Beneath The Rising

Flows well enough at the start but as soon as the stakes are set it becomes something like when you humour a friend who wants to recount an incoherent dream they had the night before. Lasting impressions are of unfunny banter, both connection and conflict that don't ring true, mundane money details, Nick's narc-y concerns about whether certain world-saving actions are illegal, his dubious internal dialogue, and getting out of tight spots and battles with gods by magic.

 Oooooh this was GOOD! It???s not even a horror novel, not really; it kinda feels like a Da Vinci Code-type thriller if it was crossed with Lovecraft, but this is a million miles better than either.
The main reason for that is the characters. They are AMAZING. Johnny seems like the obvious standout: a white billionaire genius who has saved the world by curing HIV and Alzheimer???s, among her many MANY other accomplishments. But she???s also selfish and destructive; she claims to be doing things for the sake of ???the world???, that she wants to save as many people as she can, but she???s also oblivious to those around her, and is really quite selfish. It makes her rather unlikeable, but also very interesting, because she???s done a lot of good for the world, but she is really quite a terrible person.
And then there???s Nick, who is the balance to Johnny???s, well, everything: a Person of Color who is very much not a white billionaire genius, who has a regular shitty job and normal everyday concerns, with siblings and a mom who need him to pay the bills and buy the groceries. He???s immensely sympathetic as a character, and it certainly helps that he???s also the narrator, because I don???t think Johnny would make for a very interesting narrator even if she DOES have Main Character Energy. (Actually I think Johnny wouldn't make a very good narrator precisely BECAUSE she has Main Character Energy.)
While the plot???s amazing and the worldbuilding???s pretty solid, what really makes this novel stand out is the friendship between Nick and Johnny. It???s complicated and messy and deeply, deeply flawed, but it???s this novel???s primary emotional core, and it???s what keeps the reader onboard the ride that is the story. Without it, I don???t think this novel would be nearly as interesting, or nearly as enjoyable. The contrasts between them also help bring up some important themes about class, wealth, race, and gender. All those things complicate the friendship between Nick and Johnny, make it less straightforward and more nuanced. It also makes it clear just how powerful the bonds are between them, because this is clearly a friendship forged in something else other than shared commonalities.
So overall, this was a fun, fast-paced read. It reads more like a adventure novel or a thriller than a horror novel, and while it functions great in that regard, what really keeps the reader???s attention are the interesting characters and their complex, complicated friendship, which provides the strong emotional core around which the rest of the novel hangs.