Review of Beneath the Blast by Jeff Rorik

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REVIEWED BY CARLTON ROLLE


Jeff Rorik is a Canadian author, currently living in British Columbia amidst the many trees that infest the province. When he’s not writing, he can usually be found herding chickens, fixing computers, or trying to find his next musical obsession.


Beneath the blast is a story about a television network filming a reality TV show titled Beneath the Blast. It’s involves ten characters that were chosen for reasons that suit good TV. The premise of the show is placing people in a relatively small underground bunker and have them compete against each other for tokens. The contestant that has the most tokens at the end of a month, wins the show and receives one million dollars.


The staff is composed of 3 people. There is the host Heather, Branson the cameraman, and Victor the audio technician. The contestants are all working from different angles. Many of whom are putting of facades to ensure that they are successful. Suzanne is a mother looking to win via manipulation and seeming kindness. Marcus is an accomplice of Suzanne’s, to make her look better by being rude and aggressive. Quart is a child of two celebrities, but doesn’t excel at anything on his own. Devin is a guy who allows the game and situation to blur the lines between real and fake. Rachel is a high-tempered doctor. Cliff is reckless and boisterous  looking for a method to be remembered in the show. Joey is an energetic, aspiring musician. Liz is intelligent and observant. Allison is a young blond who likes to talk and is meant to attract attention from key demographics. Katrina is polite, quite, and shy.


Shortly after arriving to the underground bunker, the electricity is cut off to the elevator and people aren’t able to contact the outside world. It pushes many of the contestants stress levels high. As they were casted for, the members begin to bump heads which further escalates tensions. Emotions begin to wear thin when the first person in the bunker dies after attempting to save the group by climbing the elevator shaft. As feelings continuously mount, Brandon and Suzanne work different angles to keep tensions high and power in their hand. Brandon is also looking to create captivating scenes to show the outside world once it is released. As events and arguments take greater tolls on people, the reality of their actions begin to sink in.


As more characters were taken out of the mix, the effects of their actions began to weigh on them. In Suzanne’s case she begun to see that, “The recklessness of her decisions seemed very pronounced. It felt like she was in a bubble with no consequences.”


I think that Beneath the Blast is a great read. There was a lot of suspense throughout the plot. I was constantly thinking about what drama will unveil between which characters. In many ways, the book is a microcosm of life. It emphasizes freewill of people, consequences of actions, and group think. I would recommend this book to anyone looking to add some good ole’ television drama to their life.


For more information about the author, visit: www.jeffrorik.com



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Published on April 28, 2016 05:26
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