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Something From Below
When 22-year-old Alison Mannering returns to her home in northeastern Pennsylvania after college, she finds a troubling situation. Her father, Guy Mannering, a longtime coal miner, has died recently under suspicious circumstances, and her mother refuses to provide any details of his passing. Alison feels she has no option but to investigate the matter herself, enlisting her high school sweetheart, Randy Kroeber, as well as Randy’s twin sister, Andrea called Andy, to assist her.
In the process, Alison and her cohorts become enmeshed in an inconceivable horror that goes back a century or more and is somehow involved with the coal mine, now controlled by the remote and enigmatic Conrad Brashear. Beyond the possibility of danger or death to herself and her friends, Alison comes to realise that what is lurking in and below the mine poses a mortal threat to the safety of the planet.
In this compelling novella, veteran scholar of weird fiction S. T. Joshi has fashioned a novella of cosmic horror that draws upon the work of Lovecraft, Hodgson, and other classic writers, but that also etches the characters of his protagonists with clarity and sensitivity. The result is a distinctive fusion of weirdness and poignancy that will leave few readers unmoved.
In the process, Alison and her cohorts become enmeshed in an inconceivable horror that goes back a century or more and is somehow involved with the coal mine, now controlled by the remote and enigmatic Conrad Brashear. Beyond the possibility of danger or death to herself and her friends, Alison comes to realise that what is lurking in and below the mine poses a mortal threat to the safety of the planet.
In this compelling novella, veteran scholar of weird fiction S. T. Joshi has fashioned a novella of cosmic horror that draws upon the work of Lovecraft, Hodgson, and other classic writers, but that also etches the characters of his protagonists with clarity and sensitivity. The result is a distinctive fusion of weirdness and poignancy that will leave few readers unmoved.
123 pages, Hardcover
Published October 1, 2019
15 people want to read
About the author
S.T. Joshi
735Ìýbooks447ÌýfollowersSunand Tryambak Joshi is an Indian American literary scholar, and a leading figure in the study of Howard Phillips Lovecraft and other authors. Besides what some critics consider to be the definitive biography of Lovecraft (H. P. Lovecraft: A Life, 1996), Joshi has written about Ambrose Bierce, H. L. Mencken, Lord Dunsany, and M.R. James, and has edited collections of their works.
His literary criticism is notable for its emphases upon readability and the dominant worldviews of the authors in question; his The Weird Tale looks at six acknowledged masters of horror and fantasy (namely Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood, Dunsany, M. R. James, Bierce and Lovecraft), and discusses their respective worldviews in depth and with authority. A follow-up volume, The Modern Weird Tale, examines the work of modern writers, including Shirley Jackson, Ramsey Campbell, Stephen King, Robert Aickman, Thomas Ligotti, T. E. D. Klein and others, from a similar philosophically oriented viewpoint. The Evolution of the Weird Tale (2004) includes essays on Dennis Etchison, L. P. Hartley, Les Daniels, E. F. Benson, Rudyard Kipling, David J. Schow, Robert Bloch, L. P. Davies, Edward Lucas White, Rod Serling, Poppy Z. Brite and others.
Joshi is the editor of the small-press literary journals Lovecraft Studies and Studies in Weird Fiction, published by Necronomicon Press. He is also the editor of Lovecraft Annual and co-editor of Dead Reckonings, both small-press journals published by Hippocampus Press.
In addition to literary criticism, Joshi has also edited books on atheism and social relations, including Documents of American Prejudice (1999), an annotated collection of American racist writings; In Her Place (2006), which collects written examples of prejudice against women; and Atheism: A Reader (2000), which collects atheistic writings by such people as Antony Flew, George Eliot, Bertrand Russell, Emma Goldman, Gore Vidal and Carl Sagan, among others. An Agnostic Reader, collecting pieces by such writers as Isaac Asimov, John William Draper, Albert Einstein, Frederic Harrison, Thomas Henry Huxley, Robert Ingersoll, Corliss Lamont, Arthur Schopenhauer and Edward Westermarck, was published in 2007.
Joshi is also the author of God's Defenders: What They Believe and Why They Are Wrong (2003), an anti-religious polemic against various writers including C. S. Lewis, G. K. Chesterton, T. S. Eliot, William F. Buckley, Jr., William James, Stephen L. Carter, Annie Dillard, Reynolds Price, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Guenter Lewy, Neale Donald Walsch and Jerry Falwell, which is dedicated to theologian and fellow Lovecraft critic Robert M. Price.
