K.J. Charles's Reviews > Beneath the Rising

A deeply weird and exceedingly involving SFF tale of a young supergenius (Johnny, a girl) and her very ordinary best friend Nick. Johnny invents a machine that creates free non-polluting energy, and in the process breaks reality, letting Lovecraftian Things from outside start sidling into the universe in a terrifying way. As Johnny and Nick race to put things right, lots of truths start slithering out from under the rocks.

I loved this. It's really weird, but it's absolutely centred on humanity--people and character, love and friendship and hate and betrayal and how people use each other even while they love each other. There's a very short scene where Nick is being berated by his mother that's honestly as scary and disturbing as the horrific alien attack things, just differently. The wild ancient knowledge/elder gods stuff is very deeply grounded in a story about two friends struggling with what friendship and love really means to them both, and that gives the book its depth and reality and emotion. Extraordinary, and terrifically written.