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Frozen Beneath
One winter two young men, Kevin and John, secretly venture out to hunt for a meteorite that has crashed near a small Northern Ontario town. They start experiencing some freaky things. It isn’t until they make a horrific discovery on the bottom of the lake while ice-fishing with two local anglers that they realize what they are dealing with. The story takes a bizarre twist when they find out that Homeland Security is on top of the find as well and is being led by a conniving U.S. General who has an unjust plan to terminate it with a secret weapon. Will Kevin and John’s skills be enough to prevent the destruction?
409 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
About the author
Brian Horeck
3 books10 followersBrian Horeck is a buisnessman living in Blind River, Ontario (Canada). Minnow Trap is his first novel and he plans to release others in the near future.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 23, 2024
Not nearly as bad as I expected, and believe me, that's high praise in this instance.
I never would have encountered this book were it not for specific life circumstances that led to driving from Toronto to Sudbury at regular intervals, along highways 400 and 69, during the years that the author purchased billboard advertising. Reading "Frozen Beneath" with vague alien imagery and the now defunct website frozenbeneath.ca, it was not clear that it was advertising a book, and usually by the time I reached my destination it had been forgotten, until the next same trip. Eventually I figured out that it was a local author's book on display. Only years later after my interest in Very Bad Books developed did I ever have an urge to pick up a copy, and by then it was no longer available in the local shops along that route. The author died in 2018. But I last made another trip to the same destination by a different route in 2022, and somewhere along the route from Ottawa through North Bay to Sudbury, one banner directing viewers to buy the book on Amazon still existed. I would not be surprised to find it still there now.
So. Yes, it's self-published, and in 2008 the print-on-demand services that any old Joe can use today via Amazon and others wasn't available. Horeck did it old-school, printing in bulk and likely handling all the physical distribution himself, getting the book into regional stores where his advertising was available. The copyright page lists WeMakeBooks.ca as the service provider for this, and looking at their website now they seem to be wholly legitimate, nothing like the scummy predatory self-publishing service providers that are the bane of would-be authors everywhere. The book as a physical thing is of good quality, weighty, and signed by the author.
It's the kind of book that I suspect unsigned copies are rarer. I don't know what "Bestseller" means in terms of Northern Ontario-focused locally authored self-published books, but it says that on the cover, so sure, why not.
With its provenance and especially given the current average Goodreads rating, I expected the content to be terrible, and was pleasantly surprised that it is in fact competent. Nothing approaching professional quality, but above par in my experience of self-published material. I can't in good faith recommend it to anyone, but if I were to, it would be to fans of ice fishing, snowmobiling, and sexual harassment.
The plotting is slow, but short chapters make it easily digestible. Ostensibly it's about a UFO discovered under ice near Blind River, ON (a real place and the author's hometown) but really it's about men being good ol' boys for 380 pages and then a 20-page burst of action. A pair of local good ol' boys get to ice fishing, and circumstances put them together with a pair of non-local good ol' boys investigating what they think is a downed meteor, and they all have a good ol' time together, drinking so much beer and spiked coffee (so, so much beer) and joking about sex, especially how sexy the love interest for one character is, including a wonderful account of how in the summer she wears short shorts so tight that "you can practically read her lips." The good ol' boys utter gags that were already tired twenty years before the book's events, opt to drink beer to help figure out what to do about the UFO under the ice, joke about one guy's penis size after they're all standing around naked after a sauna, all good material.
There's an irritating habit of italicizing all non-standard words, mostly the French Canadian good ol' boy's dialect:
The end is not only rushed, it's full of plot holes and raises questions about multiple plot elements that abrupty fall by the wayside, begging the reader to wonder why they were built up in the first place.
But for all that, in the grand scheme of self-published fiction, it wasn't all that terrible. I'll call it 2.5 stars.
I never would have encountered this book were it not for specific life circumstances that led to driving from Toronto to Sudbury at regular intervals, along highways 400 and 69, during the years that the author purchased billboard advertising. Reading "Frozen Beneath" with vague alien imagery and the now defunct website frozenbeneath.ca, it was not clear that it was advertising a book, and usually by the time I reached my destination it had been forgotten, until the next same trip. Eventually I figured out that it was a local author's book on display. Only years later after my interest in Very Bad Books developed did I ever have an urge to pick up a copy, and by then it was no longer available in the local shops along that route. The author died in 2018. But I last made another trip to the same destination by a different route in 2022, and somewhere along the route from Ottawa through North Bay to Sudbury, one banner directing viewers to buy the book on Amazon still existed. I would not be surprised to find it still there now.
