Customer Reviews

Dark Corner

5 star:		(55)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The book is a vampire novel that takes place in Mason's Corner, Mississippi, a small town built around the old Mason Plantation. The story centers around David Hunter, the son of famed author Richard Hunter, from whom David was estranged from birth all the way up to his mysterious death at sea. David comes to Mason's Corner, also known by some as "Dark Corner", to live in the home his father left for him in an attempt to learn more about just who his father truly was.

Meanwhile, a vampire named Kyle Coiraut comes to Dark Corner, also to find the fearsome warrior father Diallo, whom he'd previously thought was dead. As the story unfolds, we discover that David's family has an unfinished destiny that's leading him on a collision course with Kyle and Diallo, and the town of Mason's Corner will be the battle ground.

I won't go into further details because with a great horror novel, the twists and turns of plot are integral to the enjoyment. But suffice it to say, the book pays off on a number of levels, and has several layers of complexity going on that Massey handles with great skill. As a writer myself, one thing I really appreciate is something fresh, something that's puts a whole new spin on my view of things. In Dark Corner, Brandon Massey somehow takes elements of classic vampire tales and explores them in exciting new ways.

Not only do I look forward to seeing what Massey has in store next, but I'm also hoping he will explore these charcters further. There's plenty of groundwork laid for compelling looks into the past and the future of these characters, and if he chooses to pursue them, I'll be first in line to purchase them.

You should be too.

Who? Did you say Stephen King? Dean Koontz? The best horror/suspense writers of today? Then you haven?t taken the time to read Brandon Massey for his latest novel, Dark Corner draws you into its liar on page one and turns you loose many sleepless nights later. Simply mind numbing and captivating would best describe this horror flick that I fully expect to find its way to the silver screen. A masterful tale full of edge of the seat terror that keeps the reader suspended until the end. Not to take anything away from Stephen King, Dean Koontz and others, but its great to see talent of this magnitude materialize in writers of Mr. Massey?s generation.

Meet David Hunter, son of a famous writer, Richard Hunter who hails from Mason?s Corner, Mississippi. After his fathers? untimely death and the lack of a father-son relationship growing up, David decides to find out what he can about this mystery of a man by leaving his home in Atlanta and journeying to his fathers home to live for a year or two. Horror brews in this quiet and quaint town where up until now, Richard Hunter was the most notable citizen. The pot is stirred when Kyle flies in from Paris to take up residence in the haunted mansion of the town?s founder, Edward Mason. Kyle too is looking for his father, Diallo and when David and Kyle?s paths cross, good versus evil takes on new meaning. Kyle is the son of vampires and even among their ranks there is a sense of justice. Being a small town, full of curious folk who are eager to meet and discuss their two newest residents, strange and sinister things begin to unfold and these things are noticed by quite a number of people. A number of deeply winding plot twists take David and his friend Nia, the police chief Van Jackson and his son, the towns self proclaimed historian, Franklin and his wife Ruby on a journey that no one will forget in pursuit of destiny outlined by David?s Great Grandfather over a century ago.

Masterfully written, Dark Corner enthralled me. Mr. Massey?s use of the English language impressed me along with his innate ability to tell a story made this giant of a book a breeze to read. The characters, were diverse and well developed and easily kept track of. Best of all, this horror novel scared me so it did its job.

Dark Corner is the alias to Mason?s Corner, Mississippi because the town?s population is nearly 90% African American. It is the namesake of a cruel plantation owner and town founder, Edward Mason. Its residents are direct descendents of slaves from Mason?s plantation, Jubilee, where Edward Mason was murdered at the hands of his slaves during a revolt and is rumored to haunt the ?big house? at Jubilee.

Richard Hunter, infamous novelist, anthropologist, and absentee father, disappeared in a mysterious boating accident; his body is never discovered and he is legally declared dead. His son, David, inherits both his father?s vast fortune and an overwhelming need to learn more about the father he never knew. He heads to Dark Corner ? his father?s birthplace ? and location of the family home to begin his quest for discovery.

