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Mirrors in the Dark #1
Monster of the Dark
Carmen Grey always knew she was different.None of the other children seemed able to read minds. None of the other children were able to manipulate their toys without touching them. On the morning of her sixth birthday, three men dressed in black arrive to remove her from the loving care of her parents.She is taken to an underground facility meant for others like her, for Clairvoyants. Stripped of her name and identity, over the years she is fashioned into something scary—something lethal. Each day is an endless struggle and every night is plagued by nightmares. Yet Carmen’s ultimate battle won’t be to save her life but to keep her soul.
376 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 30, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
April 12, 2022
Love Clairvoyant books!
Monster of the Dark
KT Belt
This book follows a child clairvoyant that is super strong. She goes to a facility where they take other kids that are clairvoyant. They test them in horrific ways! We follow this girl from age 6-19. It's intense and character driven. Pretty gory but exciting. Warning..a suicide is in here.
Monster of the Dark
KT Belt
This book follows a child clairvoyant that is super strong. She goes to a facility where they take other kids that are clairvoyant. They test them in horrific ways! We follow this girl from age 6-19. It's intense and character driven. Pretty gory but exciting. Warning..a suicide is in here.
June 1, 2022
Monster of the Dark is the tale of a girl taken from her parents by the Psi Corps[1] when she turns out to have psychic powers, and her gruelling training-transformation into an inhuman killing machine for the overall (but rather vaguely outlined) benefit of the human race. The Clairvoyants, in their close communing with “the Dark” that is the psychic shadow within them that gives them their powers, are living weapons that enable most of the happy human sheep to go on living their lives in peace and plenty. A literally dark underside to the future utopia Belt introduces us to.
I admit I was a little put off by the premise, and if I’d known the whole book was basically going to be a training montage I might have been even more put off, but on balance I’m glad I stuck with it. The story is fresh and unique, a slow-burn superhero origin story that allows us to really get immersed in this very specific corner of the overall world. Although make no mistake – Carmen kills the dog. The dog is there to be killed. That happens. If the dog getting killed as part of a living-weapon initiation thing is going to upset you, you’re gonna have a bad time. But if you didn’t see it coming the moment the puppy was introduced, honestly you kind of deserve it. Get it together.
While the training and the dehumanisation was a major theme, I was more fascinated by the contrast between the tight-focus and the overall worldbuilding. Carmen is basically front-and-centre throughout the book, aside from some brief switches in point of view that still remain tightly focussed on the Clairvoyants’ compound, and her battle to maintain her own identity and humanity through twelve years of brutal shaping and indoctrination is extremely intimate. This is entirely what the story is about … and yet, there is a whole lot going on outside her room, outside the compound, outside of the planet they’re currently on.
The sorten and the terrasaurs and the Eternals, the interstellar war and deep history and humanity’s interplanetary empire, all of it was just hinted at on the outskirts of this single-human drama, and I found that captivating. This is a space-age galaxy-wide tapestry but you only see glimpses of it, because it is so centred on this one department of psychic killers for defence, and specifically this one trainee and her struggles. It was extremely well set-up and executed.
Now that said, I’m sorry but in my opinion the fight scenes were just too long and dull. That’s on me though, I am a known and confirmed disliker of kick punch spin flip roundhouse piledriver prose, especially when it goes on for pages and pages. It was necessary here, I think, because that was what the book was for, but it just didn’t do it for me. If you like that stuff, this is going to be great (especially if you also hate dogs). The inevitable showdown between Artemis and Edge was hyped up and telegraphed enough that the outcome would have been far more entertaining with twenty fewer pages of kicking and punching, and just … an epiphany and abrupt obliteration of the annoying techs-and-management favourite. I was hoping for that – I always hope for it, and it always goes in the unsatisfying slog direction instead. It wouldn’t have ultimately changed the equals / unlikely allies dynamic, because there seemed to be little in the way of stakes as far as death was concerned. Oh that brings me to another thing.
The whole death and resurrection mechanic needed to be made more clear, it’s definitely a cool plot device but as it was, it tended to remove tension from any given conflict rather than change the landscape in a more interesting way. It was cool though, so I don’t know. When was death final, when was it reversible, and what were the consequences in the world outside the compound? I might have just missed it but I ultimately felt left in the dark (heh) about how this whole thing worked.
All in all, Artemis and the rivalry could have been introduced and handled differently – but this is just a pacing and trope-craft gripe. Maybe she gets a backstory later? This seems fairly likely since she is clearly a recurring character if not a secondary protagonist, but in that case maybe more of her origin should have come before the fight? Which, I can’t say this enough, should have been shorter. But only for my sake.
And another thing. After the slightly-too-long showdown fight, we’re given a conclusion that … let’s call it unsatisfying because I wouldn’t want to overstate it. It was a cool way to show Janus’s superiority, but … is Janus a main character here? I was hoping not, and it certainly didn’t seem to turn out that way since Janus then just … left the story? So what was the point of that? I’m confused. Janus was replaced with Kali in a development that seemed intriguing but then … turned out to just be a new handler. I’ll tell you what I was really hoping for, I was hoping that all these little deity-references would turn out to reflect some aspect of the training program. But if that was the case, it was folded in a bit too subtly for this dumb dumb.
Still, I don’t want to sit here nitpicking. The whole thing hung together in the end, just … in some difficult-to-define ways, I think the story could have been tightened up too.
Aside from these entirely subjective mutterings, and a few minor language tweaks another round of editing might have sorted out (the phrase nodded several times, weird overuse of smirk that seems to be a common feature of indie SFF, and so on), there’s plenty to enjoy here. I’m glad I had a chance to read this story and I want to know the rest!
