Darkness Follows
4.4
5
9
9
A Downward Spiral of Darkness
âÂÂDarkness Followsâ combines the elements of a psychological thriller, a supernatural suspense novel, and the intrigue of a sinister political conspiracy. Within the first few pages I became engaged in life of Mike DellossoâÂÂs protagonist, Sam Travis. Dellosso vividly describes the diagnosis of SamâÂÂs auditory hallucinations, his depression, and the dark ominous psychosis Sam experiences as he relives the details of his brotherâÂÂs death twenty- years earlier.
Sam Travis, a self-employed carpenter, fell 20 feet off a roof in an accident. He suffered a severe trauma injury to his head. I felt like an outsider looking on, empathizing, as Sam deals with impending madness, a slave to the shadowy figures of darkness, the voice of Tom, his dead brother, and the sounds of battle all around him. Add to SamâÂÂs confusion the journal of a Civil War Army Captain written in SamâÂÂs own handwriting and you will understand why the madness has only begun.
A strong theme of family love and the importance of the importance of accepting God's unconditional love is woven throughout the novel, a non-judgmental, non-preaching message.
A complex fast moving plot features a broad array of characters, haunted by their past, driven by forces good and evil beyond their control or understanding. Intense story telling â highly suspenseful.
A complimentary copy of the book was provided for review purposes. The opinions expressed are my own. As reviewed for Midwest Book Review.
April 18, 2012
Intriguing
Couldn't put it down! Every chapter ends like a cliff hanger!
You are compelled to keep on reading! Start reading Dellosso! You'll be glad you did.
Conductor
October 31, 2011
His Best Writing to Date
I started reading mike DellossoâÂÂs work with Scream. I wasnâÂÂt impressed in all honesty. Then I tried again with Darlington Woods and that was rather quite good. Darkness Follows is DellossoâÂÂs best and I can say with confidence that he has definitely grown into his writing chops now. By far his best novel, Darkness Follows is at once suspenseful, haunting, eerie, and downright scary at times. IâÂÂm glad I kept reading Dellosso and didnâÂÂt give up with his earlier works.
On the heels of a traumatic brain injury self-employed carpenter Sam Travis finds himself struggling with hallucinations â both visual and auditory â from the Civil War, but perhaps most disturbingly from sessions of automatic writing. Penned in his own hand, yet without any recollection of these writing episodes, Sam finds himself writing out journal entries from the Civil War; journal entries that speak of a darkness that Sam himself finds invading his life.
As the whirlwind of darkness from both the distant and near past threatens to overwhelm him, only the hope and light set forth before him by his family â a loving daughter and wife and their prayers â have any chance of redeeming his future.
Darkness Follows is certainly a thrill ride. From its first opening pages I was kept on tenterhooks wondering what was going on I did find that some of DellossoâÂÂs doctrine was a bit murky as presented in the book â it was unclear if Sam was truly a Christian before the events recounted in the story, or if he only became one later in the story.
Personally, I do not believe that Christians are vulnerable to the types of events that Sam suffered from (itâÂÂs a bit tricky to phrase this without including spoilers). Again, this is a bit unclear, so I canâÂÂt say much here definitively. The conclusion is also a bit abrupt with explanations only being offered in one rapid wrap-up piece of âÂÂScooby-Dooâ like revelation (a bit of a pet peeve of mine).
That being said, this is certainly a well-written work of supernatural suspense. Dellosso undoubtedly succeeded in keeping me flying through the pages of his latest work. As his craft continues to mature I have hopes that we will see some truly great books from him!
June 23, 2011
Edge of Your Seat Thrill Ride From The First Page!
Sam Travis isn't quite sure how to put his life back together. After suffering from a fall, twenty stories from a roof he was working on and landing on his head, he has difficulty processing thoughts and organizing things after waking up from a coma after several weeks.
If it wasn't for his wife Molly, who has nursed him back to health, he isn't sure where he'd be at right now. His daughter Eva's love for him is unconditional just as it would be for any father.
However when Sam begins hearing his brother Tommy's voice in the middle of the night, he knows something is wrong inside. See Tommy has been dead for twenty one years. When Sam begins to black out during these auditory hallucinations, he awakens to find he has written something. A portion of a journal from a man by the name of Samuel Whiting, who served in the battle of Gettysburg. Yet it's in Sam's own handwriting. What he writes is eerie in detail but also in the claims of some kind of darkness that he following him, asking him to do his bidding.
Is this merely a coincidence, or has this darkness found it's way to Sam Travis as well and is using the writing to speak to him? Sam's daughter, Eva is worried. She insists that she is being told by a man, Jacob, who looks like he's been rolled in glue and covered in glitter, that her daddy is about to do something really bad. She needs to pray for him, to let him know that Jesus loves him and so does she. Her parents chalk this up to an imaginary friend.
In the latest novel, Darkness Follows by Mike Dellosso, the reader is catapulted from the first page into a walking nightmare along with Sam Travis. While his daughter and wife attempt to come to grips with the sanity that seems to be slipping away from Sam, he struggles to make sense with what is real and what he appears to be hallucinating. This is action packed with suspense and horror on page after page when you travel along the dark road with Sam into the nightmare he truly did not see coming, but his daughter did. This one rates a 5 out of 5 stars.
I did not see where this one was headed and I love that. Too many times when reading a suspense thriller, you can anticipate where it is going, and Mike Dellosso keeps you on the edge, the very edge. Not sure what will happen next, you will be holding your breath til the very end. I received this book compliments of Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Tours for my honest review and can say Mike Dellosso is part of my permanent library and one of my favorite authors. I can't wait to read his previous books as well as Frantic coming out soon. A word of caution, you may just want to read this one with the light on.
June 20, 2011
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