The Cavern

An expedition into a cave goes horribly wrong...

Don't know how accurate the caving stuff is, not into that, but the horror certainly is there. Real tension isn't usually found in these things, but it is here...

That is accomplished by how brutal and descriptive the violence is. It's gone over in detail, and it's gory and that's great. These characters, mostly young thrill-seeking types, are really gonna get it. They are all likable enough I had only one problem with them... how dumb they are going forward at one point in the book when they find a creature that there is no way you'd continue on with knowing about. Nope.

Most of the story is seen through the character of Sam, a paramedic and rock climber who goes along with this group after hooking up with Ellie. But there are lots of characters and they are handled well, as they deal with this creature and town and its history.

Of course, it's the creature that steals the show, The Miner's Mother is a shape-shifting being that is slowly given background as it goes on. This was perfectly paced and doesn't reveal too much, too fast, but you definitely learn much about the monster. The mix of old townsfolk legends and other explanations for her were creepy and well done throughout the story.

Tight spaces, underwater scenes, and incredibly gory. A great horror story.