Sex-o-meter
Monster of the Dark follows the brutal life-story of the incarceration and training-into-a-deadly-weapon of a girl from the age of 6 to the age of 18. She has brief smoochy-times with a boy and that’s about it, because otherwise it would be kind of weird. The story was actually enhanced by the absence of this human component. An as-yet unmade Ncuti Gatwa Doctor Who episode out of a possible Ncuti Gatwa Sex Education episode on the sex-o-meter.
Gore-o-meter
Despite the fact that the majority of casualties in this book are “constructs”, and death doesn’t seem to be permanent except when it is, there’s a reasonable amount of violence and dismemberment and blood and broken bones and an assortment of gore here. Also violence against children and some harrowing war crimes and atrocities. And, I repeat, the dog dies. Four flesh-gobbets out of a possible five.
WTF-o-meter
This story has some tantalising hints-of-larger-setting pseudo-WTF, and some kind-of-annoying-story-rules pseudo-WTF[2], but none of the rich, greasy WTF buttercream that we come to the science-fiction genre brandishing our WTF-o-meters for. Despite this, I was well satisfied with the complexity of the worldbuilding and the overall mystery of how this strange galaxy of alien species and human military agencies came about. I am mashing that Do You Want To Know More button, even though the WTF-o-meter is giving Monster of the Dark a mere Doogie Howser M.D. out of a possible Doogie Howser M.D. dressed in a Space Gestapo uniform.
My Final Verdict
A great and well-told introduction to a compelling character. The intimate-focus-against-huge-backdrop structure kind of got its payoff at the end, the vertigo of freedom and possibilities, but I was still left feeling like opportunities had been missed. Maybe more could have been made of Carmen’s door opening for her, and her never having tried to open it before[3]? That felt like a moral. For all that this book was not inside my comfort (or maybe even interest) zone in terms of its premise and plot, though, I was fascinated by the characters and the setting, and it was an engaging and fun read. I am certainly interested in finding out where it goes from here. Three stars seems unnecessarily harsh given the subjective nature of my complaints, so I will give Monster of the Dark four stars on the Amazon / Goodreads scale.
----
[1] Not actually called that – I was just unable to separate this agency from the Psi Corps in Babylon 5, and Janus the handler was Bester from that moment on. The story didn’t actually suffer as a result.
[2] Really? There’s no solution to the bioelectric field problem? Gloves, for example? And it doesn’t happen when Clairvoyants kiss? Or it does happen and they don’t care? So why does it make such a huge difference when Carmen has a nightmare and gaaaah…
[3] That was a bit of convenient off-screen narrative right there, more unbelievable the more you think about it, but I still liked it. And yes, we’re getting multiple footnotes in this one.
I admit I was a little put off by the premise, and if I’d known the whole book was basically going to be a training montage I might have been even more put off, but on balance I’m glad I stuck with it. The story is fresh and unique, a slow-burn superhero origin story that allows us to really get immersed in this very specific corner of the overall world. Although make no mistake – Carmen kills the dog. The dog is there to be killed. That happens. If the dog getting killed as part of a living-weapon initiation thing is going to upset you, you’re gonna have a bad time. But if you didn’t see it coming the moment the puppy was introduced, honestly you kind of deserve it. Get it together.
While the training and the dehumanisation was a major theme, I was more fascinated by the contrast between the tight-focus and the overall worldbuilding. Carmen is basically front-and-centre throughout the book, aside from some brief switches in point of view that still remain tightly focussed on the Clairvoyants’ compound, and her battle to maintain her own identity and humanity through twelve years of brutal shaping and indoctrination is extremely intimate. This is entirely what the story is about … and yet, there is a whole lot going on outside her room, outside the compound, outside of the planet they’re currently on.
The sorten and the terrasaurs and the Eternals, the interstellar war and deep history and humanity’s interplanetary empire, all of it was just hinted at on the outskirts of this single-human drama, and I found that captivating. This is a space-age galaxy-wide tapestry but you only see glimpses of it, because it is so centred on this one department of psychic killers for defence, and specifically this one trainee and her struggles. It was extremely well set-up and executed.
Now that said, I’m sorry but in my opinion the fight scenes were just too long and dull. That’s on me though, I am a known and confirmed disliker of kick punch spin flip roundhouse piledriver prose, especially when it goes on for pages and pages. It was necessary here, I think, because that was what the book was for, but it just didn’t do it for me. If you like that stuff, this is going to be great (especially if you also hate dogs). The inevitable showdown between Artemis and Edge was hyped up and telegraphed enough that the outcome would have been far more entertaining with twenty fewer pages of kicking and punching, and just … an epiphany and abrupt obliteration of the annoying techs-and-management favourite. I was hoping for that – I always hope for it, and it always goes in the unsatisfying slog direction instead. It wouldn’t have ultimately changed the equals / unlikely allies dynamic, because there seemed to be little in the way of stakes as far as death was concerned. Oh that brings me to another thing.
The whole death and resurrection mechanic needed to be made more clear, it’s definitely a cool plot device but as it was, it tended to remove tension from any given conflict rather than change the landscape in a more interesting way. It was cool though, so I don’t know. When was death final, when was it reversible, and what were the consequences in the world outside the compound? I might have just missed it but I ultimately felt left in the dark (heh) about how this whole thing worked.
All in all, Artemis and the rivalry could have been introduced and handled differently – but this is just a pacing and trope-craft gripe. Maybe she gets a backstory later? This seems fairly likely since she is clearly a recurring character if not a secondary protagonist, but in that case maybe more of her origin should have come before the fight? Which, I can’t say this enough, should have been shorter. But only for my sake.
