Early Book Review:Darkness Falling by Peter Crowther

Darkness Falling by Peter Crowther is a science fiction novel due to be released on September 27th. It is the first book in the Forever Twilight Series and is comprised of two novellas that were previously published and edited and rewritten into a single book with two more to follow in the series. When I requested the book from NetGalley I was very excited to read the book, the story had great promise, though not an extremely original premise. A white flash of light blankets the world, and everyone but a few odd individuals disappear. Those that are left question what has happened, why they were left behind and where the missing people have gone. Strangers and friends alike band together as some of the missing returned, but not as themselves. Is this the end of the world, or the very beginning.

Darkness Falls opens with a plane ride and some serious characterization. After the flash of light only three people are left on the plane, none of which are the pilot. A sociopath, possible schizophrenic, staff of a radio station and a couple others all share their experiences in first person. The switching points of view and deep characterization got to be a little much for me as I read. The other think that kept be from getting into Darkness Falling is that I related the story to Stephan King's Langolers and The Stand within the first fifty pages and was never able to break away from that comparison. I thought that maybe when the 'zombies' entered the story I would be able to move away from the King connection, but the constant questioning and details about clothing from the characters really detracted from the story. There were some gory moments that honestly made my stomach churn, but there were not enough of them to please those looking for a horror novel. Then when I reached the end of the book and discovered that the four hundred and sixteen pages were basically a set up for the next book my head and desk met. There was no final resolution, only the promise of more to come.

Darkness Falls could have been a great book, there was serious potential here. However, I felt like Crowther could have condensed his work further and cut out around two hundred pages of characterization and repetitive questioning, fashion commentary and cliches. A little more horror, a few more zombies and a little less inner dialogue would have made this a great book. I will not be following through with the rest of the series.