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Deep Down There
In the gated community of Anton Court, everything is normal enough. The five families living there get on, and the assigned caretaker makes sure that nothing is out of sorts. All is well and everyone is happy.
Until the hole appears.
Perfectly round and 6-feet wide, the hole inspires many feelings in the residents. Wealthy app developer Rich Davis wants to investigate it. Elderly army veteran James Stanley (known as The Colonel) wants it removed. While widowed single mother Hannah Suggs is just unnerved by the hole.
Soon enough, obsessions take over and the peace of Anton Court is horribly corrupted.
From the dark mind of Oli Jacobs, author of The Station 17 Chronicles , The Children of Little Thwopping , and Book Bloggers Novel of the Year Award 2021 finalist Wilthaven , Deep Down There is a story of obsession, secrets, and the fragile nature of fate and reality. As always, he hopes you enjoy.
Until the hole appears.
Perfectly round and 6-feet wide, the hole inspires many feelings in the residents. Wealthy app developer Rich Davis wants to investigate it. Elderly army veteran James Stanley (known as The Colonel) wants it removed. While widowed single mother Hannah Suggs is just unnerved by the hole.
Soon enough, obsessions take over and the peace of Anton Court is horribly corrupted.
From the dark mind of Oli Jacobs, author of The Station 17 Chronicles , The Children of Little Thwopping , and Book Bloggers Novel of the Year Award 2021 finalist Wilthaven , Deep Down There is a story of obsession, secrets, and the fragile nature of fate and reality. As always, he hopes you enjoy.
- GenresHorror
251 pages, Paperback
First published February 22, 2022
8 people want to read
About the author
Oli Jacobs
33 books20 followersOli Jacobs is a bearded chap who enjoys spinning a yarn or two. While now a hermit, he has been rumoured to be seen drinking beer and enjoying chicken in the wilds of Southampton. If seen, please approach gently as he has severe anxiety and may cry.
As well as Wilthaven, Oli has also wrote other Horror (The Children of Little Thwopping, The Station 17 Chronicles), Comedy (the Kirk Sandblaster series), Thriller (the Mr Blank series), and short stories (the Filmic Cuts series).
As always, he hopes you enjoy.
As well as Wilthaven, Oli has also wrote other Horror (The Children of Little Thwopping, The Station 17 Chronicles), Comedy (the Kirk Sandblaster series), Thriller (the Mr Blank series), and short stories (the Filmic Cuts series).
As always, he hopes you enjoy.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 28, 2022
Deep Down There. Nothing good ever comes from big black holes, whether it’s from the horrific type in space or massive sinkholes that wreak their havoc on earth, nothing. good. ever. happens.
Order this book right now. I started reading at approximately 1 pm and by 4 pm I had finished, like a marathon runner trying to outdo their personal best, I needed to find out the why, the where, and the how. DO IT!
Oli Jacobs can’t write a bad story, like seriously, everything I have read I have loved. He can shut me up with his sharp, witty, and alluring stories of the human condition and terrifying situations, however, I am mad at you, so crazy mad with you for leaving me with the worst kind of book hangover. I was like an overzealous customer in a bakery, I wanted it all but now I feel sick from the overindulgence. I closed the final page and felt like time had stood still – my eyes were frozen, my brain had seized up, and didn’t think I would be able to write any justifiable words that could do this book justice.
“The hole in Anton Court wasn’t just a hole. It was darkness, a void that was cruel and apathetic to the ways of the residents. It just wanted to consume, to devour, until there was nothing else left to eat.”
There are many horror writers that I admire but none seem to have the right combination of wit and bone-chilling horror such as Mr. Jacobs. I’d love to examine your brain but of course, I’d be terrified of what I might find.
So Deep Down There, just how do I summarise it effectively? A gated community. A mysterious dark hole. The purveyor of dark dreams and even darker voices. Single widowed mother, Hannah has recently suffered the worst kind of bereavement, that of her partner, Greg. She lives in her house on Ashton Court, a very luxurious and privileged gated community that Greg acquired on their behalf. She is now left to raise their two boys. Life is hard but she is determined to make the most of a bad situation.
