From Below

by Barry Napier

Clarkton Lake is a picturesque vacation spot in rural Virginia, great for fishing, skiing, and wasting summer days away. But this summer, something is different. When butchered bodies are disocvered in the water and along the muddy banks of the lake, what starts out as a typical summer on the lake quickly turns into a nightmare. This summer, something new lives in the lake...something that was born in the darkest depths of the ocean and accidentally brought to these typically peaceful waters. It's getting bigger. It's getting smarter. And it's always hungry. * From Below was previously published as "Serpentine" by Severed Press in 2013.*

Genres: Horror

266 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 7, 2020

About the author

Barry Napier is the author of The Cooper M. Reid series, The Bleeding Room, Bound, Break Every Chain, Nests, and several other titles. His books span a wide range of genres, from paranormal thrillers to Christian adventure.

He works as a ghostwriter while working on his own titles. He enjoys coffee, ambient music, and irony.

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The crew of a submarine discovers an alien like (in the truest sense of the movie) species. One by one dies. The last surviving member lives in a cabin near a lake. Will he survive? What about the rising number of missing people in the area? Classic old school monster in the lake horror I couldn't put down. This monster here was extremely nasty. Of course we have some teenagers, Joe and Valerie, involved. Can they outlast the uncanny unstoppable creature? What about Scott, the FBI man? If you like eerie alien like monsters and straight storytelling from the 80s you definitely should take this book into consideration. It will eat you alive. Highly recommended!

[Peter Topside · Rating 4 out of 5]

So the main appeal to this story was that it didn’t get too big for its britches. It kept itself simple, but was done very well. You genuinely liked each character and wanted to see what happened to each of them. Specifically, Joe and Valerie were centerpieces here and had such a refreshing, innocent preteen kind of summer romance. The creature itself was, again, nothing crazy, but made the most of its concept. I also liked the few chapters that introduced people who were just used as bait for the monster. A lot of times when authors use this approach, these victims are of no importance to the main story. Basically they’re killed and you never hear their names again. However, Napier intertwined each of them and kept everything relevant. So the body count was reasonable, there was a fair amount of gore, suspense, and action, and I really enjoyed my first book from Barry Napier quite a bit. Now there were quite a few spots where the internal logic of the story didn’t quite add up. A few examples are how Scott is left on his own by the government to face the growing problem, why Joe and Val didn’t lie and report their creature sighting to keep themselves consequence free, and, the most glaring, was how the government didn’t quickly quarantine the survivors of the trench expedition, once they knew there was an issue at hand (Phew, that was a long sentence!). But even with some of those plotholes, this was still a very enjoyable read and will not be the last of Napier’s works that I dive into (Yes, that was a pun.).

[Kelsie Christensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

* 4.5 *

Well that was a wild ride! I loved this book. It made me think of a combination of Jaws, War of the Worlds, and Jurassic Park. The gore was great. The only reason it’s not 5 stars is there were SO MANY spelling/grammar mistakes. Took me out of the story a little bit. Overall though this was a great time

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clarkton Lake is a quiet, unassuming little community in Virginia that has become a popular vacation site over the years due to its peaceful atmosphere and the beauty of the tranquil lake from which it takes its name. But the largely unnoticed arrival of a few black, government-issue vans on the first day of summer signals that tranquility is about to come to an end, and before long mysterious events are occurring all around the lakeshore. Could there really be a man-eating monster in Clarkton Lake? And if there is, what can anybody do about it?

FROM BELOW is an extremely well-written thriller that combines small-town horror with sci-fi to make for a page-burning read. The nature of the monster is never fully explained, but we learn very quickly that whatever it is, it's a ruthless, bloodthirsty predator with a strong will to survive. The cast of characters is a fun slate, including teenagers discovering love for the first time, a government agent determined to find the mysterious monster and destroy it, and a couple of likable old guys who find themselves caught up in the creature's wake when it intrudes upon their peaceful country life. The monster scenes are handled remarkably well and are frequently very gory, but also with a touch of deftly crafted suspense. The climax is breathless and stacks one shock upon another until the very satisfying conclusion. Author Barry Napier clearly knows how to tell a great scary story with strong characters, and I'll certainly be on the lookout for more of his work in the future. Good stuff!

[Matt Egan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for the "sea creature" genre!

From Below is a horror thriller about a previously unknown life form grind its way from the deepest part of the ocean to a lake surrounded by vacation homes. Considering the genre, the writing is excellent, with a decent plot, believable characters, dialogue that matches the events and good descriptions and narrative quality. This is definitely one of the best books in the genre! 4/5 stars, highly recommended for fans of creature horror!

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story but tons of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors which were very disappointing and distracting.

[kathy conway · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one will keep you awake!!!

This story is very well written , with a lot of depth in the characters, and lots of horror. Loved it!