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The Dark Trilogy #1-3
The Dark Trilogy
Patrick D'Orazio's Dark Zombie Trilogy (Comes The Dark, Into The Dark, and Beyond The Dark), was originally released on the Kindle in an unedited form under the first book's title, Comes The Dark. It is being re-released with the entire trilogy as it was meant to be edited and expanded, with additional chapters not appearing in the original Kindle version, along with the Dark Stories that have appeared in the author's blog that provide a full fourth book of additional stories about many of the secondary characters appearing in the trilogy, including Megan, George, Jason, Michael, and Ben. The Dark Trilogy, Revised, Expanded, and with Additional Stories is over 250,000 words of an intense saga of the zombie apocalypse.
The end came with a whimper, not a bang. The mysterious virus came out of nowhere and engulfed the world in a matter of days. Everyone who was infected seemed to die...and rise again. Governments collapsed, armies disappeared, and entire civilizations turned to dust as the human race tore itself to pieces. Jeff Blaine had a good a beautiful wife, adorable children, and a nice house in the suburbs. He liked his job, loved his family, and spent his lazy suburban Sundays out on the deck, barbecuing with the neighbors. Things were perfect until everything fell apart. And no matter how hard Jeff tried, he could not spare his family from the horrors scratching at the door. Now, with his family gone, his life in ruins, the only thing left is raw anger and pain. As the world continues to sink into darkness, Jeff does as well. So he ventures out into the desolation with no better plan than to destroy as many of the monsters that stole his life away before they destroy him as well. But soon Jeff will discover other survivors unwilling to give up. They will force him to decide whether or not to give in to the venom that gnaws at his soul. Should he continue to fight to survive, or succumb to the things in the darkness?
The end came with a whimper, not a bang. The mysterious virus came out of nowhere and engulfed the world in a matter of days. Everyone who was infected seemed to die...and rise again. Governments collapsed, armies disappeared, and entire civilizations turned to dust as the human race tore itself to pieces. Jeff Blaine had a good a beautiful wife, adorable children, and a nice house in the suburbs. He liked his job, loved his family, and spent his lazy suburban Sundays out on the deck, barbecuing with the neighbors. Things were perfect until everything fell apart. And no matter how hard Jeff tried, he could not spare his family from the horrors scratching at the door. Now, with his family gone, his life in ruins, the only thing left is raw anger and pain. As the world continues to sink into darkness, Jeff does as well. So he ventures out into the desolation with no better plan than to destroy as many of the monsters that stole his life away before they destroy him as well. But soon Jeff will discover other survivors unwilling to give up. They will force him to decide whether or not to give in to the venom that gnaws at his soul. Should he continue to fight to survive, or succumb to the things in the darkness?
- GenresZombiesApocalypticHorror
650 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 2, 2011
3 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
Patrick D'Orazio
22 books62 followersPatrick D'Orazio resides in southwestern Ohio with his wife, Michele, two children, Alexandra and Zachary, and three spastic dogs. A lifelong writer, he decided a few years ago that attempting to get published might be a better idea than continuing to toss all those stories he's been scribbling down over the years into a filing cabinet, never to be seen again.
Over twenty-five of his short stories appear or will be appearing in various anthologies from a wide array of different small press publishers. He has dipped his toes into a variety of genres, including horror, science fiction, fantasy, erotica, bizarro, western, action-adventure, apocalyptic, and comedy.
He has also written a trilogy of apocalyptic novels dubbed "The Dark Trilogy". Originally published by The Library of the Living Dead Press, they have been acquired by another publisher and are in the process of being edited for re-release later in 2012.
You can see what Patrick is up to via his website at www.patrickdorazio.com.
Over twenty-five of his short stories appear or will be appearing in various anthologies from a wide array of different small press publishers. He has dipped his toes into a variety of genres, including horror, science fiction, fantasy, erotica, bizarro, western, action-adventure, apocalyptic, and comedy.