One day everything changes. A huge black hole appears on the grounds of Ashton Court. It’s no sinkhole, this thing is sheer and perfectly shaped that it could never have been created by nature or by a man for that matter. It puts everyone that lives in the community on edge, the owner’s HP Properties are acting cagier than a tiger locked up with no food. They want no police and no council involvement. The reasoning behind this was never going to be pretty. You can feel the effects of Jacobs’s writing from the very first line. It’s sharper than a tack and immediately has you hooked.
So, what exactly is the hole? Why is it there? What impact will it have upon the residents of Ashton Court? Well, if you want those questions answered then you are going to have to read Deep Down There…
Deep Down There is viscerally intimate. Jacobs proves he has his finger on the pulse of cosmic horror. He is a fierce talent that knows no boundaries or limits.
Order this book right now. I started reading at approximately 1 pm and by 4 pm I had finished, like a marathon runner trying to outdo their personal best, I needed to find out the why, the where, and the how. DO IT!
Oli Jacobs can’t write a bad story, like seriously, everything I have read I have loved. He can shut me up with his sharp, witty, and alluring stories of the human condition and terrifying situations, however, I am mad at you, so crazy mad with you for leaving me with the worst kind of book hangover. I was like an overzealous customer in a bakery, I wanted it all but now I feel sick from the overindulgence. I closed the final page and felt like time had stood still – my eyes were frozen, my brain had seized up, and didn’t think I would be able to write any justifiable words that could do this book justice.
“The hole in Anton Court wasn’t just a hole. It was darkness, a void that was cruel and apathetic to the ways of the residents. It just wanted to consume, to devour, until there was nothing else left to eat.”
There are many horror writers that I admire but none seem to have the right combination of wit and bone-chilling horror such as Mr. Jacobs. I’d love to examine your brain but of course, I’d be terrified of what I might find.
So Deep Down There, just how do I summarise it effectively? A gated community. A mysterious dark hole. The purveyor of dark dreams and even darker voices. Single widowed mother, Hannah has recently suffered the worst kind of bereavement, that of her partner, Greg. She lives in her house on Ashton Court, a very luxurious and privileged gated community that Greg acquired on their behalf. She is now left to raise their two boys. Life is hard but she is determined to make the most of a bad situation.
One day everything changes. A huge black hole appears on the grounds of Ashton Court. It’s no sinkhole, this thing is sheer and perfectly shaped that it could never have been created by nature or by a man for that matter. It puts everyone that lives in the community on edge, the owner’s HP Properties are acting cagier than a tiger locked up with no food. They want no police and no council involvement. The reasoning behind this was never going to be pretty. You can feel the effects of Jacobs’s writing from the very first line. It’s sharper than a tack and immediately has you hooked.
So, what exactly is the hole? Why is it there? What impact will it have upon the residents of Ashton Court? Well, if you want those questions answered then you are going to have to read Deep Down There…
Deep Down There is viscerally intimate. Jacobs proves he has his finger on the pulse of cosmic horror. He is a fierce talent that knows no boundaries or limits.
March 19, 2022
"Deep Down There" is horror auteur, Oli Jacobs, on his strongest footing and showcasing his finest horror set dressing, pacing, and world-building.
Showing off his chops as a seasoned writer by giving us a horror setting that, at first, appears to be just a hole in asphalt, but growing to an imperceptible scope of Lovecraftian levels, Oli gives us a horror world that creeps up on us from within the mundane of everyday life; therefore making the terror pay off in spades from a starting point of being relatable.
Deep Down There presents perhaps Oli's strongest characterisation to date with characters that feel real and responsive to the conflict.
Good prose/novel horror leans heavily on a psychological aspect and, boy, does Oli ever deliver here.
***
In summary, if you're a horror fan, you'll be a fool to miss to Oli Jacobs' "Deep Down There".
Showing off his chops as a seasoned writer by giving us a horror setting that, at first, appears to be just a hole in asphalt, but growing to an imperceptible scope of Lovecraftian levels, Oli gives us a horror world that creeps up on us from within the mundane of everyday life; therefore making the terror pay off in spades from a starting point of being relatable.
