Below Us

The Abyss, Book 1

By: Nathan Hystad

Narrated by: Marc Vietor

Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

While everyone watches the stars, looking to the future, something is looming below us.

After a rough break up, Wyatt moves to New York City, eager to prove himself while working on Wall Street. When he’s asked to visit the father of his ex-girlfriend, a billionaire tycoon, his fate is sealed.

The revolutionary company, Nu-En, launches a radical innovation, an energy that will allow every person on the planet access to power. Only it doesn’t perform as anticipated.

Harnessing the ocean has consequences, and highly dangerous creatures emerge from the depths. Soon, the Earth is fracturing, and the world will never be the same.

Wyatt teams with Luna, a clever journalist, to escape the treacherous city with the ultimate prize: a robot capable of saving the world.

Their journey won’t be easy, but they meet others along the way who share the same determination.

Time is running out, and nothing can prepare them for what’s coming....

Below Us is the first novel in the epic series The Abyss, written by Nathan Hystad, the best-selling author of The Other Place, First Life, and The Event.

©2023 Nathan Hystad (P)2023 Audible, Inc.

There are Creatures Below Us

I was given a free copy for my honest review.

I really love Nathan Hystad's books and this one was no exception. Great character development of Wyatt and Luna. And on the other side of the country, Blaize and his son Luke. The way they adapt to the creatures that begin showing up and the mutations that start happening shows true strength, even the 12 year old kid. I can't wait to see what happens with all of them. The whole premise of the book kept me riveted and there was such an unexpected twist at the end.

My only negative comment would be that the speed of the mutations seemed unbelievably fast. Cats growing a second head in just a few hours seems impossible. Hystad does give a plausible explanation later in the book that helps suspend that disbelief somewhat, so that helps some.

This isn't really a negative comment, more just a curiosity. I wonder why Hystad chose to call his mechanical characters robots when they are clearly so much more than just a robot. It seems like android would have been a better choice.

The narration is excellent and overall, an excellent book that you won't be sorry you listened to. I cannot wait for the next book to come out!

Loss can crush us or create chaos

Nathan created a new thriller and I can't wait for his next book based on this new passion he has created. The story he weaves together is worth ready twice just make sure you didn't miss anything.

I started reading his books a few years ago and his mind keeps putting great stories together for us.

Pretty good zombies but no ending

Think zombies, but coming in different species due to ridiculous “science.” (They’re not called zombies; they’re “altered.”) People fleeing, secret labs, robots, love stories—you’ve seen it in any number of movies and TV shows. This is pretty good, we’ll written, and engaging, even if it does follow a formula. Oh, and it doesn’t end—it just sets you up to buy the next book(s). I really hate that.

an unfocused story

the concept for the story was extremely intriguing which was why I bought it. the problem is that the execution lacked. it read as though the author was making everything up as he went along. I get that authors make up everything, but the random shifts in plot and the lack of focus we're extremely annoying. I made the decision to finish it even though I wasn't enjoying it. aside from the lack of focus, the writing was technically strong. the issue was with the plot.

A Drive-In Movie for Your Ears!

As I was listening, I was reminded of old-timey 50's sci-fi: there's a mad scientist, robots, monsters, (lots of monsters), mutants, weird changes to the Earth, a couple of brave, spunky kids, and nice regular folks finding themselves charged with maybe saving the world. What's not to love? Is it a fabulous, life changing literary experience? Nah. Is it a really fun listen? Definitely.

Not worth the time

The concept is great but the execution lacks severely. It’s like the author is writing for some low rated drama. All drama and very little story.

The thing is that it could really have been great.
A bit more storytelling, some backstory to make the characters feel real and it’s 5 stars.

Very entertaining

This is definitely a good science fiction story. The characters have great depth. Their back stories are excellent. This is worth the credit!

I just can’t.

The story has an intriguing premise, but the execution fails. There are too many giant coincidences and the characters lack common sense and don’t act realistically. I just couldn’t continue this book.

Hystad is a Master at Sci-Fi Thrillers!!

Below Us is the first in yet another exceptional thrill ride by the outstanding Nathan Hystad.
The story follows several different story arcs, as we learn about how a company called Nu-En, run by a man Garner Vikas, is all set to uncover a new invention, an energy source that is going to provide power to every person on the planet. Desperate to cover the story, Luna Wells a journalist for a pretty decent paper, does everything she can to get to the initial unveiling of this invention, and surprisingly, manages to get a full invite from Vikas himself.
Meanwhile, we are also introduced to Wyatt Rider, the former boyfriend of Isabel Vikas (Daughter of Garner Vikas), who is pretty down and out at the moment, and on his last hopes with a job at a finance company. But they are desperate to, given the times, and are using him just to get at Vikas. This puts Rider in a situation where he reaches out to Vikas for the unveiling, and Rider finds himself getting invited to it as well.
However, there are strange things taking place around the city in which the unveiling is to take place, strange creatures being sighted, and strange animals with a bizarre mucus on them.
In one such instance, another character Blaze Madden, a single father at a work site, is sent to check on one of his workers who hasn’t been seen for a while. He finds the work site compromised by a huge tear in the earth, and when he finds the missing worker, he is also covered in the mucus, but he is changed, with claws, fangs, and psychotic, and in the end, Blaze pushes him into the tear to save his own life.
Back at the unveiling, things go terribly wrong, and what should have been the start of a new era for mankind, unleashes a terrible energy into the atmosphere, something that causes people and animals to start morphing into psychotic mutants.
The story turns from one in which we are following a group of rather different, but interesting people, all coming together for a new invention, to one in which most of these same people are now running for their lives, trying to get away from populated areas and work out what to do next.
Without giving away too much, each of the main characters in the story has a vital role to play in trying to correct the terrifying mistakes that have been made, and prevent a future in which humanity may not exist.
We follow Wyatt and Luna, along with a group of people they have gathered as they try to achieve their goals. In the meantime, Wyatt’s former girlfriend, who still holds a flame for him, Isabel, also has a vital role to play, and is trying to escape Los Angeles with the help of an ally.
As they make their way to Wyatt’s old home town of Boulder, they make contact with Blaze, and the group he has gathered, including his son Luke, who have had their own journey.
Hystad has again created these epic stories, reminiscent of the scale of Stephen King’s The Stand, as these eclectic individuals come together, in the face of desperate times, and fight not only for their own survival, but for the continuation of humanity.
All the while, these creatures that appear so utterly alien, but at the same time, are so incredibly human, dripping mucus as they try to infect others, move everywhere, attacking anything they see. This includes infected animals as well.
It makes for a terrifying landscape that our characters have to move through in what is an almost alien world now, with these strange cloud bursts as well.
The Character work of Hystad’s stories continues to be one of the highlights as always, with every character not only being unique, but bringing the story to life, so that you feel like you are living it, and a part of it. Wyatt is the guy who tries, but things seem to run against him, and you feel sorry for him. But he never gives up, and he keeps going. Luna is what you kind of dislike in journalists, that instinct to stick their nose into everything and do stupid things just for a story, but at the same time, she is also a nice person, and you can’t help but like her. As the story progresses, she becomes even more likeable as we see her with other friends and family and her interactions with Wyatt, especially some of the selfless things she does. Blaze is the model single Dad, Mum passed, and he has been left with a young son to care for, and has dedicated everything to him. He is what a Dad should be. Blaze is all street smarts, he knows his kid is going to be smarter than him (if he isn’t already), but is happy with that. He works hard to make sure he has everything he needs, and when the crisis hits, it is all about Luke.
This is going to be another brilliant thriller, I have already pre-ordered parts 2 and 3, in ebook and audiobook, it is an absolute must read.
Mark Veitor is a really fantastic Narrator, clear and concise with his narration and easy to listen to. He does a fantastic job of creating a range of both male and female voices, but also in creating a range of character voices, so that you know who is speaking at particular times.
As well as creating the character voices, Veitor also does a brilliant job with adding emotion when telling the story, so that we understand how the characters feel (Happy, Sad, Angry, Scared), really bringing the story to life, and allowing you to fully immerse yourself into the story.
Veitor does an outstanding job of narrating this story, it is absolutely worth listening to this rather than reading, and I have already pre-ordered the next books in the series!!

Good, promising start

I like a lot of the characters, although I got YA vibes with the writing. Not a deal killer but I hope it all grows a bit for the next part in the series, writing and story crafting included. Much of it was fairly cliche sci-fi descriptions of scenes, reminiscent of post apocalyptic movies but not really drawing me into this altered world like I’d hoped. Still, quite promising. Very good narrator.