In 2006 he published The Angry Right: Why Conservatives Keep Getting It Wrong, which criticised the political writings of such commentators as William F. Buckley, Jr., Russell Kirk, David and Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Phyllis Schlafly, William Bennett, Gertrude Himmelfarb and Irving and William Kristol, arguing that, despite the efforts of right-wing polemicists, the values of the American people have become steadily more liberal over time.
Joshi, who lives with his wife in Moravia, New York, has stated on his website that his most noteworthy achievements thus far have been his biography of Lovecraft, H. P. Lovecraft: A Life and The Weird Tale.
His literary criticism is notable for its emphases upon readability and the dominant worldviews of the authors in question; his The Weird Tale looks at six acknowledged masters of horror and fantasy (namely Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood, Dunsany, M. R. James, Bierce and Lovecraft), and discusses their respective worldviews in depth and with authority. A follow-up volume, The Modern Weird Tale, examines the work of modern writers, including Shirley Jackson, Ramsey Campbell, Stephen King, Robert Aickman, Thomas Ligotti, T. E. D. Klein and others, from a similar philosophically oriented viewpoint. The Evolution of the Weird Tale (2004) includes essays on Dennis Etchison, L. P. Hartley, Les Daniels, E. F. Benson, Rudyard Kipling, David J. Schow, Robert Bloch, L. P. Davies, Edward Lucas White, Rod Serling, Poppy Z. Brite and others.
Joshi is the editor of the small-press literary journals Lovecraft Studies and Studies in Weird Fiction, published by Necronomicon Press. He is also the editor of Lovecraft Annual and co-editor of Dead Reckonings, both small-press journals published by Hippocampus Press.
In addition to literary criticism, Joshi has also edited books on atheism and social relations, including Documents of American Prejudice (1999), an annotated collection of American racist writings; In Her Place (2006), which collects written examples of prejudice against women; and Atheism: A Reader (2000), which collects atheistic writings by such people as Antony Flew, George Eliot, Bertrand Russell, Emma Goldman, Gore Vidal and Carl Sagan, among others. An Agnostic Reader, collecting pieces by such writers as Isaac Asimov, John William Draper, Albert Einstein, Frederic Harrison, Thomas Henry Huxley, Robert Ingersoll, Corliss Lamont, Arthur Schopenhauer and Edward Westermarck, was published in 2007.
Joshi is also the author of God's Defenders: What They Believe and Why They Are Wrong (2003), an anti-religious polemic against various writers including C. S. Lewis, G. K. Chesterton, T. S. Eliot, William F. Buckley, Jr., William James, Stephen L. Carter, Annie Dillard, Reynolds Price, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Guenter Lewy, Neale Donald Walsch and Jerry Falwell, which is dedicated to theologian and fellow Lovecraft critic Robert M. Price.
In 2006 he published The Angry Right: Why Conservatives Keep Getting It Wrong, which criticised the political writings of such commentators as William F. Buckley, Jr., Russell Kirk, David and Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Phyllis Schlafly, William Bennett, Gertrude Himmelfarb and Irving and William Kristol, arguing that, despite the efforts of right-wing polemicists, the values of the American people have become steadily more liberal over time.
Joshi, who lives with his wife in Moravia, New York, has stated on his website that his most noteworthy achievements thus far have been his biography of Lovecraft, H. P. Lovecraft: A Life and The Weird Tale.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 21, 2020
S. T. Joshi delivers an emotional piece of weird fiction that reflects upon the nature of loss and sacrifice. Wonderful cosmic horror mixed with small town mystery and introspection.
February 11, 2021
Until a friend lent me this book on his Kindle I had no idea Joshi had written any books of his own, though I have read and enjoyed anthologies that he has edited, so I was interested to what this would be like. But I have to say it's a bit average.
My guess is that Joshi wrote this just for fun, rather than as any great literary statement, and it is fun. However the plot is implausible even by the standards of the Lovecraftian genre. In Lovecraft's works, and those of his more accomplished imitators, the implausible plots are rescued by their charm but in this novella Joshi has worked so hard to create a dark and despairing atmosphere that he has robbed the story of any charm it might have had. His main protagonist, Alison, is so self centred and manipulative that it's hard to have any empathy for her, and the result is that the book just doesn't engage the reader.
