Tor Nightfire
Hardcover. 160 pages.
Joe always had potential, but he doesn't expect much, and he hopes that his new job as an admin assistant won't expect much of him. But when he enters the offices of Ponos—a company he's never heard of and knows nothing about—he discovers that potential is exactly what they want from him.
A feverish dive into the inhumanity of both late-stage capitalism and the crippling anxieties of modern life, Abyss adds a new level of meaning to 'wage slave'."
I've opted for a mini review format for Abyss in order to keep things as vague as possible because I don't want to give anything at all away.
What I liked: Abyss hooked me almost immediately. I was completely sold on the mysterious atmosphere and felt that need to know what was going to happy from page one. There was something about the protagonist that was weirdly relatable in the beginning of the book, his thought process really reminded me of myself in certain ways that added an unexpected layer of intrigue to this one. Abyss is very much a "concept horror" type of story--especially in the latter half--but it works well because the atmosphere is so intense. I really loved exploring this strange and eerie office building as our protagonist did, and honestly, I feel like I could've spent much longer just going through some of the areas of this building before getting into... other things. There's something about a mix of the mundane and the eerie that is just perfect together and creates the perfect unsettling feeling. Abyss really hits that note when something seems boring and innocuous on the surface, but very clearly is not.
What I didn't like: I do think there's a version of this story that could have been expanded further. While I liked the novella format overall, part of me wanted either a little more development in certain areas or for a few elements to be trimmed back slightly. At the same time, though, I think this story works best when you know as little as possible, so the shorter format ultimately is the right choice. The pacing also jumped around a bit near the ending for me and left feeling slightly less satisfied than the beginning, but I still really enjoyed the experience overall.
*I received a copy of Abyss courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating or enjoyment.*
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