And another thing. After the slightly-too-long showdown fight, we’re given a conclusion that … let’s call it unsatisfying because I wouldn’t want to overstate it. It was a cool way to show Janus’s superiority, but … is Janus a main character here? I was hoping not, and it certainly didn’t seem to turn out that way since Janus then just … left the story? So what was the point of that? I’m confused. Janus was replaced with Kali in a development that seemed intriguing but then … turned out to just be a new handler. I’ll tell you what I was really hoping for, I was hoping that all these little deity-references would turn out to reflect some aspect of the training program. But if that was the case, it was folded in a bit too subtly for this dumb dumb.
Still, I don’t want to sit here nitpicking. The whole thing hung together in the end, just … in some difficult-to-define ways, I think the story could have been tightened up too.
Aside from these entirely subjective mutterings, and a few minor language tweaks another round of editing might have sorted out (the phrase nodded several times, weird overuse of smirk that seems to be a common feature of indie SFF, and so on), there’s plenty to enjoy here. I’m glad I had a chance to read this story and I want to know the rest!
Sex-o-meter
Monster of the Dark follows the brutal life-story of the incarceration and training-into-a-deadly-weapon of a girl from the age of 6 to the age of 18. She has brief smoochy-times with a boy and that’s about it, because otherwise it would be kind of weird. The story was actually enhanced by the absence of this human component. An as-yet unmade Ncuti Gatwa Doctor Who episode out of a possible Ncuti Gatwa Sex Education episode on the sex-o-meter.
Gore-o-meter
Despite the fact that the majority of casualties in this book are “constructs”, and death doesn’t seem to be permanent except when it is, there’s a reasonable amount of violence and dismemberment and blood and broken bones and an assortment of gore here. Also violence against children and some harrowing war crimes and atrocities. And, I repeat, the dog dies. Four flesh-gobbets out of a possible five.
WTF-o-meter
This story has some tantalising hints-of-larger-setting pseudo-WTF, and some kind-of-annoying-story-rules pseudo-WTF[2], but none of the rich, greasy WTF buttercream that we come to the science-fiction genre brandishing our WTF-o-meters for. Despite this, I was well satisfied with the complexity of the worldbuilding and the overall mystery of how this strange galaxy of alien species and human military agencies came about. I am mashing that Do You Want To Know More button, even though the WTF-o-meter is giving Monster of the Dark a mere Doogie Howser M.D. out of a possible Doogie Howser M.D. dressed in a Space Gestapo uniform.
My Final Verdict
A great and well-told introduction to a compelling character. The intimate-focus-against-huge-backdrop structure kind of got its payoff at the end, the vertigo of freedom and possibilities, but I was still left feeling like opportunities had been missed. Maybe more could have been made of Carmen’s door opening for her, and her never having tried to open it before[3]? That felt like a moral. For all that this book was not inside my comfort (or maybe even interest) zone in terms of its premise and plot, though, I was fascinated by the characters and the setting, and it was an engaging and fun read. I am certainly interested in finding out where it goes from here. Three stars seems unnecessarily harsh given the subjective nature of my complaints, so I will give Monster of the Dark four stars on the Amazon / Goodreads scale.
----
[1] Not actually called that – I was just unable to separate this agency from the Psi Corps in Babylon 5, and Janus the handler was Bester from that moment on. The story didn’t actually suffer as a result.
[2] Really? There’s no solution to the bioelectric field problem? Gloves, for example? And it doesn’t happen when Clairvoyants kiss? Or it does happen and they don’t care? So why does it make such a huge difference when Carmen has a nightmare and gaaaah…
[3] That was a bit of convenient off-screen narrative right there, more unbelievable the more you think about it, but I still liked it. And yes, we’re getting multiple footnotes in this one.
June 28, 2022
Self Published Science Fiction Competition finalist -
I often go into these books with little or no reading of the synopsis so what i got from this book was not entirely what I had expected.
This was a skewed type of coming of age story, more so put into a ‘charge and handler’ scenario.
It tells the story of kids born with gifts, then taken from their home when they’re little (age 6) and then raised and trained at some windowless government facility. Here they are trained to harness their ‘talents’ in some extreme circumstances (mostly fighting and killing ‘constructs’ in battle sessions) until they become old and strong enough to be released. This story follows ‘Carmen’ who is stripped of her identity and raised by her ‘handler’. Carmen’s resolve is tested but her resistance comes in the form of ‘being compliant’ to their demands so that she can go home or be released for good behavior. As the 12 years we watch the story progress Carmen learns how to control her ‘talent’ she bumps shoulders with another girl that appears to be her equal in age and strength and a strange rivalry emerges.
Towards the end we reach a point where Carmen attempts to re-adjust to ‘normal’ life and we see the prejudice and judgements people put on things they don’t understand (very x-Men esque). While there was mention of an alien race known as the ‘Sortens’ we don’t really dive too deep.
Summary:
So while there was plenty of action, fighting and some sweet telekinetic powers flying here and there. The ending was a bit too cliche and I felt that the book didn’t really explore the deeper origins and world that this took place in.
I often go into these books with little or no reading of the synopsis so what i got from this book was not entirely what I had expected.
This was a skewed type of coming of age story, more so put into a ‘charge and handler’ scenario.
It tells the story of kids born with gifts, then taken from their home when they’re little (age 6) and then raised and trained at some windowless government facility. Here they are trained to harness their ‘talents’ in some extreme circumstances (mostly fighting and killing ‘constructs’ in battle sessions) until they become old and strong enough to be released. This story follows ‘Carmen’ who is stripped of her identity and raised by her ‘handler’. Carmen’s resolve is tested but her resistance comes in the form of ‘being compliant’ to their demands so that she can go home or be released for good behavior. As the 12 years we watch the story progress Carmen learns how to control her ‘talent’ she bumps shoulders with another girl that appears to be her equal in age and strength and a strange rivalry emerges.
Towards the end we reach a point where Carmen attempts to re-adjust to ‘normal’ life and we see the prejudice and judgements people put on things they don’t understand (very x-Men esque). While there was mention of an alien race known as the ‘Sortens’ we don’t really dive too deep.
Summary:
So while there was plenty of action, fighting and some sweet telekinetic powers flying here and there. The ending was a bit too cliche and I felt that the book didn’t really explore the deeper origins and world that this took place in.
Read
July 18, 2022I read this as a finalist for SPSFC!
Personal Score: 6.5/10
Curiously enough this one the book that I read the fastest! The writting style and the pacing of Monster of the Dark worked greatly. So you are left with a dual POV story about Clairvoyants (people with telekenetic and telepathic powers basically) that it excels on being a long training montage but in a really good way.
The only things I didn't really like were
1. the ending, it feel too happy for such a dark story at times.
2. THE DOG FUCKINGS DIES. I'm sorry but I cannot manage animal death/torture in any way and it just pisses me off every single time.
More details in the upcoming video review for the finalists!
Personal Score: 6.5/10
Curiously enough this one the book that I read the fastest! The writting style and the pacing of Monster of the Dark worked greatly. So you are left with a dual POV story about Clairvoyants (people with telekenetic and telepathic powers basically) that it excels on being a long training montage but in a really good way.
The only things I didn't really like were
1. the ending, it feel too happy for such a dark story at times.
2. THE DOG FUCKINGS DIES. I'm sorry but I cannot manage animal death/torture in any way and it just pisses me off every single time.
More details in the upcoming video review for the finalists!
June 26, 2022
Monster of the Dark is one of the 2021-22 SPSFC Finalists! I read it as part of the judging process.
Before I read this I'd heard a lot of chatter about how dark this book is, and while it's not all sunshine and rainbows I definitely don't think it's a particularly dark story unless you really sit and think about it outside of just reading it.
Taken from her family at a young age our main character Carmen is stripped of her name and thus begins her training. She's a super strong Clairvoyant who requires training to be able to go out into the world. The story from here is a little disjointed. She's taken away to be trained in quite a brutal fashion before being taught how to integrate into a society she's never experienced. She's not provided with a job or purpose, instead she can be recruited or just wander off into the world.
This is definitely a prequel to the rest of the series. This is much more focussed on Carmen growing up, learning her powers and setting up a rivalry that I expect will be the focus for much of the rest of the series. Because of this I think it does lack a bit of tension and urgency, there isn't an plan to be thwarted or a bit plot point, instead this is about building the characters.
Carmen makes for a great character, despite her growing up in the training facility she doesn't end up indoctrinated into their way of thinking. She instead harbours thoughts and fears that make her act in unexpected ways.
If you're looking for a good YA series, I think this is a good place to start!
Before I read this I'd heard a lot of chatter about how dark this book is, and while it's not all sunshine and rainbows I definitely don't think it's a particularly dark story unless you really sit and think about it outside of just reading it.
Taken from her family at a young age our main character Carmen is stripped of her name and thus begins her training. She's a super strong Clairvoyant who requires training to be able to go out into the world. The story from here is a little disjointed. She's taken away to be trained in quite a brutal fashion before being taught how to integrate into a society she's never experienced. She's not provided with a job or purpose, instead she can be recruited or just wander off into the world.
This is definitely a prequel to the rest of the series. This is much more focussed on Carmen growing up, learning her powers and setting up a rivalry that I expect will be the focus for much of the rest of the series. Because of this I think it does lack a bit of tension and urgency, there isn't an plan to be thwarted or a bit plot point, instead this is about building the characters.
Carmen makes for a great character, despite her growing up in the training facility she doesn't end up indoctrinated into their way of thinking. She instead harbours thoughts and fears that make her act in unexpected ways.
If you're looking for a good YA series, I think this is a good place to start!
Read
April 12, 2022Trigger Warning: animal death.
This was an intriguing and captivating book, that hooked me right from the start! I think that the best feature is that the MC is a child. And this is pretty great for two main reasons: the first is that we get a more in-depth vision of how cruel this all is, and how cruel people can be (and okay, it is not really that we need that, because I think that it is pretty clear how much people can suck, but I fell for it time and again. I mean, I should maybe stop reading this kind of book, because I have almost no faith in human beings in general, and this usually doesn’t help me, but there is always the tiny tiny hope that, maybe, seeing how easy is to do bad, and how easy could be to right some of the wrongs, maybe there is some redemption possible for us. But let’s stop here with these depressing thoughts, and let’s go back to the book!), because my heart really went out to the MC and to Artemis, because really, poor poor girls!
And second, because a child made for a really interesting narrator. It is not that Carmen is unreliable, but she doesn’t know what is happening, and she doesn’t have some frame for reference, either, since she is a six years old child, who simply does not know how things work, or what things mean. And this makes for a layered way of narration, and it was a thing that the author did amazingly well.
Usually, I am not the biggest fan of children as MCs or as narrators, but in this case, I loved it. I really think that this was the best feature of the book, and it is a book with a lot of good things going on!
The pace of the book is well balanced and the writing is smooth, and the combo made for a really hooking reading. It is not the happiest of the book, it is dark and it has some heart-shattering moments, and it is also quite thought-provoking, for example, I think that the way in which this book shows us that sometimes we are our own jailers is amazing. Or the importance of kindness, meaning random acts of kindness, and how far they can go, was expressed in some really moving ways. And it was all amazing. And I was hooked right from the start. It was a hard book to put down, and it made you turn page after page without even noticing it.
