Name: The Threat Below
Rating: 3.75 (12 reviews)
ISBN: 9780692463598

Jason Latshaw

The Threat Below

Virág 

I want to say a huge thank you for Jason Latshaw for sharing this fantastic book with me.
The story starts 300 years after "The Great Death", but it will be explained later, what was that or how it happened.

I absolutely adored the description of places and the portrayal of the characters. I would love to visit the places and I felt like I could imagine everything precisely.

Even if this book wasn't full of acttion in the first half, instead it served as a setup: we got to know the characters and their relationships with each other, making all the character development in the second half so much better.

My favourite part was how everything turned out to be connected. The connection between people and places was really satisfying. The ending made me cry and broke my heart, I really hoped this wouldn't happen. But it did, so I am looking forward to reading the second book.

I would highly recommend this book to everyone who is ready for an interesting fantasy book with a heartbreaking twist.

"Fear is the most elegant weapon. Your hands are never messy. Threatening bodily harm is crude. Work instead on minds & beliefs, play insecurities like a piano. Be creative in approach. Force anxiety to excruciating levels or gently undermine the public confidence. Panic drives human herds over cliffs. When nothing is safe, sacred or sane, there is no respite from horror. Absolutes are quicksilver. Results are spectacular."

Chiara Vitale Zelaia

I was gifted an ebook copy by the author to review.

Rating: 3.5 stars

The Threat Below is the first book in a YA post-apocalyptic fantasy series in which humanity has migrated on top of a mountain village to escape extinction by the hands of humanoid monsters from “Down Below”.

Given the author’s screenwriting background, it comes as no surprise that this book was as engaging and heart-stopping as a fantasy or dystopian movie! There was action and mystery around every corner, which is especially enjoyable given the size of this chunky book. Every chapter seemed to end in a cliffhanger, which kept me hooked. The writing style was easy to follow and entertaining, though it took some getting used to the shifts in perspectives (Icelyn’s chapters are told in first person, while the others are in third person).

The aspect that fascinated me most of all was the world-building. The narration moves between the world of Mountaintop (the human village on the mountain) and that of Down Below, home of the Threat Belows who have caused the near-extinction of humanity. Every aspect of both of these worlds is fleshed out in minute detail. The references to the world as we know it, with technologies that are a thing of the past in this world, was a treat, as it was fascinating to see how humanity’s mindset seemed to have taken a step back in terms of mentalities, traditions and beliefs. At the same time, I loved learning more of the Threat Belows—how they came to be, the origins of their history of violence and their motivations moving forward. I liked to call them my Post-Apocalyptic Gollums, and just like the famous character in The Lord of the Rings franchise, I alternated between feeling sorry for the pain they went through, feeling affection for their child-like naiveté and being terrified of their violent outbursts.

The one aspect I would have liked more of were the characters, toward whom I have conflicting feelings. On the one hand, the immaturity of the main characters, Icelyn, Adorane and Torrain, was justifiable by their age, which actually is a merit to the author for the realistic representation. However, I struggled to believe in the volatility of their emotions toward one another and I had difficulty understanding Icelyn’s god complex in relation to the Threat Belows. I also would have liked a more prominent, mature adult presence in the book to balance things out.

Overall, I recommend this book to lovers of fantasy and dystopian novels rich with intrigue and action, along the lines of The Lord of the Rings and The Hunger Games.

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this e-book from the author. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Threat Below

Author: J.S. Latshaw

Book Series: Brathius Legacy Series Book 1

Rating: 4.5/5

Recommended For...: young adult readers, dystopian

Publication Date: July 29, 2015

Genre: YA Dystopian

Recommended Age: 15+ (romance, violence, gore, death)

Explanation of CWs: There is violence and gore in the book, as well as death. The romance in the book is also a love triangle.

Publisher: Fernweh Books

Pages: 544

Synopsis: Three hundred years ago, something terrifying arose and pushed humanity to the brink of extinction. Now, a small remnant – the descendants of the few survivors who were able to escape the massacre below – lives above the clouds, on the top of a Mountain.

When they discover that their water supply is being poisoned Down Below, an expedition, including seventeen year-old girl Icelyn Brathius, must descend and face the monsters, the Threat Below, that wiped out civilization centuries ago.

Icelyn quickly learns that all is not what it seems as she uncovers secrets hundreds of years old and struggles to stay alive in a world where no human is fit to survive.

Review: For the most part I really enjoyed this book. It was a decent dystopian novel and I loved the vast storytelling the book had. The world building was amazingly well done and the character development was as well. The book also well plotted and the pacing was on point.

However, there was a lot of characters and it was hard to keep track of them. There was also a love triangle in the book.

Verdict: It was great!

Maria Elena Vitale Zelaia

Actual Rating: 3.5 stars

The Threat Below is the first book in the Brathius History series. It is set in a post-apocalyptic version of our world three hundred years in the future. 

What I enjoyed most of this book was the incredible world-building. The survivors of the human race live on top of the Mountain, where a rigid social structure is set in place. There is the elite intellectual class of the Cognates, and the worker class known as Veritas. The author did a wonderful job at showing the differences between the classes, and the deep-rooted prejudices and bigotry of the Cognates toward the Veritas, who they deem to be lesser. This rigidness atop the Mountain is brutal, for anyone who doesn’t fit the established canons deemed worthy by the Cognates is exiled to live the rest of their lives Below, where living—or better yet, surviving is difficult because of the monsters that plague the land, the Threat Below. 

There was a lot of information to process in the first part of the book. The story got a lot more interesting the moment the civilization on the Mountain discover the water supply is being poisoned. An expedition is formed and the protagonist, Icelyn, sneaks down with them despite her father’s wishes to remain home, where it’s safe. The moment Icelyn travels down the mountain, we discover more about these monsters terrorizing the humans and the history of the world. 

Among the characters, I preferred Adorane most of all. Adorane is a Veritas, but despite this he is Icelyn’s best friend. Between him and Torrain, Icelyn’s intended, he is the one who questions the girl most often, trying to make her see reason even when her good intentions could lead to a potential disaster. Torrain, on the other hand, often succumbs to Icelyn’s whims, as if he can’t truly make up his mind on his own. As for Icelyn, she wasn’t always easy to like for she often appeared to be very self-absorbed.

I did have an issue with the writing style. There were moments the narrative is in third person, others were it was in first person. This sudden switch threw me off and was difficult to follow sometimes. While I adore books with multiple perspectives, this is the first time I’ve seen an author adopt this writing style. 

I recommend this book to lovers of fantasies such as Lord of the Rings and dystopians like The Hunger Games.

Manon van Heumen

This book gripped my attention from the first page, and didn't let me go until the last one. I was thirsty throughout the first part of the book (because of the plot and because I wanted more), and the second part left me quite satiated. It was a little slow at times, but that didn't bother me much throughout the whole of the book. Can recommend!

The Threat Below

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