So. Yes, it's self-published, and in 2008 the print-on-demand services that any old Joe can use today via Amazon and others wasn't available. Horeck did it old-school, printing in bulk and likely handling all the physical distribution himself, getting the book into regional stores where his advertising was available. The copyright page lists WeMakeBooks.ca as the service provider for this, and looking at their website now they seem to be wholly legitimate, nothing like the scummy predatory self-publishing service providers that are the bane of would-be authors everywhere. The book as a physical thing is of good quality, weighty, and signed by the author.
It's the kind of book that I suspect unsigned copies are rarer. I don't know what "Bestseller" means in terms of Northern Ontario-focused locally authored self-published books, but it says that on the cover, so sure, why not.
With its provenance and especially given the current average Goodreads rating, I expected the content to be terrible, and was pleasantly surprised that it is in fact competent. Nothing approaching professional quality, but above par in my experience of self-published material. I can't in good faith recommend it to anyone, but if I were to, it would be to fans of ice fishing, snowmobiling, and sexual harassment.
The plotting is slow, but short chapters make it easily digestible. Ostensibly it's about a UFO discovered under ice near Blind River, ON (a real place and the author's hometown) but really it's about men being good ol' boys for 380 pages and then a 20-page burst of action. A pair of local good ol' boys get to ice fishing, and circumstances put them together with a pair of non-local good ol' boys investigating what they think is a downed meteor, and they all have a good ol' time together, drinking so much beer and spiked coffee (so, so much beer) and joking about sex, especially how sexy the love interest for one character is, including a wonderful account of how in the summer she wears short shorts so tight that "you can practically read her lips." The good ol' boys utter gags that were already tired twenty years before the book's events, opt to drink beer to help figure out what to do about the UFO under the ice, joke about one guy's penis size after they're all standing around naked after a sauna, all good material.
There's an irritating habit of italicizing all non-standard words, mostly the French Canadian good ol' boy's dialect:
"Holy shit Greg. Is dat one of dem dere tings dat shows you where you are?"but only for the first eight chapters after which it appears as regular text. The copyright page lists "Copy Editing by Katherine Coy" so, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. The italicizing extends to any slight slang, like "gonna" for "going to":
[. . .]
"Well den, what about dat GPS dat you and Darren have?"
". . . by the time we get back to the base we're gonna have briefings coming out our 'wing-wangs'."Fortunately these minor quality issues fade away for the bulk of the book.
The end is not only rushed, it's full of plot holes and raises questions about multiple plot elements that abrupty fall by the wayside, begging the reader to wonder why they were built up in the first place.
But for all that, in the grand scheme of self-published fiction, it wasn't all that terrible. I'll call it 2.5 stars.
May 27, 2012
...
....
.....
Uh. Seriously.
Can't I give this "0" stars?
What a joke. Amazing what money can buy you. Billboards, signage, such presence! Gotta say. Did its job. I caved.
Driving up and down the 400, seeing car signs and such around town. Finally one day at the French River Trading Post... I bought this.
My husband repeatedly asked me how it was. I would stare at him blankly, then cringe. "Ya know how people describe train wrecks?", I said, "I just can't stop... I can't look away... This is dismal."
I once read an AMAZING review on someone's blog and damn, I wish I could find it again! She was brilliant in accurately describing and uhhhh ripping the book apart! It was far more entertaining than the actual book. GUUUHHH I wish I could find it!
The characters were oh-so-bland. And myself, having family in law enforcement, emergency services and CSIS... Wow are things not right in this story... At all.
I just. Just. Ummmm, yeah.
....
.....
Uh. Seriously.
Can't I give this "0" stars?
What a joke. Amazing what money can buy you. Billboards, signage, such presence! Gotta say. Did its job. I caved.
Driving up and down the 400, seeing car signs and such around town. Finally one day at the French River Trading Post... I bought this.
My husband repeatedly asked me how it was. I would stare at him blankly, then cringe. "Ya know how people describe train wrecks?", I said, "I just can't stop... I can't look away... This is dismal."
I once read an AMAZING review on someone's blog and damn, I wish I could find it again! She was brilliant in accurately describing and uhhhh ripping the book apart! It was far more entertaining than the actual book. GUUUHHH I wish I could find it!