He has also written a trilogy of apocalyptic novels dubbed "The Dark Trilogy". Originally published by The Library of the Living Dead Press, they have been acquired by another publisher and are in the process of being edited for re-release later in 2012.
You can see what Patrick is up to via his website at www.patrickdorazio.com.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 20, 2011
This is 3 books combined into one volume. There is another "bonus" book of short stories so in total this is 4 books. The issue is the author drug things on much longer than he should have and many details are repeated. The redundancy is ultimately what made me give this book the rating of 3 stars if I could I would give it 2.5. The point is the author took what could easily fill 1-2 books and dragged it into three, there are no twists that make this stand apart from any other zombie book. In fact the D'Orazio could give Anthony Giangregorio a run for his money, the problem is you cannot tell the same story over and over again without irritating the reader. I am comparing these books to the Deadwater books because they are promising in the beginning but then it seams the author ran out of ideas, rather then wrap it up he continues telling the same old story.
November 9, 2011
Trilogies…love ‘em or hate ‘em, they are an ever growing part of reading. Myself, I’m ambivalent – but one thing I always want to know up front is if a book is part of a trilogy or series. Cliffhangers are not my friends.
I’d been watching Patrick D’Orazio’s books for over a year when I noticed the Dark Trilogy had been released. As an additional bonus, Dark Stories, from D’Orazio’s blog are also included.
The first book, Comes the Dark, starts with a bang (no long lead up to the zombapocalypse here folks) as main character Jeff discovers his wife and children have become the latest victims of the living dead. Driven to the edge, he embarks on a suicidal mission of revenge through his neighbourhood, only to find another survivor, Megan. As they find themselves trapped, they are rescued by Jason and George at an abandoned rescue station that has been overrun by the zombie hordes. While attempting to make a supply run on their way to find their safe haven, they are taken hostage by another band of survivors.
Into the Dark focuses on the conflicts between the two groups, of which the leader, Michael, and Jeff have very different ideas and opinions on how to live and survive in a world populated by the undead.
Beyond the Dark starts with the fall of the stronghold of the gang that captured Jeff, Megan, George and Jason and continues with their attempt to flee the hordes through a nearby town, culminating in the ultimate battle for survival against both the Zombies and each other.
The ending of this series is great – I promise No Spoilers, but a trilogy like this is hard to end – either you aren’t satisfied that everything is wrapped up, or it’s wrapped up too nicely, like a Christmas present from your grandmother that you know was wrapped in-store. Beyond the Dark strikes a happy medium with both.
The ‘bonus’ book, Dark Stories are from Patrick D’Orazio’s blog and these are the back stories of the characters, how they survived the initial outbreak, came to be together and some very interesting insights into how their characters developed into those in the book. Dark Stories starts with a disclaimer from the author that these stories may change your feelings on some characters - personally I found that it gave me an extra insight into the characters that I would have missed otherwise.
All three of the books and the fourth book of extras are full of action, suspense, survival and some pretty intense gore – but it’s not pointless, the writing style is very descriptive and you can imagine how some of these monsters really would look like.
The characters are very well fleshed-out and are by no means Mr./Ms. Action Hero – they are all teetering on the edge of a mental breakdown, are not physical wonders and say and do some very questionable things. The ‘’baddies’’ are bad, sure, but they aren’t the quickly-descend-into-savage-brutality types that are rife in the Zombie genre – to an extent their actions are understandable and plausible.
If I had to pick my order of preference for the books, it would be:
1) Beyond the Dark – 5 stars – action-packed, pee-your-pants scary, some of the best descriptive writing I’ve encountered.
2) Comes the Dark – 4 stars – Hooks you in, sets the scene.
3) Dark Stories – 4 stars – How characters experienced the first days, and banded together.
4) Into the Dark – 4 stars – Extra character development, builds towards the climax.