Kyle Coiraut, is a168-year-old vampire - a Frenchman of African lineage who has discovered that his father was a bloodthirsty African warrior enslaved and embittered by the American slave trade who was killed and entombed in Mason?s Corner before Kyle?s birth during a massacre. Kyle heads to Dark Corner, sets up house at Jubilee, and plans to resurrect his father.

David and Kyle are on similar missions ? to learn about fathers they never knew and their fates are ultimately married to this quest. As one can reasonably deduce, the conditions are set for fireworks to begin as both David and Kyle?s family histories unfold. Massey skillfully plays on the father-son relationships throughout the book as well as building a credible, suspenseful vampire novel. Although the story started slowly and our hero, David, was in reactive mode throughout most of the novel; it is an enjoyable horror/vampire saga that ties themes of responsibility, vengeance, good, and evil.

Reviewed by Phyllis
APOOO BookClub, The Nubian Circle Book Club

One hundred and sixty-eight years ago there was a great battle in Mississippi. A small group of men fought the undead. The leader of the humans was William Hunter. The leader of the vampires was Diallo. In the end, Diallo was entombed within a cave. There, he slept.

David Hunter never really knew his father, Richard, who had been a famous author. But when Richard had a boating accident in the Gulf of Mexico, David inherited everything. In hope of learning about his father, and himself, David moved from his Atlanta residence to the home where his father had dwelled in Mason's Corner, Mississippi. It was not long before David learned that he would be called upon to fulfill his responsibility to the family and continue "The Hunters' Legacy."

Within a few days of David's arrival in Mason's Corner, another newcomer arrived and moved into a house on the hill. This dark man seemed to easily settle into Jubilee, the old mansion that was rumored to be haunted. Not long afterward, people began to disappear and dogs became vicious and attacked.

Diallo had been wakened by his son and wanted revenge.

***** Fans of Dean Koontz will love this talented author. Brandon Massey takes his readers to a new height of terror, where vampires are even worse than we once imagined. The author adds in a few sub-plots to keep things moving in several directions at once, such as David's girlfriend having a stalker.

Here is an author to keep your eye on. I foresee many awards in Brandon Massey's future! Highly recommended reading! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

After visting the author's website at www.darkcornerbook.com at the suggestion of a friend I had to get this book. I'm a hard core S King fan and I must say I think I've found a new "KING"! The book caught my attention from the first chapter. The characters are well developed and you hate for the story to end because they feel like friends, relatives, people you know. There are funny moments, thought provoking relationships and then there's the terror! This book in a small aspect reminded me of Salem's Lot but Diallo definetly was more terrifying than any parts of that book and the story surpassed it in so many ways. Kyle, Diallo's son grew scarrier as the story progressed. Lisha has her own agenda (hopefully to be covered in another book) and there were so many other characters I just loved like Jahlil and not to mention David and Nia. Nia presents a strong female lead, not a wimpy, do nothing character and the father-son relationships with David, Jahlil and even Kyle leads you on a different journey. I liked the twist in David's last name being Hunter. There's a lot of little twists in the book that you'll find if you look closely. It's a tightly woven, intricate story that leaves you caring about the characters. This wasn't just a horror story. It is a well crafted, entertaining novel that I hope has a sequel. As someone said, it is to well written and intriguing to end here. And I say it MUST have a sequel!

Brandon Massey takes his place among the literary greats of macabre with his sophomore novel ?Dark Corner.? Set in Mason?s Corner, Mississippi, this novel captures the serenity of small town life...until all hell breaks loose. Massey cleverly fuses African American folklore with vampires and southern charm. The mysteries of ?Dark Corner? will enthrall you until the very last page; but be forewarned, you might want to leave your night-light on.

--Pamela Walker-Williams, PageTurner.net

Great novel ... really enjoyed it. I have read most of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles ... I found this revisitng of the vampire ideology both interesting and refreshing. The choice of making them simply another life form, versus the antithesis of good and negate the religious context was an interesting twist.