Deep Down There presents perhaps Oli's strongest characterisation to date with characters that feel real and responsive to the conflict.
Good prose/novel horror leans heavily on a psychological aspect and, boy, does Oli ever deliver here.
***
In summary, if you're a horror fan, you'll be a fool to miss to Oli Jacobs' "Deep Down There".
April 4, 2022
3.5. Review to come!
April 20, 2022
I read and reviewed Wilthaven by Oli Jacobs as part of the BBNYA 2021 competition and I absolutely loved it. I couldn’t get enough of the mixed media and witty writing style so I couldn’t wait to see what Oli could produce when writing in a different way.
I have no idea where to start with my review of Deep Down There so I’m going to start with a hole that randomly appears one day in Anton Court, an exclusive development. A hole that wasn’t there one day and was the next. A hole that seems resistant to any attempts to cover it or get rid. A hole that causes everyday suburban life to come crashing down around the lives of Anton Court residents. A hole that brings up secrets and nightmares. A hole that takes centre stage.
For me as a reader I found two main things going on in Deep down There. The plot itself – the hole and what it could be/exploration etc. Also the study of the characters and how they react in the face of adversity.
I’ve said it before but things that go bump in the night do not scare me. I love horror films, they make me jump but I am rarely scared by things I can see on camera. However, 2 things do freak me apart (apart from snakes) and they are;
1. Things that are unknown/cannot be seen.
2. Things that could really happen (Hostel falls into this category)
Deep Down There definitely falls into the first category and that’s what made the plot so tense and terrifying for me. I couldn’t explain what it was that scared me or why I felt uneasy but I did. The characters got under my skin and I couldn’t shake them off for days. I’d lay awake thinking about them and trying to figure out what was happening, but the worst (or best from a writer/reader’s perspective) was the feeling of dread that I felt for everyone through most of the book.
The hole is the main character and completely steals the show without doing very much at all. It’s malevolent and plays tricks on people and is certainly rebelling against any attempts to cover or fill it. I loved how things were revealed at a pace to keep my interest but slow enough to make the anticipation and intensity level high.
The residents of Anton Court are fascinating to read about. They all deal with things differently and Jacobs has written a social study – almost like a Big brother series – in how different personalities and people react to unknown and terrifying situations. They all had flaws and none of them were totally likeable (apart from Heather) but then is that not a true reflection of humans? I’m pretty sure in a real-life situation like this we’d see our friends and families in a different light after a few days. Hysteria, insomnia and a high level of anxiety will do that to a person and Jacobs captures this perfectly.
I realise this review has been very waffly. It’s a compliment to an author when I cannot find the right ways to express how a book made me feel. (It also shows why I am not an author.)
The biggest thing I can say about this book is read it! It’s clever, mind-blowing and intense and I loved every terrifying minute of it.
I have no idea where to start with my review of Deep Down There so I’m going to start with a hole that randomly appears one day in Anton Court, an exclusive development. A hole that wasn’t there one day and was the next. A hole that seems resistant to any attempts to cover it or get rid. A hole that causes everyday suburban life to come crashing down around the lives of Anton Court residents. A hole that brings up secrets and nightmares. A hole that takes centre stage.
For me as a reader I found two main things going on in Deep down There. The plot itself – the hole and what it could be/exploration etc. Also the study of the characters and how they react in the face of adversity.
I’ve said it before but things that go bump in the night do not scare me. I love horror films, they make me jump but I am rarely scared by things I can see on camera. However, 2 things do freak me apart (apart from snakes) and they are;
1. Things that are unknown/cannot be seen.
2. Things that could really happen (Hostel falls into this category)
Deep Down There definitely falls into the first category and that’s what made the plot so tense and terrifying for me. I couldn’t explain what it was that scared me or why I felt uneasy but I did. The characters got under my skin and I couldn’t shake them off for days. I’d lay awake thinking about them and trying to figure out what was happening, but the worst (or best from a writer/reader’s perspective) was the feeling of dread that I felt for everyone through most of the book.