Are these books perfect? No – there’s no such thing (unless you are a Twilight fanatic *runs and hides*) – every book has some fault, and one very small thing that I didn’t like about these books was a couple of the descriptions, such as: ‘the desperate renegade’ and ‘the gimpy man’ - I personally don’t like these kind of descriptions, particularly when the passage is focused on only one character – it makes me think someone else has suddenly appeared and I’ve missed something.
In summary, these books are one of my favourite zombie trilogies/series in 2011, and it’s going to take a damn good try to better them. If you like your zombies real and in-your-face, this trilogy is definitely for you.
One last thing – I loved this description: Billy Bubba had the obligatory mullet, molester mustache, and sleeveless t-shirt allowing a clear view of a series of tasteless and poorly drawn tattoos running up and down his arms.
I’d been watching Patrick D’Orazio’s books for over a year when I noticed the Dark Trilogy had been released. As an additional bonus, Dark Stories, from D’Orazio’s blog are also included.
The first book, Comes the Dark, starts with a bang (no long lead up to the zombapocalypse here folks) as main character Jeff discovers his wife and children have become the latest victims of the living dead. Driven to the edge, he embarks on a suicidal mission of revenge through his neighbourhood, only to find another survivor, Megan. As they find themselves trapped, they are rescued by Jason and George at an abandoned rescue station that has been overrun by the zombie hordes. While attempting to make a supply run on their way to find their safe haven, they are taken hostage by another band of survivors.
Into the Dark focuses on the conflicts between the two groups, of which the leader, Michael, and Jeff have very different ideas and opinions on how to live and survive in a world populated by the undead.
Beyond the Dark starts with the fall of the stronghold of the gang that captured Jeff, Megan, George and Jason and continues with their attempt to flee the hordes through a nearby town, culminating in the ultimate battle for survival against both the Zombies and each other.
The ending of this series is great – I promise No Spoilers, but a trilogy like this is hard to end – either you aren’t satisfied that everything is wrapped up, or it’s wrapped up too nicely, like a Christmas present from your grandmother that you know was wrapped in-store. Beyond the Dark strikes a happy medium with both.
The ‘bonus’ book, Dark Stories are from Patrick D’Orazio’s blog and these are the back stories of the characters, how they survived the initial outbreak, came to be together and some very interesting insights into how their characters developed into those in the book. Dark Stories starts with a disclaimer from the author that these stories may change your feelings on some characters - personally I found that it gave me an extra insight into the characters that I would have missed otherwise.
All three of the books and the fourth book of extras are full of action, suspense, survival and some pretty intense gore – but it’s not pointless, the writing style is very descriptive and you can imagine how some of these monsters really would look like.
The characters are very well fleshed-out and are by no means Mr./Ms. Action Hero – they are all teetering on the edge of a mental breakdown, are not physical wonders and say and do some very questionable things. The ‘’baddies’’ are bad, sure, but they aren’t the quickly-descend-into-savage-brutality types that are rife in the Zombie genre – to an extent their actions are understandable and plausible.
If I had to pick my order of preference for the books, it would be:
1) Beyond the Dark – 5 stars – action-packed, pee-your-pants scary, some of the best descriptive writing I’ve encountered.
2) Comes the Dark – 4 stars – Hooks you in, sets the scene.
3) Dark Stories – 4 stars – How characters experienced the first days, and banded together.
4) Into the Dark – 4 stars – Extra character development, builds towards the climax.
Are these books perfect? No – there’s no such thing (unless you are a Twilight fanatic *runs and hides*) – every book has some fault, and one very small thing that I didn’t like about these books was a couple of the descriptions, such as: ‘the desperate renegade’ and ‘the gimpy man’ - I personally don’t like these kind of descriptions, particularly when the passage is focused on only one character – it makes me think someone else has suddenly appeared and I’ve missed something.
