‘The Subterranean Season’ connects us to our darker selves with humor

Dale Bailey, author of The Fallen and House of Bones, released a new horror novel on Nov. 17, The Subterranean Season. It’s the story of a marijuana-addicted grad student’s descent into madness. The novel is full of dark humor that transforms the degenerate protagonist into an anti-hero we can cheer for on his way down.

Alex Kern is a teaching doctorate student at West Georgia University, home of the Fighting Bobcats, and discovers a pit behind a hidden door in his office that erases people from existence. His first couple of bodies that he throws down are accidental, but he’s quickly driven to solving his problems via the hole to hell. What is the true purpose of the pit and can Alex escape its influence?

The book is extremely well written. The humor is dark, but on point and while we can’t exactly love Alex, we can certainly root for him. We want him to succeed, and while most readers wouldn’t go so far as to remove a human obstacle from the face of the earth, the thought has probably crossed our mind at one point or another, albeit not very seriously. What if you knew that no one would ever know that person existed? Would that change things a bit or could you hold to your moral standards?

This novel questions the moral fabric that makes up our lives and gives us a satisfying ending. Will Alex’s killing spree be stopped, or will he live his life making his own unending opportunities, rising to the top?

Bailey’s book will stick in your memory as something both fun and thought-provoking. Buy it today.

4.5 out of 5 stars

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