Review: Beyond the Dark by: Patrick D’Orazio
The dead have risen, and their hunger for the flesh of the living is insatiable
It had been six weeks since the virus engulfed the world. Everyone who was infected died, and then rose again. Governments collapsed, armies fell, and civilizations turned to dust as the human race tore itself to pieces.
The living are in danger of becoming extinct.
Jess Blaine has witnessed the annihilation of his family and everything that mattered to him. When he steps outside his home for the first time since the world died, he meets Megan, George and Jason, three other survivors who force him to accept that there may still be a reason to fight and live to see another day.
It doesn’t take long for the quartet to stumble into a trap set by a group led by the charismatic Michael. While he promises a safe haven from the undead behind thee walls of his makeshift fortress, the loyalty he and his cronies demand may be too high a price for Jeff and the others to pay.
Daylight is fading for humanity
When a routine supply run to a nearby town turns deadly and the ghouls walking the street track the living back to their hideout, the mettle of the meagre band of survivors will be tested as they are forced to face the onslaught of the undead.
Even as they flee, and their world falls deeper into despair, Jeff and the other must find a way to defeat not only the undead, but the hatred that threatens to cripple their souls. Because the only way anyone will survive is if they can they find their way Beyond the Dark.
I have reviewed the other two books in this series a little while ago. I was pleased with the authors writing style and abilities, but I was disappointed with the books’ predictability. Beyond the Dark is far from predictable. There was nothing cliché in this story and I was appalled and enthralled throughout the entire novel, this is a much stronger piece than its predecessors.
Characters: I mentioned before that the characters in this story were a little cliché in previous instalments. But I cannot deny the clever dialogue laced between the diverse characters and their personalities. As I kept reading this novel, I couldn’t help but think that each of the characters was well presented and they had their own life on the page. The character of Michael in particular was well conceived and the character’s psyche is superb and realistic. I won’t go too much into detail about how each of the character’s identity influences conflicts, but I have to say that it made for a great read. The characters were fleshed out in the second book, and now the characters will tell this story, not just the author.
Realism: I say in various reviews that I consider realism to be a great way to bring fear to the reader. I mean, what’s scarier than reminding the reader of the fears that accompany his own life? Not only that, but tapping into those fears through the use of realistic storytelling could make for a terrifying read. Patrick D’Orazio keeps true to his realistically dark atmosphere which made for a delectable read. I am not saying that realistic writing is the only way to go, but I am saying that writing a realistic atmosphere or characters when it comes to Horror connects with the reader on different levels and is usually perceived well by readers.
Writing: When it comes to Patrick D’Orazio, this is my favorite subject to talk about. Patrick D’Orazio is a gifted descriptive author and I can’t help but grin when reading some of his writing. He managed to find a perfect balance for his descriptions in this third installment and I applaud him. He writes with a great fluidity and the eloquent writing style is something that the zombie genre is lacking.
The inventive writing style makes for a morose atmosphere and the zombie genre direly needs more authors like Patrick D’Orazio, or we can clone him to write more books. I for one support the latter option, for it would make the world of horror a lot darker. In context of tone, there aren’t very many other zombie novels that can hold a candle to The Dark series.
Note to other aspiring writers: When reading this, take a double take on some of his descriptive paragraphs. Note how he adapts the fluidity of his writing between action scenes and slower scenes; he manages to keep a vigour stride of pace with his fluid writing, which is seldom seen from a descriptive author. You can learn a lot from this series, I know I did.
Gore: I am not usually a big fan of gore, and I noted that the author seemed to use gore unnecessarily in the second book, but Beyond the Dark surprised me again with Gore. The author used Gore differently in this story, it wasn’t just o sicken and appal you, it was concocted to disturb you. I have a strong stomach. Usually I read while partaking in a small lunch, but Beyond the Dark is the first book I have read that I couldn’t eat while reading. It is that disturbingly gory! I have read y fair share of gory stories and this one tops the bloody heap. This book would be a gore hound’s bible.
Overall: despite the disappointed reviews I had for the previous installments in this series, this novel shocked me beyond words. This emotionally charged story showcases the fears of man and how we must cope with being consumed by The Dark. The mind of Patrick D’Orazio is a scary one, and I can’t wait to see what other superb pieces of horror he can bring to the world.
Available at Amazon