The characters were oh-so-bland. And myself, having family in law enforcement, emergency services and CSIS... Wow are things not right in this story... At all.
I just. Just. Ummmm, yeah.
May 14, 2013
All that I got out of this book was that the annoying men in this small town like to ogle the only girl around.
July 20, 2013
A great fast paced read. A very cool and unique tale of alien visitation, unlike any I've read before. I really enjoyed Brian Horeck's writing style, very smooth and flowing. It was very refreshing to read a story set in my home country, I really related to the characters and situations found within the book. Written by a Canadian and enoyed by a Canadian, looking forward to a sequel Brian !!!!!
August 1, 2011
This book was excruciating to read at times. It is poorly edited, full of inconsistencies and doesn't give enough information in certain parts for the storyline to make sense.
October 9, 2009
Two NORAD workers in North Bay, Ontario, track an apparent meteor that lands nearby. They choose not to report it, but to find it themselves. The meteorite turns out to be a UFO and they "experienc[e:] some freaky things."
The book, and the author, remind of Scott Sigler and his work. First, they are trying to break into established markets with unconventional methods. Sigler podcast a few of his books to attract interest and then used his fanbase to make his finally-published book a bestseller for a day. Horeck is trying to build his own grassroot support by publishing this book himself and selling it in the area the book is set.
And that is why I bought it. I am from Northern Ontario, I was in Northern Ontario and a book set there caught my eye.
Horeck also shares some willingness to describe graphic violence with Sigler, although Horeck's is less extreme.
I did not find the book to be very good but I am very sorry to say that. Again, the book is set in my own backyard. More, I dream some day of being a writer and timidity about my own lack of talent holds me back. Horeck's workmanship is fine and the general plot is sufficiently imaginative and entertaining, but there are gaping plot holes and weak or unbelievable characterizations. This is better than what I imagine I could write but not nearly as good as I like to read.
I don't expect to read another book by the author but I do wish I could support him in some way. I may take a chance on a later book in the hope he is still learning his craft.
www.frozenbeneath.ca
www.brianhoreck.ca
The book, and the author, remind of Scott Sigler and his work. First, they are trying to break into established markets with unconventional methods. Sigler podcast a few of his books to attract interest and then used his fanbase to make his finally-published book a bestseller for a day. Horeck is trying to build his own grassroot support by publishing this book himself and selling it in the area the book is set.
And that is why I bought it. I am from Northern Ontario, I was in Northern Ontario and a book set there caught my eye.
Horeck also shares some willingness to describe graphic violence with Sigler, although Horeck's is less extreme.
I did not find the book to be very good but I am very sorry to say that. Again, the book is set in my own backyard. More, I dream some day of being a writer and timidity about my own lack of talent holds me back. Horeck's workmanship is fine and the general plot is sufficiently imaginative and entertaining, but there are gaping plot holes and weak or unbelievable characterizations. This is better than what I imagine I could write but not nearly as good as I like to read.
I don't expect to read another book by the author but I do wish I could support him in some way. I may take a chance on a later book in the hope he is still learning his craft.
www.frozenbeneath.ca
www.brianhoreck.ca
January 30, 2013
I am generously giving this one star because this book, unlike its predecessor Minnow Trap, is at least grammatically correct.
March 22, 2023
Man what I would give for another Brian Horeck book. Lexey got me all three because of all the Northern Ontario billboards, and I was not disappointed. Only disappointed that this one did not have a sequel, and two minnow traps was not enough. Could not recommend enough
April 27, 2022
Pretty quick read. Over all I enjoyed it
Will try his other book
Will try his other book
June 9, 2010
Hello Brian, I just finished reading your book " Frozen Beneath " and I just felt that I had to contact you and let you know how much I LOVED the book. It was a very easy read, well written and grabbed my attention from the first page. The fact that you have incorporated the home town life and feeling into it ( I live in Toronto), and things that I as a reader can relate to. As I sit here and write this, I am looking at the book and am thinking, It's over, I wish that it were much longer, so that I could enjoy it still more. I know it sounds wierd, but thats how I feel about it. And then there's JP, ya gotta love the little guy, as a matter of fact, I even know someone who would fit his mould exactly. I am looking forward to finding your other two books as well and reading them as well. Keep up the good work, and stay healthy my friend. Thanks, Fred Galowitsch, fredandpetra@sympatico.ca, Toronto, Canada.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews