M19, the deepest mine in the state of Tennessee is about to reopen. And while this means employment and a booming economy to the town of Bethel, it also brings with it a crawling sense of fear as most inhabitants know that there is something just not quite up to snuff with the coal mine, especially considering its sordid past.
This doesn’t deter most of the able-bodied men from town, as one by one, they all sign up to work the coal tunnels and bring home money for their families. Amongst a deep cast of characters, there is Seth, an ex-patriot from Bethel who plied the seas as a merchant marine under forged papers and comes back home after being discharged. We also have Fry, the stereotypical pervert, and Crystal, the obligatory sexual conquest of Seth who also kind of sorta moonlights as the town doctor (because of course, what small town doesn’t have the sexy physician to get all the men horny).
Long story short, these 3 main antagonists and the rest of Bethel are all thrown together when, lo and behold, everyone’s fears are eventually realized and the foremen of M19 dig too deep, opening up a cavern to Hell, thus unleashing torment upon everyone, from bloody tap water, to massive thorns, to, you guessed it, the appearance of the denizens of Hell itself. While this premise sounds great, Cunningham manages to make Hell on Earth seem extremely boring.
This book is 258 pages but read like 458. It’s slow as a frozen river for the first half, focusing more on soap opera drama between the small minded citizens of Bethel, than the actual hell that is befalling the town. Cunningham takes every opportunity to bog the pacing down with inane dialogue, pointless side characters, and overall boring exposition that does little to keep the reader entertained, except for random sex interludes (seriously, everyone in this story is so damned horny).
The second half does pick up a bit, but even then, it’s hard to keep focused as Cunningham makes things confusing and oddly paced. Things do happen but it’s difficult to tell why because stuff just occurs with hardly any explanation. One second things are fine, the next there is a solar eclipse. One moment Fry, Seth, and everyone else is fine, the next, half of them are rotting and possessed, despite most of them not even being in the mine to begin with. The town quickly falls into disrepair and chaos, though we aren’t really told why...I guess because the demons of hell are running amok? *shrugs*
I will say that Cunningham does do an awesome job of creating an aura of dread within these pages. As the town falls to Hell and the chances of escape become further and further away, the last 100 pages are an unsettling nightmare of despair, especially the ending that I actually didn’t see coming (and quite enjoyed to be honest). In fact, this felt quite similar to what Dean Koontz did in his last great novel “The Taking”.
I wavered between a 1 and 3 star rating as I had too many different emotions while reading “The Abyss”. Story wise, I’ve read a lot better, though I haven’t read many books with such great atmosphere. I guess I wouldn’t really recommend this one, but it is a great addition to anyone trying to collect the ever more elusive novels featured in “Paperbacks from Hell”. So, taking it all into consideration, I think 2 stars is more than fair.
© 1981
Published by Ballantine
Review by J. Thomas Anderson
Instagram: @Jdog_reads
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