Darkers [3 1/2 Diskette, HTML] [Diskette]

Lisa DuMond (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 10, 2000

"Darkers is a splendid work, compelling, drawing you in; as good if not better than any work of science fiction I've ever read.  In fact, as good as any work I've read in any genre." ~ Charles Wilson, author of Deep Sleep

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This campy tale of mayhem, mystery, and the truly bizarre is vividly told... A great find for sci-fi and mystery lovers alike..." -- Amy Poppenga, BREAK magazine and Reviewlutions.com

Product Details

• Diskette
• Publisher: Hard Shell Word Factory (August 10, 2000)
• ISBN-10: 1582005842
• ISBN-13: 978-1582005843
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,248,646 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars NON-STOP FUN!, October 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Darkers [3 1/2 Diskette, HTML] (Diskette)

Philip Lew is a sharp-tongued sleuth, reminiscent of Archie Goodwin from the old Nero Wolfe detective series, plopped down into the late 21st century. A time when humans have emerged beyond the confines of Earth to colonize an enormous orbitting satellite, and beyond the constraints of ordinary life into the realm of the living dead. Hades, the satellite as cold as its namesake, is populated with cannibalistic creatures of the night; werewolves, vampires and zombies, all courtesy of modern science's new genetic "enhancement" technologies. Life on Hades for a plain old regular human like Lew is dicey at best, and that's before he becomes the target of a station-wide manhunt.

DuMond paints a terrifyingly realistic picture of life among these creatures and the grim station they inhabit. At the same time, her hero Lew is immensely human, flailing desperately to work past his emotional wounds and carve out a meaningful existence (and a meaningful relationship) in a world where the very definition of existence has changed.

Through it all, the striking images of this inverted world and Lew's funny observations at every turn make it good fun reading. From the titillating opening to the gripping conclusion, Lew's irreverent and caustic humor enlivens virtually every sentence of this fast-paced murder mystery thriller. I would have been frightened if I hadn't been laughing so hard. Don't miss this one!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Come to the carnival (but watch your back), August 21, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Darkers [3 1/2 Diskette, HTML] (Diskette)

This story is a whale of a ride on a Grand Guignol roller coaster through Addams country -- Charles Addams country, located for the purposes of this novel in an environment familiar to people who enjoyed "The Nightmare Before Christmas." Hades as a cracked mirror of modern culture is a fully realized creation of depth and complexity whose fascination is matched only by the intrinsic wry humor of its paradigm.

Phil the protagonist is a great character, a Man With A Past and a Terrible Secret in the mean streets of a surreal world that could almost be described as Kafka-esque if it wasn't for the fact that Kafka is a downer to read, and this is fun. This is great fun. You're gonna like Phil, you're gonna emphathize with his problems, you're going to be glad it's him -- and not you -- running from one end of Hades to the other in pursuit of and being pursued by the Ungodly.

A fun book, engagingly presented in a prose style perfectly matched to its subject matter, "Darkers" is a great way to spend a few hours when you need to get away from it all. This is an absolute romp. Go for it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Noir in Space, February 25, 2004

By 

G. Miki Hayden (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Darkers [3 1/2 Diskette, HTML] (Diskette)

Philly is a typical P.I. type (security consultant) who has retreated far, far from mother Earth. He buys bachelor food-frozen pizza-while flirting with Gina, the cashier at the convenience store. And, at the request of his obsessed neighbor, Percy, he tries to find out who is turning some of the Hades residents into zombies. Against their will. Because plenty are willing to become zombies-after they're dead. Payment is rendered in advance and gives them a comfortable stretch before their not-so-permanent departure from this plane. But when the zombie gangs get you, you don't get paid and you get taken well before you're ready to go.

Then, when Percy gets arrested for breaking into computer files, Philly starts to dig deeper in the case, revealing the darkest side of this darker society.

Author Lisa DuMond has hit the hardboiled nerve peg on, a talent for tone that she combines with her science fiction and horror inclinations, resulting in a novel that's both fun and a real whodunit puzzle book. DuMond is wickedly, but wryly funny, yet keeps the thriller angle coming on strong.

A sci fi horror mystery with overtones of romance, Darkers crosses all the genres but remains accessible to fans of each category of fiction. This is an entertaining story that carefully details a really weird type of place, as a sort of social satire. But the story and its crime tale twists are never left behind, since DuMond vigilantly maintains her focus on the plot-as a mystery author most properly should.