100 Fathoms Below

Last updated
100 Fathoms Below
100 Fathoms Below book cover.png
Author Nicholas Kaufmann and Steven L. Kent
LanguageEnglish
GenreHorror, suspense
PublisherBlackstone Press
Publication date
October 9, 2018

100 Fathoms Below is a 2018 horror suspense novel by Nicholas Kaufmann and Steven L. Kent. The plot centers on the crew of the U.S.S. Roanoke, a nuclear submarine in the US Navy that is sent on a stealth mission into Soviet territory, while unknowingly being preyed upon by vampires in their midst. The novel received mostly positive reviews from critics with praise directed at its submarine setting.

Contents

Publication history

An exclusive trailer for the book was published on Dread Central on September 27, 2018. [1] The book was published by Blackstone Press on October 9, 2018. [2]

Plot

The novel takes place in 1983, during the height of the Cold War. During shore leave in Hawaii, petty officer Warren Stubic, a sailor on the U.S.S. Roanoke, is turned into a vampire by an aswang after visiting a brothel. Unaware of his condition, he boards the Roanoke shortly before it begins a classified mission to the Kamchatka Peninsula, where it is supposed to spy on the development of an advanced Soviet submarine.

Shortly before the mission, sailor Jerry White is transferred to the Roanoke and is viewed with suspicion by the Roanoke's command staff because he had filed a complaint about the former commander of his last ship. Sonar tech Tim Spicer is assigned to befriend White and keep an eye on him. Spicer soon begins to suspect that Stubic is ill and has been behind the vandalism of the submarine's fluorescent lights. Meanwhile, White is tormented by lieutenant Duncan, a close friend of White's former commander.

Reception

The book received generally positive reviews, with particular praise for its use of the claustrophobic environment of a submarine as a source of horror and suspense. [3] [4] Anita Gates, writing for Library Journal , praised the character development and the inescapable submarine setting. [5] Publishers Weekly described it as "The perfect blend of suspenseful political thriller and creepy horror". [6] Toni V. Sweeney, of the New York Journal of Books, also praised the decision to base the book's vampire mythos on Philippine mythology. [4]

Thomas Joyce of This Is Horror praised the well-researched portrayal of naval terminology and submarine operations, as well as the book's fast pace. [2] Max Pfeffer of Geeks of Doom criticized the ensemble cast of characters, which he felt were flat and did not have enough time to develop. However, he praised the novel's atmosphere, writing that "the novel's main source of tension comes from the ever-present comprehension of the men that there really isn't anywhere to run when things go horribly wrong." [7]

It was nominated for Best Horror Novel at the 2019 Dragon Awards, but lost to Melanie Golding's Little Darlings . [8] Kaufmann attributed the book's commercial success to a post about it going viral on Twitter. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry Goodkind</span> American writer (1948–2020)

Terry Lee Goodkind was an American writer. He was known for the epic fantasy series The Sword of Truth as well as the contemporary suspense novel The Law of Nines (2009), which has ties to his fantasy series. The Sword of Truth series sold 25 million copies worldwide and was translated into more than 20 languages. Additionally, it was adapted into a television series called Legend of the Seeker, which premiered on November 1, 2008, and ran for two seasons, ending in May 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Newman</span> English writer and novelist (born 1959)

Kim James Newman is an English journalist, film critic and fiction writer. He is interested in film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's Dracula at the age of eleven—and alternative history. He has won the Bram Stoker Award, the International Horror Guild Award and the BSFA award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genre fiction</span> Fictional works written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre

Genre fiction, also known as formula fiction or popular fiction, is a term used in the book-trade for fictional works written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre in order to appeal to readers and fans already familiar with that genre.

World of Darkness is a series of tabletop role-playing games, originally created by Mark Rein-Hagen for White Wolf Publishing. It began as an annual line of five games in 1991–1995, with Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, Mage: The Ascension, Wraith: The Oblivion, and Changeling: The Dreaming, along with off-shoots based on these. The series ended in 2004, and the reboot Chronicles of Darkness was launched the same year with a new line of games. In 2011, the original series was brought back, and the two have since been published concurrently.

<i>Salems Lot</i> 1975 novel by Stephen King

'Salem's Lot is a 1975 horror novel by American author Stephen King. It was his second published novel. The story involves a writer named Ben Mears who returns to the town of Jerusalem's Lot in Maine, where he lived from the age of five through nine, only to discover that the residents are becoming vampires. The town is revisited in the short stories "Jerusalem's Lot" and "One for the Road", both from King's story collection Night Shift (1978). The novel was nominated for the World Fantasy Award in 1976 and the Locus Award for the All-Time Best Fantasy Novel in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aswang</span> Philippine mythical creature

Aswang is an umbrella term for various shape-shifting evil creatures in Filipino folklore, such as vampires, ghouls, witches, viscera suckers, and transforming human-beast hybrids. The aswang is the subject of a wide variety of myths, stories, arts, and films, as it is well known throughout the Philippines. Spanish colonists noted that the aswang was the most feared among the mythical creatures of the Philippines, even in the 16th century. Although with no specific motive other than harming others, their behavior can be interpreted as an inversion of the traditional Filipino's values. The aswang is especially popular in southern parts of Luzon, and some parts of Mindanao and Visayas, especially the Visayan province of Capiz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tor Books</span> United States book publisher

Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group, a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles.

Patricia Nead Elrod is an American novelist specializing in urban fantasy. She has written in the mystery, romance, paranormal, and historical genres with at least one foray into comedic fantasy. Elrod is also an editor, having worked on several collections for Ace Science Fiction, DAW, Benbella Books, and St. Martin's Griffin. She self-published a signed, limited edition novel under her own imprint, Vampwriter Books.

<i>The Spiral Staircase</i> (1946 film) 1946 film by Robert Siodmak

The Spiral Staircase is a 1946 American psychological horror film directed by Robert Siodmak and starring Dorothy McGuire, George Brent, and Ethel Barrymore. Set over the course of one evening, the film follows a mute young woman in an early-20th century Vermont town who is stalked and terrorized in a rural mansion by a serial killer targeting women with disabilities. Gordon Oliver, Rhonda Fleming, and Elsa Lanchester appear in supporting roles. It was adapted for the screen by Mel Dinelli from the novel Some Must Watch (1933) by Ethel Lina White.

<i>Lifeforce</i> (film) 1985 British science fiction horror film by Tobe Hooper

Lifeforce is a 1985 British science fiction horror film directed by Tobe Hooper, adapted by Dan O'Bannon and Don Jakoby, and starring Steve Railsback, Peter Firth, Frank Finlay, Mathilda May, and Patrick Stewart. Based on Colin Wilson's 1976 novel The Space Vampires, the film portrays the events that unfold after a trio of humanoids in a state of suspended animation are brought to Earth after being discovered in the hold of an alien space ship by the crew of a European Space Shuttle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tananarive Due</span> American author and educator (born 1966)

Tananarive Priscilla Due is an American author and educator. Due won the American Book Award for her novel The Living Blood (2001), and both the Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel and Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel for her novel The Reformatory (2023). She is also known as a film historian with expertise in Black horror. Due teaches a course at UCLA called "The Sunken Place: Racism, Survival and the Black Horror Aesthetic", which focuses on the Jordan Peele film Get Out.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Maberry</span> American author (born 1958)

Jonathan Maberry is an American suspense author, anthology editor, comic book writer, magazine feature writer, playwright, content creator and writing teacher/lecturer. He was named one of the Today's Top Ten Horror Writers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cherie Priest</span> American writer

Cherie Priest is an American novelist and blogger living in Seattle, Washington.

Steven L. Kent is an American writer, known for both video game journalism and military science fiction novels. He is the son of woodworker Ron Kent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V. E. Schwab</span> American writer (born 1987)

Victoria Elizabeth Schwab is an American writer. She is known for the 2013 novel Vicious, the Shades of Magic series, and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, which was nominated for the 2020 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel. She publishes children's and young adult fiction books under the name Victoria Schwab. She is the creator of the supernatural teen drama series First Kill, based on her short story of the same name originally published in the 2020 anthology Vampires Never Get Old: Tales With Fresh Bite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grady Hendrix</span> American author and journalist

Grady Hendrix is an American author, journalist, public speaker, and screenwriter known for his best-selling 2014 novel Horrorstör. Hendrix lives in Manhattan and was one of the founders of the New York Asian Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicholas Kaufmann</span> American author of horror fiction, urban fantasy, and adventure fiction

Nicholas Kaufmann is an American author of horror fiction, urban fantasy, and adventure fiction. His work has been nominated for the Bram Stoker Award, The Shirley Jackson Award, the International Thriller Writers Award, and the Dragon Award.

<i>Blood Communion: A Tale of Prince Lestat</i> Thirteenth book of The Vampire Chronicles

Blood Communion: A Tale of Prince Lestat is a novel by American writer Anne Rice, the 13th and last book in The Vampire Chronicles series, published on October 2, 2018. It is the most recent of The Vampire Chronicles to be narrated by the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt, and it is the first of The Vampire Chronicles to contain illustrations. It is the final novel in the series after Rice's passing on December 11, 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dennis Mahoney</span> American writer and artist

Dennis Mahoney is an American writer and artist. He is the author of three novels and the creator of the multimedia project The Equinox Society.

Bethany C. Morrow is an American author. She writes speculative fiction for adult and young adult audiences and is the author of Mem (2018), A Song Below Water (2020), So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix (2021), and the editor of YA anthology Take the Mic (2019).

References

  1. Tor.com (2018-09-28). "All the New Genre-Bending Books Coming Out in October!". Tor.com. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  2. 1 2 "Book Review: 100 Fathoms Below by Steven L. Kent and Nicholas Kaufmann". This Is Horror. 2018-10-10. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  3. "100 Fathoms Below | Seattle Book Review" . Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  4. 1 2 "a book review by Toni V. Sweeney: 100 Fathoms Below". www.nyjournalofbooks.com. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  5. "100 Fathoms Below". Library Journal. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  6. "100 Fathoms Below by Steven L. Kent, Nicholas Kaufmann". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  7. "Book Review: 100 Fathoms Below By Steven L. Kent and Nicholas Kaufmann". Geeks of Doom. 2018-10-10. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  8. locusmag (2019-09-03). "2019 Dragon Awards Winners". Locus Online. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  9. "Meet the Writer: Nicholas Kaufmann". This Is Horror. 2022-11-23. Retrieved 2023-06-27.