Today we are going to have a look at a new novel from an author that I should have already had much more experience with: Brian Keene. His new book, The Lost Level, was already out for Kindle and comes out today in paperback. I can hardly think of a book more appropriate for review on this site.
The Lost Level is a pulp adventure novel in the vein of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Much like the Pellucidar series by Burroughs, The Lost Level concerns itself with a man who finds himself in a bizarre lost world. In The Lost Level, that man is Aaron Pace.
Pace is a man with an interest in the occult. This interest leads him to inter dimensional travel. However, that travel eventually leads him to The Lost Level, a dangerous place where the sun never sets and all manner of bizarre and threatening things await.
All manner is not hyperbole here. You've got dinosaurs. You've got robots. You've got dinosaurs fighting robots. You've got blades of grass that attack those who walk on the grass. You've got giant slugs. Keene's imagination seems limitless here.
That's really the strength of The Lost Level. Brian Keene has entirely succeeded in writing a fun, adventurous novel that keeps the pages turning and makes you want a sequel. Whatever issues the novel has are small compared to the sheer enjoyment you'll get out of this story. It'll remind you why you started reading pulp in the first place.
If "great horror writer doing a pulp adventure novel" appeals to you AT ALL, you need to make this book a priority. You'll love it.
