I could not force myself to finish this. Such a promising premise, and over 4 stars on Goodreads. I simply don’t get it. The writing is amateurish. The storyline is choppy. The dialogue is ridiculous. The setup of the supposed plot is shallow and silly. I really try to give every book a fair chance, but this is a mess.

I found this book to be an immersive journey into a world that lies just below the surface. This story is a creepy supernatural journey, unsettling and eerie. If you're looking for something scary and different Level Zero is iy.

This book was just a little too scary for me. I jump at the scary parts and this one kept me watching around me with one eye while reading. If you love a good scare.....this is one.

Well this was a ride, it took me a while to read as I really had to get into it. The characters worked well and all in all a great read.

I was given a free copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

The concept of this book was so good while the execution was...not. The writing felt jarring and disconnected, and it felt like the author hated his characters a bit too much?

Chris Wilkerson has an accident. He decides to buy the Oak Hollow Hotel. The hotel is in bad condition. It needs a lot of work to get it back to the way it was in the past. The hotel has a bad history of bad things happening. In the past and present. What did happen? When Chris decides to make it a call-center for horror stories and call it Creepy Nights, Chris meets Creepy Joe who lives in the basement where administration offices will be. Chris will live on the top floor (8th floor) and the floors below will be where the story tellers will tell their stories on the phone. On the first floor there is a receptionist fort all who come to the hotel. Meanwhile, Creepy Joe is creating chaos and causing people to be tortured and more in the tunnels. When Todd Adams finds himself in the tunnels, he knows he must fight Creepy Joe not to just save himself but the other fifty-three people who are also the prisoners of Creepy Joe. Will he survive? Will he get out?

I found this novel engrossing and disturbing. This is a story of with intense violence and distressing images throughout it. The characters are original and well written. I found the book to be dark and chilling. I liked it as I am a horror lover. Horror lovers will enjoy the chills and thrills the author has written.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview Level Zero by Dan McDowell.
This is a fast paced horror novel that I read in one sitting. Quick read and at times gave me goose bumps. Atomospheric and dark - scary read.
3 stars.

I really wanted to enjoy this book as the premise sounded right up my alley but I just couldn't grip my head around it.

I didn't like any of the characters, and there were times where I had no idea what was even going on. There were a lot of ideas here, I think one too many.

2.5 star

I don't want to give anything away with this one, as most of the enjoyment comes from not knowing what you were going to into, so this will be a shorter review from me.

This was a true GEM of a book! I honestly was obsessed when I started to read Level Zero, it had this hold over me as if I was in a trance like state reading it!

As soon as I started reading this book I felt this sort of unsettling and creepy vibe come over me, not enough to frighten me but enough that you knew it was going to build up into a great story. Which I'm pleased to say that Level Zero did.

This was completely different to anything I'd read before, in a horror novel at least, and it really strived to be different, you could feel that from the way the suspense built up and how the fear factor started to creep in, but all the while it was intriguing, you needed to keep reading, it was as if you didn't have a choice.

One small irritation of mine was the sheer number of characters, it made it quite difficult for me to keep track of who was who, and I feel we didn't get to see all of their true potential as some were more focused on than others. Which did, as we got closer to the end of the book begin to make the book a little confusing.

I will admit I was disappointed with the ending, it didn't really make sense and I felt it didn't encompass the rest of the book, it wasn't fitting with the story and felt like it had been tagged on as an after thought.

𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗢𝗥 𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗜𝗡 𝗡𝗘𝗫𝗧 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛!!!!!!!

My favourite part of this book though was the idea of being able to call a number and have a scary story told to you, and you could pick what theme you wanted, like someone should set that up!
On the whole, Level Zero had all the makings of a really good horror story, something to get under your skin and creep you out but also not too scary that you couldn't sleep at night! Aside from the minor irritations I had with this story, it was a truly good read and I'm really happy I read it.

It brought something new to the genre, and if you're looking for something scary but a bit different Level Zero is the one for you.
𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥.

There are the bones of a great novel within these pages. That’s not to say that there aren’t enjoyable parts to this book, because it’s there. It’s three stars from me because this isn’t a bad book by any means, but it could use a little more fleshing out.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. These thoughts and opinions are all my own.

1.5 stars

This review is based on an ARC of Level Zero: A Nightmare in Riverton Novel, which I received courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher (Black Rose Writing).


Excuse me, but I think I was sent a first draft copy by mistake. The get-it-all-down-before-the-thought-slips-away jumbled rush of a first draft.

I sort of understand what the author was going for, but the execution fell way short of the mark and the final result, I don't think, is what the author intended. The effort at a powerful horror story is certainly noticeable, but with way too many ideas pulling in too many different directions I was left stranded, tangled up in the confused, incoherent middle of the storm.

