Under Ground by S. L. Grey
Jul. 26th, 2015 10:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
They’re trapped fifty feet down …
And someone wants them six feet under.
The Sanctum is a luxurious, self-sustaining survival condominium situated underground in rural Maine. It’s a plush bolt-hole for the rich and paranoid – a place where they can wait out the apocalypse in style. When a devastating super-flu virus hits the States, several families race to reach it. All have their own motivation for entering The Sanctum. All are hiding secrets.
But when the doors lock and a death occurs, they realise that the greatest threat to their survival may not be above ground – it may already be inside …
It’s the near future. A super-flu virus has swept from China across the world, causing high levels of death and casualties. As people flee the cities in search of safety, those who had the foresight (and the money) already have somewhere to go: The Sanctuary – 9 self-sustaining luxury flats set in a former bunker in the backwaters of Maine that comes complete with medical centre, swimming pool, gym, hydroponics, generator and chicken coops.
5 very different families have invested a lot of money in The Sanctuary but arrive to find that the facility isn’t ready. Developer Greg Fuller has brought in project manager, Will Boucher to try and finish the apartments but with the super-flu taking hold, the families have no choice but to lock themselves inside. When one of the residents is brutally murdered, the rest realise that there’s a killer in their midst who hasn’t finished yet …
I picked this up because of the premise but S. L. Grey (the pseudonym of Sarah Lotz and Louis Greenberg) has delivered a real disappointment. The “characters” are actually caricatures painted in the broadest of token terms – there’s the rich bitch couple, the half-Korean tech genius kid, the red neck/white trash family (complete with gun toting males and a bible quoting mother), the industrialist with a dark secret and the tragic widowed father unable to bond with his daughter or South African nanny. None of them are believable and with the possible exception of the nanny, Cait, they generally behave in ways that defy credibility given their situation (particularly Leo and Caroline – the privileged couple who pop champagne in between taking pops at each other). The set up that sees them stuck in the bunker is incredibly contrived, as is the development that sees their situation get worse (and which, even on a re-read, makes absolutely no sense at all) and there are predictable scenes (including a sign-posted attempted rape) that made me yawn. It’s almost impossible to care about the victims and the survivors (notably teens Jae and Bonnie) have no chemistry with each other. The plot unfolds with minimal tension precisely because you can’t care about the characters or their predicament and the revelation of whodunnit (when it comes) is clichéd in the extreme. Ultimately, I thought this book was a wasted opportunity and will not rush to check out Grey’s next collaborative effort.
The Verdict:
I picked this up because of the premise but S. L. Grey (the pseudonym of Sarah Lotz and Louis Greenberg) has delivered a real disappointment. The “characters” are actually caricatures painted in the broadest of token terms – there’s the rich bitch couple, the half-Korean tech genius kid, the red neck/white trash family (complete with gun toting males and a bible quoting mother), the industrialist with a dark secret and the tragic widowed father unable to bond with his daughter or South African nanny. None of them are believable and with the possible exception of the nanny, Cait, they generally behave in ways that defy credibility given their situation (particularly Leo and Caroline – the privileged couple who pop champagne in between taking pops at each other). The set up that sees them stuck in the bunker is incredibly contrived, as is the development that sees their situation get worse (and which, even on a re-read, makes absolutely no sense at all) and there are predictable scenes (including a sign-posted attempted rape) that made me yawn. It’s almost impossible to care about the victims and the survivors (notably teens Jae and Bonnie) have no chemistry with each other. The plot unfolds with minimal tension precisely because you can’t care about the characters or their predicament and the revelation of whodunnit (when it comes) is clichéd in the extreme. Ultimately, I thought this book was a wasted opportunity and will not rush to check out Grey’s next collaborative effort.
UNDER GROUND was released in the United Kingdom on 16th July 2015. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.
And someone wants them six feet under.
The Sanctum is a luxurious, self-sustaining survival condominium situated underground in rural Maine. It’s a plush bolt-hole for the rich and paranoid – a place where they can wait out the apocalypse in style. When a devastating super-flu virus hits the States, several families race to reach it. All have their own motivation for entering The Sanctum. All are hiding secrets.
But when the doors lock and a death occurs, they realise that the greatest threat to their survival may not be above ground – it may already be inside …
It’s the near future. A super-flu virus has swept from China across the world, causing high levels of death and casualties. As people flee the cities in search of safety, those who had the foresight (and the money) already have somewhere to go: The Sanctuary – 9 self-sustaining luxury flats set in a former bunker in the backwaters of Maine that comes complete with medical centre, swimming pool, gym, hydroponics, generator and chicken coops.
5 very different families have invested a lot of money in The Sanctuary but arrive to find that the facility isn’t ready. Developer Greg Fuller has brought in project manager, Will Boucher to try and finish the apartments but with the super-flu taking hold, the families have no choice but to lock themselves inside. When one of the residents is brutally murdered, the rest realise that there’s a killer in their midst who hasn’t finished yet …
I picked this up because of the premise but S. L. Grey (the pseudonym of Sarah Lotz and Louis Greenberg) has delivered a real disappointment. The “characters” are actually caricatures painted in the broadest of token terms – there’s the rich bitch couple, the half-Korean tech genius kid, the red neck/white trash family (complete with gun toting males and a bible quoting mother), the industrialist with a dark secret and the tragic widowed father unable to bond with his daughter or South African nanny. None of them are believable and with the possible exception of the nanny, Cait, they generally behave in ways that defy credibility given their situation (particularly Leo and Caroline – the privileged couple who pop champagne in between taking pops at each other). The set up that sees them stuck in the bunker is incredibly contrived, as is the development that sees their situation get worse (and which, even on a re-read, makes absolutely no sense at all) and there are predictable scenes (including a sign-posted attempted rape) that made me yawn. It’s almost impossible to care about the victims and the survivors (notably teens Jae and Bonnie) have no chemistry with each other. The plot unfolds with minimal tension precisely because you can’t care about the characters or their predicament and the revelation of whodunnit (when it comes) is clichéd in the extreme. Ultimately, I thought this book was a wasted opportunity and will not rush to check out Grey’s next collaborative effort.
The Verdict:
I picked this up because of the premise but S. L. Grey (the pseudonym of Sarah Lotz and Louis Greenberg) has delivered a real disappointment. The “characters” are actually caricatures painted in the broadest of token terms – there’s the rich bitch couple, the half-Korean tech genius kid, the red neck/white trash family (complete with gun toting males and a bible quoting mother), the industrialist with a dark secret and the tragic widowed father unable to bond with his daughter or South African nanny. None of them are believable and with the possible exception of the nanny, Cait, they generally behave in ways that defy credibility given their situation (particularly Leo and Caroline – the privileged couple who pop champagne in between taking pops at each other). The set up that sees them stuck in the bunker is incredibly contrived, as is the development that sees their situation get worse (and which, even on a re-read, makes absolutely no sense at all) and there are predictable scenes (including a sign-posted attempted rape) that made me yawn. It’s almost impossible to care about the victims and the survivors (notably teens Jae and Bonnie) have no chemistry with each other. The plot unfolds with minimal tension precisely because you can’t care about the characters or their predicament and the revelation of whodunnit (when it comes) is clichéd in the extreme. Ultimately, I thought this book was a wasted opportunity and will not rush to check out Grey’s next collaborative effort.
UNDER GROUND was released in the United Kingdom on 16th July 2015. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.
