Beneath the Rising

Lore & Background

The novel's synopsis describes Johnny Chambers inventing a clean energy generator in 2002, which draws the attention of malevolent extradimensional gods. She and Nick Prasad must travel the world to find and close the Gate before a cosmic alignment allows the forces of evil to return. The first draft was written in 2001, but Mohamed did not begin submitting it to publishers until 2015.

Reader's Guide

Beneath the Rising has been noted for its exploration of race, class, and colonialism. James Nicoll praised Mohamed's depiction of the vexed relationship between Johnny and Nick, and observed that the Ancient Ones are portrayed as 'highly invested in preventing anyone anywhere from enjoying long-term happiness,' making them equivalent to 'inter-dimensional griefers.' At Strange Horizons, S. Qiouyi Lu emphasized that Johnny is a 'villainous mad scientist' who 'channel(s) great evil,' and commended Mohamed for not romanticizing the codependent nature of Nick's magically-enforced love for Johnny, which Lu felt made Nick a slave. Lu found the novel 'near-flawless' with a 'brilliantly constructed narrative' that serves as an 'extended metaphor' critiquing colonialism. In an essay at Tor.com, Lu described Johnny as 'a symbol for coloniality' and noted that Nick's identity as a self-described 'brown' man in the aftermath of 9/11 (where the attacks on the World Trade Center narrowly failed) 'is not an incidental part of the narrative — it drives the narrative.' Mohamed has stated that the tensions between Nick and Johnny, who differ significantly in race and class, are based on her own late-teenage relationships with friends 'who were in different social classes to me and who were mostly white.'

Did You Know?

• The novel's first draft was written in 2001, but submission to publishers did not begin until 2015.
• In the world of the novel, the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center were averted when the planes were shot down.
• S. Qiouyi Lu described Johnny as 'a symbol for coloniality' in an essay at Strange Horizons.
• James Nicoll called the Ancient Ones the equivalent of 'inter-dimensional griefers.'

The Premise and Plot

In 2020, Solaris Books released Beneath the Rising, a science fiction and cosmic horror novel by Premee Mohamed. The story centers on Joanna "Johnny" Chambers, a teenage prodigy in the sciences who, in 2002, devises a clean energy generator of extraordinary power. This breakthrough, however, does not go unnoticed by forces far beyond the human realm. Malevolent extradimensional gods take interest in her creation, and the consequences are catastrophic. To prevent a full-scale invasion, Johnny must team up with her childhood best friend, Nick Prasad, and embark on a global journey to locate and seal the Gate before a rare cosmic alignment opens the door wide enough for these ancient evil forces to pour back into the world. The novel fuses speculative invention with cosmic horror, framing a teenager's scientific ambition as the very thing that endangers all of humanity.

Critical Reception and Thematic Depth

The novel drew enthusiastic critical attention from multiple quarters. James Nicoll singled out Mohamed's rendering of the fraught dynamic between Johnny and Nick, and described the Ancient Ones as beings so determined to block long-term happiness for anyone anywhere that they function as inter-dimensional griefers. At Strange Horizons, S. Qiouyi Lu argued that despite the genuine benefits of Johnny's inventions, she remains a villainous mad scientist channeling great evil. Lu also praised Mohamed for refusing to soften the codependent bond Nick shares with Johnny, noting that his magically enforced love effectively renders him a slave. Lu called the book near-flawless, with a brilliantly constructed narrative that operates as an extended metaphor critiquing the legacy of colonialism. In a follow-up essay at Tor.com, Lu went further, identifying Johnny as a symbol for coloniality itself and arguing that the novel's architecture is inseparable from its political critique.

Authorial Background and Personal Roots

Premee Mohamed completed the first draft of Beneath the Rising in 2002, yet she did not begin the process of submitting the manuscript to publishers until 2015—a gap of more than a decade before the book finally reached readers through Solaris Books in 2020. Mohamed has spoken openly about the personal wellsprings of the story's central relationship. The tensions between Nick and Johnny, who occupy very different positions in terms of race and class, are drawn from her own late-teenage friendships with people who belonged to different social strata and who were predominantly white. This autobiographical grounding gives the novel's exploration of power imbalance, cultural difference, and the complexities of cross-class friendship a specificity that critics have noted resonates throughout the text. The long gestation period between drafting and publication also suggests a work that matured alongside the author's own thinking about identity, creativity, and the responsibilities that come with extraordinary power.

Identity, Race, and the Politics of the Narrative

Nick Prasad is an Indo-Guyanese-Canadian man who describes himself as brown, and his identity is woven into the very fabric of the plot rather than serving as mere backdrop. The story is set in the medium-term aftermath of the September 11 attacks, though in this alternate world both jetliners narrowly missed their targets and crashed into the Hudson River instead. As S. Qiouyi Lu observed in their Tor.com essay, Nick's racial and cultural identity is not incidental; it drives the narrative, shaping his internal voice and informing every decision he makes. His magically enforced devotion to Johnny, which the novel presents without romanticization, functions as a lens through which the book interrogates colonial power structures. Johnny's covenant and Nick's role as her companion become tools for critiquing the enduring legacy of colonialism, making the personal relationship between the two characters a site of broader political and historical reckoning.