Unfortunately, I can't even justify the disjointed storyline and clunky pacing by calling the craftsmanship good--it's not. The plot, again, is all over the place, messy; the pacing, too, is all over the place, both too fast and too slow in select parts; the dialogue is unrealistic and monotonous, coming across as false and, well, fictional. A good horror thrill is scary because you can imagine it happening to you, no matter how unbelievable the circumstances (See: Pet Sematary ). An unconvincing horror story is just eye-roll-inducing, not nightmare-inducing; I rolled my eyes a lot while reading Level Zero.

I really liked the character of Creeper Joe--he saved this read from being merely one-star. Despite the frankly bad book, this character shows true inspiration, true potential, with his almost fae-like mischief and terrorizing.

Though by no means a good or well-produced story, Level Zero hosts a potential and a creep factor that kept me curious through to the end. For the passion, if not the craft, I can say that I would give this author another chance.

I feel like there is... something here. The concept of the novel itself is intriguing, which is why I wanted to read it in the first place. But something about the writing just feels off, and all the characters seem very, very similar. Just full of people acting oddly and doing bizarre things, and unfortunately not in a good way.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

1.5 stars.

Listen. I’ll be the first one to say that I’m not always the sharpest tool in the shed. Often, things fly way over my head. And maybe Level Zero by Dan McDowell is one of those things. Or maybe there’s just very little sense to be made out of anything that happens in this book. To be honest, I’m leaning more in that direction.

The synopsis tells me that Level Zero is about a guy named Chris who acquires a rundown hotel that he turns into a call center specializing in scary stories. Then spooky happenings involving people in comas and a labyrinth of tunnels under the hotel began to occur. Though I’m fairly certain that’s what happens, I can’t be 100% sure, because there’s so much that’s nonsensical that it’s hard to parse anything out. This book is very bizarre, and not in a good way. I feel like every other page I found myself asking “what in the heck is happening?”

Let me just give you an example. Our main character, Chris, pulls open a grate behind this hotel that he’s randomly acquired and climbs down into parts unknown. Chris ends up in a system of tunnels underground, where he runs into a guy named Tom (who doesn’t bother to explain why he’s randomly lurking in these tunnels). Tom invites our friend Chris to dinner, and then starts grilling up some food – while still underground, mind you. Chris is seemingly pretty chill about the whole thing, even though this is some random, creepy guy living underground that he knows absolutely nothing about. I mean… what?

Literally nothing makes any sense, which is so jarring and prevented me from really getting absorbed in the story.

Also, not one character is likable. Not a single one. So, I couldn’t have cared less about what happened to them. And don’t get me started on how this book villainizes mental illness, with our antagonist being described using this antiquated term: manic depressive. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: mental illness is not a plot device. But especially not mental illness that is depicted so poorly.

I think it’s safe to say this book was absolutely not for me. Honestly, I’m not too sure who it would be for. Though the premise sounded like a spooky, fun time, it feel quite short of that mark.

Content warnings: death, hospitals, persistent sickness, mental illness.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Black Rose Writing, for sending me this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

I’m the first person to review this book and I wish I’d have more positive things to say about it, but since I don’t, guess I’ll just try to be diplomatic about it instead. I do get it, this is someone’s baby sitting around unloved and unread (pr at least unread by those who write reviews), but honestly I’d totally throw this baby out with the bathwater. Ok, no, nope, already screwing up the diplomatic mode…ok, let’s try again…
There is an interesting original concept here, buried somewhere beneath, much like level zero itself. The idea of an abandoned (mostly) haunted (kinda) building turned a scary story call center is novel. It has many levels for different kinds of frights and come level zero…it’s a real nightmare. But…all of this is fairly thoroughly buried under a pile of unlikeable characters doing…well, doing way too much. So what’s the polite way of saying this book is a mess? Don’t know, not sure. But it did read messy, though at least had the decency not to drag on and read pretty quickly for the page count.
For me it was a one sitting read past midnight, which you’d think would be optimal for a scary story, but all the while the main thought was more along the lines of wtf am I reading here? Is being vaguely intrigued enough to warrant all this attention? And maybe because of the lateness of my reading time, but it sort of read like a dream…and not as in oh, wow, this printer/robot/toaster oven works like a dream, but more along the lines of the really random weird nightmarish dreams I normally have.
It probably needed at least one good, interesting, likeable, developed character or two to sort of level out this production. Because technically it’s competently done as far as the writing, editing, etc. goes. But then again, much like the things that scare people in real life, in books it’s also all highly personal. And so, this one didn’t quite work for me, but who knows, it might for you. Are you into hallucinogenic trippy tales of strange buildings with dark past? Or maybe you just like to check out random new genre authors? It’s possible this book might scare you just right. For me, it’s already fading from memory. Thanks Netgalley.