I think it was a good debut and the story telling was spot on to keep me engaged. Liked the ending a lot as well. With some fine tuning I believe the author can do even better in the future.

BELOW is a debut novel by Alaric Cabiling that feels like an old school zombie outbreak, full of gritty environments, colorful characters, and a plot that grabs you and doesn't let go.

What was most interesting about BELOW was how Cabiling explored drugs, addiction, and poverty. I had no idea that Happyland existed, but knowing this adds such a deeper meaning to this book. I can't help but to recognize that the commentary of what plagues society currently will plague us for years. The responsibility that the reader carries with the story is heavy.

There were a few times where I think the book could be a bit more polished, but for a debut novel, it's very well done.

I personally enjoyed this book as I am a huge fan of zombie stories. I think that the idea of the apocalypse being caused by a street drug is unique and could bring in more readers looking for a new story from the zombie genre. Overall, this was a pretty good book but I would like to see how the author’s writing improves in the future.

3.5 stars rounded down.

I love a good zombie book or movie. As long as I hear the word 'zombie', I am sold. This book started out good, great even. The typical bloody scenes of carnage that you expect in a zombie read. I also liked how the author captures the scenery of each place the book takes place. I had no problems visualizing what he was trying to convey.

The brief but effective buildup to the outbreak was also well executed. It is a unique take on a zombie apocalypse. There were moments of intense suspense, trepidation and fear. However, at other times I found myself a bit bored and some of the scenes felt repetitive. I also found the dialogue to be a bit abrupt and not flowing seamlessly the way a story should.

I think it was a good debut and I did enjoy it for the most part. I also liked the ending a lot. I would read more of this author. I think with some fine tuning, he can do even better in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley, Asylum Art Press and Alaric Cabiling for my eARC of this book. All opinions are my own and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

Thanks for the ecopy!
this was pretty good read! being a horror and zombie fan, i enjoyed it
Dirty chemical compounds in street drugs have led to a deterioration of brain function, causing the zombie phenomenon, where addicts are transforming, turning more savage and hungry, feeding on the ill and starving throughout the congested slums of Tondo, Manila

Enjoyed this one more than I expected. Mixed feelings about the MC though. One moment you are rooting for her and another you want to slap some sense out of her.

I enjoyed this book it’s a short fast peaced read and very entertaining. I liked all the zombie action.

Alaric Cabiling’s Below is a gripping and atmospheric tale that offers a fresh perspective on the zombie genre, delivering a story that is as emotionally resonant as it is thrilling. From the outset, the novel hooks you with its immersive storytelling and keeps you engaged with its vivid world-building and nuanced characters.

Reminiscent of the best Korean zombie films, Below captures the genre’s signature intensity while carving out its own identity. What sets this story apart is its unique viewpoint—Cabiling masterfully blends the horror of survival with moments of humanity and introspection, elevating the narrative beyond a typical undead thriller.

The pacing is impeccable, pulling readers deeper into its dark, suspenseful atmosphere while revealing layers of emotion and meaning. And the ending? Simply perfect. It’s a conclusion that ties the story together in a way that feels both unexpected and deeply satisfying, leaving a lasting impression long after the final page.

Below is a must-read for fans of zombie fiction and anyone seeking a thought-provoking, heart-pounding ride. Cabiling has crafted a story that feels both fresh and timeless, offering a perfect balance of action, suspense, and emotional depth.

I picked this up for the premise -- zombies in an Asian setting, specifically a third-world country, sounded very intriguing.

Unfortunately, the writing was not very good. I felt like it was stilted, too repetitive, and did not flow well. One example is right at the beginning when the protagonist talks about his past in the shanty town he lived in, then talks about the present with the zombies. It seemed to jump around between the two timelines with no warning or some kind of segue.

I wanted more zombies, but instead, I got a lecture about how drugs are bad and education is good. If I wanted a lecture, I'd have gone back to school or my parents.

It was a good premise, but the author, unfortunately, was never able to fully capitalize on it.

Below
Alaric Cabiling

4 / 5

Below is a zombie story, yes. But at it's core, it's a heartbreaking portrayal of addiction and extreme poverty.
The setting, the characters, and the depth of the things that the story touches on is what makes the book so much more impactful.

It wasn't exactly the zombie horror I was expecting; what I got instead felt heavier and deeper ... a glimpse into a world that feels extremely different than mine. A very raw and surprisingly human novel ... This is heartbreaking horror, and a very smart twist on the traditional zombie story.

For a debut, I thought it was really good. I look forward to their next novel.

4 / 5

A Philippine zombie horror novel that captures the imagination and is full of adventure as we follow the story of 'Min'. Min is warned of drugs and their horrible effects, not realizing that they can turn people into zombies.

I try to give authors a little extra grace when reading a debut book but this book was honestly a struggle to get through. I was expecting a book about zombies, not a 179-page lecture about how drugs are bad and education is good. While I don't mind social commentary in books, the message here felt very oversimplified and forcefully repeated.

The prose throughout the book often didn't feel like it flowed well and the dialogue was stilted. The book is told through a combination of flashbacks and present day narration, but the jumps between the two weren't always clear (and sometimes seemed unnecessary).

I do think the book had a good premise and initial setting. Hopefully the author will continue to work on his craft.

