Sci-Fi & Scary

The Deep Beneath was a well-written young adult science fiction novel. It introduces us to the characters we will follow throughout the next two books. Natalie Wright does a good job of keeping it at a young adult level, but not pandering to the hormonal crowd too much. Yes, there is a little bit of a romance mentioned, but as the novel is almost immediately a fight for survival, it's not much of a problem.

Ian, Jack, and Erika are a likable bunch, and feel like 'real' friends. They're not all buddy-buddy on every single aspect of what they do. They ram heads frequently over things. Erika is not treated with any particular deference because she's a girl. (It probably helps that the gorgeous one of the bunch is gay.) H.A.L.F. 9 is an interesting character in his own right. I liked watching him interact with the trio. I think the author made the right decision in not having them click instantly, nor having everyone be super accepting of the situation. Again, it was one of those things that made it feel a bit more realistic than it otherwise might have.

The rest of the characters are almost entirely dislikable. Especially the person in control of the base. It's rare that a character in a book makes me want to punch them so quickly, but that's exactly how I felt within pages. 

I love the take that Natalie Wright has on aliens and how certain elements of our world might affect them. I haven't read it anywhere else. It's such an interesting concept that it remains one of my favorite aspects of the books. A fairly simple thing, but so effective.

The pacing feels a bit slow, but steady. The dialogue is believable. The setting is extremely effective in The Deep Beneath. There's just something about the desert that makes it feel like the perfect setting for something otherworldly to happen.

This is definitely my favorite of the first two books in the H.A.L.F trilogy. Natalie Wright is a talented science fiction author and she does a great job of doing a young adult book that isn't all focused on the hormones. (It probably helps that almost immediately they were all fighting for survival, but still.) The end of the novel definitely sets up for the rest of the trilogy, but at the same time, you could stop at one and still feel like you got a complete story.

The Deep Beneath makes you wonder: How would you react if you encountered someone like H.A.L.F. 9? Would you do the right thing, would you be afraid of him, would you run? What? I guess no one really know how they're going to react to something until they experience it.

Disclaimer: I received a copy from the author for review consideration.