BELOW
ALARIC CABILING
****
Below is the debut novel from emerging Filipino American horror writer Alaric Cabiling. Below marks a return to literary horror not seen since the earliest books written by the biggest names in horror, namely Stephen King or Peter Straub. In Below, Cabiling paints scenes vividly, using elaborate detail, striking imagery, and stylish prose to craft a story of a zombie pandemic set in the modern age, where dirty chemical compounds in street drugs have led to a deterioration of brain function, causing the zombie phenomenon, where addicts are transforming, turning more savage and hungry, feeding on the ill and starving throughout the congested slums of Tondo, Manila and then, the world.
Tondo, Manila, Philippines is one of the worst possible places for a zombie apocalypse to break out, featuring dilapidated shanties housing crowded residents and congested populations, allowing for a frantic feeding frenzy from which there is no escape. Main character Min Arnaiz narrates the story, taking readers on a holocaustic journey touched with tragedy and despair throughout the streets of aforementioned Tondo, Manila, Philippines, escaping to New York City where he settles in the sewers, nicknamed Below by residents. There, he faces the second wave of the pandemic and summons all his courage to act as a hero, a shining example of a boy who has lived through turmoil to leave a lasting footprint on a depleted society, a world hopeful for one last chance at survival.
Follow Min Arnaiz ‘Below’ and experience unmitigated savagery and violence.
MY REVIEW
****
I’ve read quite a lot of horror recently, especially as Spooky Season has just finished, but these were mainly of the ghosts and haunting variety. I haven’t read a good Zombie thriller since before Covid, and so I was excited to jump into Below.
Min lives in the slums of Manilla, going to school and scavenging for trash to sell in his spare time, his parents have always warned him against using drugs and with good reason. Addicts, already scary to the young boy, are beginning to change, transforming into monsters that crave blood.
It’s odd to have a zombie pandemic book where the monsters are actually just called Zombies, as opposed to something made up in the realm of fantasy. Initially this did jar me out of the narrative a few times, but it makes sense that it would be named as such. These are very traditional style zombies, dead behind the eyes and intent on biting humans, passing on their disease to others. I did really like how it was brought about by a synthetic style of drug, and how users know that this will happen to them, but are still powerless to resist using it.
Min’s story had a great progression, both in setting and in character development and the latter half of the book, set in America was heartbreaking in places as you watched Min grow up and change after his trauma. The book pulls no punches with death, and so many times you got attached to people only for them to die or succumb to the zombies. I did think the initial America chapters felt a little too preachy in terms of drug use and regulation – we had already got the point at this stage, it didn’t need to be hammered home again and again. The ending pulled no punches, but I enjoyed it – I think it was the best version of the ending that could have been told.
Overall, Below is a punchy Zombie thriller with an important message about how we treat those in society. Thank you to NetGalley & Art Asylum Press for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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