And Carmen is a really interesting character. I really liked her, and I liked to see her growing. She is not my usual kind of character, and yet I was really invested in her story. And we get some really interesting characters around her: Artemis and Janus are not virtue models, that’s for sure, but they are interesting. And even if Janus is not one of the good guys, he is not the worst. In some ways, he has some reasons for what he does, and he has some excuses (sure, they are not enough, and really what they are doing to the children is awful, there are no questions here, but he can be, at least partially, understood), while the triviality and the pettiness of others (and yes, I am talking about you, Isabelle!) are really worst on another scale because there are no excuses for that. Only shame.
The only complaint that I have, but it is a minor one, is about the world-building. We have an interesting world with a future setting, but we just get glimpses of it. It makes sense, because for the most part the story is set in a facility, so in a really enclosed world, and hence we don’t get to see a lot of the world, but what we get to pick sounds interesting, and I would have loved for some ways in which to learn more.
Anyway, all the rest is pretty great, so all that I have to do is to recommend this book to you, because, really, you need to read this one!
This was an intriguing and captivating book, that hooked me right from the start! I think that the best feature is that the MC is a child. And this is pretty great for two main reasons: the first is that we get a more in-depth vision of how cruel this all is, and how cruel people can be (and okay, it is not really that we need that, because I think that it is pretty clear how much people can suck, but I fell for it time and again. I mean, I should maybe stop reading this kind of book, because I have almost no faith in human beings in general, and this usually doesn’t help me, but there is always the tiny tiny hope that, maybe, seeing how easy is to do bad, and how easy could be to right some of the wrongs, maybe there is some redemption possible for us. But let’s stop here with these depressing thoughts, and let’s go back to the book!), because my heart really went out to the MC and to Artemis, because really, poor poor girls!
And second, because a child made for a really interesting narrator. It is not that Carmen is unreliable, but she doesn’t know what is happening, and she doesn’t have some frame for reference, either, since she is a six years old child, who simply does not know how things work, or what things mean. And this makes for a layered way of narration, and it was a thing that the author did amazingly well.
Usually, I am not the biggest fan of children as MCs or as narrators, but in this case, I loved it. I really think that this was the best feature of the book, and it is a book with a lot of good things going on!
The pace of the book is well balanced and the writing is smooth, and the combo made for a really hooking reading. It is not the happiest of the book, it is dark and it has some heart-shattering moments, and it is also quite thought-provoking, for example, I think that the way in which this book shows us that sometimes we are our own jailers is amazing. Or the importance of kindness, meaning random acts of kindness, and how far they can go, was expressed in some really moving ways. And it was all amazing. And I was hooked right from the start. It was a hard book to put down, and it made you turn page after page without even noticing it.
And Carmen is a really interesting character. I really liked her, and I liked to see her growing. She is not my usual kind of character, and yet I was really invested in her story. And we get some really interesting characters around her: Artemis and Janus are not virtue models, that’s for sure, but they are interesting. And even if Janus is not one of the good guys, he is not the worst. In some ways, he has some reasons for what he does, and he has some excuses (sure, they are not enough, and really what they are doing to the children is awful, there are no questions here, but he can be, at least partially, understood), while the triviality and the pettiness of others (and yes, I am talking about you, Isabelle!) are really worst on another scale because there are no excuses for that. Only shame.
The only complaint that I have, but it is a minor one, is about the world-building. We have an interesting world with a future setting, but we just get glimpses of it. It makes sense, because for the most part the story is set in a facility, so in a really enclosed world, and hence we don’t get to see a lot of the world, but what we get to pick sounds interesting, and I would have loved for some ways in which to learn more.
Anyway, all the rest is pretty great, so all that I have to do is to recommend this book to you, because, really, you need to read this one!
April 21, 2022
Read for SPSFC Semifinalists!
Overall Thoughts
The premise of this book is very interesting. Kids who have the potential to be clairvoyant (telepathically and telekinetically gifted) are taken from their parents as they often turn into uncontrollable monsters, hence the title. For me, likely because I’m a writer and editor and look for this stuff, I found the excess use of vague words like “only,” “just,” “actually,” “almost,” and so on distracting as I read, slowing down the tension in the story. I got used to it as I continued reading, but in the end found there wasn’t as much to the plot as I would have liked. I’d also add there are a couple trigger warnings for this book, specifically suicide and animal death.
Plot
Most of the book covers one girl, Carmen, as she goes through the abuse and hardship that is used to train clairvoyants. The society suffers from how it was set up, at the hands of aliens, though we don’t learn much about that until later in the book. While the initial rounds of “training” were exciting to read, it eventually started to slow the book down and I was left wondering what else would be happening. As it turns out, not a lot, which made me question how their society functioned and what Carmen would do with her life. Ultimately, I felt like this was the first half of the story, and I really wanted to know more about how the society handled the clairvoyants who go through the training program. I was actually expecting some sort of twist at the end, but didn’t get that either.
Setting
This takes place on a new world somewhere. Mention of Earth and alien species is made, but we never see any further sign of them in the book past one strange creature. The cities we do see are an odd mix of Pleasantville and ‘80s malls, though most of the plot takes place in a facility of door, floors, and corridors. I wanted more of how this society came to be, and why they thought gifted people who tend to turn murderous would be okay with abusive training and then being released to do what they want with no supervision. I was anticipating some sort of directed use of these trained clairvoyants or a few types of jobs they would be forced into. Even a bit more on the aliens who originally set up this system would be welcome.
Character
The book centers around Carmen and her growth from age 6 to age 18. However there are a few POV shifts with no indication, which threw me off. Carmen is an interesting person, but because she is so young, the story suffers from being in her perspective, where we don’t find out a lot about what’s really going on. As I said before, I felt like this was the first half of a story where all would be explained in the second half. Carmen does have a main antagonist, but having the two of them in conflict seems very forced, to the point where even Carmen comments on it. It again makes we wonder how well the society works that sets up this environment, that underage gifted people are supposed to fight to the death and then be well-adjusted citizens.
Score out of 10 (My personal score, not the final contest score)
An interesting superhero premise, but the tension lags with a long coming-of-age story where not a lot is resolved. 4/10.
Overall Thoughts
The premise of this book is very interesting. Kids who have the potential to be clairvoyant (telepathically and telekinetically gifted) are taken from their parents as they often turn into uncontrollable monsters, hence the title. For me, likely because I’m a writer and editor and look for this stuff, I found the excess use of vague words like “only,” “just,” “actually,” “almost,” and so on distracting as I read, slowing down the tension in the story. I got used to it as I continued reading, but in the end found there wasn’t as much to the plot as I would have liked. I’d also add there are a couple trigger warnings for this book, specifically suicide and animal death.
Plot
Most of the book covers one girl, Carmen, as she goes through the abuse and hardship that is used to train clairvoyants. The society suffers from how it was set up, at the hands of aliens, though we don’t learn much about that until later in the book. While the initial rounds of “training” were exciting to read, it eventually started to slow the book down and I was left wondering what else would be happening. As it turns out, not a lot, which made me question how their society functioned and what Carmen would do with her life. Ultimately, I felt like this was the first half of the story, and I really wanted to know more about how the society handled the clairvoyants who go through the training program. I was actually expecting some sort of twist at the end, but didn’t get that either.
Setting
This takes place on a new world somewhere. Mention of Earth and alien species is made, but we never see any further sign of them in the book past one strange creature. The cities we do see are an odd mix of Pleasantville and ‘80s malls, though most of the plot takes place in a facility of door, floors, and corridors. I wanted more of how this society came to be, and why they thought gifted people who tend to turn murderous would be okay with abusive training and then being released to do what they want with no supervision. I was anticipating some sort of directed use of these trained clairvoyants or a few types of jobs they would be forced into. Even a bit more on the aliens who originally set up this system would be welcome.
Character
The book centers around Carmen and her growth from age 6 to age 18. However there are a few POV shifts with no indication, which threw me off. Carmen is an interesting person, but because she is so young, the story suffers from being in her perspective, where we don’t find out a lot about what’s really going on. As I said before, I felt like this was the first half of a story where all would be explained in the second half. Carmen does have a main antagonist, but having the two of them in conflict seems very forced, to the point where even Carmen comments on it. It again makes we wonder how well the society works that sets up this environment, that underage gifted people are supposed to fight to the death and then be well-adjusted citizens.
Score out of 10 (My personal score, not the final contest score)
An interesting superhero premise, but the tension lags with a long coming-of-age story where not a lot is resolved. 4/10.
July 18, 2022
Dark Slow Paced Sci-Fi
I’d probably give this book 3.5 ⭐️ if I could.
This is the first book in a trilogy but there is no cliffhanger at the end, just a slight hook to introduce the next book.
This is a strange book. It’s very slow paced. It’s quite dark but the true horror of that darkness isn’t expressed very well. The concepts of what happens to the character, who is a child are horrific, but the consequences of that treatment aren’t really shown in a believable or relatable way.
Set after a war with an alien race, the sorten, humans have colonised the stars. The war taught humanity about certain humans that could manipulate the world around them using the power of their mind. These ‘clairvoyants’ helped win their freedom but they were treated with fear and horror ever since. When a clairvoyant child is born they are left with their parents until the age of 6 when they are taken away to be ‘trained’. Carmen was such a child, rated in the top 1% of all clairvoyants, but raised by parents who loved her as much as they feared her/for her.
Carmen’s training is the sole focus of this book. There is little in the way of character development because all she experiences is trauma from the age of 6 to the age of 12. Her only conversations during this time are with her handler and medical staff. The focus of the book is to recite the things that Carmen endures during her training, all of which are barbaric. However, they don’t really delve into Carmen’s emotions, or when the author does it seems distant and disconnected. Carmen is compared to another asset who entered the program at the same time with similar strengths but this asset is much more violent and damaged than Carmen. This comparison forms the only real plot in the book, but Carmen doesn’t really care about being compared so this plot feels weak.
At the same time, the book was strangely compelling. The writing style was smooth and natural, if slightly distant feeling. I liked Carmen, I even sort of liked her ‘nemesis’, who was so badly damaged, what I didn’t like was the way humanity treated it’s children.
This book felt like it didn’t really go anywhere and I’m probably not going to read the rest of the series.
I’d probably give this book 3.5 ⭐️ if I could.
This is the first book in a trilogy but there is no cliffhanger at the end, just a slight hook to introduce the next book.
This is a strange book. It’s very slow paced. It’s quite dark but the true horror of that darkness isn’t expressed very well. The concepts of what happens to the character, who is a child are horrific, but the consequences of that treatment aren’t really shown in a believable or relatable way.
Set after a war with an alien race, the sorten, humans have colonised the stars. The war taught humanity about certain humans that could manipulate the world around them using the power of their mind. These ‘clairvoyants’ helped win their freedom but they were treated with fear and horror ever since. When a clairvoyant child is born they are left with their parents until the age of 6 when they are taken away to be ‘trained’. Carmen was such a child, rated in the top 1% of all clairvoyants, but raised by parents who loved her as much as they feared her/for her.
Carmen’s training is the sole focus of this book. There is little in the way of character development because all she experiences is trauma from the age of 6 to the age of 12. Her only conversations during this time are with her handler and medical staff. The focus of the book is to recite the things that Carmen endures during her training, all of which are barbaric. However, they don’t really delve into Carmen’s emotions, or when the author does it seems distant and disconnected. Carmen is compared to another asset who entered the program at the same time with similar strengths but this asset is much more violent and damaged than Carmen. This comparison forms the only real plot in the book, but Carmen doesn’t really care about being compared so this plot feels weak.
At the same time, the book was strangely compelling. The writing style was smooth and natural, if slightly distant feeling. I liked Carmen, I even sort of liked her ‘nemesis’, who was so badly damaged, what I didn’t like was the way humanity treated it’s children.
This book felt like it didn’t really go anywhere and I’m probably not going to read the rest of the series.
May 27, 2022
I read Monster of the Dark as part of a judging team for the Self-Published Science Fiction Competition, where it is a finalist.
I’m not going to lie, I never clicked with this book. Ordinarily, if something isn’t working for me, I’ll DNF and move on for my own sake and its, but with it being a competition finalist with such outstanding reviews from previous judges, I tried to push through, and…I still never clicked with this book.
The first mismatch was my own expectations. I expected a dark training arc followed by some sort of service as a soldier or assassin. What I got was an entire book of training arc, presaging a war that will likely take place later in the series.
The problem is that the training arc didn’t make a lot of sense to me. The heroine is a powerful clairvoyant taken from her family at age six to become a weapon. And her training is appropriately brutal, with blood and death around every turn and one scene in particular that struck me as there to shock (and it certainly did!). But the back half of her training is an attempt to integrate into normal society, and it’s hard for me to square that with the pure brutality of the first section. What’s the plan here?
I also had a little bit of trouble with the prose, which is not notably bad—though it does lean to the simpler side, especially in scenes where the lead is a young child—but had a few turns of phrase that clashed with my expectations and broke reading flow. That and the questions of motivation probably played a role in what I found to be inconsistent emotional development.
There are some solid action scenes, and the series is clearly building up something bigger, but I felt like we didn’t get enough of the end game to be a real hook, and the parts we did get felt a little bit inconsistent and confusing.
First impression: 8/20. Full review and official SPSFC score to come at www.tarvolon.com
I’m not going to lie, I never clicked with this book. Ordinarily, if something isn’t working for me, I’ll DNF and move on for my own sake and its, but with it being a competition finalist with such outstanding reviews from previous judges, I tried to push through, and…I still never clicked with this book.
The first mismatch was my own expectations. I expected a dark training arc followed by some sort of service as a soldier or assassin. What I got was an entire book of training arc, presaging a war that will likely take place later in the series.
The problem is that the training arc didn’t make a lot of sense to me. The heroine is a powerful clairvoyant taken from her family at age six to become a weapon. And her training is appropriately brutal, with blood and death around every turn and one scene in particular that struck me as there to shock (and it certainly did!). But the back half of her training is an attempt to integrate into normal society, and it’s hard for me to square that with the pure brutality of the first section. What’s the plan here?
I also had a little bit of trouble with the prose, which is not notably bad—though it does lean to the simpler side, especially in scenes where the lead is a young child—but had a few turns of phrase that clashed with my expectations and broke reading flow. That and the questions of motivation probably played a role in what I found to be inconsistent emotional development.
There are some solid action scenes, and the series is clearly building up something bigger, but I felt like we didn’t get enough of the end game to be a real hook, and the parts we did get felt a little bit inconsistent and confusing.
First impression: 8/20. Full review and official SPSFC score to come at www.tarvolon.com
May 31, 2022
This book is a Finalist in the 2021 Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC), and I read this as a judge.
The story of a clairvoyant 'chosen one' with off-the-charts powers that allows them to move objects and sense other lifeforces is reminiscent of a story from a long, long time ago in a galaxy far away, though Monster of the Dark focuses more on the mental journey of learning the consequences as well as the capabilities of such great power.
Much of the world-building is interesting and well-described, though with the story focused on the emotional development of the main character, I would have liked a bigger transition or epiphany at the end. There is a truly excellent scene in the middle of the book—a chance encounter—that carries the emotional torment and heart-wrangling I wanted through the rest of the book.
The story of a clairvoyant 'chosen one' with off-the-charts powers that allows them to move objects and sense other lifeforces is reminiscent of a story from a long, long time ago in a galaxy far away, though Monster of the Dark focuses more on the mental journey of learning the consequences as well as the capabilities of such great power.
Much of the world-building is interesting and well-described, though with the story focused on the emotional development of the main character, I would have liked a bigger transition or epiphany at the end. There is a truly excellent scene in the middle of the book—a chance encounter—that carries the emotional torment and heart-wrangling I wanted through the rest of the book.
April 21, 2025
Meh, just okay. It's a bit slow and disjointed at times. There are things that just don't add up. The ending, in particular, doesn't seem to fit with the storyline. Not bad. It just wasn't my favorite. There are a lot of grammar mistakes, too. Too many to count.
For my clean readers: language-quite a bit, including f-bombs. Violence-fighting, murder, attempted murder, suicide, war scenes, and gruesome acts against children that should be considered torture and abuse. Romance-kissing. Definitely not a read for anyone younger than an adult.
For my clean readers: language-quite a bit, including f-bombs. Violence-fighting, murder, attempted murder, suicide, war scenes, and gruesome acts against children that should be considered torture and abuse. Romance-kissing. Definitely not a read for anyone younger than an adult.
June 20, 2022
Interesting and scary
This book was very interesting and unusual. Children of age six who are clairvoyant are sent to a facility where they are trained to kill in every way possible. At age eighteen they are released. This is the story of one girl who was sent there. It is heartbreaking and intense. But, at the same time it is a story of the human spirit. She doesn't lose her humanity in the process. I very much enjoyed reading it.
This book was very interesting and unusual. Children of age six who are clairvoyant are sent to a facility where they are trained to kill in every way possible. At age eighteen they are released. This is the story of one girl who was sent there. It is heartbreaking and intense. But, at the same time it is a story of the human spirit. She doesn't lose her humanity in the process. I very much enjoyed reading it.
August 8, 2023
This was soooo looong. I felt like 70% of the book could be condensed into 2 chapters. We spent so much time in the institute when it could’ve been conveyed in 2 scenes. Yes, the institute is torturing the psychics. Yes, she hates it here. Yes,clairvoyants have apparently unlimited powers. Got it, lets move on. Also as a personal preference, I like when training sequences are more complex than “you can do it already so just do it”.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 26, 2022
Well written
I loved it. You start with young Carmen being taken from her parents, who seem almost relieved that she will be gone, to her new "home", the facility. Where she will stay for years while taught what she is and what she can do. I loved the storyline. Different yet grounded. 5 stars. Well done.
I loved it. You start with young Carmen being taken from her parents, who seem almost relieved that she will be gone, to her new "home", the facility. Where she will stay for years while taught what she is and what she can do. I loved the storyline. Different yet grounded. 5 stars. Well done.
May 20, 2022
Complexly excelllent
children with special "powers" need to be trained to keep them from harming other "regular" people. But that is not where it ends. Their "handlers" are those who are responsible for their welfare, but it is far from a desirable lifestyle. 12 years later shows the results are then what their new life is.
children with special "powers" need to be trained to keep them from harming other "regular" people. But that is not where it ends. Their "handlers" are those who are responsible for their welfare, but it is far from a desirable lifestyle. 12 years later shows the results are then what their new life is.
September 17, 2022
very enjoyable
I very much enjoyed this book and already picked up the 2nd one. I like this futuristic setting with science and magic, and I especially liked the MC and her handlers as well as her rival. I expected it would be just another government conditioning book for some nefarious purpose, like a war or police force and was happy that it was so much more.
I very much enjoyed this book and already picked up the 2nd one. I like this futuristic setting with science and magic, and I especially liked the MC and her handlers as well as her rival. I expected it would be just another government conditioning book for some nefarious purpose, like a war or police force and was happy that it was so much more.
May 11, 2022
Good read but very violent
Warning, mature content. It was a good read. Believable characters thrust into a hellish existence. Lots of action, but very bloody fight scenes. Superb ending but no spoilers here. Won't be for everyone. I enjoyed it but not sure I will read more.
Warning, mature content. It was a good read. Believable characters thrust into a hellish existence. Lots of action, but very bloody fight scenes. Superb ending but no spoilers here. Won't be for everyone. I enjoyed it but not sure I will read more.
July 1, 2022
I found it hard to get engaged in a story that never really got out of the training rooms to attack the problem or solve the dilemma. The prose was strong and the action well described, but the events a bit repetitive. The very violent physical and psychological training of the clairvoyant children could have been managed in a couple of sentences or chapters and then the tale could have moved deeper or broader more quickly to develop the characters and the plot. There was some great world setting and hints at the broader story to entice.
Didn't really enjoy this. Only finished this as part of the #SPSFC finalist reads.
Didn't really enjoy this. Only finished this as part of the #SPSFC finalist reads.
April 25, 2022
Quirky & interesting.
So take paranormals toss in Alens and set them in a world of people and what do you get?
In this case you get a fun easy read with a side of morals.
So take paranormals toss in Alens and set them in a world of people and what do you get?
In this case you get a fun easy read with a side of morals.
May 25, 2022
A bit of a slow start, but definitely an intriguing world. Starting book two now.
Found through Hugh Howey's SPFSC. Check it out.
Found through Hugh Howey's SPFSC. Check it out.
July 20, 2022
Very good
I really enjoyed this book. It is a unique story line. I look forward to reading more in this world.
I really enjoyed this book. It is a unique story line. I look forward to reading more in this world.
November 13, 2023
Really enjoyed this. Strength under adverse conditions.
July 13, 2024
3.5 stars
December 17, 2022
Interesting. Sad. Upsetting.
Premises of this science fiction novel is that some small percentage of children are born with extraordinary powers that are lethal. These children are taken from their parents on their sixth birthday. They are trained to be weapons in a manner that can only be perceived as cruel. For those that survive this training, who do they become? How do they fit into the normal world, or is that a realistic possibility?
This is the first book in a series. And all of these questions have not been completely answered in this opening novel.
Writing glitches identified in my highlights.
Premises of this science fiction novel is that some small percentage of children are born with extraordinary powers that are lethal. These children are taken from their parents on their sixth birthday. They are trained to be weapons in a manner that can only be perceived as cruel. For those that survive this training, who do they become? How do they fit into the normal world, or is that a realistic possibility?
This is the first book in a series. And all of these questions have not been completely answered in this opening novel.
Writing glitches identified in my highlights.
August 11, 2022
INCREDIBLE. Not an easy read for me as I kept picturing my kiddos in place of the books characters, but a moving and emotional tale, that while dark, offers up so much hope for the reader.
I read this book as a part of the SPSFC and the characters really grabbed ahold of my heart, and left me feeling so connected with them.
A SciFi tale where there are monsters, and it isn’t just the aliens out there, the monsters are hidden within the heart of humanity too, either in the form of super powered beings, or in the hearts of those who manipulate those beings.
Really recommend this one, it’s a story that will keep you up late at night to keep turning page after page!
I read this book as a part of the SPSFC and the characters really grabbed ahold of my heart, and left me feeling so connected with them.
A SciFi tale where there are monsters, and it isn’t just the aliens out there, the monsters are hidden within the heart of humanity too, either in the form of super powered beings, or in the hearts of those who manipulate those beings.
Really recommend this one, it’s a story that will keep you up late at night to keep turning page after page!
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