The Forest came out of /r/WritingPrompts:

[WP] Instead of Oceans, they are all big forests, that gets taller and darker instead of deeper, with more dangerous animals living further out in the forest. A person decides to cross the Mariana Trench

It’s rough, fairly obviously an author’s early work and could probably be cleaned up somewhat by an editor. There are entirely too many scenes of non- stop action, running from one overly giant bug to another, trying and fighting to stay alive.

But at the same time, that’s exactly what makes The Forest so oddly compelling. It grabs you by the scruff of your neck and doesn’t let go, tossing you into a vividly terrifying world of giants bugs and even bigger snakes.

And that ending… well. Let’s say that you really shouldn’t read just The Forest. There’s a reason The Forest and the Pale Green Dot: Sequel to The Forest are sold together. The Forest just sorts of ends, but the Pale Green Dot picks up and keeps right on going. You really need to read both.