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DARK FACTORY #1
Dark Factory
Welcome to Dark Factory! You may experience strobe effects, Y reality, DJ beats, love, sex, betrayal, triple shot espresso, broken bones, broken dreams, ecstasy, self-knowledge, and the void.
Dark Factory is a dance three floors of DJs, drinks, and customizable reality, everything you see and hear and feel. Ari Regon is the club's wild card floor manager, Max Caspar is a stubborn DIY artist, both chasing a vision of true reality. And rogue journalist Marfa Carpenter is there to write it all down. Then a rooftop rave sets in motion a fathomless energy that may drive Ari and Max to the edge of the ultimate experience.
In Dark Factory, Kathe Koja combines her award-winning writing and her skill directing immersive events, to create a story that unfolds in the listener's creative mind.
Dark Factory is a dance three floors of DJs, drinks, and customizable reality, everything you see and hear and feel. Ari Regon is the club's wild card floor manager, Max Caspar is a stubborn DIY artist, both chasing a vision of true reality. And rogue journalist Marfa Carpenter is there to write it all down. Then a rooftop rave sets in motion a fathomless energy that may drive Ari and Max to the edge of the ultimate experience.
In Dark Factory, Kathe Koja combines her award-winning writing and her skill directing immersive events, to create a story that unfolds in the listener's creative mind.
1 pages, Audio CD
First published May 10, 2022
7 people are currently reading
2288 people want to read
About the author
Kathe Koja
130 books932 followersKathe Koja is a writer, director and independent producer of live and virtual events. Her work combines and plays with genres, from horror to YA to historical to weird, in books like THE CIPHER, VELOCITIES, BUDDHA BOY, UNDER THE POPPY, and CATHERINE THE GHOST.
Her ongoing project is the world of DARK FACTORY https://darkfactory.club/ continuing in DARK PARK, with DARK MATTER coming out in December 2025.
She's a Detroit native, animal rights supporter, supporter of democracy, and huge fan of Emily Bronte.
Her ongoing project is the world of DARK FACTORY https://darkfactory.club/ continuing in DARK PARK, with DARK MATTER coming out in December 2025.
She's a Detroit native, animal rights supporter, supporter of democracy, and huge fan of Emily Bronte.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
February 18, 2022
Dark Factory reminds us that Kathe Koja is not only a great writer, but an important one. Bolstered by inventive audiovisual supplements, the book is both intimate and epic, an ensemble genre-bender that envisions new possibilities for the novel as narrative form. This is a daring work of multisensory and multimedia immersion, an exemplar of Koja’s career-long commitment to dissolving boundaries—between genres and delivery systems, between body and mind, between story and reader, between virtual and real. This is a propulsive, wickedly funny literary party; enter the Factory, lose yourself, and dance.
February 14, 2022
Dark Factory is a literary hallucination delivered in a hurtling, blink and you miss it style full of mind-bending dark imagery verging on madness.
I won’t lie. Kathe Koja’s Dark Factory was a challenging read, but only in the best of ways. Eschewing a more traditional writing style was a bold choice. But readers willing to take the journey are rewarded with an inventive tale that zigs when you think it will zag. Koja’s prose is demanding, featuring frequent perspective shifts and a sometimes stream of consciousness narrative. It was easiest to read in spurts. Don’t expect a lot of handholding. Koja throws the reader into the deep end from the get-go.
Dark Factory skirts the edges of sci-fi with a literal mind-bending, virtual reality premise. It doesn’t get cyberpunk right, but I think that’s the point. Gibson, Sterling, and Stephenson’s future of savvy street punks jacking in and hacking the big corps is so passé. This is a post-punk world, riding the cresting wave of content creators as philosopher entertainers. Everything’s coming to an end, so why not finish it all off with a mind-blowing party?
I won’t lie. Kathe Koja’s Dark Factory was a challenging read, but only in the best of ways. Eschewing a more traditional writing style was a bold choice. But readers willing to take the journey are rewarded with an inventive tale that zigs when you think it will zag. Koja’s prose is demanding, featuring frequent perspective shifts and a sometimes stream of consciousness narrative. It was easiest to read in spurts. Don’t expect a lot of handholding. Koja throws the reader into the deep end from the get-go.
Dark Factory skirts the edges of sci-fi with a literal mind-bending, virtual reality premise. It doesn’t get cyberpunk right, but I think that’s the point. Gibson, Sterling, and Stephenson’s future of savvy street punks jacking in and hacking the big corps is so passé. This is a post-punk world, riding the cresting wave of content creators as philosopher entertainers. Everything’s coming to an end, so why not finish it all off with a mind-blowing party?
February 23, 2022
I love how Kathe Koja reinvents herself with every novel. Dark Factory is a fully immersive, futuristic dive into augmented reality clubbing and quite unlike anything we've read from her previously.
Ari is the Factory's floor manager and king socialite. He's there to make sure everyone is having the time of their lives while seeking out ways to improve their experience. To do this, he brings on Max, a local artist who designs similar experiences, only his take place out in nature. The arrival of Max upsets Ari's boss Jonas, who fears Ari is trying to take his job and kicks him to the curb. And so we follow Ari around as he rides the waves of his popularity, jumping from club to club in an attempt to recreate what he had at Dark Factory and begins to fall in love with Felix, a talented and highly sought out DJ. In addition to Max, who keeps testing the limits of the Factory's Y reality, we meet an assertive journalist Marfa who documents it all, and various other music makers, experience designers, and rich bitch clubbers who can't pass up the thumping and bumping of the trance inducing rhythms that slide off the page and into our heads as we lose ourselves inside this weird and wonderful world Kathe has created for us.
Meerkat and Kathe make an awesome team and have truly outdone themselves with the lead up to the release of this book!
Ari is the Factory's floor manager and king socialite. He's there to make sure everyone is having the time of their lives while seeking out ways to improve their experience. To do this, he brings on Max, a local artist who designs similar experiences, only his take place out in nature. The arrival of Max upsets Ari's boss Jonas, who fears Ari is trying to take his job and kicks him to the curb. And so we follow Ari around as he rides the waves of his popularity, jumping from club to club in an attempt to recreate what he had at Dark Factory and begins to fall in love with Felix, a talented and highly sought out DJ. In addition to Max, who keeps testing the limits of the Factory's Y reality, we meet an assertive journalist Marfa who documents it all, and various other music makers, experience designers, and rich bitch clubbers who can't pass up the thumping and bumping of the trance inducing rhythms that slide off the page and into our heads as we lose ourselves inside this weird and wonderful world Kathe has created for us.
