Below is the debut novel from emerging Filipino American horror writer Alaric Cabiling. Below marks a return to literary horror not seen since the earliest books written by the biggest names in horror, namely Stephen King or Peter Straub. In Below, Cabiling paints scenes vividly, using elaborate detail, striking imagery, and stylish prose to craft a story of a zombie pandemic set in the modern age, where dirty chemical compounds in street drugs have led to a deterioration of brain function, causing the zombie phenomenon, where addicts are transforming, turning more savage and hungry, feeding on the ill and starving throughout the congested slums of Tondo, Manila and then, the world.

Tondo, Manila, Philippines is one of the worst possible places for a zombie apocalypse to break out, featuring dilapidated shanties housing crowded residents and congested populations, allowing for a frantic feeding frenzy from which there is no escape. Main character Min Arnaiz narrates the story, taking readers on a holocaustic journey touched with tragedy and despair throughout the streets of aforementioned Tondo, Manila, Philippines, escaping to New York City where he settles in the sewers, nicknamed Below by residents. There, he faces the second wave of the pandemic and summons all his courage to act as a hero, a shining example of a boy who has lived through turmoil to leave a lasting footprint on a depleted society, a world hopeful for one last chance at survival.

Follow Min Arnaiz ‘Below’ and experience unmitigated savagery and violence.