes to the surface. It is a good book for those who enjoy running away and avoiding undead or "monsters."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 24, 2018
Good horror
A good horror book that makes you question the bumps in the darkness. The author did a great job in the description of the monsters without flat out saying zombies or what-have-you. A few minor grammatical issues but nothing major to distract from the story. Definitely worth the read
A good horror book that makes you question the bumps in the darkness. The author did a great job in the description of the monsters without flat out saying zombies or what-have-you. A few minor grammatical issues but nothing major to distract from the story. Definitely worth the read
July 18, 2021
It’s an okay story. I admit the author did an amazing job describing the mines and making me feel like I was trapped under the earth and that weight was pressing down on me. But… the ghosts/demons? They were just kinda lame.
It’s free and and it kills some time, I say check it out but don’t pay for it.
It’s free and and it kills some time, I say check it out but don’t pay for it.
January 20, 2018
This is a stand alone short story .
It's a lot different than other books by Perrin Briar.
I can say one thing...I won't be sitting in the dark in the foreseeable future.
Well worth the time to read this one.
It's a lot different than other books by Perrin Briar.
I can say one thing...I won't be sitting in the dark in the foreseeable future.
Well worth the time to read this one.
February 13, 2018
I have a very brief review for this short story.
Concept is intriguing but it is too short to actually form a final opinion. I would have liked if it run for a little longer - guess this means i like it :)
Concept is intriguing but it is too short to actually form a final opinion. I would have liked if it run for a little longer - guess this means i like it :)
February 20, 2018
Read for Read harder Challenge - One Sitting Book. Mason bravely goes deep into the mine in search of his friend Daniel. Unfortunately, he finds him. Miners become zombies, and then climb up into the light of day. Claustrophobic. Great ending.
June 25, 2018
this is a quick read about a man who loses his partner in the mines. He decides to go look for him and finds the town's boogeymen. the story was definitely entertaining and the author leaves you knowing what's going to happen without saying it
January 25, 2018
All the more reason to shut down the coal industry! Let's keep people above ground in the sunshine!
January 25, 2018
DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES!!!
A fast paced, spine tingling, nail biting, frozen on edge of your seat, eyes glued to the page and not knowing whats coming up behind you read.
A fast paced, spine tingling, nail biting, frozen on edge of your seat, eyes glued to the page and not knowing whats coming up behind you read.
January 26, 2018
I received a copy of this short story from the author. It is about a group of minors working in a mine. There is also something else lurking with them.
January 28, 2018
Terrible. No fixed ending and most of this short story was made up of an excerpt from a different book.
February 3, 2018
Spooky
Spooky. The longer I read the more claustrophobic I got. Perrin always delivers and he definitely didn't disappoint with this short. Loved it!!!
Spooky. The longer I read the more claustrophobic I got. Perrin always delivers and he definitely didn't disappoint with this short. Loved it!!!
March 22, 2018
An interesting, short zombie origin story.
May 21, 2018
I really enjoyed book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews