Day 10 - October Book - They Move Below by Karl Drinkwater
Horror lives in the shadows.
It exists under the earth’s surface in ancient caves; below the vast sea’s undulating waves; under dense forest cover; within a storm’s thick, rolling clouds; downstairs in our homes, when we hear the knife drawer rattle in the night. Even our minds and bodies harbour the alien under the skin, the childhood nightmares in our subconscious.
In this collection of sixteen tales Karl Drinkwater sews flesh onto the bones of our worst fears whilst revisiting some of horror’s classic settings, such as the teen party, the boat in trouble, the thing in the cellar, the haunted museum, the ghost in the machine, and the urban legends that come true. No-one is safe. Darkness hides things, no matter how much we strain our eyes. And sometimes those things are looking back at us.
It exists under the earth’s surface in ancient caves; below the vast sea’s undulating waves; under dense forest cover; within a storm’s thick, rolling clouds; downstairs in our homes, when we hear the knife drawer rattle in the night. Even our minds and bodies harbour the alien under the skin, the childhood nightmares in our subconscious.
In this collection of sixteen tales Karl Drinkwater sews flesh onto the bones of our worst fears whilst revisiting some of horror’s classic settings, such as the teen party, the boat in trouble, the thing in the cellar, the haunted museum, the ghost in the machine, and the urban legends that come true. No-one is safe. Darkness hides things, no matter how much we strain our eyes. And sometimes those things are looking back at us.
My Thoughts
Oh. My. Goodness, This book! This book made it difficult for me to go to the loo in the night because I kept thinking back to Just Telling Stories! I was making notes as I read each short story and the exact notes for this particular story was "Holyyyyyy Crap!"
They Move Below consists of sixteen short stories that vary in types of scary and each and every one of them is excellent. I even wrote a mini review for every story which I wouldn't normally do, usually just a over view of the whole book, but I really felt these stories deserved the time. You can read the whole review here.
I hadn't read any horror for a few years before picking up They Move Below and it just reminded me how much I love the genre. (The last horror book I read was by Richard Laymon). Yes I do read them by daylight so I don't get scared at night, ha! But I enjoy the rush you get as the tension builds and the action or non action happens.
Another reason I loved this book is that the beginning of one of the stories, Harvest Festival, was turned into an online interactive read your own story by Karl and it's one of the most fun things I've read/played through in a long while. It is still available if anyone fancies trying it out and seeing which way you'd deal with the situation - Interactive Harvest Festival.
Overall just such an enjoyable book and one I think has something for everyone. Not all fears are paranormal and In Truth Forebears this is very true and made for uncomfortable (in an enjoyable way of course) reading. Also as it's Christmas then you could always choose to read Living In The Present which has some very....interesting Father Christmas imagery!
So that's my October stand out book, do you enjoy the horror genre? Do you choose to read spooky books around October and Halloween? Just two more days to go!
About The Author
I was lucky enough to interview Karl back in July, so for more information about him, please go out check out that blog post here.
Karl Drinkwater is originally from Manchester but has lived in Wales for over fifteen years, ever since he went there to do a Master's degree: it was easier to stay than to catch a train back. His longest career was in librarianship (25 years); his shortest was industrial welding (1 week).
He started writing stories when he was 9, and hasn't stopped. His writing sometimes spends time in the sunlit patches of literary fiction, where it likes to picnic beneath an old oak tree, accompanied by a bottle of wine, some cake, and soul-searching peace. At other times his words slope off into the dark and tense shadows of horror fiction, and if you follow them you might hear chains rattling behind locked doors and the paranoid screams of the lost echoing in the distance. There is no obligation to enjoy both of those avenues. His aim is to tell a good story, regardless of genre, but it always comes down to life, death, and connection.
When he isn't writing or editing he loves exercise, computer games, board games, the natural environment, animals, social justice, and zombies; not necessarily in that order.
karldrinkwater.blogspot.com
twitter.com/karldrinkwater
facebook.com/karlzdrinkwater
He started writing stories when he was 9, and hasn't stopped. His writing sometimes spends time in the sunlit patches of literary fiction, where it likes to picnic beneath an old oak tree, accompanied by a bottle of wine, some cake, and soul-searching peace. At other times his words slope off into the dark and tense shadows of horror fiction, and if you follow them you might hear chains rattling behind locked doors and the paranoid screams of the lost echoing in the distance. There is no obligation to enjoy both of those avenues. His aim is to tell a good story, regardless of genre, but it always comes down to life, death, and connection.
When he isn't writing or editing he loves exercise, computer games, board games, the natural environment, animals, social justice, and zombies; not necessarily in that order.
karldrinkwater.blogspot.com
twitter.com/karldrinkwater
facebook.com/karlzdrinkwater
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