My guess is that Joshi wrote this just for fun, rather than as any great literary statement, and it is fun. However the plot is implausible even by the standards of the Lovecraftian genre. In Lovecraft's works, and those of his more accomplished imitators, the implausible plots are rescued by their charm but in this novella Joshi has worked so hard to create a dark and despairing atmosphere that he has robbed the story of any charm it might have had. His main protagonist, Alison, is so self centred and manipulative that it's hard to have any empathy for her, and the result is that the book just doesn't engage the reader.
November 11, 2023
Joshi, S T - Something From Below
Well � actually the something is from beyond, perhaps above and beyond.
A meteorite. Which somehow finds its way deep into the coal mine.
After the unexplained death of her Pa, college grad Alison, chemistry major and rural oblivion escapee, reluctantly returns to the homestead, digging for answers.
Locals are close lipped, no one knows nuthin�. She perseveres, and we get this novella.
Mr Joshi keeps this potboiler a low simmer, although there ain’t much by way of meat or vegetables in this SciFi / Horror stew.
Talking, asking, theorizing, guessing, footwork, midnight excavations.
The story leans against HPL’s “The Colour Out Of Space�, and the conclusion feels like hashed goods.
Well � actually the something is from beyond, perhaps above and beyond.
A meteorite. Which somehow finds its way deep into the coal mine.
After the unexplained death of her Pa, college grad Alison, chemistry major and rural oblivion escapee, reluctantly returns to the homestead, digging for answers.
Locals are close lipped, no one knows nuthin�. She perseveres, and we get this novella.
Mr Joshi keeps this potboiler a low simmer, although there ain’t much by way of meat or vegetables in this SciFi / Horror stew.
Talking, asking, theorizing, guessing, footwork, midnight excavations.
The story leans against HPL’s “The Colour Out Of Space�, and the conclusion feels like hashed goods.
September 19, 2021
This was a fun novella!
First things first, I didn't know S. T. Joshi actually wrote weird fiction himself. I know him mostly from his editorial work on anthologies like Black Wings of Cthulhu serie and the weird poetry journal Spectral Realms.
So it would be interesting to see if I would enjoy a weird fiction piece by him as much as I love his editing work. And based on my rating I did just that!
Sure, this novella will not be for everyone. I can see that from mile away, but I had great time with this book. There will be elements in this story that some people will love, while others will be repulsed by them. That's just how this things go.
The writing was good and easy to get into. Alison, our leading lady, come across as a believable young woman. A small town girl trying to get away from her small town upbringing. I enjoyed her voice.
I enjoyed the small town mystery that's at the heart of the story. There where some nice moments of action.
The story even thrown me for a loop towards the end. I didn't think Joshi would take the story quite into the direction it went into.
All in all, I had a wonderful fun two afternoons reading this novella!!
First things first, I didn't know S. T. Joshi actually wrote weird fiction himself. I know him mostly from his editorial work on anthologies like Black Wings of Cthulhu serie and the weird poetry journal Spectral Realms.
So it would be interesting to see if I would enjoy a weird fiction piece by him as much as I love his editing work. And based on my rating I did just that!
Sure, this novella will not be for everyone. I can see that from mile away, but I had great time with this book. There will be elements in this story that some people will love, while others will be repulsed by them. That's just how this things go.
The writing was good and easy to get into. Alison, our leading lady, come across as a believable young woman. A small town girl trying to get away from her small town upbringing. I enjoyed her voice.
I enjoyed the small town mystery that's at the heart of the story. There where some nice moments of action.
The story even thrown me for a loop towards the end. I didn't think Joshi would take the story quite into the direction it went into.
All in all, I had a wonderful fun two afternoons reading this novella!!
August 13, 2021
This has to be the worst piece of Lovecraft-related fiction it has been my misfortune to read.
Among its aesthetic sins: First person passive voice, and unearned woman narrator point of view. Ghastly and embarassing chapter where narrator loses her virginity: page after page of it...
Appalling
Among its aesthetic sins: First person passive voice, and unearned woman narrator point of view. Ghastly and embarassing chapter where narrator loses her virginity: page after page of it...
Appalling
August 13, 2021
This has to be the worst piece of Lovecraft-related fiction it has been my misfortune to read. First person passive voice, and unearned woman narrator poit of view. Ghastly and embarassing chapter where narrator loses her virginity: page after page of it...
Appalling
Appalling
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