Meerkat and Kathe make an awesome team and have truly outdone themselves with the lead up to the release of this book!
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November 1, 2022I've said it before, and I'll say it again: no one writes like Kathe Koja. Her style and form are unique. She pushes boundaries, is exploratory and unafraid to take risks, and I admire her hugely for this.
I never rush through a piece of Koja's work; in fact, I would find it impossible to do so. The amount of work that has gone into the whole Dark Factory experience is exemplary. Admirable. Formidable.
While it might not be for everyone, you have to stand back and admire her artistic courage, her flair, her bravery.
Dark Factory is not a novel. It's an immersive, interactive performance.
A brave writer and publisher commands a brave reader, so what are you waiting for?
I never rush through a piece of Koja's work; in fact, I would find it impossible to do so. The amount of work that has gone into the whole Dark Factory experience is exemplary. Admirable. Formidable.
While it might not be for everyone, you have to stand back and admire her artistic courage, her flair, her bravery.
Dark Factory is not a novel. It's an immersive, interactive performance.
A brave writer and publisher commands a brave reader, so what are you waiting for?
January 13, 2022
Life is comprised of experiences and bold thinking with an observant eye can lead to unique experiences to be had in Dark Factory by Kathe Koja.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Dark Factory is unique mixed-reality dance club that provides those who attend with an opportunity to customize their experience and change their reality in accordance with their whims. Floor manager Ari is a man who makes things happen and seems to be the heart of Dark Factory’s success. A stubborn artist with a keen eye for detail, Max has made his own experience in an outdoor setting with Bitter Lake, though it’s been struggling to stay afloat. As the two men are brought together, with less than friendly feelings between them, the fate of their visions and their search for the ultimate reality experience becomes intricately intertwined and filled with industry intrigue.
Playing with and expanding on the concept of reality, particularly crafting reality, was an intriguing aspect of this reading experience and the accompanying art and collateral outside the pages of the novel enhances the interactive component of it, blurring the lines of where the fiction begins and ends. The bonus content provided a deeper look at the characters presented to help develop them and while they could be read at any point, it was still an odd layout decision to occasionally have the bonus content arranged with a main text page between it, creating a need to flip between pages unnecessarily. The use of dashes in the text to shift focus between Ari and Max focused portions took a while to get accustomed to and could be rather confusing at times, particularly when the two were together, though it was a helpful visual marker to prompt readers to pay closer attention.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Dark Factory is unique mixed-reality dance club that provides those who attend with an opportunity to customize their experience and change their reality in accordance with their whims. Floor manager Ari is a man who makes things happen and seems to be the heart of Dark Factory’s success. A stubborn artist with a keen eye for detail, Max has made his own experience in an outdoor setting with Bitter Lake, though it’s been struggling to stay afloat. As the two men are brought together, with less than friendly feelings between them, the fate of their visions and their search for the ultimate reality experience becomes intricately intertwined and filled with industry intrigue.
Playing with and expanding on the concept of reality, particularly crafting reality, was an intriguing aspect of this reading experience and the accompanying art and collateral outside the pages of the novel enhances the interactive component of it, blurring the lines of where the fiction begins and ends. The bonus content provided a deeper look at the characters presented to help develop them and while they could be read at any point, it was still an odd layout decision to occasionally have the bonus content arranged with a main text page between it, creating a need to flip between pages unnecessarily. The use of dashes in the text to shift focus between Ari and Max focused portions took a while to get accustomed to and could be rather confusing at times, particularly when the two were together, though it was a helpful visual marker to prompt readers to pay closer attention.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
May 17, 2022
Dark Factory is my first read by Kathe Koja and it will most certainly not be my last. Her writing is so unique. I’m not sure I’ve read anything like Dark Factory before. It was absolutely mind-bending and honestly, one of the most challenging (in a great way) reads I’ve read in a while.
Dark Factory is one of those books that require your absolute focus. There is no skimming or letting your mind wander. Each word is placed purposefully and if you’re not paying attention, you could get lost.
If my above paragraph worried you, let me reassure you, reading Dark Factory is very rewarding. You’ll be taken on a journey of a mind-bending plot line with fantastic characters and very unique writing. Immersive and addicting. In the end, I very much enjoyed this and was happy I read it.
This is one of those stories that going in blind is best, so I’m keeping this review brief and not deep-diving into the plot. If this is a journey that sounds interesting to you, I don’t think you’ll regret taking it! Don’t miss out.
Thank you to Meerkat Press for the free review copy. All opinions are my own and unbiased
Dark Factory is one of those books that require your absolute focus. There is no skimming or letting your mind wander. Each word is placed purposefully and if you’re not paying attention, you could get lost.
If my above paragraph worried you, let me reassure you, reading Dark Factory is very rewarding. You’ll be taken on a journey of a mind-bending plot line with fantastic characters and very unique writing. Immersive and addicting. In the end, I very much enjoyed this and was happy I read it.
This is one of those stories that going in blind is best, so I’m keeping this review brief and not deep-diving into the plot. If this is a journey that sounds interesting to you, I don’t think you’ll regret taking it! Don’t miss out.
Thank you to Meerkat Press for the free review copy. All opinions are my own and unbiased
August 18, 2022
This is a hard book for me to rate. The things I loved about this book were amazing, fucking outstanding, so goddamn good, but the things that didn't work for me REALLY didn't work for me and I found myself kind of dreading picking it back up to finish it. Been waffling between 3 and 4, but the more I think about it after finishing it, the more fondly I consider it.
Right out the gate, the writing is fucking revelatory. Probably one of the best written books I've ever read. It oozes so much style and confidence and wit and charm and heart and I can't praise it enough.
When I don't have my nose buried in a book, I'm probably either being a huge film nerd or reading comics, and one of the questions that's always running through my head is, "Is it possible to translate this shot/camera movement/framing/etc into prose? How would you do that? What would that even look like?".
