Synopsis
Severance meets Lovecraft in this surreal tale of corporate horror and existential dread.
Joe always had potential, but he doesn’t expect much, and he hopes that his new job as an admin assistant won’t expect much of him. But when he enters the offices of Ponos—a company he’s never heard of and knows nothing about—he discovers that potential is exactly what they want from him.
A feverish dive into the inhumanity of both late-stage capitalism and the crippling anxieties of modern life, Abyss adds a new level of meaning to ‘wage slave’.
Review
“He folds the proof and tuck it into his pocket. Opening the door, he prepares to descend to hell.”
I will start the review by thanking Nicholas Binge for writing this book. This is the third book I’ve read from him and this was the third 5 star reading experience from him. With this book specifically, it was a case of the right place, at the right time for me. It is exceptionally relevant to today’s world.
It was Nicholas Binge’s Ascension where I first learnt that someone can write so deeply about the human condition. Hence it was not a surprise for me that in Abyss, Nicholas Binge’s read on the humanity of 2026 is so dead on. This is a horror novel about a company exploiting its employees- but not in the way one would suppose generally. Nicholas puts his own twist on it and it gets very real, very fast. It also gets very introspective but again not in the way one would normally think. The author puts a twist there too.
I normally don’t like to talk about the plot of a book to avoid spoilers but I can’t do that especially with this book because it’s a horror novella and it’s best to go in blind. I will however talk about the highlights of Binge’s writing though. As always, the first thing to come to mind is how he always writes unputdownable books. I have not seen his parallel in that quality. I tried to take a peek at the book one day and I was done the next day- and it really took two days because work and life got in my way.
The second highlight is how beautiful of a balance he has struck in this book. This book scared me straight at multiple places, but oddly enough it also gave me a lot of comfort. It’s amazing that the author can do this in a mind-bending thriller that involves cosmic horror. I am also daring all readers to read this and say that they don’t relate at least a little bit with the main character. Joe was a top notch main character and becomes so real with how relatable he is.
In conclusion, I loved this book and I cannot wait for whatever Nicholas Binge has coming next.
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