Styx

by Christopher Hyde

Book by Hyde, Christopher

Genres: Horror, Thriller, Fiction

269 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Christopher Hyde has worked as a researcher, editor, TV interviewer specialising in stories of technology, intelligence and the environment.
He also writes using the pseudonyms

A.J. Holt.
Paul Christopher.

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two geologists discover a mysterious cave with stone age paintings on the ceiling in Yugoslavia (it's a book from the 80s, so this country still exists). When they report their find to a hobby archaeologist, an expedition is sent to the location. You'll read about the rivalries among the leaders, the sex between some expedition members (the author always emphasizes small breasted girls, unusual for the age) and get into an intriguing tale when the ceiling caves in and the excavators are caught below. Who will make it to see the light of day again? What about the eerie river they named "Styx"? And what about the people originally painting that cave? You'll find yourself into a 80s story full of adventure, unease, rivalry and sex (not too saucy though). Nothing unusual but very compelling at some parts, like a good 80s movie. I missed more supernatural elements, the story also might have been a bit predictable. The reference to history of early men was interesting. Recommended!

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very enjoyable suspense/thriller about a group of archaeologists exploring a Neanderthal cave site who are trapped after an earthquake closes off the cave entrance and they have to try to find their way back to the surface through unexplored channels. The characters are quite well developed, the writing is crisp, and it's a real page-turner due to the well described and fascinating setting. I suspect the reason that the book sank into obscurity was poor marketing; the cover is just black (okay, it's a cave, no light, I get it) with the title spelled out by bone letters... and it's really dull. Also, it appeared as part of the publisher's horror line (the spine even bears the word "occult" to specify the genre), despite the absence of any supernatural quality whatsoever. It's a terrific little read, but it's not a horror book despite some horrific events.

[Loesje · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book.

[Quintiens Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bloedstollend en meer nog voor mensen die claustrofisch aangelegd zijn! Ik kreeg het regelmatig benauwd tijdens het lezen!
Super geschreven!

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a surprisingly good read. Published by Playboy press (I did not even know there was such a thing) I had low expectations. Basically, a group of scientists and others involved in a dig in a cave are trapped by an earthquake and must try to find another exit or perish. The bulk of the book concerns their efforts to escape. Pretty thrilling stuff!

[Noella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nederlandse titel: De grot.

Dit boek barst van de spanning. Twee speleologen ontdekken in een grot in Joegoslavië plafondschilderingen. Er wordt een archeologische expeditie opgezet. Nadat het team een tijdje in de grot gewerkt heeft, is er een instorting en wordt de ingang afgesloten. Er zit niets anders op dan een andere uitgang te zoeken. Een helse tocht begint, waarin de teamleden te maken krijgen met alle mogelijke gevaren, spanningen en ongelukken.
Het mooie aan dit boek is, dat we eerst alle teamleden leren kennen, hun karakter, verleden en persoonlijkheid. Zo roept de schrijver ook gevoelens op voor hen, telkens een van hen of enkelen iets overkomt. En tot het einde toe loert er gevaar, zodat men pas op de laatste bladzijde weet wie het er levend vanaf gebracht heeft. Topboek!

[Alex (The Bookubus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the 'Occult' categorisation on the spine of the book I assumed this was going to be about a group of people who stumble upon a group of neanderthals in a cave and end up being part of their ritual sacrifice. What else?! In reality there is nothing occult about this story and I would describe it as more of an adventure-suspense-thriller than horror. It does have some pretty gnarly death scenes though.

Styx is about a group of people who are conducting an archaeological dig in a newly discovered cave in Yugoslavia. It is well written and features a really interesting cast of characters from different countries and with different skills. The female characters do start off as very one-dimensional but they do develop onto something more which I really liked. I didn't know where the story was going to go and despite getting a little slow at times it was a pretty compelling read.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Back Cover Blurb: "Thousands of years ago, mankind make the gigantic leap from hulking Neanderthal to lordly Cro-Magnon. The explanation for that evolutionary step - the missing link - has never been found...until now.

An earthquake rocks Yugoslavia, uncovering the ghostly subterranean world of the awesome Subrano Cave. Its amazing paintings and fossils chronicle the existence of an ancient, mysterious race. As the dawn of man is slowly pieced together by an international investigative team, they discover that this unusual tribe disappeared deep into the earth, leaving a trail of paintings along the banks of an underground river.

