This book has some brilliant character development, solid atmosphere and a cool premise. But it has a lot of flaws and I feel it holds itself back in many ways.

The biggest example of this is the side plot/backstory that is in between just about every other chapter. This backstory contains no interesting/sympathetic characters, breaks up the pacing and tension, and just feels rather boring to read. I get why the backstory was there, but I honestly just found it took me out of the story a lot.

My second major criticism is that a lot of the plot is driven forward by the characters doing stupid things. I don't want to get into spoilers, but there's so many ways the characters could have avoided dangerous situation easily. This is especially frustrating as otherwise, I quite enjoyed the characters.

I think this books biggest strength is it's character development moments. They felt interesting and impactful, while making you care more about what they are going through. Sadly, there are not a ton of these moments, and instead you get the annoying stuff I mentioned earlier. The entire spooky ship plotline felt way less interesting then the characters personal stories.

Overall, if you can get through the kind of boring backstory sections and dumb character decisions I think it's worth a read. I think conclusion was done well and felt satisfying. Once you get past the backstory sections every other chapter, the book really picks up some steam.

From Below by Darcy Coates is a thrilling and captivating read that had me hooked from start to finish. At nearly 500 pages, it’s one of Coates’ longer books, and while some parts felt like they dragged on a bit, the overall experience was still fantastic! The characters are well-developed, with intriguing backstories that made them feel real and relatable.

The central mystery surrounding the Arcadia’s mysterious sinking in 1928 immediately drew me in, and Coates masterfully weaves suspense and eerie tension throughout the story. It’s a perfect blend of mystery, horror, and character-driven storytelling that kept me turning pages late into the night.

If you enjoy a slow-building but deeply immersive horror story with a strong sense of atmosphere and a gripping mystery, From Below is a must-read. I’m so glad I picked this one up!

I flew through this. It was my first Darcy Coates novel and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Do not read if you are claustrophobic!

I like horror set in confined spaces and expeditions, so that part was fun. I do have a few things that pissed me off:
1.

why the actual fuck did Aidan go back for the ring?? And lie about his oxygen every dive?? Mans should not have been there.  I think I might have preferred if he died, actually.

2. A lot of coincidental things saved a lot of people a lot of times,,,
3.

I don't love the cloth explanation, but I don't really know of one that I would have liked. I was wondering if they were hallucinating during the last couple dives or something like that.