In Glimmers in the Ravine by Stanton Polk, Jules Romero is a bright-eyed student excited to be part of an expedition into an old civilization’s settlement. The expedition team soon uncovers underground ruins and sets out to explore to their hearts' content. Jules uses his knowledge in the fields of history and anthropology to slowly piece together what happened to such a sophisticated civilization that seemingly died out unexpectedly and tried to hide their ancient city from the outside world. Things take a turn for the worse when fellow crewmembers suddenly become increasingly deranged and exhibit aggressive behavior. What secrets lie within the ruins, why are the crewmembers behaving so strangely, and can Jules figure out what happened to the civilization underneath the Lonesome Bluff?

I was hit with a wave of nostalgia reading Stanton Polk’s Glimmers in the Ravine and reminded of movies like Predator, Alien, and Friday the 13th. Stanton Polk nails the setup of an expedition crew walking into a situation they are horribly ill-prepared for and wonderfully creates a detailed history and culture for the people of the Lonesome Bluff. Jules and his crew are well-written characters with extremely relatable struggles and ambitions. The atmosphere created throughout Glimmers in the Ravine left me in suspense and eagerly awaiting the emergence of what lives in the darkness and why it was covered up. I very much enjoyed the cosmic horror twist at the end. Stanton Polk’s Glimmers in the Ravine is a suspenseful horror story that serves as a great reminder to sometimes let sleeping dogs lie.

Glimmers in the Ravine is a sci-fi horror novel written by Stanton Polk. Archaeology student Jules Romero is excited when he is hired to accompany an excavation team of contractors working under a mining corporation to dig beneath the Lonesome Bluff, an inselberg in northern New Mexico. While delving under the surface, the crew discovers the remnants of an ancient lost city, leading to a few confrontations between people with vastly different agendas. However, chaos erupts when the crew members start hallucinating, eventually losing their minds one by one. As Jules and Harper, the crew's mineral analyst, start investigating, they discover something that spells disaster for the entire mission. Although his colleagues give in to madness, Jules must find a way to stop the operation as the planet itself is in danger.

Author Stanton Polk's hair-raising horror novel feels like a cross between the hit movie franchises Alien and Annihilation. A fast-moving plot, compelling characters, thrills, suspense, and plenty of gore make Glimmers in the Ravine a riveting read that you will find hard to put down. The twists and turns of the plot, alongside the reveals, are utterly unexpected as they keep your eyes glued to the pages. Polk has a way of building up tension and intrigue, and he uses those scenes masterfully to create an atmosphere filled with dread that culminates in a horrifying outcome. Every character has an agency of their own, but I especially enjoyed the dynamic between Jules and Harper. If you're a fan of horror, do not miss out on Glimmers in the Ravine.

Glimmers in the Ravine by Stanton Polk is a tense horror novel that evokes imagination and fear. Set in the near future during a heightened gig economy, a financially strapped archaeology college student named Jules joins a team of contracted surveyors to mine for a mega-corporation beneath a mountain called Lonesome Bluff. What they find is an ancient city buried below it, but they need to stick to their plan, which is to find minerals. But something malicious waits below--a sickness that reduces its victims to a psychotic, manic state, which turns the team members against one another. It's left on Jules' shoulders to figure out the mystery illness, but that's just the beginning because a strange lifeform waits for him.

Polk has crafted a classic cosmic horror scenario that will please any Lovecraft fan, but with a modern take. He sets up the premise a little at a time, giving his audience time to get to know the characters, where they're going, and what they're going to do. The author uses a good balance of narrative and dialogue to drive the story, and by the time things get frightening, you really care what happens to the crew. But the writing also plays on the reader's fear of what may happen next, and you get an ever-increasing sense of dread as you get deeper into the story. I especially like the psychological aspects of the novel. Bad enough that the characters face unknown dangers below, but the mental crises make it even more intriguing. I also like the little details the author provides, which add realism and weight, like the injections that enhance job performance, etc. The characters are multi-faceted and believable, the plot convincing, and some parts are downright horrifying but well-executed; not overly done. For a thoroughly entertaining and engrossing novel in the cosmic horror genre, don't miss Glimmers in the Ravine by Stanton Polk.