Kindle Edition Amazon Category:  Fantasy Publisher: Createspace ISBN-10:  1484020561 Pages: 431 Copyright: August 30, 2013 ISBN-13: 9781484020562 Price: $3.99 (eBook) She doesn’t know whether the horrors in the shadows are real...or if she is going mad.  Nightmares are bleeding into her waking world. Children are going missing. To save them, she must overcome her wreck of a personal life and a closet full of skeletons. She doesn’t know whether the horrors in the shadows are real...or if she is going mad.  18-year-old Janelle Cohen is an electrician in an underground city. The world above has been swallowed by mind-destroying Dust. Her small life changes forever when a dragon attacks her on the way home from work.  Her friends worry that she has the Fever, Dust-induced insanity. A terrifying trip to the surface of the world, the ancient and abandoned Up, deepens the nightmare. With no world left above, she and the other Crows cannot afford to fail…  5 stars: “…You will be rewarded with a dive into the depths of imagination that may leave you questioning, breathless and inspired.” –www.TracingTheStars.com 5 stars: “… Engaging, ground breaking prose that is not afraid to test the reader’s boundaries. “—Sara Celi 5 stars: “…A wonderful read that is full of life, nightmares, fear, and dreams.” –Casey Peeler

5 * Jc Eggleton
Michelle Browne has quickly become one of my favorite indie authors around. I read the Underlighters when it was part of the Loved, the Lost, the Dreaming short story collections (if you haven't read it, you totally should) and it's still one of my favorite horror stories of the modern generation. It breaks from the cliched Unholy Trinity of Horror, the zombie, the vampire, the werewolf, in lieu of the products of nightmares. I mean that literally, as much of the story is derived from the author's dreams. It takes balls to begin a horror story with an attack by a dragon, and Ms. Browne has them hanging like grapes. From her creative break from the mundane, to her unflinching views on sexuality, this book bares the author's soul and leaves the reader craving more. I'll not lie, after the dragon attack, the story starts off slowly, but it only builds from there. By the end, the story has reached such a frenzied, far fetched pace that it is a pure joy to read. I cannot recommend this author enough.

5 * Kirstin Pulioff
What a book!!! First, I have to say, I was impressed with the way this story developed. It was a natural progression of discover, unveiling, and growth. The character development transformed in with each passing detail about the world, the struggles, and the mystery of the dust. This dystopian fantasy focuses not only on the coming of age story of Janelle, but an interesting mystery about “dust” and missing kids.

Second- what great storytelling. I was impressed with Michelle Browne’s writing style when I read her short stories, The Stolen. What I was not expecting was how brilliant it would be in a full length novel. When I think of her writing style two images come to mind… Xena the warrior princess and a mad scientist. Her style is unique, strong, and precise, with a darker edge.

There is no confusion as to the feelings she wishes to convey. She chooses her words carefully, sets up her characters in the right way, and introduces you to her world in a refreshing way. There is no doubt about it, she pulls you in with her words, twists your mind with the story, and leaves you hanging onto the end with that bittersweet longing for more…

5* Tome Tender
The Underlighters by Michelle Browne is a very disturbing look at a dystopian future world, holding only a bleak future for its inhabitants. Teenaged Janelle is training as an electrician, not because she is dying for the position, but because there isn’t much else in store for her future, until the day she comes home bloody and bruised with a fantastic tale of slaying a real dragon and the claw to prove it. But is everything as it seems in this dark and horrific tale? Is the underground world she lives in hiding a deadly force that may consume its inhabitants in a world of hallucinations and terror? What exactly is “Dust?” If inhaled, it produces bizarre effects, up to and including insanity. Isn’t this what she was told destroyed the upper world that lived in the sunlight? A mission to the upper world is a must and Janelle is determined to go. Does she join the Crows and endeavor to protect her people? What she discovers on the way changes her, causes her to grow as a person, in spite of the losses along the way.

I'm happy to see The Underlighters get its own cover, its own book! Once part of a collection of stories from talented author Michelle Browne, this tale needed its own identity! Her creative genius and love for her work shows in each page, each character and the vivid scenes she has created! The tension runs at full throttle often enough to make your head spin with the possibilities of what could happen next! I like that in a dark fantasy, just keep me on the edge of my seat and keep me guessing at what will happen next!