Darkness on the Edge of Town

Sep 08, 2012 ButMadNNW rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, readers-remorse

Darkness on the Edge of Town was my first ever ebook and I got it when Amazon was giving it away for free for whatever reason. Yet, somehow, I still feel like I overpaid for it.

Frankly, I don't even care enough about it to repeat the review I posted on my blog back in October 2011, so if you really want to know what I thought, there's the link. There are some minor spoilers at the blog, but a few choice bits are:

"Oh, sure, there’s some fairly interesting (yet fairly stereotypical) devolution of...more

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Mar 19, 2012 Squee rated it 2 of 5 stars

While this book did have a few genuinely unsettling moments, there just wasn't anything particularly noteworthy or compelling here. As I was reading this book I kept thinking how similar to Stephen King's "The Mist" it seemed... then one of the characters actually asked if the other characters had seen "The Mist" movie. The main difference between "Darkness on the Edge of Town" and "The Mist" is the origin of the darkness/mist. That was a little too derivative for my comfort.

There is no subtlety...more While this book did have a few genuinely unsettling moments, there just wasn't anything particularly noteworthy or compelling here. As I was reading this book I kept thinking how similar to Stephen King's "The Mist" it seemed... then one of the characters actually asked if the other characters had seen "The Mist" movie. The main difference between "Darkness on the Edge of Town" and "The Mist" is the origin of the darkness/mist. That was a little too derivative for my comfort.

There is no subtlety of characterization, and most of the characters are wooden, uninteresting, and/or cliche. The young "hood" kids' dialog wavers between kind of funny and almost painful, and Christy, the main female character, behaves totally incomprehensibly and inconsistently. (The only other important female character, incidentally, is practically a carbon copy of the religious female antagonist in "The Mist".)

The main character, Robbie, seems like he might have some sense and might be on to something by trying to study the darkness, but he doesn't try very hard or take intelligent action based on the information that he is given. (view spoiler)

I think there is a compelling story in here, but it isn't the one that Keene told. Dez's background story describes how he (view spoiler)

It's an easy, short read but lacks any depth at all. I kept reading mostly hoping for a payoff that never came. Meh.(less)

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Feb 27, 2012 Tarl rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror

First off, I had a difficult time deciding if this should be a 3 or 4 star book. Even as I neared the end I was having issues deciding, and told myself that I would use the payoff at the end of the book to decide. Of course, the book didn't go where I thought it was going to go, and left off with a very Mist-like ending. (the radio play, not the book, or movie endings)

Keene, like King, does a wonder job with characters. The teenagers act like teenagers, people act like people, and all in all eve...more First off, I had a difficult time deciding if this should be a 3 or 4 star book. Even as I neared the end I was having issues deciding, and told myself that I would use the payoff at the end of the book to decide. Of course, the book didn't go where I thought it was going to go, and left off with a very Mist-like ending. (the radio play, not the book, or movie endings)

Keene, like King, does a wonder job with characters. The teenagers act like teenagers, people act like people, and all in all everything is believable. Especially depicted in a situation that is hopeless. Not once did someone behave as I thought they would, and at time I could see myself doing the things that the characters did. Even more so as the darkness pushed against them.

Even the darkness was believable, even after being explained. (which in itself was actually a really good description and one that pushed all the right buttons for me) Its powers, the effect that it had on people, everything, was well thought out and really well written.

The only issues I had with the book is that though it was a people story, the story itself didn't really move all that well from one thing to the next. At times it was painfully slow as normal life took over, or the characters were spending their time doing nothing. And even when they did things, such as the part with the petshop (which was hyped up a LOT in the previous chapter), the pay off to them was rather low/uninteresting.

The other problem was the inclusion of the Christian woman who does what pretty much everyone expects an antagonist Christian to do in any story these days. I am honestly tired of seeing them played out as villians in one way or another, though far too often as fanatical people. (and I, for the record, am not Christian) It's become cliche, lazy, and ultimately bias to have such characters. It's like casting a Muslim as a bad guy, people expect it these days and it seems to be done just to get a rise out of the readers.

