When Lucas Fowler receives the image of a stranger on his cell phone from an unknown sender, his ordinary life takes a plunge into the bizarre.
He gains new superhuman strength, speed, and the ability to shift into an alternate reality called the Blight. But these powers come at a cost. Someone is pulling his strings and forcing him to murder other people with abilities like his. These people call themselves Scions. They have their own secret society and rules.
Now they know who he is.
Lucas discovers he isn't the first person coerced into murder and if he can't stop whoever is controlling him, he won't be the last. But the police are searching for him, the Scions want him dead, and time is running out.
I love it when the first few pages of a book draw you in and make you want to keep on reading…with this book, it was the first sentence. "One year to the day after dying, Lucas decided to go home." Of course I had to find out more.
The main character in this book is Lucas. When we first meet Lucas, he is reminiscing on his past, haunted by the death of his family a year before. Very soon into the story he gets a picture message on his phone, which turns his life upside-down. Lucas finds himself the unwilling pawn in a very dangerous and scary game. At first he thinks he's dreaming, then going crazy, and finally he realizes that an unknown force is controlling him, forcing him to kill people. Lucas is remorseful of these killings but unable to stop them. In his fight for control of himself, he is taken deeper into a strange new world of superpowers, translocation, murder and mayhem.
A couple of mentionable supporting characters in this book are Alexia, an FBI agent who is thrown into Lucas's X-Files quality world and soon discovers secrets of her own; and Tolle, a young girl who is being manipulated and also used as a pawn, although a more willing one than Lucas, ultimately seeing the error of her ways and wanting to try to fix things.
This story was humorous, and the character's thought process made me laugh out loud a couple of times. Though a bit confusing at times with all of the Scion politics, everything was straightened out by the end of the book. This would be a great first installment of a series. I loved the character of Lucas and would love to see more of him!
Corwin Apples #1 Scions #1 Fantasy yarn felt longer than it was, some interesting ideas, which may have worked better without the fantasy part, and more crime/action. Apparently book one of a series called Scions but I have not seen a book #2!
This book was quite a change from most of the paranormal/urban fantasy I've read lately. It doesn't have vampires, wizards, werewolves, or any of the typical supernatural types in it.
I didn't think this book would be up my alley. Boy, was I wrong.
This book has a completely new group called Scions who can do some pretty cool stuff, like read minds, kick ass with supernatural strength, and open portals into other dimensions.
The story totally sucked me in from the first chapter. Lucas is forced to murder other Scions but when he does, they come back to life as these insane people who hunt him down. He's also trying to master his new skills through trial and error since everyone in the world seems to be hunting him down. It's kind of like a paranormal mystery/thriller.
The pace of the story is fast and doesn't let up. I loved the new universe in this book and it's great to see an author trying to break away from the old stereotypical characters that are in almost every book nowadays.
Don't get me wrong. I totally need my vampire fix!! At the same time, I like to take a break from the "normal" supernaturals and find something new.
I've also read The Next Thing I Knew by this author and loved it. Hopefully he'll make a series out of this one and the other.
I don't want to say anything that will give away too much of the story since I hate reviews full of spoilers. The main character, Lucas Fowler is a reluctant super-hero which is a staple of the Sci-Fi genre, but in No Darker Fate is handled with a fresh approach. The world of the Scions is dark and hidden in plain sight in Atlanta. I've lived in Atlanta for the past 11 years but never looked at the city in the way it's depicted in this book (unique perspective on the underground scene). At times, a trip to Little 5 Points can make one almost believe that Scions do exist.
This book is such a page turner that I was able to workout (elliptical) without looking at the clock, which is my personal gauge for rating books. A good book makes me forget I'm working out and that is what No Darker Fate was able to do.
Bottom line, No Darker Fate is a fun read for anyone who likes Sci-Fi. The book does a good job of building characters and definitely appears to be a setup for a series. I hope so, and will be on the look-out. I liked the book enough that I'm now reading another John Corwin novel, The Next Thing I Knew - review to follow.
My boyfriend got me to read this book...we don't usually share tastes, but I ended up really enjoying it. It kind of reminds me of the X-Files which was one of my all-time fave shows.
The characters are likable to some degree. No maniacal bald-headed evil people in it--just people with agendas that they view as the best course of action. I like it when you can feel some empathy with all the characters even if they're supposed to be the bad ones.
The powers that these people have is really cool. It almost seems more sciency than fantasy. Some of them can enter alternate dimensions, some can read minds, and some are super strong.
Anyway, I would definitely like to see this book made into a movie.
I'm also reading another book by this author: . It's very different from this one but is also very good. I'll put up a review for it when I'm done.
If you're a fan of either sci-fi action movies or comic books then you'll enjoy this book. The author brings to life a dark underworld that exists just out of our sight in which super powered beings live and operate amongst us. The problem being that super powers does not equal super ethics. Despite their power, these beings are just as petty and cruel as normal humans, and due to this our entire world is at risk.....and we don't even know it.
A good setup novel for an ongoing series. Answers a lot of things, but leaves plenty of questions for future novels to address.
Overall a good, engaging read. I'm looking forward to the next installment of the series.
Corwin's complex vision stretches over a wide landscape in a growing, then running, and sometimes raging, battle of super powered factions. He evolves his story deftly, forming strong and sympathetic characters as well as evil genius antagonists with frightening abilities that can dig into a person's very neurons. Set some time aside and get ready to keep up with plot twists, strange realities, and superpowered superhumans among the large cast of unique characters.