In summary, these books are one of my favourite zombie trilogies/series in 2011, and it’s going to take a damn good try to better them. If you like your zombies real and in-your-face, this trilogy is definitely for you.
One last thing – I loved this description: Billy Bubba had the obligatory mullet, molester mustache, and sleeveless t-shirt allowing a clear view of a series of tasteless and poorly drawn tattoos running up and down his arms.
September 20, 2011
The Dark Trilogy returns Zombies to what they are supposed to be, frightening creatures, instead of outlaw biker gang stand-ins.
The zombie genre has become a post-apocalyptic sub-genre, the post-apocalyptic genre being an offshoot of the western, which I see as being about bringing order to a wild and untamed land. In zombie novels, western society has become the "wild west" and usually stars a rag-tag bunch of survivors trying to eek out an existence in the wild land and tame it. Most zombie stories I've read, after an initial description or two, ceases to describe them and over the course of the novel, become less and less of a threat as the survivors begin to tame the world, and as a result, less and less scary.
The Dark Trilogy, on the other hand, has the most vivid and disturbing descriptions of zombies I've ever read and never stops describing them as they rot and decay, reinforcing the idea that these are frightening monsters that are supposed to be scary. These are horror novels from start to finish,the squeamish and faint of heart need not apply.
Also nice is that the focus is on the psychological state of the survivals as they try to remain sane and alive in a world that has literally become Hell on Earth. Nobody in the novels are psychologically sound and unaffected by what they witness and need to do to survive. While the main character, Jeff is the closest thing to the stereotypical self-reliant and strong survivalist hero, over the course of the novels you begin to question if he's really all there anymore.
Another review mention that they novels tell the same story over and over again, that they do in regards to constant zombie killing, but the true plot lies not with the zombies, but with the people's internal struggles and those stories don't repeat,each character has an arc that plays out over the course of the three books.
Overall these are fantastic books and worth a read by those looking to be kept up at night. Those who simply want to live out survivalist fantasies please look elsewhere.
The zombie genre has become a post-apocalyptic sub-genre, the post-apocalyptic genre being an offshoot of the western, which I see as being about bringing order to a wild and untamed land. In zombie novels, western society has become the "wild west" and usually stars a rag-tag bunch of survivors trying to eek out an existence in the wild land and tame it. Most zombie stories I've read, after an initial description or two, ceases to describe them and over the course of the novel, become less and less of a threat as the survivors begin to tame the world, and as a result, less and less scary.
The Dark Trilogy, on the other hand, has the most vivid and disturbing descriptions of zombies I've ever read and never stops describing them as they rot and decay, reinforcing the idea that these are frightening monsters that are supposed to be scary. These are horror novels from start to finish,the squeamish and faint of heart need not apply.
Also nice is that the focus is on the psychological state of the survivals as they try to remain sane and alive in a world that has literally become Hell on Earth. Nobody in the novels are psychologically sound and unaffected by what they witness and need to do to survive. While the main character, Jeff is the closest thing to the stereotypical self-reliant and strong survivalist hero, over the course of the novels you begin to question if he's really all there anymore.
Another review mention that they novels tell the same story over and over again, that they do in regards to constant zombie killing, but the true plot lies not with the zombies, but with the people's internal struggles and those stories don't repeat,each character has an arc that plays out over the course of the three books.
Overall these are fantastic books and worth a read by those looking to be kept up at night. Those who simply want to live out survivalist fantasies please look elsewhere.
April 9, 2012
Very impressed. Full of action and suspense...definitely had me on an emotional roller coaster. I just wanted to jump into the story and hit someone!!! You ever had that feeling??!! hahaha!! Loved it. Author kept it real...I would recommend.
February 20, 2012
The best Zombie Triology! More about the survivors really, but plenty of action.
October 4, 2016
Typical zombie genre book. Overall, I like the first couple of books in the trilogy but lost interest during the third book.
January 7, 2015
A good Zombie book for someone new to the genre.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews