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Friday 25 November 2011

Review: Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts


Title: Dark Inside
Author: Jeyn Roberts

Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books

Publication Date: 2 Sep 2011


Synopsis from Amazon


Moments after several huge earthquakes shake every continent on Earth, something strange starts happening to some people. Michael can only watch in horror as an incidence of road rage so extreme it ends in two deaths unfolds before his eyes; Clementine finds herself being hunted through the small town she has lived in all her life, by people she has known all her life; and Mason is attacked with a baseball bat by a random stranger. An inner rage has been released and some people cannot fight it. For those who can, life becomes an ongoing battle to survive - at any cost!
Since mankind began, civilizations have always fallen - now it's our turn!


REVIEW:

This book is a mixture of 1st and 3rd person narrative told from the focus of the different main characters: Mason, Aries, Clementine and Michael. All completely different, living in different areas but all affected by the terrifying events happening across the globe. At times the use of the 3rd and 1st person narration and the differing view points made the story feel slightly disjointed, yet its is a powerful technique to use in order to keep the reader (ME) compulsively turning the pages in an attempt to figure out the plot.

The writing is powerfully descriptive creating brilliantly atmospheric tension. There is some really creeptastic imagery at play. I was constantly wondering as to what linked the main characters and why they were not affected in the same way as the rest of the population. I have to be honest this was not resolved by the end of the book and a source of irritation for me. I like to know the ins and outs of the plot, lol.

This book was a lot gorier than the things I usually read but I have to admit that it aided the high tension feel to the narrative. The little gems of philosophical wisdom slipped into the story more than made up for the gore. The whole story has a zombie apocalypse feel to it which is ironically mentioned within the story itself. The whole idea of possession is terrifyingly brought to life within the plot. The situations faced by the main characters made me question my own moral code and had me wondering just what I would do in order to survive.

The use of current events, notably the London Riots, within the prose added to the sense of realism. A little too realistic and relatable in that case.

As the story progresses there seems to be a huge jump in the action leaving a lot of questions unanswered. I will be honest and tell you this really irritated me. The consistency and flow of the story seemed to disappear, this along with a very open ending left me frustrated. It all seemed a little rushed at the end.

On the whole a good story when you got used to the characters but the jump and inconsistency at the end of the book along with the open ending left me really frustrated.

5 comments:

  1. The lack of answers definitely annoyed me too, but I was so blown away anyway, so it didn't stick too hard. Someone mentioned it would be a sequel, in which case I'm sure we'd find out more. I almost hope so, because I'm desperate to know everything about this o:

    I loved it though and your review is great! :) Glad you enjoyed it.

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  2. When I was reading it, I thought that it will be stand alone, but when I was around two 3rds in the book, I realised that this one will probably be series & after I finished it, I checked & was happy to found out that there'll be definitely a sequel, it's planned for next year, although there isn't a title yet, at least Jeyn said so ;) I can't wait to read it :)

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  3. I have this to read but not read it yet. I'm torn but will read it soon x

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  4. I really enjoyed this, though all of the unanswered questions irritated me too. I'm glad there's going to be a sequel!

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  5. I really think I should read this one, it's had so many great reviews (yours included!) and I love the sound of it! It's on the wishlist!

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