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Darkness Rising #1
Darkness Rising:
When the end arrives, how far will you go to save the ones you love?
When a terrorist plot results in the detonation of several nuclear devices across the West Coast, the Frasers are thrown into disarray and their strained familial relationships are tested as they watch society collapse around them. Tens of millions of people are killed, injured and driven away from their homes as the result of a sinister plot that the government and its citizens are struggling to understand. With their older daughter lost in the chaos, the Frasers must somehow pull together to support each other and fight to reunite their family.
Darkness Rising is a thrilling post-apocalyptic series that follows the survivors of a massive terrorist attack that isn't quite what it seems. As you learn more about the Fraser family and a few brave government agents who are attempting to unwravel the horror and mystery behind the attacks, you'll soon discover that not everything in the apocalypse is as it appears to be.
Written as a collaboration between Justin Bell and #1 bestselling post-apocalyptic author Mike Kraus, Darkness Rising is a gripping, unique and timely take on the post-apocalyptic genre, and is one that will leave you breathless with every turn of the page.
Darkness Rising is a 6-part novel-length series full of intense, heart-pumping action, incredible suspense and post-apocalyptic adventure that will be released at a rate of approximately one book per month.
When a terrorist plot results in the detonation of several nuclear devices across the West Coast, the Frasers are thrown into disarray and their strained familial relationships are tested as they watch society collapse around them. Tens of millions of people are killed, injured and driven away from their homes as the result of a sinister plot that the government and its citizens are struggling to understand. With their older daughter lost in the chaos, the Frasers must somehow pull together to support each other and fight to reunite their family.
Darkness Rising is a thrilling post-apocalyptic series that follows the survivors of a massive terrorist attack that isn't quite what it seems. As you learn more about the Fraser family and a few brave government agents who are attempting to unwravel the horror and mystery behind the attacks, you'll soon discover that not everything in the apocalypse is as it appears to be.
Written as a collaboration between Justin Bell and #1 bestselling post-apocalyptic author Mike Kraus, Darkness Rising is a gripping, unique and timely take on the post-apocalyptic genre, and is one that will leave you breathless with every turn of the page.
Darkness Rising is a 6-part novel-length series full of intense, heart-pumping action, incredible suspense and post-apocalyptic adventure that will be released at a rate of approximately one book per month.
164 pages, Paperback
Published February 27, 2018
470 people are currently reading
145 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
March 6, 2023
I consider post-apocalyptic stories a guilty pleasure. (They tend to be formulaic, using narrative tropes that are designed to draw you in with characters that are archetypal and conventional.) They are popcorn fare, action-oriented, and cinematic. However, IMHO everything I’ve mentioned adds up to fun. Darkness Rising is one such series. From the first page I was taken in by the scenario which as it plays was reminiscent of 9/11. There’s a family at the heart of this story: the Frasers. They are on their way to spend a long weekend at a cabin, when they hear on the radio that suitcase nukes have been detonated along the West Coast. There is shock, numbness. Suddenly all their disputes, and familial dysfunctions seem petty. When an aggressive stranger comes calling to interrupt their attempt at coping, a decision is made that renders what could have been a potentially safe place into a hazardous maelstrom. There’s a homeland security officer that appears to be a parallel story that will be followed, in order to give context to the larger happenings of the narrative. It is through him that we discover that this could be a concerted attack from North Korea. The only negative that I see is the villain whose motivation lacks substance. I suspect that this will be amplified by reading subsequent chapters. Still a super good start to a must-read serial.
March 10, 2018
Darkness Rising - a review by Rosemary Kenny
Phil and Rhonda Fraser take their children Winnie and Max, plus Max's friend Brad, to her survivalist parents' cabin where Rhonda hasn't been for the last 20 years, but still remembers fondly. The main purpose of the break is for them to spend some quality family time and lure Phil away from work as he can't leave it at the door otherwise. Arriving at the cabin the children are dismayed there's no phone or internet connection, but that is very soon the least of their worries, as a series of nuclear suitcase bombs detonated over major US cities and power/communications facilities plunges the Western seaboard into instant chaos, as the whole world watches in shock.
What follows in the normally sleepy town of Brisbee with its sole Sheriff, Clancy Greer,is nothing short of anarchy and the Frasers also have no idea where daughter Lydia, a college student near one of the bomb sites, nor Brad's parents have gone. Without communication with the outside world,when the cabin's neighbors turn murderous looters the chips are really down for the little family.
Once again Virtuoso of the Psychological Thriller Justin Bell hits all the right notes in an intense, chilling drama of terrorism and the danger an innocent family trip can plunge someone into without a whisper of warning and change someone's life forever. I absolutely loved it and I'm sure you will too - get your copy today!
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Phil and Rhonda Fraser take their children Winnie and Max, plus Max's friend Brad, to her survivalist parents' cabin where Rhonda hasn't been for the last 20 years, but still remembers fondly. The main purpose of the break is for them to spend some quality family time and lure Phil away from work as he can't leave it at the door otherwise. Arriving at the cabin the children are dismayed there's no phone or internet connection, but that is very soon the least of their worries, as a series of nuclear suitcase bombs detonated over major US cities and power/communications facilities plunges the Western seaboard into instant chaos, as the whole world watches in shock.
What follows in the normally sleepy town of Brisbee with its sole Sheriff, Clancy Greer,is nothing short of anarchy and the Frasers also have no idea where daughter Lydia, a college student near one of the bomb sites, nor Brad's parents have gone. Without communication with the outside world,when the cabin's neighbors turn murderous looters the chips are really down for the little family.
Once again Virtuoso of the Psychological Thriller Justin Bell hits all the right notes in an intense, chilling drama of terrorism and the danger an innocent family trip can plunge someone into without a whisper of warning and change someone's life forever. I absolutely loved it and I'm sure you will too - get your copy today!
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April 24, 2018
An interesting twist on a nuclear event
At least this is not some EMP from out of the blue with no context. I hope that rather than having the US collapse, we will see a national response as we would have before a certain political party convinced a lot of people the government was the enemy except, of course, when they control the presidency and legislative branches.
At least this is not some EMP from out of the blue with no context. I hope that rather than having the US collapse, we will see a national response as we would have before a certain political party convinced a lot of people the government was the enemy except, of course, when they control the presidency and legislative branches.
February 21, 2018
Darkness Rising is the first book in the Darkness Rising series. This can be read as a standalone but should not be. These are short stories that build on each other and should be read in order written. There is a lot of violence, it is an apocalyptic thriller, so it might not be suitable for more sensitive readers.
The book blurb adequately describes the storyline so I'm not going to repeat all of that info here. This is an apocalyptic thriller filled with people trying to survive in a world where things have gone crazy. This story includes a lot of twists and turns. As usual, everything is not as it seems. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
The book blurb adequately describes the storyline so I'm not going to repeat all of that info here. This is an apocalyptic thriller filled with people trying to survive in a world where things have gone crazy. This story includes a lot of twists and turns. As usual, everything is not as it seems. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
March 11, 2018
This book has a bit different scenario which was realistic enough to be scary. Unfortunately this book had a lot of writing errors with grammar, sentence structure and punctuation. A decent editor could have helped a lot. My biggest issue is that I don't really like the family (except Max and Brad). They grouse constantly. I'm not sure that I believe a survivalist would pursue a vendetta so far from home and in the face of approaching radiation and more nuclear threat. Then again, maybe Bruce Cavendish is not all that good at the survival thing. I will probably read #2 just to see what happens and hope that the story improves.
February 21, 2018
"Born and bred ... in the U.S.of A."
An unusual growth of 'chatter' had allergies security services that something big was about to happen and a thrilling opening to this story, first in a new apocalyptic series, has a Customs and Border Protection office bringing down a would-be bomber. Seems the terrorist attack might be bigger than anyone had expected. It was.
The book follows two main strands, that of the security trading of the bombings and, more closely, a family taking a weekend away in the mountain wilderness of the house of the mother's parents, a place she had not visited for twenty years and to which her husband and children had never been. None of them seem to actually have wanted to go on the holiday and, when they arrive, breaking news of the attacks make them all determined simply to get back home. But that was not going to be easy as another family is out to get them.
Full of action and with the scenario even more horrifying than many apocalyptic stories, for this reader it was flawed by.the unexplained strangeness of the main family and the questions raised. Where were the grandparents, owners of the holiday cabin? Why had they gone there, not informing the owners that they would be there then? What caused the mother to have never taken the family there before? What did the mother do, other than raise the children - the oldest daughter who did not accompany them being a college, her younger daughter in the mid teens and the youngest child, a 13 years old son, seemingly hardly known to his parents at all. Why had he been allowed to stay at his school when he seemed to be such a reprehensible trouble maker? Did either parent know their children at all? Why had the semi prepper grandparents not prepared their holiday home for potential problems (they had a cellar and did store guns), stocking it with supplies, or, if they did, why take the whole family and the little friend accompanying their son, into town to stock up on food? These and so many other questions centering around these main protagonists, which might well be answered later but would have made this book so much more involving had we known a little more about them to begin with, humanising them from the begining.
Overall, a good start with good (if sometimes mysterious) action, a devastating disaster line, quick to read and promising much more to come, including, hopefully, more insight into the dysfunctional family at it's heart.
An unusual growth of 'chatter' had allergies security services that something big was about to happen and a thrilling opening to this story, first in a new apocalyptic series, has a Customs and Border Protection office bringing down a would-be bomber. Seems the terrorist attack might be bigger than anyone had expected. It was.
The book follows two main strands, that of the security trading of the bombings and, more closely, a family taking a weekend away in the mountain wilderness of the house of the mother's parents, a place she had not visited for twenty years and to which her husband and children had never been. None of them seem to actually have wanted to go on the holiday and, when they arrive, breaking news of the attacks make them all determined simply to get back home. But that was not going to be easy as another family is out to get them.
Full of action and with the scenario even more horrifying than many apocalyptic stories, for this reader it was flawed by.the unexplained strangeness of the main family and the questions raised. Where were the grandparents, owners of the holiday cabin? Why had they gone there, not informing the owners that they would be there then? What caused the mother to have never taken the family there before? What did the mother do, other than raise the children - the oldest daughter who did not accompany them being a college, her younger daughter in the mid teens and the youngest child, a 13 years old son, seemingly hardly known to his parents at all. Why had he been allowed to stay at his school when he seemed to be such a reprehensible trouble maker? Did either parent know their children at all? Why had the semi prepper grandparents not prepared their holiday home for potential problems (they had a cellar and did store guns), stocking it with supplies, or, if they did, why take the whole family and the little friend accompanying their son, into town to stock up on food? These and so many other questions centering around these main protagonists, which might well be answered later but would have made this book so much more involving had we known a little more about them to begin with, humanising them from the begining.
Overall, a good start with good (if sometimes mysterious) action, a devastating disaster line, quick to read and promising much more to come, including, hopefully, more insight into the dysfunctional family at it's heart.
January 18, 2022
Book review of "Darkness Rising – Book One" by Justin Bell and Mike Kraus:
This novel deals with a scary credible attack on the US power grid. Since the early 1990s concerned people and politicians (e.g., Newt Gingrich) have requested funds to 'harden' our power grid against an EMP and/or other attacks. So far, our government has only appropriated money for 'studies'. That is sad and irresponsible. No doubt we shall pay the price and the result will not be 'pretty' for us. We are sitting ducks and the foreign hunters have their 'birdshot' loaded. Justin Bell follows the impact of the grid collapse on one family. Nothing will ever be the same in their lives. The children had to mature almost overnight to meet the challenges of their new lives.
This novel deals with a scary credible attack on the US power grid. Since the early 1990s concerned people and politicians (e.g., Newt Gingrich) have requested funds to 'harden' our power grid against an EMP and/or other attacks. So far, our government has only appropriated money for 'studies'. That is sad and irresponsible. No doubt we shall pay the price and the result will not be 'pretty' for us. We are sitting ducks and the foreign hunters have their 'birdshot' loaded. Justin Bell follows the impact of the grid collapse on one family. Nothing will ever be the same in their lives. The children had to mature almost overnight to meet the challenges of their new lives.
May 15, 2018
A Different View of an Apocalypse
Darkness Rising has a different view as to how this apocalypse happens. It is a refreshing change to read a new viewpoint. Book one begins with several nuclear explosions happening on the West Coast of the U.S. We read about Phil, Rhonda, their children, Max and Winnie, and Max's friend Brad. The family worries for the daughter supposedly in the area of the explosions. The family has their own problems which keeps the action flowing to the end of the book. They save a Sheriff named Clancy along the way adding to their entourage. Book two should be interesting. This was a great read.
Darkness Rising has a different view as to how this apocalypse happens. It is a refreshing change to read a new viewpoint. Book one begins with several nuclear explosions happening on the West Coast of the U.S. We read about Phil, Rhonda, their children, Max and Winnie, and Max's friend Brad. The family worries for the daughter supposedly in the area of the explosions. The family has their own problems which keeps the action flowing to the end of the book. They save a Sheriff named Clancy along the way adding to their entourage. Book two should be interesting. This was a great read.
February 18, 2018
What a cool story. Well written with a crazy addictive plot, I was sucked in by the end of chapter 1. Part thriller, part mystery, part full on action wrapped in a post-apocalyptic plot, it was a killer read that kept me glued to the end. I love the ending as it sets up the next book perfectly. Cannot wait to see what mysteries are solved in the next book. I chose to review it because I really liked it. Great start to a new series that entertained me well.
March 1, 2018
It could happen
Such a perfect day all over the country destroyed by dirty bombs. One of which in my home town. Scary yes, but the determination of one woman and her family is amazing. Unfortunately we have to wait for the next book to see if they complete their plan . Meanwhile in our city of Washington certain agents are trying to form a plan and figure out exactly what has happened. Is it a foreign or domestic attack? Only the next books will tell.
Such a perfect day all over the country destroyed by dirty bombs. One of which in my home town. Scary yes, but the determination of one woman and her family is amazing. Unfortunately we have to wait for the next book to see if they complete their plan . Meanwhile in our city of Washington certain agents are trying to form a plan and figure out exactly what has happened. Is it a foreign or domestic attack? Only the next books will tell.
March 8, 2018
Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book at all and returned the next two installments unread. I couldn't get past the many, many errors in punctuation which sets the tone for how conversations are taking place in my head as I'm reading. Way too many to be acceptable! The author's choice to start every conversation with the person's name being spoken to is very annoying and totally unnecessary. I would say don't stop writing but maybe a course in creative writing or, at the very least, more knowledge in basic punctuation would be in order.
April 29, 2018
Awesome
This is a very fast paced story, with a family's pov, about the eotwawki. However, you don't have to be hugely interested in that genre to enjoy this story. It's just a really well written, easily engrossing story about how a family deals with a horrific situation. I think anyone who enjoys reading will truly enjoy this book. I'm heading to get the next in the series now!! Happy reading y'all! 😜
This is a very fast paced story, with a family's pov, about the eotwawki. However, you don't have to be hugely interested in that genre to enjoy this story. It's just a really well written, easily engrossing story about how a family deals with a horrific situation. I think anyone who enjoys reading will truly enjoy this book. I'm heading to get the next in the series now!! Happy reading y'all! 😜
February 21, 2018
Another great read!
I love books that are part of a series, and this first book in this new series didn't disappoint. I am already attached to the characters and can't wait until the next book. If you like to read about scenarios that could happen to our world tomorrow, then this is a good choice for you.
I love books that are part of a series, and this first book in this new series didn't disappoint. I am already attached to the characters and can't wait until the next book. If you like to read about scenarios that could happen to our world tomorrow, then this is a good choice for you.
April 7, 2018
Very real and very scary
Love Mike Krause so seeing his name made me want to buy this. Such great writing ,Justin Bell. I've just bought the next one. You are now on my awesome list too. Lol
Love Mike Krause so seeing his name made me want to buy this. Such great writing ,Justin Bell. I've just bought the next one. You are now on my awesome list too. Lol
April 13, 2018
Non-stop
Action. No more vacations for me. A family just trying to spend a little time together when it all went bad. These are great characters and you'll be surprised to find out their skills or lack thereof.
Action. No more vacations for me. A family just trying to spend a little time together when it all went bad. These are great characters and you'll be surprised to find out their skills or lack thereof.
May 7, 2018
Heart pounding
OMGOSH, my adrenaline was so high and I read so fast, I needed to stop and breathe! WOW, great writing. I was right there with the characters and felt what they were going through. Need to get the next book ASAP. Good thing I don't have heart problems.
OMGOSH, my adrenaline was so high and I read so fast, I needed to stop and breathe! WOW, great writing. I was right there with the characters and felt what they were going through. Need to get the next book ASAP. Good thing I don't have heart problems.
July 20, 2018
Fast paced and we'll developed
I listened to this book in about one afternoon. Very interesting. It had me considering scenarios and coming up with my own ideas about the root of this evil. Hmmm.
I listened to this book in about one afternoon. Very interesting. It had me considering scenarios and coming up with my own ideas about the root of this evil. Hmmm.
April 2, 2019
I read this as a box set and it was a very rewarding read. Taken as a series it was great. There was a lot of time to get to know the characters and how they fit in the overall series. I would highly recommend it to all readers.
February 19, 2018
Loved it! So many twists and turns. Will the Fraser family reunite? Will the terrorist plot be stopped? I can't wait to read more.
February 20, 2018
This is the beginning of an great series. I enjoyed reading this book and i look forward to reading more in this series.
February 23, 2018
Wow what a gripping read to keep you intrigued until the end. Terrorist attacks all over and people trying to survive. Reality steps in here, don’t miss out on this first of this outstanding series.
February 26, 2018
Good Read
Another good book by Mike Kraus and his new co-author Justin. Can not wait for the next book in the series.
Another good book by Mike Kraus and his new co-author Justin. Can not wait for the next book in the series.
March 8, 2018
Darkness Rising review
Darkness Rising is the first post apocalyptic survival book in this series written by authors Justin Bell and Mike Kraus.
Darkness Rising is the first post apocalyptic survival book in this series written by authors Justin Bell and Mike Kraus.
March 17, 2018
Good book
Read all of the books in order to really enjoy. Characters are realistic and get better and better. Storyline continues to grow and develop.
Read all of the books in order to really enjoy. Characters are realistic and get better and better. Storyline continues to grow and develop.
March 20, 2018
Not a bad start.
June 1, 2018
Darkness rising
Good read that's all one can really ask if a book
I'm going to finish the series looking forward to the next nook
Good read that's all one can really ask if a book
I'm going to finish the series looking forward to the next nook
August 12, 2018
Stopped after this book. End of world you have better things to worry about than tracking someone for revenge.
January 4, 2019
Great
I really like this book. It has plenty of action and really good characters. I am enjoying the adventure and the story line. I can't wait to read the next one.
I really like this book. It has plenty of action and really good characters. I am enjoying the adventure and the story line. I can't wait to read the next one.
November 10, 2019
Great
This is a great book... Very well written. The characters are well crafted and totally believable. You can't go wrong reading this.
This is a great book... Very well written. The characters are well crafted and totally believable. You can't go wrong reading this.
May 13, 2023
strong characterisation
The characters in this book are clearly outlined then fleshed out, with plenty of variety. The battles are strong. In all a darn good read!
The characters in this book are clearly outlined then fleshed out, with plenty of variety. The battles are strong. In all a darn good read!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews