Customer Reviews

Personal Effects: Dark Art

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I had a chance to read an advanced copy of Personal Effects: Dark Art. This novel succeeds admirably in being creepy and scary, but the book does much more than that. For one, it paints the main characters, especially the tightly knit support system of the protagonist, in a realistic and sympathetic light. You care about these people, you want to be their friends. The action is detailed and, at times, gruesome, the kind that makes you want to cover one eye while the other eye keeps reading because you just can't stop.

The plot and characterization doesn't stop with the novel, though. The personal effects that come with the book allow you to learn more about the mysteries inside, and if you follow the websites and phone numbers, you will get more information about the goings on of the novel than the characters themselves got.

This book grabbed me, pulled me in, and didn't let go. Hutchins' narrative voice is fun to read; he makes you feel like you're sliding effortlessly into the plot. Expect more awesome from this author in the future. For now, buy this book.

Probably the best book I've read in the horror genre in a long time. Personal Effects: Dark Art combines the classic elements of horror, thriller and dark plot with the "edge of your seat" gripping "page-turning" experience you'd get from a feature film.

What I love most about Personal Effects is that it's not JUST words on a page, it's an experience. The book is set up to give the reader visual clues, concepts and personality through the pictures and items within the novel. Even the way the text is set on the page speaks volumes to the mood, tone and feel of this book. This is a full immersion experience. If you're one of those folks who can't sit through a novel - this is the one to try.

From page one I was sucked into the story, the characters and the mystery. And I think you will be too.

It's hard to imagine any author taking the concept a novel further than J.C. Hutchins and Jordan Weisman have with PERSONAL EFFECTS: DARK ART. What CBS have tried desperately to do for television viewers with HARPER'S ISLAND, Hutchins and Weisman have done for readers, and in far sleeker, more immersive, and just plain addictively entertaining fashion.

But at its core, PE:DA is no more or less than exactly what you want in a novel: a sprawling, engaging, thrilling, chilling read. For me it was all about the characters. PE:DA's Zach Taylor is a franchise protagonist, the kind of character you want to keep coming back to and keep hanging out with like an old friend. Far removed from the tired cliche of the flawed detective and cookie cutter forensic pathologist/investigator that take centerstage in most best-sellers, Zach is as relentless as either archetype and yet as relateable as any character from a Kevin Smith movie. He's just a guy, who happens to have a unique calling in life and an even more unique insight. The concept is a blast of cool air on the cerebral nethers. That is to say, refreshing.

But as much as I dig Zach, the real star of PE:DA is The Brink, the psychiatric hospital and subterranean setting of much of the book's most haunting sequences. Vivid, horrifying, intriguing, it is a place you will remain in long after you close the book. Believe me. I rank it right up there with THE SHINING's Overlook Hotel as one of the great set pieces in horror fiction. No hype. Just fact.

I have no doubt we're going to see the reality-bending concept of PERSONAL EFFECTS: DARK ART co-opted and rehashed by every major publisher and author before too long. Get it here in its purest, most original form first.

To sum up: Come for the story. Stay after for the experience.

J.C. Hutchins (7th Son: Descent) and Jordan Weisman (Cathy's Ring) have created a fascinating book that is both reading experience and alternate reality game.

"Personal Effects: Dark Art" is, first and foremost, an excellent novel by J.C. Hutchins. The story follows a young art therapist, Zach Taylor, whose chosen career is informed by personal tragedy and a temptation to embrace the darker, self-destructive path he once walked.

He works in the most bizarre, twisted and just plain contra-healing mental health facility in fiction since Gotham City's Arkham Asylum: Brinkvale Psychiatric Hospital, an establishment built on the site of an old brownstone quarry. Yes, it's a place where every floor after the first is a basement -- the entire thing is underground. The metaphor of "digging" into the subconscious is obvious, and the literary knife twist of a hospital with no windows is delightfully creepy.

Taylor's patient is a serial killer. The problem for an art therapist is that Martin Grace is blind. How can you treat someone with visual arts if they can't even see? And how did a blind man kill all those people?

The pressure to come to some conclusion about Grace's ability to stand trial is heavy, and it comes from sources both professional and personal. The slow bleed of the case into Taylor's own past drives the story from creepy psychological thriller into territory that is decidedly more unnerving.

The book -- which features a number of fully-realized, sympathetic characters and some very smooth, believable dialog -- is a bona-fide page-turner and great fun. But! The fun doesn't stop there.

Each copy of the book comes with a number of physical documents from the novel -- admission papers, birth certificates, funeral cards and the like. Each document is a clue and a gateway to a cross-media experience... find a telephone number? Call it and see what happens. Is a website mentioned? Browser there, and learn more.

This is Jordan Weisman's half of the equation. The veteran game designer is now dabbling in Alternate Reality Gaming, wherein an interactive story is told across many media. By following the various clues presented, the reader will end up with an understanding of the events of "Personal Effects: Dark Art" that may go beyond that of the characters in the book. It's a fascinating entertainment experience with tremendous potential!

Get "Personal Effects: Dark Art" for the great story J.C. Hutchins has crafted. Then, dig into the alternate reality gaming experience... it's a new, extraordinary storytelling experience that blurs the lines between reader and author!

