Customer Reviews

Route 666 (Dark Future)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Like other reviewers I am a big fan of the Dark Future books since they first line came out in the early 1990s, they were some of my favorite reads in college and had a great blend of dark humor, satire and mad ideas. It wasn't until years later that I learned Jack Yeovil was in fact a pen name for British horror writer Kim Newman which led me to pick up his other books.

Now his Demon Download series returned to print.

I just got the new Route 666, which seems a expanded and updated version of the short story Route 666 from the 90s short story collection Route 666 (ug, I know it's a cool name but this is a bit much).

There have been some changes, the time line was updated, the world will no longer end in 1999 but apparently will end in the 2020s, Oliver North is no longer president , Emilio Estevez is. But other things were preserved, Marilyn Monroe is a forgotten fat actress from the old I Love Ronnie show, Col Elvis Aron Presley is still the meanest SoB in the South, evil Cthulu worshiping Mormons still threaten reality and people still drive around in spikey cars with lots of guns on them.

I'm about half-way through and enjoying it as much as the first set of books. Strong recommendation for Route 666, Demon Download and the rest of Jack Yeovil's Dark Future books.

Hopefully this will lead to the long-awaited conclsion of the series that was not printed the first time around. I remember hearing it was lost in a computer crash years back.

In the early 1990s, Kim Newman (writing as Jack Yeovil) wrote the four-novel "Demon Download cycle" set the the "Dark Futures" Universe. The books were more recently (2005/2006) brought back into print by Black Flame in Mass paperback editions. The novels were slightly modified in order to update many of the pop cultural references. They therefore feel less dated now than the originals novels. Although the books are out of print, copies are readily obtained through Amazon marketplace.

I would like to address a matter that I haven't seen discussed elsewhere: what order should they be read. This is a confusing issue if you haven't already read the books. There is the original publication order which is not the same as the numbered order on the book covers which is not the same as the internal chronological order. So to set the record straight:


Publication Order

Demon Download (1990/2005)
Krokodil Tears (1990/2006)
Comeback Tour (1991/2006)
Route 666 (1994/2006)


Book Cover Numbering

(This is the wrong order. Someone at the publisher must of made a mistake.)

1. Demon Download
2. Route 666
3. Krokodil Tears
4. Comeback Tour


Internal Chronology

1. Route 666
2. Krokodil Tears
3. Demon Download
4. Comeback Tour


I would recommend that the books be read in order of internal chronology. I think the overall flow of the stories works best this way.

Apparently there was supposed to be a 5th "Demon Download" novel (called "U.S. Cavalry") which was never written. This novel would have been about the final battle against main villain of the series. Kim Newman (Jack Yeovil) has said that he has no intention of returning to the Dark Future universe to write this novel. Even without the final novel, the series is quite readable on its own. There is no massive cliffhanger at the end of last book. Each of the novels tells a self-contained story and does not really suffer even if read out of order. Still, the series grows on you with each volume, and I found myself really missing the 5th book after reading "Comeback Tour".

Overall I found the series to entertaining and fun to read. I wouldn't say it rises much above that level though. This is definitely not Newman's best work. I would probably rate the books as follows:


1. Route 666 ( 3.0 stars )
2. Krokodil Tears ( 3.5 stars )
3. Demon Download ( 3.5 stars )
4. Comeback Tour ( 3.5 stars )


Kim Newman is an very talented writer. I would highly recommend his "Diogenes Club" stories and his "Anno Dracula" books.

Book 2 of the "Demon Download Cycle", Dark Future: Route 666 is an engaging and welcome addition to the dark fantasy series by Jack Yeovil. Elder Nguyen Seth is an evangelist in an America blinded with a media controlled by big business and shadowy corporations. Enthralling readers in an ever-twisting plot, Dark Future: Route 666 carries readers through the life of US Cavalry trooper Leona Tyree as the questioning of Elder Seth's actual intentions begins. Dark Future: Route 666 is very strongly recommended to all readers with an interest in apocalyptic fiction or occult horror, as well as fans who are already following the "Demon Download Cycle". Also strongly recommended is the first book in this outstanding series, Dark Future: Demon Download.

I loved this series when Games Workshop first published them in the late 80s and I'm very happy to see them updated and back in print.

Looking forward to the completion of the Route 666/Demon Download saga.