Strong lineup of secondary characters added to the texture of the book. This book represents a strong step forward for Massey in the area of character development ... as well as context setting. The history of Mason's Corner was very well laid out and created a visual that was in itself a supporting character

Would have like to see more on the background of the main vampire characters, especially Kyle and Lisha. As the book unfolded they became more secondary and I found myself at time wondering what they were doing and their motivations. Hopefully more of this will unfold in subsequent books.

The resolve of David's father was an interesting twist and will give readers something both to anticipate and to debate ... If there is a sequel, certain unfoldings potentially set the stage for the 'hunter' to become the hunted.

The consistent 'father son' theme revisted from several dimensions was very thought provoking ...

Great work, and best of luck

Stop me if you've heard this one before. A young man moves into a small town. He immediately feels both afraid of and captivated by a large, reputedly haunted mansion overlooking the town. The young man meets a beautiful local girl and the two hit it off. He also meets a scholarly older gentleman who has a wealth of knowledge about the town and its secrets. At the same time, an ancient vampire and his human familiar moves into that very mansion. Soon after their arrival, strange events occur in the normally quiet town. After some investigation, the young man, his new girlfriend, and the older man realize that they are dealing with actual vampires. They head to the haunted mansion to confront the vampire. Along the way they add a young boy to their troop. They arrive at the mansion to find the vampire gone, though he did leave a message, as well as a recently vampirized friend of theirs. After dispatching the new vampire, the group heads back to town to try and locate the master vampire. Meanwhile, vampirism is spreading rapidly throughout the town. The scholarly gentleman ends up in the hospital. The young boy sees his parent killed by the vampire, and then helps the young man kill the master vampire in a final confrontation. In the aftermath, much of the town's population has vanished, and the media wonders at all of the "lost" townspeople.

Sound familiar? It's the basic plot of Brandon Massey's novel Dark Corner. It's also the basic plot of Stephen King's ultra-popular 1975 novel Salem's Lot. Dark Corner adds a few twists, but it is essentially the same story, only not as well-written. Don't get me wrong, I think Massey is a good storyteller, and has potential, but Dark Corner is just not very original. A few similarities are to be expected. After all, Salem's Lot is the definitive vampire novel of it's time, and in some way or another all vampire stories refer back to Bram Stoker's Dracula (Enriched Classics Series). With the whole plot mirroring King's, however, the book just ended up disappointing me.

Massey's second book takes us into the world of small towns and vampires. A not entirely unrecognizable mix, and the same could be said for the surface traits of his vampires. Though not your stereotypical types popularised by Stoker, they are somewhat predictably out of the box.

However, they aren't so far predictable as to be boring, and they are certainly new in their own way - not to mention rather charmingly egotistic and blind.

Full of nods and hints (some subtle, some not so much) to old and new, popular and not-so-popular vampire culture, this is a great book for the avid reader or watcher of vampire lore - take a pen and paper, and write them all down! And also a good one for those not so used to the genre, because the characters are human, and when compared to many of the more tasteless offerings, Dark Corner is a remarkably graceful book - in it's plot, characters, and style of writing.

Massey throws us straight into plot, sketching characters quickly and with precision and showing us the road ahead right away. This means that the book is all but impossible to put down, and none of that reading to the end of the chapter nonsense here - each one ends with a punchy cliffhanger-type of line which makes your hand and eyes move all by themselves to the next page.

Lots of smaller details, those which might normally be missed by a writer, help to make the place more real to the iamgination, until the town comes to life in startling imagery.

Especially enjoyable was Massey's trick of using hs author's omnipotence to give us a look inside the minds of all the characters - not a selfish writer this, and he uses it effectively to build suspense and all-round knowledge, which then draws the reader further into the plot.

Well plotted, compelling, and with a definite talented writing style, Dark Corner was a great book to read. It is only Massey's second, and the story as a whole - character, plot, writing, etc - promises great things for the future.

-- Review taken from angiehulme.com

Brandon weaves a tale of vampires well because the gendre has been visited by many, but only a certain type of writer can pull it off. He does it with ease and his characters are honest and well thought out. You find yourself caring for them through every situation. This book offers a fresh breath of air for African American writers it is a step from the norm and I see great things to come for "AA" writers in the future.