Not only will what's between the covers of this novel change how you feel about the dark, it will change how you want to be entertained. No longer a passive participant in the story, you now become part of the story with the realistic 'personal effects', websites, phone numbers and other great interactive surprises. On it's own the book tells a powerful, unreal but believable story that pulls you in from the very first page, but coupled with the included clues and breadcrumb trails to follow, the story leaps out of the page and vibrates with it's own deadly pulse.

What I love about this story is that there are so many levels to the plot, so many clues to pick up each time you read it, flip through the personal effects, or visit a website connected with the novel. This is the type of book you will want to read over and over just to rediscover the brilliant storytelling on every page.

Writers from this point on will have to live up to the high standards J.C. Hutchins has now put forth. The game has changed. We wanted more, and he delivered.

Length:: 0:30 Mins

I had a chance to do an advance reading of PERSONAL EFFECTS, DARK ARTS and absolutely loved it. Loved it so much, in fact I gave it a cover blurb (it's on the back cover between Gore Verbinski and David Wellington, which rocks, and mentions my two novels Infected: A Novel and Contagious

Recently, I read something that I can honestly say scared the crap out of me. It's not often that a novel can evoke such a primal emotion as fear. In fact, the only other novel I can remember reading that did so was The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty. The time has come once again though for you and I to be afraid of the dark. The reason? Personal Effects: Dark Art by J.C. Hutchins and Jordan Weisman.

The story follows Zach Taylor, a gifted art therapist who is employed at Brinkvale Psychiatric Hospital. Otherwise known as `The Brink.' Zach has a way of reaching his patients through art therapy. Allowing them to express themselves to the point where they open up to him so the healing can begin. When a new patient is admitted though, Zach is forced to reevaluate everything his knows about his talents...and his past.

Enter Martin Grace. An alleged serial killer who is under suspicion for 12 murders and is admitted to The Brink for psychiatric treatment to see if he's fit to stand trial. The only problem is, Martin Grace is blind, so how could he have killed 12 people? Zach is faced with the challenge of unraveling the mystery of Martin Grace and in doing so is plunged into a world so dark, so terrifying, that it not only forces him to question everything he knew to be true, but also forces him to face The Dark Man. A villain so evil that you'd swear that it was the spawn of Satan himself.

Reading Personal Effects: Dark Art was not only a treat (as a lifelong horror fan, I am always looking for the next best scare) but it was also a mind bending experience. Hutchins has a way of grabbing you head first and pulling you in to the darkness to the point where you forget everything that is going on around you. As someone who missed a few subway stops on the way to work, I'm qualified to say that.

Personal Effects: Dark Art isn't just your everyday book though. What it does is combine the narrative flow of a novel and mixes it with the feel of an alternate reality game. The book comes with actual `personal effects' that allow you to go online and virtually become the protagonist yourself. You can also call Zach Taylor's voicemail to get clues, visit the Brinkvale Psychiatric Hospital website that allows you to submit your own artwork. Just Google character names and you'll see websites specifically designed for them that will help you to unravel the mystery. It's a truly interactive experience and one that is not to be missed!

Folks, believe me when I say that this novel really is one of the best I have read in the genre in the past 10 years. Is it perfect? No, but what little flaws it has can be overlooked by everything that this book brings to the table. Hutchins and Weisman make the ultimate team and when they say you'll be afraid of the dark...they mean it!

This is hands down one of the most entertaining and immensely satisfying experiences I have ever had with literature. The cover has a quote from the producer of CSI that says, "this is the future of story telling." Then I heard that there were "artifacts" with the book. Ok - I have to be honest - in my head, I'm thinking GIMMICK. Not so. This is enhanced story telling at a level that I can't quite describe. If you let yourself get into this story, it will take over your thoughts. When I stepped away from it (which wasn't often), I found myself thinking about it. Then I would go back and look over the artifacts and I'd find something new and then dive back in. I can't quite explain this book because there's nothing else like it. I'm sure this sounds like either a crazed fanboy or the author's mom but I assure you I am neither. This is an intense, fast-paced story with characters that resonate and a plot that smacks you upside the head. Good God somebody tell me there's a sequel...

I'm enjoying reading Personal Effects: Dark Art, the story winds the reader in as the protagonist gets deeper into the history of the serial killer. Cool stuff also happens OUTSIDE the book. A character blogs, for real! The phone numbers are real and you can call them. Clues are tangible and the world intrudes on the fiction, or vice versa. Either way, the fun goes on.

Be part of an exciting experiment, buy this book.

I just finished reading this, and I was very impressed. Not quite the utter spine chiller I was expecting from the vlurbs or even from the author's reading at BaltiCon 43, but I still blazed through it faster than any book I've read this year that didn't have Peter David's name on it. What makes this a worthwhile read, apart from the fascinating experience of the artifacts the book comes with (real websites, real voicemails, etc.), is one of the most important things a book needs, second only to a coherent story; characters you can actually care about. It does not take long for Hutchins to make you fall in love with Zach Taylor and his "tribe." I look forward to reading (or hearing in podiobook form) further exploits of these people.