Available Darkness: Book One: Awakening [Paperback]

Sean Platt (Author), David W. Wright (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2011

The Darkness Has Awoken
FBI Special Agent Caleb Baldwin is on the hunt for a serial killer who has left a trail of burned bodies. One of those victims – his wife. As he gets closer to finding the killer, he falls deeper into an elaborate conspiracy.

A man wakes buried alive with no memory of who or what he is. In his pocket, a note: “Avoid the sunlight and don’t touch anybody.” Now he is being hunted by the FBI while trying to remember his monstrous past. He must control the darkness within before it consumes him and the child whose life he must protect.

11-year-old Abigail was dying slowly each day as the prisoner of a sick man. Until she is saved by the most unlikely of heroes – a vampire with a deadly touch. He is her only hope, and she may hold the key to unlocking the memories of his hidden past.

Past, present, fate, and future are on a collision course as the hours of AVAILABLE DARKNESS are ticking away and a force greater than anything the world has ever seen threatens humanity.

Available Darkness is the first book in an epic journey that reinvents vampire mythology with a fast paced, character-driven thriller that blends action, mystery, fantasy, and horror in an addictive, tragically romantic story.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sean Platt is the writer of Four Seasons, Writing Online, and the forthcoming series Yesterday's Gone. He is living the writer's dream in Ohio with his wife and two children. David Wright is a former newspaper reporter and cartoonist. He spends his time wrangling his four year old son, cleaning up cat hairballs, and ranting about stuff as his wife rolls her eyes.

Product Details

• Paperback: 392 pages
• Publisher: Collective Inkwell (August 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0984338128
• ISBN-13: 978-0984338122
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,967,533 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars "Available Darkness"... started off well but tried to do too much 2 1/2 Stars February 13, 2012

By R. Nicholson TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

"Available Darkness" is the first book in a Vampire fantasy trilogy by co-authors David Wright and Sean Platt. This Kindle e-book was a 477 Kb download and was priced at $4.99 at the time of writing this review.

Background... I became interested in this novel as I'd really enjoyed the "Yesterday's Gone" series by the same authors. I wanted to try this new full length novel and so downloaded the Kindle edition.

***MAJOR SPOILERS***

This is the tale of three brothers that come from a different world, all of who have different personal agendas. One (Jacob) wishes to keep a portal open to the 'home' world to bring back an army and conquer Earth. Another, (John, our main hero) wishes to prevent this from happening and the last (Caleb), who has had his memory erased so he's unaware of the other two. Jacob is actively seeking both John and Caleb as they have information that is vital to his plans. In addition, they're all are a new breed of vampire who have different 'requirements' than the traditional vampires of most tales.

END SPOILERS

Some thoughts...

The Pros:

1.) an interesting premise using a variation of the normal vampire model.

2.) lots of page turning action and intrigue...not much down time (see Cons: 2. below)

3.) some nice character development. I really liked what the authors did with Larry and Abigail, as well as John and Caleb.

The Cons:

1.) I found the plot (early on) confusing... I started to wonder... did I miss something? It wasn't until Part 3 (74% the way through) that some explanations were given to shed some light on the various goings-on in the previous chapters.

2.) as mentioned above (Pros: 2.), a book with lots of action and unexpected twists and turns... it's just that there were too many for my liking. I had, by the end, this feeling that the authors tried to do too much... tried to put too many variables in. Resulting in a myriad of somewhat confusing ideas and unfortunately, blurring the borders of believability (within the context of this tale) more than they needed to be.

3.) a main protagonist with near super hero abilities. Roughly half way through I began to realize that he (John) was virtually untouchable no matter how dire the situation he found himself in.

4.) many scenarios that surprise the reader with new unexpected information at the last moment that change the outcome of an encounter(s). So much so that I found myself disappointed in how much I had to suspend my sense of realism in this tale...yes, yes, I know it's only fiction. But when things happen that make you roll your eyes, questioning where this came from, you begin to wonder about what audience the work was intended for.

Conclusion:
A good book if your looking for some light escapism and lots of action that revolves around a different breed of vampire.

A novel, that by its subject matter was intended for an adult audience but uses techniques often seen in Young Adult novels. i.e. superheroes and stretching the borders of realism with several unexpected escapes that save the day.

I started off liking this story very much, but by the end was disappointed with its inability to focus a little more the main plot instead of adding another scenario to the mix.

Would I recommend this book... yes, to a selected type of reader.
Would I read the next installment... unlikely.

As it is... 2 1/2 Stars

Ray Nicholson

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Can't get enough of these guys... July 5, 2012

By Annabelle Randall

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

A really good book and a new spin on vampires. I love the connection and relationship between the main character and the girl. This is every bit as good as the other books they have written.

I understand this one is older than their most recent works and while I only have a small complaint...the storyline, suspense and characters were just as entertaining as the others. My only complaint was when Abigail was introduced and then disappeared for a good part of the book, almost to the point where I was beginning to wonder if she was really a part of this series or if I had her confused with a different book. Hopefully this will be fixed with the new version...I just think it would be easier to follow along. I had to go back several times (since I listen to these books while doing other things and if it gets confusing, I have to back up and actually read it, to try to understand the confusing parts...not a huge big deal...just thought I would mention the confusion).

In any case, I can't wait for the sequel... (please don't make me wait too long ;))

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow I loved this book. February 18, 2012

By SoCalReader

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I am loving everything that these guys write it seems. This is an earlier work I think but it does not suffer at all! It is very well written and a great story. I became really attached to the characters and they were developed very, very well. One of the best books I have read all year and a great vampire tale with a great modification of the vampire origin and their rules.