But, baring those two issues, the story is well done, enjoyable, and all in all a good read. Would I read it more than once? Probably not. But it was still a good read. If you like stories that concentrate on the characters and their evolution and interactions, this book will be right up your alley.(less)

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Jul 24, 2011 NJMetal rated it 3 of 5 stars

From the new master of horror, Brian Keene, brings "Darkness on the Edge of Town". Keene continues to hone his chops in new and inventive ways. This fast paces near novella is just long enough to keep it an honest novel and just short enough to keep the pace moving at the frantic speed necessary to tell the tale.

This could be seen as Keene's take on the "Under the Dome" premise. At first it seems that way but the story soon reveals itself to be not merely just a 'how do humans act when they are...more

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Jun 29, 2011 William M. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror

This is one of Keene's better novels, along with Dark Hollow and Ghoul. The book's concept is very cool and creepy and Keene throws in a lot of nasty goodies throughout to keep it fresh. I like the main characters in this story, mainly because they were ordinary people who end up making realistic decisions that make sense in their desperate situation.

That said, I was not sure the character of Christy would have gone off outside her apartment alone when she had just narrowly escaped a marauding...more

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Jun 28, 2011 William Thomas rated it 2 of 5 stars

Brian Keene has reached that point in his career where he is suffering from literary hypothermia. This book represents the point where he is slipping into a coma. This book is completely phoned in, giving us nothing to hold onto, no meat to dig our teeth into, and not even a bone to gnaw on while we meander through a 260 page book that would have worked better as a 40 page short story.

Brian Keene impressed me with his zombie novels. Not because of any literary high-mindedness (I had no hopes tha...more Brian Keene has reached that point in his career where he is suffering from literary hypothermia. This book represents the point where he is slipping into a coma. This book is completely phoned in, giving us nothing to hold onto, no meat to dig our teeth into, and not even a bone to gnaw on while we meander through a 260 page book that would have worked better as a 40 page short story.

Brian Keene impressed me with his zombie novels. Not because of any literary high-mindedness (I had no hopes that he would be a new Richard Matheson), but because they were thick with the different personalities of their characters and full of the action you would expect from anything dealing with zombies. There was no long and langorous existential woe, but instead a forceful slap in the face. They didn't read like movies- something most genre books suffer from. And I loved them.

But this. This was different. It was written in a stilted tone. It came off as very juvenile in its first-person narration. The characters had no depth and felt stale. It felt like I was reading a high school creative writing assignment that was thrown together over the three-day weekend. It had very little for the reader to hold onto in its lack of characterization, its lack of description, its lack of... just its lack.

I understand that your main character isn't a Harvard graduate. I understand he is supposed to be regular people. But I think you're underestimating regular people, Brian Keene. I don't think you're giving them as much credit as they deserve. Because it sounds like I'm reading a laundry list and not a novel. You've so distilled this character that he is nothing more than a ghost inside a ghost story. And I'm not saying that your main character has to be Walt Whitman, but you need to have someone who can describe his surroundings competently and the emotions that not only he feels, but that those around him are feeling.

There is a disturbing lack of emotion in the book. Anyone who understands the horror genre understands that emotion is the basis for horror. We want to connect to the characters empathically so that we can care about what happens to them on each and every page. Because without a connection, without the emotional connection to the characters, we cannot appreciate the story.

I hope that he can come back from this hypothermic coma and show us that same hungry fire we saw in Dead Rising.(less)

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Nov 17, 2010 Antonio rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror, not-very-good

This being my first horror I wasn't at all impressed. I had trouble getting all the way to the end and contemplated giving up all together a few times. The characters where very hard to like. Their was not enough character development outside of the fact that they drank and smoked a lot. The over the top use of swearing made it feel even more cheap.

Not enough effort was put into aspects of the story that needed it while other parts was over emphasises almost to the point of ridiculous(e.g. the p...more

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Jun 02, 2010 John rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I may speak a bit about spoilers but hopefully not much(if any)

If you have read Brian's work you know he has been building his own world to play in, or universe i should say and this story really dives into that as we learn more or well hear or hint at more of the Labyrinth and the 13. The story over all is decent but the ending was no shock, it also seemed to wrap up pretty fast with the final death and what comes next.