This book answers that question for me. The writing is so uniquely cinematic and visual. The prose is a camera lens moving through the scenes, zooming in and out, panning across scenes, cutting to closeups of faces and movements and symbols, pulling way back and beautifully framing sunsets and cityscapes and landscapes and jesus fucking christ I love the writing so much. Absolutely fucking mindblowing for me. I didn't know you could do this kind of thing with words.
Thematically this book is perfect too. I read Koja's The Cipher earlier this year and I love how this book deals with the exact same themes but flips the perspective. Both novels examine relationships between artists and the creative process and how art is a manifestation of your external circumstances filtered through and processed by your own inner world and how whether you're aware of it or not, your art is always a reflection of those things.
Where The Cipher examines these themes through the lens of a piss-poor, self-loathing addict trapped in abusive relationships centralized and defined by a work of 'art' that is a literal manifestation of the hole being carved into his body/soul. Dark Factory takes a different perspective and this is kind of where it lost me. The artists in Dark Factory are young, beautiful, globe-trotting geniuses who work incredibly hard and whos hard work is always appreciated and rewarded. They meet and love and collaborate and support each other and are just straight up good people that good things happen to.
You can probably guess which novel I related to more :(.
Another thing I loved is the setting. I've been thinking a lot lately about how what I really want out of cyberpunk novels in the future is smaller, more focused, character driven stories. The fantasy of 'cool lonewolf hackerman and his cadre of reluctant misfits infiltrating megacorp arcologies and exposing massive conspiracies' is kind of over. In this era of post-truth, the cyberpunk fantasy I really need is 'people existing, being happy, and thriving in a world where everyone wants to hold you under their thumb or boot'. Some real resilience of mankind shit, you know?
Dark Factory is exactly that. Ari and Max and Felix all individually experience the thumb of big corps trying to hold them down and coopt their creativity for profit and content and they all wriggle out and thrive without having to sell-out. It's exactly what I want out of cyberPUNK. Or should it be cyberclub now? Cyber-post-punk? Ah who cares? Literary genres are blurry, music genres doubly so.
My complaints are mostly about the actual things that happen in the book. There are basically three types of scenes in the book, #1 Someone Goes On A Walk and Has a Think, #2 Some People Eat Food and Chat, #3 People Are Clubbing. This might be a bit reductive, but it's what it felt like. I really liked the act of reading it, following along with the camera movement, absorbing the worldbuilding, just trying to take everything in and experience what Koja was trying to deliver, but ultimately it was just a bit... boring? Underwhelming?
It's probably a book best read in short spurts rather than in big chunks like I did. The prose really needs you to meet it half way and engage with it. It requires a lot from you and can be exhausting to read. That, compounded with the relative lack of actual things happening makes it a complicated book to recommend.
On prose and actualization of themes alone? Fucking perfect 10/10. Transcendentally fucking amazing.
As a companion piece to The Cipher? Fuck yes omg. These two books are 100% in conversation with each other if not full-blown debate.
On plot and ability to maintain interest? Lower :(. I just really wish I cared more about what was going on, or was interested in knowing what would happen next.
Right out the gate, the writing is fucking revelatory. Probably one of the best written books I've ever read. It oozes so much style and confidence and wit and charm and heart and I can't praise it enough.
When I don't have my nose buried in a book, I'm probably either being a huge film nerd or reading comics, and one of the questions that's always running through my head is, "Is it possible to translate this shot/camera movement/framing/etc into prose? How would you do that? What would that even look like?".
This book answers that question for me. The writing is so uniquely cinematic and visual. The prose is a camera lens moving through the scenes, zooming in and out, panning across scenes, cutting to closeups of faces and movements and symbols, pulling way back and beautifully framing sunsets and cityscapes and landscapes and jesus fucking christ I love the writing so much. Absolutely fucking mindblowing for me. I didn't know you could do this kind of thing with words.
Thematically this book is perfect too. I read Koja's The Cipher earlier this year and I love how this book deals with the exact same themes but flips the perspective. Both novels examine relationships between artists and the creative process and how art is a manifestation of your external circumstances filtered through and processed by your own inner world and how whether you're aware of it or not, your art is always a reflection of those things.
Where The Cipher examines these themes through the lens of a piss-poor, self-loathing addict trapped in abusive relationships centralized and defined by a work of 'art' that is a literal manifestation of the hole being carved into his body/soul. Dark Factory takes a different perspective and this is kind of where it lost me. The artists in Dark Factory are young, beautiful, globe-trotting geniuses who work incredibly hard and whos hard work is always appreciated and rewarded. They meet and love and collaborate and support each other and are just straight up good people that good things happen to.
You can probably guess which novel I related to more :(.
Another thing I loved is the setting. I've been thinking a lot lately about how what I really want out of cyberpunk novels in the future is smaller, more focused, character driven stories. The fantasy of 'cool lonewolf hackerman and his cadre of reluctant misfits infiltrating megacorp arcologies and exposing massive conspiracies' is kind of over. In this era of post-truth, the cyberpunk fantasy I really need is 'people existing, being happy, and thriving in a world where everyone wants to hold you under their thumb or boot'. Some real resilience of mankind shit, you know?
Dark Factory is exactly that. Ari and Max and Felix all individually experience the thumb of big corps trying to hold them down and coopt their creativity for profit and content and they all wriggle out and thrive without having to sell-out. It's exactly what I want out of cyberPUNK. Or should it be cyberclub now? Cyber-post-punk? Ah who cares? Literary genres are blurry, music genres doubly so.
My complaints are mostly about the actual things that happen in the book. There are basically three types of scenes in the book, #1 Someone Goes On A Walk and Has a Think, #2 Some People Eat Food and Chat, #3 People Are Clubbing. This might be a bit reductive, but it's what it felt like. I really liked the act of reading it, following along with the camera movement, absorbing the worldbuilding, just trying to take everything in and experience what Koja was trying to deliver, but ultimately it was just a bit... boring? Underwhelming?
It's probably a book best read in short spurts rather than in big chunks like I did. The prose really needs you to meet it half way and engage with it. It requires a lot from you and can be exhausting to read. That, compounded with the relative lack of actual things happening makes it a complicated book to recommend.