Tondo, Manila, Philippines is one of the worst possible places for a zombie apocalypse to break out, featuring dilapidated shanties housing crowded residents and congested populations, allowing for a frantic feeding frenzy from which there is no escape. Main character Min Arnaiz narrates the story, taking readers on a holocaustic journey touched with tragedy and despair throughout the streets of aforementioned Tondo, Manila, Philippines, escaping to New York City where he settles in the sewers, nicknamed Below by residents.

I enjoyed this, it’s well written and paced. I’m not sure that the comparison to Stephen King is fair on the author as the writing style is very different. But, it’s good fun and in places disturbing. It’s gruesome and entertaining too, which is what makes this genre a good read.

Below starts off set in the Philippines where drug addicts start to turn into zombies. From there the story is disjointed and doesn’t flow very well. There is an extreme lack of world building. Many parts don’t make sense.

I love a good zombie apocalypse, but this just wasn’t it.

Unfortunately, I do not recommend Below

Thank you to NetGalley and Asylum Art Press for the advance copy.

Great characters and well written. I love how invested in the characters the author made me. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

I'm a HUGE fan of zombie fiction, and 'Below' definitely did not disappoint! This was a guy wrenching story. One of the things i lived most about it was that it's not like every other zombie novel on the market. Non-stop twists and turns kept the story moving. It pulled me in from the very beginning and broke my heart before I'd reached the end.

A+ read! I'm very thankful I was able to read this one early!

I’ve read quite a lot of horror recently, especially as Spooky Season has just finished, but these were mainly of the ghosts and haunting variety. I haven’t read a good Zombie thriller since before Covid, and so I was excited to jump into Below.

Min lives in the slums of Manilla, going to school and scavenging for trash to sell in his spare time, his parents have always warned him against using drugs and with good reason. Addicts, already scary to the young boy, are beginning to change, transforming into monsters that crave blood.

It’s odd to have a zombie pandemic book where the monsters are actually just called Zombies, as opposed to something made up in the realm of fantasy. Initially this did jar me out of the narrative a few times, but it makes sense that it would be named as such. These are very traditional style zombies, dead behind the eyes and intent on biting humans, passing on their disease to others. I did really like how it was brought about by a synthetic style of drug, and how users know that this will happen to them, but are still powerless to resist using it.

Min’s story had a great progression, both in setting and in character development and the latter half of the book, set in America was heartbreaking in places as you watched Min grow up and change after his trauma. The book pulls no punches with death, and so many times you got attached to people only for them to die or succumb to the zombies. I did think the initial America chapters felt a little too preachy in terms of drug use and regulation – we had already got the point at this stage, it didn’t need to be hammered home again and again. The ending pulled no punches, but I enjoyed it – I think it was the best version of the ending that could have been told.

Overall, Below is a punchy Zombie thriller with an important message about how we treat those in society. Thank you to NetGalley & Art Asylum Press for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My thanks Asylum Art Press, Alaric Cabiling and Netgalley.
Jeezum crow! That was my final thought upon completion of this tale.
This was one engaging read that had me gripped right up to the moment that Mindo left home and came to the states.
He was such a downright lovable person that I felt his hurt. Then the story shifted to the states, and that's when Min broke my heart.
It's funny how some characters can find a place in a reader and make us love them so much, and then the author shakes it all up and then character flaws show up. I love that or hate it! I suppose it all depends on how they're written.
I hated the drug aspect of the story. Mostly because I was once that. But, I can also understand how one could lose every one or thing that would make them decide that, yes, I can now lose myself in drugs because everything and everyone is now gone.
I confess that I truly disliked the ending. Yet the story was so good that I'm willing to put personal feelings aside and give the author his due. Mr. Cabiling can tell a damned story!

I hate to say it but this book was SO hard to get into. I tried for months. I kept going back and trying but I couldn’t. I was excited about it though because zombies is always gonna get me. I’m not going to say it’s bad but it’s definitely not for me.

So my technical rating, broken down, would be as follow:

2 ½ stars +1 debut author bonus = 3 ½ stars, rounded up to 4, because that's how rounding works. Plus, this is zombies, and I haven't read a fun, unique zombie novel in a quite a little bit.

So "Below" is by indie and debut author Alaric Cabiling, and he sets his little drug-filled zombie-fest squarely in the poverty and squalor of one of the poorest areas in the Philippines, which is Barangay Happyland. "Happyland" is the home of some of Manila's poorest, living off the trash, much of it plastic, of the city. When I first heard this term Happyland, I thought the author was making this up. Sadly, he is not, as I discovered with a quick Google search that gave me this result:

https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/life-happyland-people-living-manilas-rubbish-pictures

The setting of the story strongly reminded me of a short dystopian I just read on reactor.com, titled "The Plasticity of Being" by Renan Bernardo. It's freely available on the Reactor site.

So 12-year-old Min dreams of becoming a doctor, goes to school with his friends, helps his family by scavenging through trash, and tries to avoid the local drug dealers. But a toxic combination of pollutants, newly concocted drugs, and poverty combine to create the chemical zombie out of the miasma of poverty, despair, and chemical poisons. The result is a drug zombie, which also reminded me of another story about drug zombies, but this one in a lighter, almost slapstick tone: "Spice, Zombie, Apocalypse" by Simon Carr.

"Below" is a brutal portrayal of poverty and drug addiction, and I think that it excels as this type of story. As a zombie story, it needs a little more polish. A few more guts and viscera and blood to be slung about and dribbled and spilled. A few more close calls.

I enjoyed the first person perspective, and especially the ending of the story. And I will certainly be on the look out for this up-and-coming horror novelist. Kudos to the author!