Don’t fear the dark. Fear the light.The end came when light changed. It decimated humanity, leaving scattered bands of survivors stumbling in the dark.Faced with saving himself or his family during the apocalypse, John Piscus made the wrong choice, and has been living with the guilt ever since.When a glowing girl shows up at John’s shelter begging for help, his instincts tell him to kill her. … help, his instincts tell him to kill her. After all, light kills.
But when masked troopers tasked with capturing survivors come after them, it’s up to John to protect himself and the girl. Not only may she hold the key to reversing the lethal effects of light, she could also be the one who can save his soul.
If you love dark settings and characters faced with tough choices that result in horrific and sinister outcomes, don’t miss this post-apocalyptic horror read.
Discover the dangers in the world of The Darkening today.
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The Darkening by Chris Sarantopoulos is an eerie post-apocalyptic tale centering around a man with fading memories and a girl that seems to draw danger toward her. In this world, there are many dangers, but it’s not just the people in darkness that the survivors fear, it’s the light itself.
Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.
The very first sentence of this book really sets readers up with a dark tone that carries throughout the story:
“In the end, everyone died no matter what they did, be it an injury, starvation, Raiders, or the light.“
PHEW! How intense is that?!
Immediately after that opening, we’re thrown right into the action as our main character, John, is in the dark, listening to a dog bark while thinking about his family and how tonight he may finally see them again… It’s clear that something is very, very wrong here.
We soon learn that the light is to be feared. But it’s not just the light itself… it’s that shadows come to life. Shadows with pointy teeth and sharp claws.
As the story continues, we watch John struggle to survive in the darkness while he also battles his inner demons. During this time, we really get to know John as we hear both what he says out loud as well as the voices that he has in his head.
One day, a girl appears and asks for his help. There’s something very unusual about this girl and John isn’t sure what to think at first. But soon enough, they are running for their lives, attempting to find safety. But with each turn, there’s something else waiting just around the bend.
This story had me on the edge of my seat. My goodness! It took so many turns and I loved that I couldn’t anticipate what would happen next. Various scenes had me holding my breath while reading, anxious to see what would unfold. The scene in the back of a truck specifically spiked my anxiety…
The two main characters, John and the girl, were both so interesting to me. I loved learning more about each of them as the story went on. Seeing how their relationship changed over the course of what they go through was also fun to watch.
This story is beautifully written. I love the way this author moves from brutal and dark descriptions on one page to beautiful and uplifting descriptions on the next, just to jump back into the darkness! There are so many passages that I found myself highlighting to come back to again later. I added many of those in the My Favorite Passages section below, but some I left out or cut as they had spoilers in them.
And what a terrifying world this would be to live in! I couldn’t stop thinking about what I would do if I could no longer move about in the light. I don’t think I would last very long…
I loved the eerie tone of this book. I never knew what to expect with this plot, but I always had a deep sense of dread that made me nervous for what was going to happen next! This one is quite the page turner!
If you enjoy post-apocalyptic tales with a lot of heart but also a large dose of darkness, you gotta check this one out!
It’s dark, it’s gritty, and I couldn’t put this book down. The author did a great job of letting the reader discover the world, making us care, and weaving a mystery.
The language is descriptive and really paints the picture of how the world works, and the action keeps the story moving, captivating us to the end.
John is kind of a bad person, the voices in his head keep telling him so. He’s a survivor, and he doesn’t give a second thought to letting those who are chasing him, maybe trying to kill him, die.
Then he meets a little girl who changes everything for him.
The world has changed. The lighters kill all those that go out during the day. John lives in a basement, living off scraps and what he can trap, which isn’t much. One night a glowing girl appears, John is sure his end has come, but her light doesn’t hurt him and she CAN go out into the light. Troopers in dark goggled helmets, Raiders, the chips are stacked against them.
This book took me places. Some I expected, some I had no clue were coming. Chris has a way of storytelling that even tho you think you know what is going to happen next, nope.. you’re wrong. Towards the end of the book, you get slammed to the wall with a revelation, I have warned you.
This book is great for YA and up. I loved the way it was told, the feelings it brought force, and I do plan on checking out more of Chris’s work.
This book was amazing. In the beginning of the book we are introduced to a survivor named John. We follow through his days of fighting for food and survival and avoiding his own shadow. Hiding from light hunters and raiders. As time goes on he finds a glowing girl and things spiral out of control. His friend is killed and him and the girl are on the run from hunters. Great book.
I thought this story was weird. But I loved it. It had me on the edge of my seat when reading. It’s so different from other horror short stories. I love where the authors mind was going while he was writing. I NEED to read the rest of his stories. This is the second short story of his I had read and loved it. You need to read his books. So diffetent!!
This is a very dark take on the apocalypse. I reread it and discovered things I had missed the first time. In this tale, the light kills. Well, not the light so much as the shadow it creates. Suddenly one night, the lights went out on John Picus and when they came on, his wife and daughter were dead. He now lives in the basement of an old farmhouse and can only come out after nightfall. He thinks he is going crazy from the nightmares and voices in his head. It is almost as if there are two people talking to him. His one friend is Robert who lives about a mile away with his family. Robert taught him how to build snares for trapping. However, the Raiders keep stealing the traps or destroying them. Life is hard and John is on the verge of starvation.
One night, he sees strange Raiders kill Robert and capture his family. Unsure of what is happening, he returns home to hide. As hunger drives him to again venture out, he finds the girl with the greenish glow. Afraid that she will cast shadows, he leaves her to the sun. She survives and finally convinces him that they must flee.
Running from the strange new raiders, they find another group of survivors. Unfortunately, they are soon found and captured. They are taken to a government facility and John’s world is turned upside down. Nothing is as it seems. Questions and terror lurk around every corner. What has he done and who is he really? This is an edge of your seat page turner that you won’t be able to put down.