The Black: A Deep Sea Thriller Paperback – September 19, 2014

Out of the batch of cheap Kindle horror novels I bought recently (including stuff like Hunter Shea's "The Montauk Monster," Pete Kahle's "The Specimen," and Shane McKenzie's "Parasite Deep," among others) I think I might have liked this one the best. On an isolated oil rig equipped with the latest drilling technology, the roughnecks encounter a strange new species of deep-seafloor tube worm arranged in peculiar circular patterns, and at the same time manage to strike what they think is a huge well of black gold. But when they take a sample of the 'petroleum' up to research, they find out it's something much more than oil--and those "tubeworms" they saw were part of something much bigger! As you can imagine, all hell quickly breaks loose.With that summary out of the way: The thing I liked most in this book were the characterization and attention to detail. In most of the other Kindle horror novels I'd read, the characters were at best "servicable"--just enough personality to get me to care about them, but not enough to differentiate them strongly, establish them as convincing people, or give them convincing motivations. In this tale, however, Cooley spends a whole lot of time establishing the characters, their personalities, and their motivations even before the scary action really starts. It very much paid off, in my estimation. Halfway through the book, I felt as if the various inhabitants of the oil rig--the divers, the rig chief, the chief engineer, the scientist, etc.--were all actual people rather than tools used by the author. Their thought processes were so well drawn-out that I was able to sympathize with each of them even when they were at odds, such as the engineer Calhoun and the rig chief Vraebel.This also helps the pacing a great deal. This is a horror story I'd describe as a "slow boil." The beginning might seem boring, since so much time was spent establishing the characters and their jobs on the oil rig, but there were enough glimpses of something suspicious--the strange worm formations, the way the ocean floor seems to *shift*--to keep your interest,My one complaint would be with the monstrous antagonist itself (spoilers follow):Things on the rig really start to go bad when one of the divers is infected by one of the samples they took from near a circle-worm formation. It turned out that the "worms" were actually part of this humungous beastie sleeping under the ocean floor, and the "oil" they'd been drilling was its blood! The diver got infected by its blood and turned into this liquid, goopy black creature that promptly begins to assimilate the rest of the rig crew, engulfing them and adding their biomass to its gooey self, dividing, and generally spreading across the rig with terrifying speed, melting away stuff around the rig as it does so.This might seem really interesting and innovative at first (the huge monster the stuff came from is, sensibly, left mostly to the reader's imagination), but I couldn't help but think of Dean Koontz's "Phantoms" as I read it. In that book, the main antagonist was a huge mass of amorphous black jelly that dissolved its victims with acid and added them to its biomass. Now, Koontz's jellything was much smarter, as it actually absorbed the memories of its victims and could transform any part of itself into pretty much any creature imaginable. Cooley's antagonist, on the other hand, doesn't seem particularly smart and can't duplicate its victims; it can only morph its shape into pseudopods, roughly human-looking things, and so on. Still, after reading Koontz's book a few years back the monster in this one seemed decidedly underwhelming. Maybe it might seem more interesting in the side story, "The Black: Arrival," which I may check out later.Aside from that caveat about the monster, this struck me as a very, very strong book, and I definitely feel I got my money's worth. I'd give it a little over 4 stars if I could, but as it stands, let anyone who reads this review know that I heartily recommend "The Black!" Now to see if "Arrival" matches it...

My first experience with Paul Cooley’s work was a few years ago, when I read Closet Treats. That book managed to unsettle me, which is no easy feat, and I’ve been looking forward to another Cooley read ever since. Fast forward to Cooley’s announcement for the publication of The Black. I saw the cover and knew I had to read this one. Needless to say, I was not disappointed.Let’s get one semi-major gripe out of the way. The characters herein bled together at certain parts, and I had to backtrack a number of times to make sure I knew whose head I was in. The only easily-followed character for me was Shawna, and that’s only because she’s the only female in the book, so when Cooley writes, “She did this” or “She did that”, the fact that I was in her head was obvious. The huge cast of male characters seemed to become one collective consciousness over time. Add to this the fact that Cooley hops back and forth between referring to them by their first name and last name and you might be able to see why I was confused. For the longest time I thought Standlee and Catfish were two separate characters. Same with Thomas/Vraebel, Martin/Calhoun, and Steve/Gomez. I think I got those right, but even now I’m not sure. The various “red shirts” were equally confusing. That is the ONLY reason this wasn’t a five-star read for me.Now on to the good parts, of which there are many. Cooley seems to know what he’s talking about when it comes to drilling for oil, deep-sea techniques, and laboratory goings-on. If he doesn’t, he sure fooled me. The techno babble was never boring, and I was engaged throughout. He managed to make the science cool and interesting. Kudos, Cooley. Very well done.The deaths are varied and numerous, and should satiate gorehounds as well as fans of quiet horror. But, where Cooley really excels is subtlety. Certain scenes in The Black are downright ominous. I enjoyed the creepy bits like Shawna trapped in the lab and the omniscient AUV scenes a bit more than the splatterwork, but Cooley handles both with a unique flair. There were times I cringed, times I chewed my nails to the quick, and other times I could only sit there, jaw dangling, in outright shock. Make no mistake, this is a thriller, but it is also a double-fine horror novel.The final bit I’ll mention is the end. Stephen King once wrote: “Nightmares exist outside of logic, and there’s little fun to be had in explanations; they’re antithetical to the poetry of fear.” Thank you, Paul Cooley, for not explaining this creature into the ground. Some things are better left to the imagination.Oh, and I almost forgot. I will never again find the sound of bacon frying in a pan alluring. Thanks, jerk.In summation: Paul E. Cooley’s work is a necessity. Horror needs voices like his. The Black is surely not to be missed. So go on. Buy it.

I liked the story and how it was told. My only grip is the authors repetition of things such as characters smiling at everything along with the fact that everyone who got in any sort of danger died, no one get's out alive. It would have been refreshing for a few of the doomed charters to actually avoided death. Also there seem to be no realistic communication between characters. If someone found something important they wouldn't communicate this to their comrades, instead they would go and lock themselves in their cabins and sleep on it. If someone went missing, no one seemed concerned, never thinking to go check on them.Over all though, a darn good read. I continue the series and hope the author learns from past mistakes.

First book in the series starts fairly slowly laying the backgrounds of the principle characters, the action, which takes place on an offshore oil rig, heats up building up to the frightening finale. This book also lays the foundation for the other two books in the series and provides links to both. Even now having read all three I still do not know what the black really is.

Some of the crap that shows on our TV screens at the moment is appalling. This would make a Saturday night at the movies or being curled up on a sofa watching on the little screen an absolute joy.Suspense, shock, gore storyline, conflict, emotion, this has it all.A decent director could make this something akin to Alien.Brilliant.Loved it.

Well done Paul E. Cooley! An excellent page-turner that had me hooked from the off. Evoking the style of The Thing and Leviathan, the intelligent and well-drafted plot has characters you actually care about and enough shocks to keep you riveted.One of the best horror novels I've picked up for a bargain in the Kindle store. 5/5

I really enjoyed this book. It had moments of strong suspense and a great plot that kept me turning the pages to find out the nature of the black and the increasing threat it posed those stranded on the rig. I will buy the next book in the series.