The hole is the main character and completely steals the show without doing very much at all. It’s malevolent and plays tricks on people and is certainly rebelling against any attempts to cover or fill it. I loved how things were revealed at a pace to keep my interest but slow enough to make the anticipation and intensity level high.
The residents of Anton Court are fascinating to read about. They all deal with things differently and Jacobs has written a social study – almost like a Big brother series – in how different personalities and people react to unknown and terrifying situations. They all had flaws and none of them were totally likeable (apart from Heather) but then is that not a true reflection of humans? I’m pretty sure in a real-life situation like this we’d see our friends and families in a different light after a few days. Hysteria, insomnia and a high level of anxiety will do that to a person and Jacobs captures this perfectly.
I realise this review has been very waffly. It’s a compliment to an author when I cannot find the right ways to express how a book made me feel. (It also shows why I am not an author.)
The biggest thing I can say about this book is read it! It’s clever, mind-blowing and intense and I loved every terrifying minute of it.
February 24, 2022
*I received a free copy of this book, with thanks to the author. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
Deep Down There starts a little slowly, then builds into a gripping horror story.
In terms of both style and content, it falls somewhere between psychological horror and Lovecraftian horror, with the reader only given glimpses and hints of the ‘Big Bad’, leaving the fear to percolate in your imagination until the eventual climactic reveal.
The focus of the story is on the mysterious hole that has appeared and what might be down it, so while we follow mum-and-widow Hannah as a main character, and grow somewhat attached to her and her neighbours, the characters feel less important than the unfolding events that happen to and around them. I think the author could have taken pretty much any characters and slotted them into this plot, and still got the same horror-effect from the reader. That said, it was a nice touch that these particular neighbours had secrets of their own to hide! It added an extra dimension to the tension, to know that Hannah had human perfidy to deal with alongside the eldritch monsters.
But mainly, I wanted to know what was down the hole, what made the hole, what the purpose of the hole was… I couldn’t stop reading until I knew, so I definitely identified with the obsession the characters had with the hole (the word ‘hole’ crops up quite a lot in the course of the story, for obvious reasons!). Oh, and I particularly liked the possibilities introduced with a certain uncertain character midway through – I could definitely read more stories centred on that particular brand of mind-bending potential!
Fans of The Magnus Archives and similar horror stories – cleverly constructed so as not to answer the questions but to pose them to the reader and allow them to help to scare themselves – will enjoy this foray into the darkness beneath. And as an added bonus, the author has included some related short stories set in and around the ‘hole’ event time and place, as a neat bit of extra worldbuilding.
If you decide to read this after dark, just remember to stay well back from the edge…
'Where once were a host of lovely communal flowers, and a little patch of grass for the children to play upon, now sat this alien abyss. There were no chips to suggest it was dug, nor any tools to suggest who may have dug it.
It was just there, a perfect circle leading down into the ground.'
– Oli Jacobs, Deep Down There
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpres...
Deep Down There starts a little slowly, then builds into a gripping horror story.
In terms of both style and content, it falls somewhere between psychological horror and Lovecraftian horror, with the reader only given glimpses and hints of the ‘Big Bad’, leaving the fear to percolate in your imagination until the eventual climactic reveal.
The focus of the story is on the mysterious hole that has appeared and what might be down it, so while we follow mum-and-widow Hannah as a main character, and grow somewhat attached to her and her neighbours, the characters feel less important than the unfolding events that happen to and around them. I think the author could have taken pretty much any characters and slotted them into this plot, and still got the same horror-effect from the reader. That said, it was a nice touch that these particular neighbours had secrets of their own to hide! It added an extra dimension to the tension, to know that Hannah had human perfidy to deal with alongside the eldritch monsters.
But mainly, I wanted to know what was down the hole, what made the hole, what the purpose of the hole was… I couldn’t stop reading until I knew, so I definitely identified with the obsession the characters had with the hole (the word ‘hole’ crops up quite a lot in the course of the story, for obvious reasons!). Oh, and I particularly liked the possibilities introduced with a certain uncertain character midway through – I could definitely read more stories centred on that particular brand of mind-bending potential!