The thought of the events that take place in this book are really frightning...more

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Michael I agree on all of your points. I've been a huge fan of Mr Keenes since reading The Rising. I feel like he starting to get back on track of writing exc...more I agree on all of your points. I've been a huge fan of Mr Keenes since reading The Rising. I feel like he starting to get back on track of writing excellent books. This one kind of missed the mark for a couple reasons. First off I would like to say that he created a very scary scenario and the thought of living in this world scared the hell out of me. Somehow though this novel was completely missing tension. The only time really bad things happened was when they were next to the wall of darkness. Not being able to "see" what happened to the people when they entered the darkness and only hearing their screams didn't really do anything for me. I didn't fear the darkness because it would be over after a couple seconds. What I feared was the town. He could of created one of his best novels by utilizing this town of crazy people. Instead they were just window dressings.

Another problem with this novel is he fell in love with his characters. Not only does the main character make it, but also both side characters. Here we are in a town that has lost all law and morals and somehow these people travel all over the place with two pistols and make it no problem. Dez the person that saved everyone's life was barely touched on until the end when it just seemed like a forced story to connect his other books. I felt this story was rushed at the end because that's when it fell apart. When T and Annie were getting groups together to take them down I was like this is about to get crazy. Instead they slip out the back and take the ending with them.

The lack of tension came from hardly any situations where they were tested. The only time they had problems were the ones they put themselves in. It's also hard to root for people that are fucked from page one.

I really enjoyed the novel but like you it lacked for me also. The pet shop seemed really left field on a side note. If she was addicted to heroin or something but pot....come on.

I wanted Robbie to kill Russ or vice versa. I thought that would bring some drama with the character feeling remorse.(less)
May 27, 2011 01:33am

April Parrish I also agree with you. This is the third book I have read by Keene and it was different. I liked it but the ending was too fast and forced. I wanted t...more
Jul 10, 2011 05:44pm

Mar 27, 2010 Heather rated it 3 of 5 stars

Robbie and Christy and the other inhabitants of Walden awake one morning to find that the world has gone dark. It isn't merely a case of the sun going dark, but it seems that there is a blackness-- a darkness-- between them and the rest of the world. There are no stars in the sky to be seen, no breeze to blow, no rain falls, and no can enter town. People can leave town, but the sound of screaming soon follows after they pass through the darkness surrounding the town. The darkness also seems to b...more Robbie and Christy and the other inhabitants of Walden awake one morning to find that the world has gone dark. It isn't merely a case of the sun going dark, but it seems that there is a blackness-- a darkness-- between them and the rest of the world. There are no stars in the sky to be seen, no breeze to blow, no rain falls, and no can enter town. People can leave town, but the sound of screaming soon follows after they pass through the darkness surrounding the town. The darkness also seems to bring out the worst in people, and soon terror fills the streets.

This is my...fourth, I think...Brian Keene novel. The first, Castaways, I was not impressed with. The second book, The Rising, I loved. The sequel to The Rising, City of the Dead, I enjoyed a little less, but still enjoyed. So I thought I'd give this one a shot, while I wait for Stephen King's Under the Dome to be released in paperback.

First let me say that I've read that this book is not a "rip off" of Under the Dome, and in fact was released as a novella before Under the Dome, but has now been released after expanding the story to stretch it out into a novel.

This story just sort of fell flat with me. I keep finding that I enjoy much of his storytelling until he brings in the 'darkside' and black magic and such. Anyone who has read The Rising and City of the Dead is familiar with Ob, and Ob has a part to play in this book as well. I'm tired of Ob. I don't find him creepy. I find him and the lot of them somewhat lame.

And I'm getting tired of the hopeless tone of Keene's stories. They are dark and bleak and I'm left with little hope when the story is over. That's not what I like. I love a happy ending. An ending of possibilities and good things. An ending with a solid closing (I hate when they leave them open-ended. I don't want to imagine how the story might have ended. I like to be told how it did end.)

So this was one of those stories which started out developing all nice and fat, and then just deflated disappointingly for me.(less)

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Mar 14, 2010 VanHalen rated it 4 of 5 stars

I hate Brian Keene.