When another earthquake seals the cave for all time, the trapped survivors who have been studying the cave paintings have no choice. There is only one possible way out - ad that is to follow a path taken 40,000 years ago. They must ride the underground river Styx, all the way to Hell...
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My comments: I thought Styx to be Chris Hyde's best novel ever. I loved this book so much that in 1984 (Yes, so long ago) I bought the screenplay rights and adapted it to screenplay format. I still own the rights, and lately I've had renewed interest around Hollywood. If any of you have read Styx and would care to comment, I'd love to hear your reaction.

[Jak · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought Styx was a pretty poor outing form Christopher Hyde and lacking in any redeeming features. It felt like he was writing the book with the aim of it being made into a disaster movie at a later date. Think the Poseidon Adventure underground.

The plot is simple enough, ‘the missing link’ is found in a cave in Yugoslavia (written in 1982, before the break up, and no, the story has not aged well) and a group of archaeologists head down to excavate and investigate. While in the cave, an earthquake hits and they are all trapped and have to go deeper to find a way out.

[Steve Alink · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the boek very much as it keeps you reading. It is written as books on writing tells the author to write it: make sure that the protagonists keep on running in trouble and that they only get out only with much strength. Especially the second halve of the book has more speed and keeps on going. At least for me it proofed that I just wanted to read on and on.
I didn’t give it 5*s as I do think that not all characters have been worked out in total/more detail.

[Sharon L Fawcett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous and rveting

I read this book when it was first released. Lost it and have been searching for it for many years. So happy to have read it again. An extremely exciting story. Thank you for putting g it on Amazon Prime

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as a senior in high school. I was very interested in cave explorations and the history of early man. This book was fantastic but it cured me of any desire to actually do spelunking...The story is terrifying but really, REALLY interesting. The story begins with the team being trapped in an underground Yugoslavian cave after a devastating earthquake... Deciding the only way out is to journey deeper into the subterranean cavern, they discover links to a similar event from the past and horrors unimaginable (think centipedes...eeuuuwww)
I read all through my classes hoping my profs wouldn't notice. I was finally caught but this teacher was so intrigued by the book blurb that he asked to borrow it when I was done.
I just recently found this book again and read it for a second time. It still both scared and intrigued me. I highly recommend it

[Nicholas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intriguing and well paced adventure frustrates a bit with a slight promise of something more fantasy driven, but ultimately plays out as a subterranean survival fiction. The book communicates well the various dangers of the underground world; a place where it could be as vast as giant cathedral, to a narrow tight squeeze tunnel barely fit for a human being. Hyde exploits the terrors of being buried alive a number of times, ranging from the initial earthquake trapping the book's cast, to various near brushes with death. With a raging river, nicknamed 'Styx' by one of the team, the novel adopts many tropes of survivalist tales as one by one characters face death by drowning, falling rocks, quicksand, and worst of all a rather gruesome end at the hands of some strange poisonous centipedes. It should be no surprise that the cast of characters dwindles as the book goes on, among them only a few capture the imagination. The Zen-like geologist Izo is clearly the book's de-facto hero; not enough to be nearly flawless in character, he also harbors a strange psychic/hallucinatory connection with the former occupant of the underworld, a prehistoric man the modern day explorers name Khan. The spiritual connection Izu shares with Khan ranges from being a bit of spooky atmosphere at first but ends up being a rather ludicrous coincidence. The other character given plenty of attention is David, son of the famous archeologist leading the expedition. David seems always at the cusp of taking charge and being his own man, but simply never does. A rather disturbing turn of misogyny drains any sympathy from David's character and turns the resident asshole of the group into something far, far worse. The book's setup, with a long lost cave painting by what could be the missing link in man's ancient evolution seems to lead the reader to think something more extraordinary will take place just around the next ridge, but in the end, despite a tease with a "fresh" hand print late in the book, the novel never fulfills that intriguing promise. What is here is exciting enough and Hyde's prose carries the reader along at a pace as brisk as the currents of the underwater river that challenges the trapped team of explorers in the book. Worth a read if you're in the mood for an adventure with a twist.

[Mark Nichols · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not as good overall as "Maxwell's Train" this Christopher Hyde book is worth a read.

A group of people trapped in a cave after an earthquake set off to follow and underground river, and the markings of a 40,000 year old prehistoric shaman, in hopes of finding their way back to the surface. This would make an excellent plot device for a Hollywood movie.

[Francis Franklin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as a teenager and it was terrifying and wonderful, and the memory stayed with me ever since. I managed to track it down again a couple of years ago and enjoyed reading it all over again.

It's interesting to couple this with the film Sanctum.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gripping story that pulls you in. Not what I expected but just can't seem to forget reading it more than 15 years on.

[Kathleen Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book so much I had to buy it second hand and pay more than the cover price to get it again....