Book Review for Beneath Gehenna by Benjamin X. Wretlind

I received this book for free. This does not impact my review in any shape or form.

Beneath Gehenna, by Benjamin X. Wretlind, is a dark dystopian about a man living through an apocalyptic nightmare and surviving in spite of the pain and loss. The book is separated into five parts. Part I: Gehenna is Nigh introduces Geoffrey Alan Thompson, a wealthy middle aged man and his insufferable wife Portia, who flee to New Eden after receiving an ominous warning. Part II: New Eden describes the new environment the ultra-rich and wealthy have found themselves in, and how Alan, despite his wealth, is still at the bottom of the social ladder, similar to his early days of financial difficulties. In Part III:The Mission, the end of the world becomes an impossible reality as communication lines are cut and New Eden becomes isolated from the population. During this time, Geoffrey, alongside a trusted group of friends, takes it upon himself to try and find some semblance of life on the outside. In Part IV: Our Hell, Geoffrey and his friends finally understand the hell that has descended upon the world, as a mysterious phenomena forces themselves to relive the traumas of the past. Finally, in Part V: The Return, Geoffrey returns to New Eden to report his findings, only to discover that New Eden has fallen,  replaced by a fragile monarchy that is unable to fend for itself. 

I loved the similarities between Geoffrey and the other characters, more specifically Elisa. I liked how everyone on the ship had come to escape something, whether it be the literal end of the world, or a domestic violence situation, or poverty, or homelessness, or whatever else society decided to toss into the fire. It’s funny how then, once he steps off the ship, he and all his friends are confronted with the same problems they were trying to run away from. That being said, Portia interested me more than she should. She came from nothing. She knew it, and she knew how hard it’d been. She didn’t want to go back to the same situation she’d been in, but on the other hand, she fully expected other people to take care of her, like a child who read too many fairytales. All this time she’d been cheating on Geoffrey, I wonder if it was because she wanted to see who could provide for her. She wanted to come up with a safety plan in case something happened to Geoffrey, or if he wanted to divorce her. Was she smart about it? No. Was she spoiled? Yes, but she relied on what she knew what to do. 

The concept of Gehenna being some sort of purgatory reminded me of a sermon I listened to once, that people grow when they’re thrown into the fire. Because people are supposedly naturally resilient, surely they’d be able to mold themselves into something great. This, unfortunately, is a bit of a stereotype, albeit a positive one. I’ve only started working as a therapist and already I can tell that some people just can’t handle the burdens life throws at them. Whether it be an addiction, or a phobia, or a trauma that haunts them so, they’re doomed to stay in their own personal hells until they find a way out. Time isn’t linear; the past stays with us until we get over it, or we find a way to cope with it. 

There was a lot going on in this book, and while the storylines were all interesting, I wished they were more fleshed out. For instance, I would’ve wanted to know what was going on in the ship when Geoffrey and his friends left. I would’ve liked to see the outside world when Gehenna descended. I would’ve wanted to explore the depths of Mezzanine, as well as how the upper classes interacted with the lower classes. While I did enjoy seeing through Geoffrey’s lenses, despite his daring attitude (I mentally cheered when he stood up to Portia), I felt the story could’ve benefited if there were other character POVs to build up this horrifying yet fascinating world. 

As such, I would give this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars. 

Grab the book here!