Fans of The Magnus Archives and similar horror stories – cleverly constructed so as not to answer the questions but to pose them to the reader and allow them to help to scare themselves – will enjoy this foray into the darkness beneath. And as an added bonus, the author has included some related short stories set in and around the ‘hole’ event time and place, as a neat bit of extra worldbuilding.
If you decide to read this after dark, just remember to stay well back from the edge…
'Where once were a host of lovely communal flowers, and a little patch of grass for the children to play upon, now sat this alien abyss. There were no chips to suggest it was dug, nor any tools to suggest who may have dug it.
It was just there, a perfect circle leading down into the ground.'
– Oli Jacobs, Deep Down There
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpres...
December 14, 2024
A Truly Clever Premise that Teases More to Come
Deep Down There is an entertaining read with a simple but clever premise: What happens when a sinkhole appears in an established community. Overnight. And it’s a perfect circle with smooth walls that go straight down for what seems like infinity? The gated community of Anton Court gets to find out, and their justified curiosities lead to a few horrific outcomes.
I enjoyed this read. Oli Jacobs leans into character development to keep us interested, and he has created a nice little eclectic bunch led by Hannah, a widowed mother of two young boys who is stuck in a comfortable rut after the accidental death of her husband. Then the hole appears, and things gradually get weird. No spoilers, but if you are a fan of TV shows like The Big Door Prize, which was a book before it was a TV series, you might like the feel of the characters here.
You might ask, "if you liked it so much, why only 3 stars?" Well, it’s a 3+ star read for me that didn’t quite tip to a 4. Plot development was a little bit slow, and the ending is left a bit too open ended, imo. There is a late revealed character that left me with more questions than answers (I can’t say more because of spoilers), and one key character seemed to have a name change through the third quarter of the book that had me scratching my head.
That all having been said, there are two post chapters that are separate from the main story but also tied to it. Ironically, they leave the reader with more questions, but they are also full of the right amount of intrigue to make this reader curious for more.
Deep Down There is an entertaining read with a simple but clever premise: What happens when a sinkhole appears in an established community. Overnight. And it’s a perfect circle with smooth walls that go straight down for what seems like infinity? The gated community of Anton Court gets to find out, and their justified curiosities lead to a few horrific outcomes.
I enjoyed this read. Oli Jacobs leans into character development to keep us interested, and he has created a nice little eclectic bunch led by Hannah, a widowed mother of two young boys who is stuck in a comfortable rut after the accidental death of her husband. Then the hole appears, and things gradually get weird. No spoilers, but if you are a fan of TV shows like The Big Door Prize, which was a book before it was a TV series, you might like the feel of the characters here.
You might ask, "if you liked it so much, why only 3 stars?" Well, it’s a 3+ star read for me that didn’t quite tip to a 4. Plot development was a little bit slow, and the ending is left a bit too open ended, imo. There is a late revealed character that left me with more questions than answers (I can’t say more because of spoilers), and one key character seemed to have a name change through the third quarter of the book that had me scratching my head.
That all having been said, there are two post chapters that are separate from the main story but also tied to it. Ironically, they leave the reader with more questions, but they are also full of the right amount of intrigue to make this reader curious for more.
January 15, 2023
Anton Court is a gated community, a tiny private estate inhabited by a small community of residents into which widow Hannah Suggs no longer feels she still fits following the accidental death of her partner Greg. One morning the peace of the neighbourhood is disrupted by the appearance of a circular two metre wide hole – depth and contents unknown – at the centre of the communal garden.
Originally no more than a minor inconvenience and irritation, the hole’s presence soon escalates into something that grabs hold of the attention of the residents and refuses to let go as the strangeness surrounding its emergence intensifies.
What starts off as a very engaging John Wyndham-esque tale of the inhabitants of small town England being confronted by the strange and unusual gradually mutates towards unsettling Lovecraftian horror over the course of the tale with the titular hole developing House of Leaves vibes in its irrationality qualities and dimensions.