Every time a new novel of his comes around, I immediately put down my current book (this time Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons) and start reading.
Then, when I finish it after a few days, it takes me a few more days to get back into the book I was previously reading. Damn it Brian, knock that off!!

Anyway, this book like the natural outgrowth of both Dark Hollow & Ghost Walk, although with Keene's mythology it might not be, which is ok by itself.

The best description is the blu...more

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Mar 11, 2010 Mick rated it 5 of 5 stars

Yes, we're a visual society, and that visceral craving for lewd, crude visuals has spilled over into horror writing. So the genre writers have responded in kind by giving their readers bloodlettings that start on the first page and compound in succeeding pages with ever-more doses of gratuitous violence and graphic gore and prurient dysfunction. In other words, we in the audience are given hundreds of pages of gross-out festivals. In another word, here is what makes Brian Keene's DARKNESS ON THE...more

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Jan 24, 2010 Nick Cato rated it 3 of 5 stars

Despite a strong similarity to King's THE MIST (and even UNDER THE DOME), Keene's latest venture into apocalyptic-territory won't take the average reader forever to finish; in fact I bet most (especially genre fans) will whiz through this in a sitting or two (and not just due to its length).

Rob Higgins is woken by his girlfriend one morning in the small town of Walden, Virginia. It's after 7:00 a.m. and the sun should be shining---yet it's still pitch black outside. The block--and quickly the en...more Despite a strong similarity to King's THE MIST (and even UNDER THE DOME), Keene's latest venture into apocalyptic-territory won't take the average reader forever to finish; in fact I bet most (especially genre fans) will whiz through this in a sitting or two (and not just due to its length).

Rob Higgins is woken by his girlfriend one morning in the small town of Walden, Virginia. It's after 7:00 a.m. and the sun should be shining---yet it's still pitch black outside. The block--and quickly the entire town--begin to wonder what's happening: has Al Queda struck again? Has a volcano erupted? Have aliens or the government shut their town off and somehow draped it in a gigantic tent? Shortly after witnessing a recon-team of fireman disappear into the darkness bordering their town, Rob decides to get a team together to try it again (cue "bad idea" music here)--only this time instead of rushing into the blackness with a truck, they'll enter one by one, tied together by rope (one of the characters even mentions the film The Mist here). While a few don't make it back, things quickly go wrong, but our potential heroes are saved by Dez, a strange homeless man who lives in a shed behind a church.

It turns out Dez knows exactly what's happening, has even managed to keep The Darkness at bay, and eventually lets Rob in on how and why. What ensues is a fun, creepy little novel that'll have Keene (and most horror) fans grinning from ear to ear. While I was a little weary about the similarities between this and the aforementioned Stephen King stories (not to mention another "crazed, extremist Christian" character thrown in to make things worse ::sigh::), the story moves so fast and is such a fun read I was able to overlook these (and a couple of other) issues I had.

DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN is like a fun, end-of-the-world b-movie, and little holes aside, Keene continues to bring the apocalyptic goodness at full speed. (This one would make a GREAT double-feature-read with Simon Clark's DARKER, which explored a similar theme).(less)

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Sep 16, 2010 Jenifer Gardner rated it 2 of 5 stars

I had a rough time with this one. It was FREE on kindle... which was clearly my motivation behind reading it- especially considering what a difficult time I've had finding a new GOOD book to read. I love books & movies in this genre, but this one just didn't quite cut it. Not enough happened, and there was too little focus on what these people had to do to try to survive. There was essentially one major mention of the surviving characters trying to scavenge for food and supplies, but after t...more

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Aug 13, 2012 David jones rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book is amazing. I love it. I think that this book is a cross between Under The Dome and the mist a little bit, but it still has its own twists and turns. You see, a sudden darkness creeps over the town of Walden Virginia, covering it in a impenetrable blackness. The characters in this book are well done, and I particularly like Robbie, the main characters. This book is just...awesome. I love the fact that the darkness forces people to do what they wouldn't normally do other normal circumst...more

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Feb 28, 2011 Melissa Bennett rated it 4 of 5 stars

It was about time for me to get off of my fantasy reading kick and try something else. I decided on some horror. It took me a while to decide which horror book I wanted to read. I don't feel you can go too much by ratings on this type of book. What scares me might not scare another and vice versa. So I grabbed up this one and decided to have at it.
I really liked it. Although this book did not scare me it did make me think. I thought about the evil inside of people and how sometimes it doesn't ta...more

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Mar 13, 2011 T.L. Barrett rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is the first fiction I have read by Brian Keene, but I can say that Mr. Keene has a brand new fan. Darkness on the Edge of Town is a 264 page brutal study of a small American town in the the twenty-first century that becomes surrounded by a supernatural darkness and consumed by the darkness that already resided within.

Being told from the first person perspective allows the story to remain mysterious, immediate and brutal. I particularly liked the fact that the novel succeeds in creating a r...more

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Oct 21, 2010 Marvin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror, kindle

I am really starting to dig Brian Keene. This is the third book I've read by him. Dead Sea was an end of the world novel about zombies. The Conqueror Worms was an end of the world novel about Lovecraftian sea serpents and giant worms. Darkness on the Edge of Town is...you guessed it... an end of the world novel...but one a bit more introverted in theme. This time Keene is exploiting our fear of the dark; not only the literal lights-out dark but our dreaded inner darkness. Toward the end of the b...more

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Sep 20, 2010 Daniel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

For an apocalyptic novel, not a whole heck of a lot happens in Brian Keene's Darkness on the Edge of Town. Keene is certainly a capable storyteller, but - even if the ending didn't seem a little rushed - there's really no significant payoff when you get there. I must admit that the author's sprinkled allusions to Elder Gods of the Cthulhu Mythos probably got my hopes up a little bit, and I was disappointed that Keene really didn't do much of anything with them or the themes they embody, but the...more For an apocalyptic novel, not a whole heck of a lot happens in Brian Keene's Darkness on the Edge of Town. Keene is certainly a capable storyteller, but - even if the ending didn't seem a little rushed - there's really no significant payoff when you get there. I must admit that the author's sprinkled allusions to Elder Gods of the Cthulhu Mythos probably got my hopes up a little bit, and I was disappointed that Keene really didn't do much of anything with them or the themes they embody, but the whole story just never seemed to get out of third gear.

There's really nothing special about the town of Walden - not until the townspeople are suddenly and mysteriously cut off from the rest of the world by a huge, mysterious darkness surrounding the entire town. The sun just never comes up on that fateful morning. Most early risers go on to work, while everyone else tries to figure out what is going on. As the still-dark morning wears on, initials thoughts of weird weather or an eclipse quickly fall by the wayside, opening up the way for truly fearful possibilities. The situation is greatly exacerbated by the fact that the power is out, phones are dead, and nothing but static is coming over the radio. The local fire department tries to maintain calm and order, but it quickly becomes apparent that no one knows what is going on. By that first night, the social order begins to break down, and things quickly go downhill from there.

We follow the story through the eyes of a regular guy named Robbie, who bands together with his girlfriend Christy and his upstairs buddy Russ to try and survive the whole ordeal. Unlike many, Robbie wants to know the true nature of the mysterious darkness enclosing the town, having heard and seen impossible things in his first close encounter. One thing he learns is that whatever lurks outside can penetrate the minds of everyone inside, and that does not bode well for anyone. The ending, when it comes, is probably going to disappoint many readers, some of whom might even feel cheated.

If you're looking for a purely entertaining read, this novel probably isn't what the doctor ordered. Character development definitely leaves something to be desired, and the plot offers no definitive answers to most of the questions it raises. I don't feel that Keene ever succeeded in truly immersing me in the story, especially after it began to drag around the midway point, and the conclusion did nothing to alter my opinion that Darkness on the Edge of Town is just an average read. (less)

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Aug 31, 2010 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

At first glance, this lean horror novel may seem to be a little similar in plot to King's UNDER THE DOME (small town cut off from the rest of the world; townspeople struggle to survive and began to war amongst themselves), but not really. In many ways, this Keene novel is far more grim and bleak than King's. And it mostly centers around a handful of characters who live in an apartment building. Instead of King's somewhat sci-fi-ish explanation, Keene settles for a supernatural-type of darkness b...more

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Jun 06, 2010 Angie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Um, Brian, please don't write books like this again. I'm a huge fan of end of the world films/books but this was a book that didn't fit the bill. The premise isn't bad, the world is over with the exception of one small town protected by runes of a nut. Ok, I get that. But that's really it. Nothing more truly happens in the book. We've got a couple of protagonists who aren't particularly likeable, they're just bland, a few antagonists whose motives (for some) are justified and behavior is totally...more

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Apr 08, 2011 Wan Ni rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime-thriller-mystery, 2011, 4-stars-and-better

In this book, the narrator protagonist Robbie and his weed-smoking girlfriend Christie woke up one fateful morning to find the town of Walden Virginia, home to some 11,000 residents, enveloped in darkness. All forms of modern technology including radio, electricity and water supply halts, and time stops in this town. There is no breeze, no sun, no rain. As the book progress, characters find themselves the only survivors of what seems to be a global problem, and as the darkness drives in, it driv...more

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Jun 24, 2011 Dave rated it 2 of 5 stars

My very first Brian Keene story I have read.I zipped along reading this and read it in one sitting - It was very dark and stormy last eve so it seemed appropriate and I wasn't going anywhere.
I kept being remined of Stephen Kings the Mist out of the Dark Forces anthology.This was just a slightly differnt spin on the story.Don't get my wrong I enjoyed Keenes style of story writing and in some places actually laughed.I enjoyed reading this.Sort of like you enjoy a night out with friends.Great compa...more

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Apr 23, 2010 Kari rated it 3 of 5 stars

From my blog:

http://alas3lads.blogspot.com/2010/04...

Robbie and Christy are a young couple living in the small town of Walden, Virginia. He's a pizza delivery guy, she works in a local new-age gift shop. They live together in a small apartment building along with their neighbors, Russ (he's smart, divorced, and into astronomy) and Cranston (an ex-hippie liberal in his early 60's). They all enjoy their occasional alcohol and marijuana and mostly tend to keep to themselves.

One morning the resident...more From my blog:

http://alas3lads.blogspot.com/2010/04...

Robbie and Christy are a young couple living in the small town of Walden, Virginia. He's a pizza delivery guy, she works in a local new-age gift shop. They live together in a small apartment building along with their neighbors, Russ (he's smart, divorced, and into astronomy) and Cranston (an ex-hippie liberal in his early 60's). They all enjoy their occasional alcohol and marijuana and mostly tend to keep to themselves.

One morning the residents of Walden wake up and discover that the rest of the world seems to be gone. Darkness is everywhere. There is no electricity, radio, tv, or phone signals. On the edge of town, there is an intense, impenetrable darkness; a darkness that almost seems alive with sounds and voices calling out to the residents of Walden. Whevenever anyone gets too close to this edge of darkness, bad things happen. Those who attempt to leave Walden are met with an unknown fate. Only their terrifying screams are heard. Then, they do not come back. The darkness has strange effects on the people of Walden, who quickly turn to looting, robbery, beatings, rape, and even murder. Everyone soon discovers that the darkness is bringing out the worst in them; they find themselves thinking and eventually doing evil things.

And, then there's Dez. He's the local crazy homeless guy. Most people either ignore him or treat him badly and call him names. But, he may just be the one person in town who actually knows why this darkness is happening.

Robbie decides that not knowing what is happening is the worst part. He comes up with a plan to try and unite some of the townspeople and learn more about the darkness. But, things don't go well with this plan. Robbie, Russ, and Cranston retreat back to their homes and decide that they should all stay put for awhile. As the darkness continues, the madness of the townspeople continues to increase. Robbie, Christie, Russ, and Cranston all find that their moods and urges are being influenced by the darkness. The least little trigger sets them off, and on more than one occasion, they find themselves filled with an urge to kill each other.

This book was very easy to get into and I did think it was scary. Obviously, this story has some sort of supernatural component to it. What was really scary to me was how quickly people in the town turned to violence and crime when faced with a disaster (i.e. no light, electricity, phones, dwindling food supplies, etc.). Robbie, Christy, and their friends became prisoners in their own town, and then, when the violence escalated so much, they became prisoners in their own homes; afraid to venture out into the streets. I won't give away the ending, but, it wasn't the ending I was expecting. Overall, I enjoyed the story and would like to check out another of this author's books. (less)

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Mar 04, 2013 Geoff rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book is an end of the world type, where a small town of Walden is suddenly cut off from the outside world by a a darkness that surrounds the town. The main character is named Robbie and along with his girlfriend and two neighbors he tries to find out what the heck is the darkness, and what he and his friends have to do to survive. The Mist by Stephen King has been mentioned and this story shares the same premise.

The books starts off well and I thought the characterization of the little grou...more

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Apr 05, 2011 Cal_noble rated it 4 of 5 stars

Summary:
One morning Robbie and his girlfriend Christy, two potheads heading nowhere in life, wake to discover the town they live in–Walden, VA–has been plunged into darkness. There is no sun or power. Cell phones don’t work. Radio stations are silent–not even static. There is no water, cable, internet, etc. It seems the entire world has been devoured by the living darkness–all but Walden. As society breaks down, Robbie, Christy, and their friends try to deal with the hungry darkness.

Pros:
Brian K...more Summary:
One morning Robbie and his girlfriend Christy, two potheads heading nowhere in life, wake to discover the town they live in–Walden, VA–has been plunged into darkness. There is no sun or power. Cell phones don’t work. Radio stations are silent–not even static. There is no water, cable, internet, etc. It seems the entire world has been devoured by the living darkness–all but Walden. As society breaks down, Robbie, Christy, and their friends try to deal with the hungry darkness.

Pros:
Brian Keene is a good storyteller. The narrator (Robbie) has a strong voice. The novel (once it picks up *see below*) is a quick, fun read.

Cons:
The novel starts very slowly. I think Keene relied heavily on the narrator’s voice to carry readers into the story. Although the darkness is ever present, it seems to take a while to get to the “horror.” I don’t mind a slow-developing tale, as long as there is some suspense or something happening. The beginning of this lacked the suspense and action I am accustomed to with BK novels.

Could go either way:
It is written in first person (as a diary). While this point of view allows us to get close to the narrator, it keeps us from knowing other characters in any way other than how the narrator perceives them.

Additional notes:
This wasn’t Keene’s strongest work, but it was still enjoyable. In general, I consider Brian Keene a reliable source for horror. Had this been written by someone I hadn’t read before, I may have put it down after the first few chapters. As it stands, I am glad I stuck with it.

In some respects, this reminded me of Lord of the Flies. I don’t know if it was intentional, but one can certainly find a social commentary of the nature of man in his unrefined form in this novel. As society quickly breaks down, we witness the devolution of man back into an animal-like state. It also reminded me of a couple of other works, including a Twilight Zone episode where a town or street is cut off from the rest of the world and the people become paranoid and violent.(less)

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May 26, 2012 Marleeen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: neu-im-regal-2012

Am Ende der Strasse war nun mein zweites Buch von Brian Keene und diesmal mehr mein Ding, ich werde wohl noch ein drittes Buch lesen (was hier aber eh schon auf meinem SuB liegt). Fantastische Thriller liegen mir eigentlich nicht so, genau wie Geschichten rund um die Apokalypse. Entsprechend skeptisch war ich, als mein Freund dieses Buch aussuchte. Gegen meine Erwartungen war es aber eine unterhaltsame, lesenswerte Story.

Wie bereits in der Einleitung gesagt, lege ich dieses Buch unter 'Fantastis...more Am Ende der Strasse war nun mein zweites Buch von Brian Keene und diesmal mehr mein Ding, ich werde wohl noch ein drittes Buch lesen (was hier aber eh schon auf meinem SuB liegt). Fantastische Thriller liegen mir eigentlich nicht so, genau wie Geschichten rund um die Apokalypse. Entsprechend skeptisch war ich, als mein Freund dieses Buch aussuchte. Gegen meine Erwartungen war es aber eine unterhaltsame, lesenswerte Story.

Wie bereits in der Einleitung gesagt, lege ich dieses Buch unter 'Fantastische Thriller' ab. Durch die Inhaltsangabe wird das bereits deutlich, gefolgt von den ersten Seiten des Buches. Robbie, ein Pizzalieferant, erzählt uns seine Geschichte anhand seines Notizbuches. Robbie ist ein witziger Kerl, der es schaffte, mich zum Lachen zu bringen und mein Leserherz zu gewinnen - wir waren einfach auf einer Wellenlänge. Aber auch seine Mitstreiter, allen voran seine Freundin Christy, waren angenehme Charaktere, die der Geschichte Leben eingehaucht haben. Sonst hätte ich mir wohl auch keine Geschichte angetan, in der alles Schwarz ist, wortwörtlich.

Das Buch hat sich locker und flockig lesen gelassen, Brian Keene hat da einfach ein Händchen für. Die Seiten flogen an mir vorbei und ich merkte gar nicht, wie die Zeit verging. Der Schreibstil von Keene gefällt mir einfach und er schafft es, in einem scheinbar 'langweiligen' Szenario eine gute Geschichte entstehen zu lassen.

Auch in diesem Buch hält sich Keene mit großen Gewaltbeschreibungen zurück. Es gibt sie zwar, jedoch für meinen Geschmack in einer harmlosen Form. Da ich aber eine hohe Schmerzgrenze habe, kann ich das in diesem Fall nicht wirklich bewerten. Es fehlen halt menschenfressende Kannibalen oder blutrünstige Serienkiller. Es ist halt einfach ... schwarz!

Logisch ist die Geschichte jedoch nicht. Aber das stört an dieser Stelle überhaupt nicht, es ist halt fantastisch und das Hauptaugenmerk liegt ganz klar auf den Veränderungen innerhalb der Bevölkerung - was passiert, wenn nichts mehr funktioniert, es keine Grenzen mehr gibt und die Menschen auf sich gestellt sind? Scheinbar 'nette' Charaktere zeigen ihre schwarze Seite - die Entwicklung war sehr interessant und hat mich gefesselt.

Fazit:

Eine guter Snack für Zwischendurch. Es gibt Bücher mit mehr Action, Spannung und Gewalt in diesem Genre, jedoch muss es ja nicht immer in die Extreme gehen. Wem fantastische Thriller zusagen, dem kann ich dieses Buch empfehlen. Wer Logik braucht oder hier einen Horror-Leckerbissen sucht, ist hier leider fehl am Platz. Von mir gibt es 4 Sterne!(less)

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Jan 28, 2010 Colin Leslie rated it 4 of 5 stars

So, you wait years for a 'town cut off by unknown forces' novel and what do you know, two come along at once. First Stephen King's Under The Dome and now Brian Keene's Darkness On The Edge Of Town but what different beasts they are. Whilst King's was a lumbering behemoth, Keene's is a fast footed predator, Where Kings was the trans-Siberian express, all fantastic vistas, epic journey and slightly disappointing ending, Keene's is an endless ghost train, full of visceral shocks, thrills and pace....more

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Mar 16, 2011 you know that you want my books ;) rated it 5 of 5 stars

a good story. I enjoyed the complexities of the plot. You are trapped by one of the 13. A few ruins are the only thing that has kept the evil at bay. The worst thing about the siege is the way that the evil affects those in the town (much the way the ring of power affected the people of middle earth). Things slowly spiral out of control because of the constant darkness and the ever-present evil. Unfortunately the small town is also in a constant state of anarchy. There is no government in place,...more

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Apr 02, 2013 Joshua Buhs rated it 4 of 5 stars

Excellent pulp.
This is the third Keene novel I've read, after Dead Sea and Ghost Walk. The latter was only meh--truthfully, I hardly remember it. Dead Sea was excellent zombie ficiton. Lean and mean. DotEoT is in the same style, though without the zombies--the terror here is more cosmic.
The novel's first-person narrator sounds a lot like the one in Dead Sea, which also sounds a lot like Brian Keene on his website, but, so what? The character work, the story works--works because it is unpretentio...more

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Nov 01, 2010 Kyle rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I got this free awhile back and saved it up for a good Halloween read.

Overall the book was OK. I didn't care for the language or the cliffhanger ending that left so many questions unanswered.

I understand the author was trying to use language that a poor, drug using, 20-something young man in a small town would use, but I found the constant F-bombs a bit distracting. I also didn't care for the author's view on small-town life. Having grown up in a small town and having lived in several others,...more

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