On prose and actualization of themes alone? Fucking perfect 10/10. Transcendentally fucking amazing.
As a companion piece to The Cipher? Fuck yes omg. These two books are 100% in conversation with each other if not full-blown debate.
On plot and ability to maintain interest? Lower :(. I just really wish I cared more about what was going on, or was interested in knowing what would happen next.
December 11, 2025
(2.0 Stars)
Unpopular opinion I know, but for me this was just ok. I didn't hate it, but it just really didn't do anything for me. Maybe it was a case of not being able to see the forest for the trees. It seemed like there was a lot going on, but nothing really happened, or I got lost in the details. Everything is half-finished and goes off on a tangent. I don't know if it is stream of consciousness writing, or if it is just "stoner prose". It changes direction with the staccato of a five-year-old on a sugar high.
I found the characters insufferable, unrelatable, and zero growth. The world building was descriptive and attempted to be visual, but didn't seem to stay on track or remain consistent.
I think this book tried to be profound, but ends up coming off like you are the only sober person at the party and you have to listen to everyone else talking, and they are completely stoned and think they are having a genius moment or epiphany.
Unpopular opinion I know, but for me this was just ok. I didn't hate it, but it just really didn't do anything for me. Maybe it was a case of not being able to see the forest for the trees. It seemed like there was a lot going on, but nothing really happened, or I got lost in the details. Everything is half-finished and goes off on a tangent. I don't know if it is stream of consciousness writing, or if it is just "stoner prose". It changes direction with the staccato of a five-year-old on a sugar high.
I found the characters insufferable, unrelatable, and zero growth. The world building was descriptive and attempted to be visual, but didn't seem to stay on track or remain consistent.
I think this book tried to be profound, but ends up coming off like you are the only sober person at the party and you have to listen to everyone else talking, and they are completely stoned and think they are having a genius moment or epiphany.
October 25, 2023
HIGHLIGHTS
~clubbing with virtual reality
~music that brings the house down
~what is reality anyway?
~and can we change the answer?
If you know Koja already, then she needs no introduction; if this is the first book of hers you’ve considered, then no introduction can do her justice.
Dark Factory is the intertwined story of Ari and Max, two very different people with – at least initially – very different views on immersive experiences. Ari is the heart of the eponymous Dark Factory, a club that uses a Santa-sack of technology to create a kind of catered reality for its patrons, a wild fantasy party that never ends and can’t be found anywhere else. Max, on the other hand, is a strong believer of meat over virtual, creating living and immediate art installations in garages and groves for people to experience in person, without Y – Y being an advanced virtual reality technology that more and more games and clubs are making use of.
They’re diametrically opposed characters, and when they first meet it’s with barely-repressed hostility – but quite quickly they realise that their individual philosophies are both missing what the other person has to offer. Ari, in particular, recognises genius in Max and understands how much more they could accomplish together – and it doesn’t take as long as you’d think for Max to come to the same conclusion.
I have to admit, I didn’t understand everything Ari and Max said and thought about what they saw and wanted to do, but the heart of it was the creation of experiences that are real, as real as possible – to the point of reaching for, and even creating, a new kind of reality. Woven through the narrative is the quiet but powerful assertion that people like Max – and Felix, an incredible DJ who hears a hum beneath the sounds of the world – are seeing something the rest of us can’t; are seeing, perhaps, objective reality rather than the subjective one the rest of exist in. The quest, then, if it can be called that, is Ari, Max’s, and Felix’s determination to learn how to show other people that objective reality – or even bring them into it with them.
Read the rest at Every Book a Doorway!
~clubbing with virtual reality
~music that brings the house down
~what is reality anyway?
~and can we change the answer?
If you know Koja already, then she needs no introduction; if this is the first book of hers you’ve considered, then no introduction can do her justice.
Dark Factory is the intertwined story of Ari and Max, two very different people with – at least initially – very different views on immersive experiences. Ari is the heart of the eponymous Dark Factory, a club that uses a Santa-sack of technology to create a kind of catered reality for its patrons, a wild fantasy party that never ends and can’t be found anywhere else. Max, on the other hand, is a strong believer of meat over virtual, creating living and immediate art installations in garages and groves for people to experience in person, without Y – Y being an advanced virtual reality technology that more and more games and clubs are making use of.
They’re diametrically opposed characters, and when they first meet it’s with barely-repressed hostility – but quite quickly they realise that their individual philosophies are both missing what the other person has to offer. Ari, in particular, recognises genius in Max and understands how much more they could accomplish together – and it doesn’t take as long as you’d think for Max to come to the same conclusion.
I have to admit, I didn’t understand everything Ari and Max said and thought about what they saw and wanted to do, but the heart of it was the creation of experiences that are real, as real as possible – to the point of reaching for, and even creating, a new kind of reality. Woven through the narrative is the quiet but powerful assertion that people like Max – and Felix, an incredible DJ who hears a hum beneath the sounds of the world – are seeing something the rest of us can’t; are seeing, perhaps, objective reality rather than the subjective one the rest of exist in. The quest, then, if it can be called that, is Ari, Max’s, and Felix’s determination to learn how to show other people that objective reality – or even bring them into it with them.
Read the rest at Every Book a Doorway!
September 2, 2023
I have no clue how to describe "Dark Factory" but I do know that it's a brilliant piece of writing. If you're a long time Koja fan then this book is for you because all of her different genres seem to have coalesced into a masterpiece. The mystery and madness of the Funhole is here along with the deep cut philosophy of what art or, in this case, what "immersive experiences" should look like. The futuristic vibe from the third act of "Christopher Wild" is found in the virtual Y space vs the meat space of real life. Koja has one upped anything that Zuckerberg thinks he's trying to accomplish. And, The Poppy, the original performance space, now found in Dark Factory and at Bitter Lake and in the metaverse of Birds in Paradise. And Ari and Felix are Istvan and Rupert reincarnated..
There is so much going on in this book and I'm sure that they'll be complaints about "Dark Factory" being too much but it worked for me. Ari and Jonas and Max and Marfa and Felix and Genie and a slew of others have led me to a place that I'm not sure I quite understand and I'm not sure I'm supposed to understand. All I know is that I follow the music and the magic and I go down a path to find a world that will stay with me.
August 2023: I needed to reread "Dark Factory" before "Dark Park". Everything I originally said still stands.
There is so much going on in this book and I'm sure that they'll be complaints about "Dark Factory" being too much but it worked for me. Ari and Jonas and Max and Marfa and Felix and Genie and a slew of others have led me to a place that I'm not sure I quite understand and I'm not sure I'm supposed to understand. All I know is that I follow the music and the magic and I go down a path to find a world that will stay with me.
August 2023: I needed to reread "Dark Factory" before "Dark Park". Everything I originally said still stands.
May 24, 2022
I adored Under The Poppy and thought I was going to enjoy Dark Factory just as much but I didn’t. I think overall this could have been a great 150 page Novella. I got to the half way point and felt it was done and then couldn’t bring myself to read the rest. I skimmed the last potion and didn’t enjoy it.
I think it was just too abstract for me and I didn’t understand what was going on and I can do that for a certain amount of pages until I think what’s the point?
Overall glad I finished it but didn’t give me anything I wanted from a book
I think it was just too abstract for me and I didn’t understand what was going on and I can do that for a certain amount of pages until I think what’s the point?
Overall glad I finished it but didn’t give me anything I wanted from a book
April 17, 2022
This feels very experimental and original, which sometimes made it feel like a challenging read.
I received an ARC for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an ARC for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.
July 1, 2022
respectful DNF like boring and really confusing style of writing
May 9, 2022
Short Take: The book is the experience is the book is the experience…
(*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*)
Good Morning, my beloved nerdlings! Today I’m bringing you something a little - well, actually a lot - different than my usual goose bumpery fare, but first, I have to take you all back in time for a quick minute…
Picture it: West Virginia, 1991. I was a horror-freak nerdling about to graduate with high school, when with a limited budget and even more limited options I bought a paperback copy of The Cipher. Before that, I had only been able to find King & Koontz, and although they did scary well enough, they both were always optimistic, with mostly-happy endings and precocious dogs and charming small towns.
Ms. Koja’s little black paperback (is that a song? It should be a song, right?) was something altogether different - bleak, nihilistic, taking place in a grimy city whose inhabitants are short on hope and happiness, and nothing ever gets better. Duckies, my developing mind was BLOWN.
So when I was offered an ARC of Dark Factory, I went in ready to feel the pain, you know? But this was something entirely different.
The eponymous Dark Factory is a nightclub, where Ari, the club’s “creator” mixes cutting-edge virtual reality tech known as “Y” with carefully curated sounds, sights, and even smells to allow guests to experience a world unlike any before.
Meanwhile, Ari’s sometimes-friend Max is of the “go outside and touch some grass” mindset - he has devoted all of his resources to creating Bitter Lake, a sort of woods tour where customers can don bear masks and wander the trails, finding stashes of apples and honey.
But when Max and Ari both realize the limitations of their creations, and decide to work on a little project together… well, I won’t spoil it here. Besides, it’s not even really the point of the book.
You see, in Dark Factory, there’s not a lot of action. No gore, no fights, no crazy supernatural evil entities from beyond the world. Instead, what Ms. Koja has given us is something stranger and more subtle.
This book is told through the eyes of both Max and Ari, but in both cases, the style is EXTREMELY stream-of-consciousness. Sentences can run on for a page or two, almost every character is only known by a first name (and so many of them seem to flit in and out of scenes) and every sight, sound, smell, and store sign is noted. It can be challenging to stay immersed, to find the actual events within the mountains of minutiae, and I’ll admit, I was struggling a few times to stay with it.
But then it hit me - the reason I am so simultaneously captivated and irritated by this style is because it is exactly like the inside of my own head, which is a constant high-speed monologue of everything I’m seeing, hearing, smelling, thinking, overthinking, stressing, imagining, and whichever stupid earworm has taken up residence.
Ostensibly, Dark Factory is a treatise on creating, what makes an idea a good one, and how to get others to most fully experience the thing the way the artist intended. But what it really is, in my opinion, is the author doing exactly that: she puts us deeply into the minds of her characters, creating an immersive, sumptuous, lyrical experience with no headset required.
There are also hints of something mystical going on, an absolutely marvelous love story, a heartbreaking loss, and some shady legal wrangling, but at times the story almost feels beside the point. It’s all about the experience.
The Nerd’s Rating: FOUR HAPPY NEURONS (and some soba noodles, duh)
(*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*)
Good Morning, my beloved nerdlings! Today I’m bringing you something a little - well, actually a lot - different than my usual goose bumpery fare, but first, I have to take you all back in time for a quick minute…
Picture it: West Virginia, 1991. I was a horror-freak nerdling about to graduate with high school, when with a limited budget and even more limited options I bought a paperback copy of The Cipher. Before that, I had only been able to find King & Koontz, and although they did scary well enough, they both were always optimistic, with mostly-happy endings and precocious dogs and charming small towns.
Ms. Koja’s little black paperback (is that a song? It should be a song, right?) was something altogether different - bleak, nihilistic, taking place in a grimy city whose inhabitants are short on hope and happiness, and nothing ever gets better. Duckies, my developing mind was BLOWN.
So when I was offered an ARC of Dark Factory, I went in ready to feel the pain, you know? But this was something entirely different.
The eponymous Dark Factory is a nightclub, where Ari, the club’s “creator” mixes cutting-edge virtual reality tech known as “Y” with carefully curated sounds, sights, and even smells to allow guests to experience a world unlike any before.
Meanwhile, Ari’s sometimes-friend Max is of the “go outside and touch some grass” mindset - he has devoted all of his resources to creating Bitter Lake, a sort of woods tour where customers can don bear masks and wander the trails, finding stashes of apples and honey.
But when Max and Ari both realize the limitations of their creations, and decide to work on a little project together… well, I won’t spoil it here. Besides, it’s not even really the point of the book.
You see, in Dark Factory, there’s not a lot of action. No gore, no fights, no crazy supernatural evil entities from beyond the world. Instead, what Ms. Koja has given us is something stranger and more subtle.
This book is told through the eyes of both Max and Ari, but in both cases, the style is EXTREMELY stream-of-consciousness. Sentences can run on for a page or two, almost every character is only known by a first name (and so many of them seem to flit in and out of scenes) and every sight, sound, smell, and store sign is noted. It can be challenging to stay immersed, to find the actual events within the mountains of minutiae, and I’ll admit, I was struggling a few times to stay with it.
But then it hit me - the reason I am so simultaneously captivated and irritated by this style is because it is exactly like the inside of my own head, which is a constant high-speed monologue of everything I’m seeing, hearing, smelling, thinking, overthinking, stressing, imagining, and whichever stupid earworm has taken up residence.
Ostensibly, Dark Factory is a treatise on creating, what makes an idea a good one, and how to get others to most fully experience the thing the way the artist intended. But what it really is, in my opinion, is the author doing exactly that: she puts us deeply into the minds of her characters, creating an immersive, sumptuous, lyrical experience with no headset required.
There are also hints of something mystical going on, an absolutely marvelous love story, a heartbreaking loss, and some shady legal wrangling, but at times the story almost feels beside the point. It’s all about the experience.
The Nerd’s Rating: FOUR HAPPY NEURONS (and some soba noodles, duh)
May 19, 2022
“Everything starts in darkness. All creation myths begin in chaos and the void.”
Dark Factory is Kathe Koja’s original genre bending novel. It takes place in a state-of-the-art club where every visitor can alter their reality to suit their needs making each experience unique. The club’s manager is Ari Regon who is infamous for the worlds he creates. He hires Max Casper, a talented DIY artist. Together they wish to create the ultimate true reality experience but not all can be achieved so simply.
I am a huge fan of Kathe Koja’s books. I have thoroughly enjoyed the likes of Cypher and Skin. When I heard about Dark Factory I knew I had to try it. With this entirely new concept, the author brings an ultimate experience to just for the characters but for the readers too. There is an interactive experience available when you visit the online website whilst reading. Truly a unique way of story telling within this world of the Dark Factory.
The story itself takes place in the night club that is one of its kind and has a reputation for being so. The relationships between characters like Ari and the owner of the club is full of tension from the get go. Once Max is hired and has to work alongside other club employees we get to meet some characters with rough exteriors and alterer motives. The drama soon begins to grow as betrayal and love comes into play. The fate of Ari once he’s fired from the club and desperately trying to recreate what he had at Dark Factory is one of many twists within this novel.
A truly unique story that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. It is quite different from the author’s original works and yet she manages to bring this dark world to a new reality with her signature story telling.
Many thanks to @meerkatpress for the arc and opportunity to be part of the experience of the Dark Factory.
Dark Factory is Kathe Koja’s original genre bending novel. It takes place in a state-of-the-art club where every visitor can alter their reality to suit their needs making each experience unique. The club’s manager is Ari Regon who is infamous for the worlds he creates. He hires Max Casper, a talented DIY artist. Together they wish to create the ultimate true reality experience but not all can be achieved so simply.
I am a huge fan of Kathe Koja’s books. I have thoroughly enjoyed the likes of Cypher and Skin. When I heard about Dark Factory I knew I had to try it. With this entirely new concept, the author brings an ultimate experience to just for the characters but for the readers too. There is an interactive experience available when you visit the online website whilst reading. Truly a unique way of story telling within this world of the Dark Factory.
The story itself takes place in the night club that is one of its kind and has a reputation for being so. The relationships between characters like Ari and the owner of the club is full of tension from the get go. Once Max is hired and has to work alongside other club employees we get to meet some characters with rough exteriors and alterer motives. The drama soon begins to grow as betrayal and love comes into play. The fate of Ari once he’s fired from the club and desperately trying to recreate what he had at Dark Factory is one of many twists within this novel.
A truly unique story that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. It is quite different from the author’s original works and yet she manages to bring this dark world to a new reality with her signature story telling.
Many thanks to @meerkatpress for the arc and opportunity to be part of the experience of the Dark Factory.
October 28, 2025
Only just finished, so still processing, but...
I love the delirious worlds that Kathe creates, and this new one is joyous. Human frailties abound, as in all her work, but joy is the overwhelming feeling I got from this one - trouble within, and no doubt trouble ahead, but wrapped up in the energy of chasing something new, something better; wrapped, ultimately, in love.
I love the delirious worlds that Kathe creates, and this new one is joyous. Human frailties abound, as in all her work, but joy is the overwhelming feeling I got from this one - trouble within, and no doubt trouble ahead, but wrapped up in the energy of chasing something new, something better; wrapped, ultimately, in love.
Read
September 24, 2025You'll literally never read anything else like this.
December 13, 2023
As always with Koja, brilliant prose style and unique story. Dark Factory takes its name from Andy Warhol's "The Factory" (4 locations throughout NYC) an the original "Silver Factory".
Koja's characters are less fleshed out than traditional books. They tend to be dropped onto the readers' head instead of introduced slowly, or at least with some minimal background info. You have to read between the lines to understand their intentions, their motives, their emotions. I enjoy that style, but I can sew how others might say that DF is not the easiest read. However, it is one that will leave you more educated on the power of word play.
The basis of the book is a play on reality, and artists, business owners, et al, come together to make that work with their own version of reality in the dance club at the forefront. Ari is a visual artist, socialite and the once manager of DF who soon gets the boot by curmudgeon Jonas due to him teaming up with Max, another visual artist, which for some weird reason worries Jonas. All of this is instigated by some of Jonas' jealous staff. Ari goes off on his own to recreate what he did at DF but soon runs into a host of other people, specifically Felix, who turns out to be the boy he never knew he needed. The book proceeds to follow Ari as he tries to recreate the DF experience at many other, seemingly, pop up venues until they find a good fit called Dark Park (there is a separate novella available about that).
Overall, Dark Factory is hallucinatory, as if we are reading through the experience of the characters while high as a kite on reality itself.
Koja's characters are less fleshed out than traditional books. They tend to be dropped onto the readers' head instead of introduced slowly, or at least with some minimal background info. You have to read between the lines to understand their intentions, their motives, their emotions. I enjoy that style, but I can sew how others might say that DF is not the easiest read. However, it is one that will leave you more educated on the power of word play.
The basis of the book is a play on reality, and artists, business owners, et al, come together to make that work with their own version of reality in the dance club at the forefront. Ari is a visual artist, socialite and the once manager of DF who soon gets the boot by curmudgeon Jonas due to him teaming up with Max, another visual artist, which for some weird reason worries Jonas. All of this is instigated by some of Jonas' jealous staff. Ari goes off on his own to recreate what he did at DF but soon runs into a host of other people, specifically Felix, who turns out to be the boy he never knew he needed. The book proceeds to follow Ari as he tries to recreate the DF experience at many other, seemingly, pop up venues until they find a good fit called Dark Park (there is a separate novella available about that).
Overall, Dark Factory is hallucinatory, as if we are reading through the experience of the characters while high as a kite on reality itself.
April 10, 2022
I got this e-book in exchange for a review.
First of all I have to tell you I am 64 years old. It is more than 40 years since I was in a nightclub. I know role playing games only by name, not from experience.
So I think the story was even more strange to me than to people of, say, 20, 30 years old.
Apart from the strangeness and not understanding : I liked the book very much.
I liked Ma, who did not realize what made him different from other poeple.
I liked Ari, with his keen nsight, although even he missed a lot.
I may be 64, but I did like the exuberant behaviour of the guests very much.
The ending was sad, though I could see it coming.
3,5 starts is not possible, so I will make it 4.
And it should be 4, I realise, because I loved the bonuses. Not always the bonuses itself, but the fact that you could click on a bookmark and would be sent to another part of the book. And return easily.
The links to the website did not work very well though on my e-reader (I bought a new one last year). My e-reader could not show the websites in color, a pity.
First of all I have to tell you I am 64 years old. It is more than 40 years since I was in a nightclub. I know role playing games only by name, not from experience.
So I think the story was even more strange to me than to people of, say, 20, 30 years old.
Apart from the strangeness and not understanding : I liked the book very much.
I liked Ma, who did not realize what made him different from other poeple.
I liked Ari, with his keen nsight, although even he missed a lot.
I may be 64, but I did like the exuberant behaviour of the guests very much.
The ending was sad, though I could see it coming.
3,5 starts is not possible, so I will make it 4.
And it should be 4, I realise, because I loved the bonuses. Not always the bonuses itself, but the fact that you could click on a bookmark and would be sent to another part of the book. And return easily.
The links to the website did not work very well though on my e-reader (I bought a new one last year). My e-reader could not show the websites in color, a pity.
March 25, 2022
I'm DNF'ing this book. I took a break from it as I was not really enjoying it and came back and found more of the same. It has all of Kathe Koja's magical prose and is beautful to read, but I did not like the characters in general and did not connect with their motivations. I found the story did not grab me and the subject matter was not for me. Was I spoiled by reading Bad Brains, the Cipher and Skin within just the last couple of years, probably yes. Those were all 5 star reads for me.
I MIGHT come back to this if someone can convince me that the last 50% of the book is so mind blowing that I cannot miss it.
Thankfully, I have wonderful signed copies of Kink and Strange Angels waiting for me next.
I MIGHT come back to this if someone can convince me that the last 50% of the book is so mind blowing that I cannot miss it.
Thankfully, I have wonderful signed copies of Kink and Strange Angels waiting for me next.
November 20, 2022
Wtf even was this. I had a hard time reading it. Some of it is interesting, but it just feels like it tries way too hard to be deep or otherworldly. Also, kind of cringe to read this kind of book written by this author given the differences in positionality. I would give this book a 2.5 stars, but I can't. So, I rounded down. glad it's finally finished. I can finally bring it back to the library!
Also, it is really hard to read. I hated the style of writing. Felt like it was trying too hard and it just made it confusing. The book is.... really hard to get through. I forced myself because I had spent so much time on it, but.... it's very strange. (And this is the "type" of book I generally like.)
Also, it is really hard to read. I hated the style of writing. Felt like it was trying too hard and it just made it confusing. The book is.... really hard to get through. I forced myself because I had spent so much time on it, but.... it's very strange. (And this is the "type" of book I generally like.)
September 9, 2022
Two rival multimedia artists, a DJ who can hear the universe, and a dogged news blogger wind up on a path that may alter the way humans perceive reality in Dark Factory. I really enjoyed this book (and the supplementary material on the website) but I know it won't be for everyone. It's got dreamy, stream of consciousness prose, messy characters and an ambiguous ending. The characters felt grounded the whole time, even as things got weird, and the book had a lot of heart. I just really had a lot of fun with this.
July 25, 2022
Thank you Meerkat Press for letting me read and review this book! Firstly, I love the immersive content online, that is shared with a qr code in the book. That's so fun and different. Also, I enjoyed the art throughout the book. The characters were interesting and the story was great, though it took me a little bit before I was hooked. When I was though, I really had a fun time reading Dark Factory. I definitely feel like I'm right there in the story. 4 out of 5 stars.
September 19, 2022
I didn't finish this book.
I won a copy of this book through SmolFair, and I thank Meerkat Press and the author for the opportunity to give it a look.
I think I am probably too square and possibly too old and tired for this story. And the "multimedia" aspect feels more like and imposition than an extra to my reading experience. Like I said, I'm probably too un-cool for this.
Thanks anyway.
I won a copy of this book through SmolFair, and I thank Meerkat Press and the author for the opportunity to give it a look.
I think I am probably too square and possibly too old and tired for this story. And the "multimedia" aspect feels more like and imposition than an extra to my reading experience. Like I said, I'm probably too un-cool for this.
Thanks anyway.
September 12, 2025
Interesting imagery and world-building but I just couldn't quite get on with the characters.
I was listening to the audiobook and the narrator did a great job with the characters' different voices (albeit they all sounded Californian and various things in the book's vocabulary made me think this is happening in England, but they were very believable).
I was listening to the audiobook and the narrator did a great job with the characters' different voices (albeit they all sounded Californian and various things in the book's vocabulary made me think this is happening in England, but they were very believable).
May 30, 2022
Author Kathe Koja takes us into the world of dance clubs and immersive events in a book that questions our perceptions of reality. Can our minds be channeled through “manufactured” experiences that allow us to access altered states of being?
To explore those ideas Koja gives us this book, and its accompanying website, which features music, displays, and snippets of writing and quotes from characters in and around the story in the book.
The book itself is set in a near future, and follows four main characters - Ari Regon, Felix Perez, Max Caspar, and Marfa Carpenter.
Ari is the public face of Dark Factory, a dance club specializing in providing a wholly immersive experience. Guests wear “tiaras” that allow them to blend virtual reality with lights, projections and music. Ari, a gay grown-up club kid, has a knack for finding ways to crank the guest experience up to the next level, and has made a successful career creating new experiences. He is at a new peak at Dark Factory.
As the story begins Max is attempting, though with little success, to do something different - he is trying to build shows that “manufacture” reality. He wants to provide immersive experiences too, but he relies on elements of nature and the world around us. He wants his experiences to be real.
When Max finally lets Ari introduce him to the Dark Factory, something clicks that alters his perceptions about what is real. Ari sets Max on a path to putting his new perceptions into a virtual experience - initially as a game. Together they hope to turn the game into the next level immersive experience.
When Felix, a successful DJ, enters the picture he builds off of the dance club experience Ari has created. His mixing work at the Dark Factory drives guests to altered states and causes a sensation. It also causes the authorities - the “cappies” - to step in, resulting in the shuttering of the Dark Factory.
Marfa meanwhile, is a somewhat mysterious reporter who uncovers secrets of the monied interests that are trying to leverage what Max, Ari and Felix have going on.
The storyline has plenty of twists and turns, building to Felix performing a streamed live show that may just alter reality for millions.
As for my reaction to the book, I’ll give you the good and the bad.
Good points: Koja’s writing is excellent, very descriptive and it draws you right in. I found the concepts the book explores intriguing, and the characters for the most part interesting. Most of the chapters were followed by “bonus content” which helped provide background and fill out your understanding of the main characters. The last bonus section is Max’s “notes” on curated reality, and it’s brilliant.
Bad Points: The storyline is a bit muddled and overly long. The book is episodic, which isn’t a bad thing in itself, but the episodes didn’t build on each other the way I expected. A large number of characters float through the book and it can be difficult at times remembering who is who. At points in the book the descriptions around gaming or virtual experiences rely on a lot of jargon which can make for challenging reading.
Rating: Three Stars ⭐⭐⭐
NOTE: I received an advanced copy from LibraryThing and Meerkat Press. I am voluntarily providing this review. The book became publicly available on May 10, 2022.
To explore those ideas Koja gives us this book, and its accompanying website, which features music, displays, and snippets of writing and quotes from characters in and around the story in the book.
The book itself is set in a near future, and follows four main characters - Ari Regon, Felix Perez, Max Caspar, and Marfa Carpenter.
Ari is the public face of Dark Factory, a dance club specializing in providing a wholly immersive experience. Guests wear “tiaras” that allow them to blend virtual reality with lights, projections and music. Ari, a gay grown-up club kid, has a knack for finding ways to crank the guest experience up to the next level, and has made a successful career creating new experiences. He is at a new peak at Dark Factory.
As the story begins Max is attempting, though with little success, to do something different - he is trying to build shows that “manufacture” reality. He wants to provide immersive experiences too, but he relies on elements of nature and the world around us. He wants his experiences to be real.
When Max finally lets Ari introduce him to the Dark Factory, something clicks that alters his perceptions about what is real. Ari sets Max on a path to putting his new perceptions into a virtual experience - initially as a game. Together they hope to turn the game into the next level immersive experience.
When Felix, a successful DJ, enters the picture he builds off of the dance club experience Ari has created. His mixing work at the Dark Factory drives guests to altered states and causes a sensation. It also causes the authorities - the “cappies” - to step in, resulting in the shuttering of the Dark Factory.
Marfa meanwhile, is a somewhat mysterious reporter who uncovers secrets of the monied interests that are trying to leverage what Max, Ari and Felix have going on.
The storyline has plenty of twists and turns, building to Felix performing a streamed live show that may just alter reality for millions.
As for my reaction to the book, I’ll give you the good and the bad.
Good points: Koja’s writing is excellent, very descriptive and it draws you right in. I found the concepts the book explores intriguing, and the characters for the most part interesting. Most of the chapters were followed by “bonus content” which helped provide background and fill out your understanding of the main characters. The last bonus section is Max’s “notes” on curated reality, and it’s brilliant.
Bad Points: The storyline is a bit muddled and overly long. The book is episodic, which isn’t a bad thing in itself, but the episodes didn’t build on each other the way I expected. A large number of characters float through the book and it can be difficult at times remembering who is who. At points in the book the descriptions around gaming or virtual experiences rely on a lot of jargon which can make for challenging reading.
Rating: Three Stars ⭐⭐⭐
NOTE: I received an advanced copy from LibraryThing and Meerkat Press. I am voluntarily providing this review. The book became publicly available on May 10, 2022.
November 10, 2022
It's by no means a bad book, but I still felt a bit let down. After all, Dark Factory promises an extraordinary immersive experience, but what it delivers is described very much like today's clubbing. The online audiouvisual supplements that are supposed to enhance the book didn't do much for me either. It's all good but also rather unadventurous and decidedly modern dance music, and I hoped for someting more fitting to the futuristic setting, something that really hints at what's to come.
July 20, 2024
It's my least favorite of books by Koja. It is sort of like reading a stream of consciousness, and for some reason, I liked it, but at the same time, I wanted to be finished reading it. I would suggest saving the bonus content until after the rest of the book. I did it differently and felt overwhelmed that I had so much more to read. I think the author's other books are more cohesive and readable.
November 25, 2024
This was a very insular story that I'm sure makes perfect sense in the author's head, but on paper it was impenetrable and consequently boring. I'm usually not a fan of excessive world building, but more was needed here. If it had been any longer, I would probably have DNF'd.
November 4, 2025
Five stars for Koja's amazing writing, big ideas, and that feeling she's always pushing you off a mountaintop and into the drop, but the club scene setting was tough for me as well as he fascination in hedonism. I think she's exploring that world really well, just not a flavor I love to taste.
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