


Underground
Series · 9 books · 2020-2021
Books in series

#1
Whispers in the Dark
2020
Two decades into an eternal sentence in the impenetrable Void for daring to rebel against the might of the Empire, and Agent Ivory is ready to give up on life entirely, even if the unseen Warden of the prison won’t ever let him die.
But when a mysterious voice in the darkness visits him in his isolation, the prisoner is determined to see the sun on his face once again, even if the outside world is not what it once was...

#2
The Return
2021
The world doesn’t know about the compound hidden underground, and the wealthy investors funding it want things to stay as they are. Although it’s 2027 with numerous scientific advances having been made, most of the research being conducted in the facility is illegal. If animal rights activists had an inkling of what went on, they’d clamour for justice. Human rights’ activists would scream from the rooftops.
Scientists at the site are delighted with their latest achievements and use cutting-edge technology with their feline service units. However, they envision much more exciting things for the future, and dream of incorporating AI into humans.
By the time 2030 arrives, researchers have worked for a while with Human Replicas—HRs, as they’re more commonly known. Virtual prisoners with no rights, they’ve undergone extensive training in combat, survival techniques, and much more, but their training has ceased in favour of “missions” which have a high mortality rate.
HR-7974 tells the other HRs repeatedly that they have an amazing destiny ahead, but in order to reach it, they have to survive. Needless to say, they dream of freedom. Surprisingly, at least one of the top scientists isn’t happy with the status quo either. Tensions are mounting, and things are not as they appear.

#3
Underworld Games
2021
Zach Perry is in trouble.
He got caught up in a most dangerous game in the flood tunnels beneath the streets of Las Vegas—a high-stakes game he played and lost.
Unable to back his wager, he is held captive in that dank underworld prison by ex-casino workers, their hired muscle, and their mysterious associates known as The Weathermen. The tortures his captors inflict are difficult to endure.
Zach’s only companions are a rookie prostitute and ghosts of the past.
But worse is to come. Candlelight comes in from the far end of the tunnel, and the drip-drip-drip of water and blood is interrupted by the tap-tap-tap crescendo of his keeper’s boots.

#4
Place of Caves
2021
There’s something rotten under Nottingham.
Something demonic.
The Vatican sends two of its best demon hunters, Father Jasper and Sister Veronica. They investigate the strange disappearances taking place that all seem to lead to the labyrinthine network of man-made sandstone caves under the city.
They soon realise they’re not facing just any demon. Their nemesis is Legion, the infamous prince of Hell first mentioned in the Bible. To have any chance of defeating him and restoring the kidnapped victims to life, they must descend into Hell itself.
They find a terrifying vision of the underworld, where the most horrifying demons they have to face are the ones inside their own heads.

#6
Beyond Human
2021
It was supposed to be a simple rescue mission: secure the doctor and return to the surface.
A task that Nade Wilhelm and Pip Damon of ALPHA Team could be forgiven for considering beneath them. But there are things thriving in the underground facility that would have been better off undiscovered. Things that make short work decimating the rest of their team in front of them. The pair must act fast and work together to survive against an unstoppable enemy that is out for their blood.
After a startling revelation deeper into the facility, Nade and Pip are forced to question their own motives for survival. Do they really deserve to be the ones to live? Or do they follow their instincts and put a stop to the questionable activities they have uncovered, effectively bringing about the end of all humanity?
Beyond Human is a fast-paced survival horror that will haunt you long after you’ve turned the last page.

#8
The Gate to the Underworld
2021
“It was only a matter of time before its possession of me was complete and irreversible. Thinking I could escape it was but sheer madness, and the lull even more painful…”
Imprisoned for a crime he believes he didn’t commit, Leroy, a student at the Yale University, struggles to refute the allegation of murder of his mentor, Professor Howard Bingley.
It’s as if a whole year had been erased from Leroy’s mind, or something hinders his ability to recall his memories…
What did Leroy do in Brazil where he and Howard’s body had been found? What could have pushed him to shoot this man who he appreciated and held in high esteem?
Unobtrusively, the nightmares come back to Leroy. Howard’s mental degeneracy. The senseless trip through the Brazilian wilderness, hunting for a species of intelligent, subterranean creatures that Howard believed to be older that human. The nefarious black river that leads them to the lair of the creatures. The mysterious disappearance of their guide, Alvaro.
There is something dwelling in the caves. An entity, an evil of unknown origin.
The fight has begun. The fight to keep their sanity. The fight to survive.
But one does not escape the Elder God so easily. And once it has you in its grasp, your soul is condemned to roam eternally through the tunnels of the Gate to the Underworld.

#9
Those of the Light
2021
What if death is only the beginning?
When Frank awakes inside a crematorium furnace, only to fall deep into the earth below, he learns his life is far from over.
But it is a life he has to pay for.
The elitist and totalitarian government of the vast underground world he finds himself in expects surface dwellers like him to pay for their time in the sun with centuries of servitude.
Yet there is hope to be found in this harsh new reality, when Frank realises his wife, Nora, must still be alive.
With the help of his mysterious greeter, Seph, and his tough and intimidating roommate, Cragor, can Frank navigate the darkness in search of love and light?

#10
Time's Abyss
2021
Something has gone horribly wrong on Piller Island.
Maverick industrialist, Theodore Falkon, commissioned famed physicist, Carson Everett, to build a revolutionary device—a projector that can open up a doorway to anywhere, the crossroads to infinity. But once activated, Falkon's hubris results in the Ka'ala effect, causing a global disaster.
Time and space run rampant, distorting different parts of the Earth, causing past, present, and unknown realities to collide. Dr Everett, the only person who understands the tremendous dangers involved, commissions a group of six specialists to invade Falkon's island stronghold in the South Pacific and attempt to shut down the experiment.
However, everyone on the strike team has a hidden relationship with Falkon and his project, and one of them holds the key to success or destruction.
Burrowing deep below the chaotic temporal field, they must risk losing their way within the vast caverns and the abyss of time, taking a one in a billion chance of repairing both a broken Earth and their own shattered lives.

#11
Under Ground
2021
It started with a kiss…
A kiss that ended badly…with the whole world opening up.
—Literally.
When the community hall is swallowed by a sinkhole in outback Australia, it’s up to Shawn and Madison to save their friends. But the people in the hall have all been taken. The lizard creatures who live under the ground want them. And what are these other strange denizens of the caves and caverns who are also after them?
Shawn and Madison face a race against time to stop their friends from becoming the latest meal for the lizards and their queen.
Authors

James Pyles
Author · 2 books
I'm a science fiction and fantasy author and a retired technical writer and IT book author. You can follow me on X bluesky Blog: Powered by Robots I have over 60 short stories and novelettes published in the last few years.