The residents of Anton Court are all distinctly and realistically described (likeable and unlikeable alike) and the narrative itself is an intriguing puzzle that pulls you in and has that “just one more chapter” quality that will no doubt result in a number of late nights for the reader – probably followed by disturbing dreams.
Originally no more than a minor inconvenience and irritation, the hole’s presence soon escalates into something that grabs hold of the attention of the residents and refuses to let go as the strangeness surrounding its emergence intensifies.
What starts off as a very engaging John Wyndham-esque tale of the inhabitants of small town England being confronted by the strange and unusual gradually mutates towards unsettling Lovecraftian horror over the course of the tale with the titular hole developing House of Leaves vibes in its irrationality qualities and dimensions.
The residents of Anton Court are all distinctly and realistically described (likeable and unlikeable alike) and the narrative itself is an intriguing puzzle that pulls you in and has that “just one more chapter” quality that will no doubt result in a number of late nights for the reader – probably followed by disturbing dreams.
March 8, 2022
I’ve been waiting for this book to come out for a while now because Oli was originally trying to get it published through Unbound, which is a pretty cool hybrid publisher that I’ve had my eye on for a while now. That didn’t end up happening, and so I’m glad that he decided to release it under his own steam.
The core concept here is something that I haven’t really come across before, and it’s the kind of idea that makes you want to pick up the book and figure out what’s happening. It’s set in a gated community and investigates what happens to the people living there when a massive hole appears in the ground.
No one knows what caused it or what might lie at the bottom of the hole, and that in itself is enough of a mystery to keep you going from page to page until the denouement. But as with a lot of Jacobs’ work, it’s the journey itself that I enjoyed the most, and I was content to let the plot develop at its own pace, though it also felt a little bit like scratching an itch as more and more information was revealed.
All in all, this is probably one of my favourites from his oeuvre, and I’d definitely recommend it if you’re curious to know what caused the hole in Anton Court.
The core concept here is something that I haven’t really come across before, and it’s the kind of idea that makes you want to pick up the book and figure out what’s happening. It’s set in a gated community and investigates what happens to the people living there when a massive hole appears in the ground.
No one knows what caused it or what might lie at the bottom of the hole, and that in itself is enough of a mystery to keep you going from page to page until the denouement. But as with a lot of Jacobs’ work, it’s the journey itself that I enjoyed the most, and I was content to let the plot develop at its own pace, though it also felt a little bit like scratching an itch as more and more information was revealed.
All in all, this is probably one of my favourites from his oeuvre, and I’d definitely recommend it if you’re curious to know what caused the hole in Anton Court.
March 9, 2023
An exclusive gated community wakes up to a very deep hole suddenly appearing in the community garden.
This isn't just a normal sinkhole but a tunnel causing obsessions and one child wanting to feed the hole.
The gated community is owned by H.P properties (and yes that is a nod to who you think) and that is all you really need to know apart from a cornucopia of different characters
This isn't just a normal sinkhole but a tunnel causing obsessions and one child wanting to feed the hole.
The gated community is owned by H.P properties (and yes that is a nod to who you think) and that is all you really need to know apart from a cornucopia of different characters
Read
May 18, 2024Starts innocently enough, then turns into a wild ride. I didn't know what to expect when I started reading, but I was intrigued by the concept--a hole appearing in a gated community. I found a fascinating mystery, a group of interesting characters, and a plot full of twists and turns I could not predict. Thumbs up from me.
August 19, 2025
Warning - Slight spoilers?
At first, this was a solid 3 star read for me. Upon discussing it with my boyfriend, and complaining of the cliffhanger at the end, aka not knowing at all what just happened, where it came from, if we are an egg?, who were HP Properties REALLY, what the heck were all the agents, and WTF was August- He gave me a new perspective that genuinely made me rethink the 3 stars into a 4 stars review. As a reader in the POV of Hannah, who doesn't know jack about jack, it makes sense for the book to end with more questions than answers, as Hannah never really fully grasped what was going on, it would seem appropriate for the reader to not really know either. Gave me a new appreciation for the ending. Overall, would read again, and will stay away from random holes.
At first, this was a solid 3 star read for me. Upon discussing it with my boyfriend, and complaining of the cliffhanger at the end, aka not knowing at all what just happened, where it came from, if we are an egg?, who were HP Properties REALLY, what the heck were all the agents, and WTF was August- He gave me a new perspective that genuinely made me rethink the 3 stars into a 4 stars review. As a reader in the POV of Hannah, who doesn't know jack about jack, it makes sense for the book to end with more questions than answers, as Hannah never really fully grasped what was going on, it would seem appropriate for the reader to not really know either. Gave me a new appreciation for the ending. Overall, would read again, and will stay away from random holes.
March 4, 2022
Having been thoroughly entertained by Oli Jacobs’ Wilthaven last month, I was excited to check out his new novel, Deep Down There, and I can confirm it’s definitely worth a read.
While Wilthaven is made up of a variety of ‘found’ media, Deep Down There follows the more traditional linear, third-person novel format. As in Wilthaven, Jacobs sets a Lovecraftian evil loose upon what appears to be an ordinary (albeit, in this case, exclusive) community, explores how different characters react to it, and combines horror, pathos and humour. There’s also more than a hint that the two books are set in the same universe(s). I very much appreciated these elements, which put me in mind of classic Stephen King.
While the story focuses particularly on Hannah Suggs, a widowed mother-of-two, through her we get to see the various reactions of the residents of Anton Court. Hannah herself is unsettled by the hole, but rejects estate management company HP Properties’ offer to put her up in a fancy local hotel; she’s worried that they’ll use the opportunity to take her home back now there’s no breadwinner, and in any case, the hole exerts a mysterious pull.
Some of Hannah’s neighbours take up the offer and leave for the hotel. Hannah sends her young sons, Warren and Jarelle, with them so they’ll be safe. One neighbour, ‘The Colonel’ stays but is simply angry and affronted by the hole’s presence. Another, Rich Davis, is curious and foolhardy enough to go all the way down the hole, with all-out gruesome results.
But even when they aren’t actually inside it, the hole has thrillingly scary effects on those who live nearby, whether it’s violently ejecting the concrete that estate caretaker Vincent Crendon and his friend Ronnie attempt to fill it in with, or giving people horrible, personalised vivid dreams. And throughout, you’re wondering: why has this hole appeared, and here, of all places? What exactly is down there? And why are HP Properties not doing more to solve the problem? You’ll have to read the book to find out.
Deep Down There is intriguing, sinister and enjoyable.
While Wilthaven is made up of a variety of ‘found’ media, Deep Down There follows the more traditional linear, third-person novel format. As in Wilthaven, Jacobs sets a Lovecraftian evil loose upon what appears to be an ordinary (albeit, in this case, exclusive) community, explores how different characters react to it, and combines horror, pathos and humour. There’s also more than a hint that the two books are set in the same universe(s). I very much appreciated these elements, which put me in mind of classic Stephen King.
While the story focuses particularly on Hannah Suggs, a widowed mother-of-two, through her we get to see the various reactions of the residents of Anton Court. Hannah herself is unsettled by the hole, but rejects estate management company HP Properties’ offer to put her up in a fancy local hotel; she’s worried that they’ll use the opportunity to take her home back now there’s no breadwinner, and in any case, the hole exerts a mysterious pull.
Some of Hannah’s neighbours take up the offer and leave for the hotel. Hannah sends her young sons, Warren and Jarelle, with them so they’ll be safe. One neighbour, ‘The Colonel’ stays but is simply angry and affronted by the hole’s presence. Another, Rich Davis, is curious and foolhardy enough to go all the way down the hole, with all-out gruesome results.
But even when they aren’t actually inside it, the hole has thrillingly scary effects on those who live nearby, whether it’s violently ejecting the concrete that estate caretaker Vincent Crendon and his friend Ronnie attempt to fill it in with, or giving people horrible, personalised vivid dreams. And throughout, you’re wondering: why has this hole appeared, and here, of all places? What exactly is down there? And why are HP Properties not doing more to solve the problem? You’ll have to read the book to find out.
Deep Down There is intriguing, sinister and enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews