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The Dark
An evil force awakens after a long slumber, and is hungry to begin a reign of devastation that leaves room for nothing but terror and threatens the existence of every living thing
- GenresHorrorParanormalSuspense
214 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 1, 2020
I really enjoyed M.C. Sumner's trilogy (The Principal, The Hunger, The Coach) and the absolutely terrific Deadly Stranger, but unfortunately, this was an utter bore!
Shiloh Church attends an archaeological dig looking for Paleo-Indian artifacts. And that's about it for 170 pages. There's obviously something going on in the cave the dig is excavating in, but we certainly don't learn much about it. We barely learn anything about the creatures (collectively known as "The Dark"), how they came about, what they want...they pop up every now again in the final 40 pages or so, and even then don't do a great deal.
I can't say much more than that. This is an absolute snorefest. As a creature feature, it barely has any of the said creatures. As a thriller, barely anything interesting is happening. I kept on reading, waiting for something to happen, and nothing did.
Shiloh Church attends an archaeological dig looking for Paleo-Indian artifacts. And that's about it for 170 pages. There's obviously something going on in the cave the dig is excavating in, but we certainly don't learn much about it. We barely learn anything about the creatures (collectively known as "The Dark"), how they came about, what they want...they pop up every now again in the final 40 pages or so, and even then don't do a great deal.
I can't say much more than that. This is an absolute snorefest. As a creature feature, it barely has any of the said creatures. As a thriller, barely anything interesting is happening. I kept on reading, waiting for something to happen, and nothing did.
February 5, 2026
Out of all the books by M.C. Sumner/ Mark Sumner I have read, The Dark is my least favorite and I am generously giving it two stars.
I had to buy a reprint because I couldn't find an original printing that wasn't decently priced, so it wasn't a complete waste of $5 dollars because I got free shipping from Amazon and used a gift card.
It starts out sort of promising in the prologue with a woman flagging down a ride and the good Samaritan driver being pulled into a corn field and attacked by...something in the dark. The woman is glad she didn't have to crack his skull open with a tire iron and she hears weird voices in her head.
Everything after that could have had potential but it just kept plummeting downward like falling into a deep dark pit. I say that because it is about a bunch of college students and high school volunteers searching for Native American artifacts in and around caves. There are also rumors of hidden treasure of gold and silver.
Shiloh Church is a high school student who arrives and hits it off with one of her tent mates, a girl named Billie who is a little on the chubby side. Shiloh also seems to hit it off with a young man named Perry who does all of his work in the caves.
He has a cheeky side talking about creatures called hodags that live in the caves (some of us horror readers may also recognize the tern of a "knocker" as another word for the creatures) to the dismay of the professors in charge.
A girl named Kerrina Rue shows up because the cave they are all exploring belongs on land owned by her family since the time of her great-great grandfather. She is stuck-up and snobby to Shiloh and Billie but is sweet as sugar towards Perry and clashes with one of the professors, Doctor Risa Dexter.
For a while, nothing happens except digging and exploring the cave where we learn Shiloh has a fear of both the dark and tight spaces. Shiloh finds a skull small enough to be that of a child but the other professor, Doctor Kingly, says it looks more like that of a monkey, but the back of the skull is missing. The discovery is taken by him to the university, but he and the driver never make it.
The car crashes and it is one of many occurrences along with Kerrina getting attacked from behind and one of Perry's cave colleagues breaking his leg in a fall. I also hate that they give Perry a dog just to have it be killed too :(
Everything after that tries to be a mystery with some sort of paranormal undertones but it is just so confusing to the point of boredom. There are no real twists, and the ending is spliced into a last chapter and an epilogue. The best thing about The Dark is its dark ending and the interactions between Shiloh, Billie and Perry.
I had to buy a reprint because I couldn't find an original printing that wasn't decently priced, so it wasn't a complete waste of $5 dollars because I got free shipping from Amazon and used a gift card.
It starts out sort of promising in the prologue with a woman flagging down a ride and the good Samaritan driver being pulled into a corn field and attacked by...something in the dark. The woman is glad she didn't have to crack his skull open with a tire iron and she hears weird voices in her head.
Everything after that could have had potential but it just kept plummeting downward like falling into a deep dark pit. I say that because it is about a bunch of college students and high school volunteers searching for Native American artifacts in and around caves. There are also rumors of hidden treasure of gold and silver.
Shiloh Church is a high school student who arrives and hits it off with one of her tent mates, a girl named Billie who is a little on the chubby side. Shiloh also seems to hit it off with a young man named Perry who does all of his work in the caves.
He has a cheeky side talking about creatures called hodags that live in the caves (some of us horror readers may also recognize the tern of a "knocker" as another word for the creatures) to the dismay of the professors in charge.
A girl named Kerrina Rue shows up because the cave they are all exploring belongs on land owned by her family since the time of her great-great grandfather. She is stuck-up and snobby to Shiloh and Billie but is sweet as sugar towards Perry and clashes with one of the professors, Doctor Risa Dexter.
For a while, nothing happens except digging and exploring the cave where we learn Shiloh has a fear of both the dark and tight spaces. Shiloh finds a skull small enough to be that of a child but the other professor, Doctor Kingly, says it looks more like that of a monkey, but the back of the skull is missing. The discovery is taken by him to the university, but he and the driver never make it.
The car crashes and it is one of many occurrences along with Kerrina getting attacked from behind and one of Perry's cave colleagues breaking his leg in a fall. I also hate that they give Perry a dog just to have it be killed too :(
Everything after that tries to be a mystery with some sort of paranormal undertones but it is just so confusing to the point of boredom. There are no real twists, and the ending is spliced into a last chapter and an epilogue. The best thing about The Dark is its dark ending and the interactions between Shiloh, Billie and Perry.
March 4, 2019
There aren't too many books that really stick with me from my early years, but this is one of them. Every now and then I'll think about it and get the bug to read it, even though I know the story well still. Who knows how long that will last, but if it's lasted 20 years, maybe it'll stick for a while.
October 13, 2019
If you were a fan of R. L. Stine's Fear Street growing up like I was, this is a good, quick read. The story was decent, and had just enough twists to keep it from getting too predictable. I've had this one on my shelf for a while, and I'm glad I can check it off the list.
July 9, 2024
A quick and satisfying horror story!
February 11, 2026
I read this book for the first time as a very young teenager and I remember it giving me nightmares! As an adult, it's a little slow, but I loved this when I was younger
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews