What do you think?
Rate this book
Darkness Calls
The line between light and dark is thinner than you think.
In the woods surrounding a quiet Midwestern town, an ancient malevolence awakens. Unseen by most, the Darkness hungers for the radiant energy of children—a feast it craves with an insatiable thirst. A decade after a nightmarish onslaught shattered the community, this evil thought to be vanquished returns, more ferocious than ever.
Christina finds herself once again at the heart of the storm. The Darkness destroyed her family and twisted her childhood friend Fiara into something neither fully human nor wholly monster. But this time, Christina refuses to be a victim. Determined to fight back, she rallies an extraordinary group of gifted individuals, each with unique talents and untapped energy. Together, they form an unlikely alliance, bound by a shared to rescue their abducted friends and unravel the sinister enigma that threatens their world.
As they venture deep into nightmarish realms, monstrous creatures and inner demons rise to confront them. Secrets become their weapons, trust their shield. The line between light and dark blurs, and the fate of their world hangs by a thread. In this battle against ancient malevolence, only the bravest hearts will endure.
Darkness Calls beckons you into a world where the line between light and dark blurs, where friendships forged in adversity become the armor against ancient malevolence. Will their combined strengths be enough to stem the tide of darkness? The battle for survival is about to ignite once more, and only the bravest hearts will endure.
In the woods surrounding a quiet Midwestern town, an ancient malevolence awakens. Unseen by most, the Darkness hungers for the radiant energy of children—a feast it craves with an insatiable thirst. A decade after a nightmarish onslaught shattered the community, this evil thought to be vanquished returns, more ferocious than ever.
Christina finds herself once again at the heart of the storm. The Darkness destroyed her family and twisted her childhood friend Fiara into something neither fully human nor wholly monster. But this time, Christina refuses to be a victim. Determined to fight back, she rallies an extraordinary group of gifted individuals, each with unique talents and untapped energy. Together, they form an unlikely alliance, bound by a shared to rescue their abducted friends and unravel the sinister enigma that threatens their world.
As they venture deep into nightmarish realms, monstrous creatures and inner demons rise to confront them. Secrets become their weapons, trust their shield. The line between light and dark blurs, and the fate of their world hangs by a thread. In this battle against ancient malevolence, only the bravest hearts will endure.
Darkness Calls beckons you into a world where the line between light and dark blurs, where friendships forged in adversity become the armor against ancient malevolence. Will their combined strengths be enough to stem the tide of darkness? The battle for survival is about to ignite once more, and only the bravest hearts will endure.
- GenresHorror
316 pages, Hardcover
Published March 4, 2025
8 people are currently reading
2427 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
January 17, 2025
Imagine the Loser's Club from IT are in the Odd Thomas universe while battling entities in the Upside Down. Joe has waded through the darkest parts of his mind and pulled out the greatest story he's ever written. If you love a story filled with fear, love, suspense, and hope, then this is the perfect book. I couldn't stop thinking about the book and hated putting it down.
February 16, 2025
“Real evil isn’t only about hurting others. Real evil is getting good people to hurt others.” (Page 15).
“There is no power in life, only in death”. (Page 65)
This book was just so good it kept me interested from the beginning. Can you figure out who all the darkness has taken for good?’
“There is no power in life, only in death”. (Page 65)
This book was just so good it kept me interested from the beginning. Can you figure out who all the darkness has taken for good?’
March 1, 2025
This book was amazing! I've always been a fan of horror novels. The ones that leave you on the edge of your seat from start to finish just like horror movies. This book takes little pieces from all things scary and weaves it together into one beautiful piece of work and that takes talent! You have your monsters, your chosen ones, and your mysterious supernatural forces. It gives Stephen King vibes with a mind-boggling page turner that makes you never want to put it down! "Darkness Calls" leaves an absolutely thrilling "WTF?!?!?" factor to readers everywhere and creates an eagerness for the next story to follow.
If you have a fascination with the world of the scary and unknown, and all things in between...If you enjoy reads that always have you asking, "What's/ who's next?"... If you are looking for something that is SO immersive that it can even wrap your own mind...
THEN THIS THE BOOK FOR YOU!!!
I hope you all can enjoy this book as much as I did. <3
If you have a fascination with the world of the scary and unknown, and all things in between...If you enjoy reads that always have you asking, "What's/ who's next?"... If you are looking for something that is SO immersive that it can even wrap your own mind...
THEN THIS THE BOOK FOR YOU!!!
I hope you all can enjoy this book as much as I did. <3
January 5, 2026
This book has some serious concerns. While the author was trying to create a story here where kids triumph over evil and there is representation for queer and non-white characters, we really fall flat on the latter in particular.
The treatment and way the non-white characters are written here is an issue, and instead of representation, we have racial stereotypes. First, we have Mr. Lee, who inexplicably assigns the students a project to figure out how to stop the evil. He’s heavily built with the “ancient Chinese wisdom” trope, somehow having Mandarin names for all the major components of the conflict, journals of research on the Darkness, and lots of knowledge without any reason. No one questions this, and no explanation is presented.
Secondly, one of the main characters, Angelica, is a Black girl. She (and her friend who’s only described as brown) are the only kids who have been given slang/accents/a different way of writing how they speak. This includes dropping the “g” on “-ing” words and saying “I don’t want no (insert thing here)” more than once. The only emotion she seems to have is rage, too, with the author mentioning multiple times how “pissed” she is with images of how she wants to fill the school with punching bags, rip up trees, etc. While it’s pretty normal for a teenager to be angry, especially with family issues and the trauma this girl has, the way she’s written presents Angelica as an “angry Black woman” where the main things reinforced about her are that she’s angry, and she’s also black. We don’t get much more about her inner life. More to this point, the author views her as an adult; he starts her POV talking about how she's one of the only Black "women" at the school and doesn't use the word girl to describe her, despite the fact that all the other characters are referred to as children and they’re all ~15 years old and too young to even drive.
Additionally, every teenage girl is discussed as super hot by at least one character or another, including discussions of their breasts by both peers and adults alike. One girl, written only as a friend from childhood who grew up to be hot and blonde, is being sexually abused by a teacher, which is presented as a “relationship” that she wants. Her friends react with disgust, of course, but it’s disgust at how she could want that, not disgust at the teacher for the abuse.
Beyond this, I have issues with the plot and pacing, which overloads you with information immediately and takes away the feeling of any creeping horror, but the above concerns were enough to knock this down to a one-star for me.
I’ve heard the author speak and it does seem that he genuinely felt he was being representative and realistic. Taking him at face value, I would highly recommend more sensitivity reviewing with Beta readers who do not know him personally to provide clearer feedback prior to the publication of the second book.
The treatment and way the non-white characters are written here is an issue, and instead of representation, we have racial stereotypes. First, we have Mr. Lee, who inexplicably assigns the students a project to figure out how to stop the evil. He’s heavily built with the “ancient Chinese wisdom” trope, somehow having Mandarin names for all the major components of the conflict, journals of research on the Darkness, and lots of knowledge without any reason. No one questions this, and no explanation is presented.
Secondly, one of the main characters, Angelica, is a Black girl. She (and her friend who’s only described as brown) are the only kids who have been given slang/accents/a different way of writing how they speak. This includes dropping the “g” on “-ing” words and saying “I don’t want no (insert thing here)” more than once. The only emotion she seems to have is rage, too, with the author mentioning multiple times how “pissed” she is with images of how she wants to fill the school with punching bags, rip up trees, etc. While it’s pretty normal for a teenager to be angry, especially with family issues and the trauma this girl has, the way she’s written presents Angelica as an “angry Black woman” where the main things reinforced about her are that she’s angry, and she’s also black. We don’t get much more about her inner life. More to this point, the author views her as an adult; he starts her POV talking about how she's one of the only Black "women" at the school and doesn't use the word girl to describe her, despite the fact that all the other characters are referred to as children and they’re all ~15 years old and too young to even drive.
Additionally, every teenage girl is discussed as super hot by at least one character or another, including discussions of their breasts by both peers and adults alike. One girl, written only as a friend from childhood who grew up to be hot and blonde, is being sexually abused by a teacher, which is presented as a “relationship” that she wants. Her friends react with disgust, of course, but it’s disgust at how she could want that, not disgust at the teacher for the abuse.
Beyond this, I have issues with the plot and pacing, which overloads you with information immediately and takes away the feeling of any creeping horror, but the above concerns were enough to knock this down to a one-star for me.
I’ve heard the author speak and it does seem that he genuinely felt he was being representative and realistic. Taking him at face value, I would highly recommend more sensitivity reviewing with Beta readers who do not know him personally to provide clearer feedback prior to the publication of the second book.
March 5, 2025
Do you want a story that is going to grip you immediately? This is it. The intrigue is going to have you poring through it's pages like crazy so you can uncover just what is happening to this town and it's people! It's hard to say too much without spoilers so I will just say this - you're not going to regret picking this one up. Joe has proved once again that he knows horror and how to weave an addicting tale! Well Done!
March 19, 2025
I'm at a loss for words after reading this incredibly wonderful book. Joe Chianakas had me hooked from the second sentence. He did not mess around. You are thrown into the chaos. You will be left breathless, happy, sad, and wanting to know what more can possibly happen. Kudos Joe Chianakas! Very very worth reading.
January 25, 2025
What a gem in Darkness Calls! As a huge fan of the author’s Rabbit in Red series, I couldn’t have been more excited to read this new book! Easily a book that fits the category of “can’t put it down” or a “page turner”. This book takes so many twists and turns while showcasing family and the power of friendship! This sci-fi theme throughout is exciting and reminiscent of a Stranger Things type monster! Excellent storytelling throughout and the switching between the kids prospectives allow the reader to be completely immersed in the story!! Cannot wait to see what comes next!!!
January 24, 2025
Something reminiscent of the way Count Orlok’s shadow moves, stretching and gripping its surroundings the shadow
, the darkness moves through your minds eye. Darkness Calls not only is a phenomenon in itself but Joe’s imagery is on point, you can almost feel it with the scenes In the story, the only downside is I finished it way to fast, greedily consuming page after page. I highly recommend this story as well as checking out the authors other phenomenal works.
, the darkness moves through your minds eye. Darkness Calls not only is a phenomenon in itself but Joe’s imagery is on point, you can almost feel it with the scenes In the story, the only downside is I finished it way to fast, greedily consuming page after page. I highly recommend this story as well as checking out the authors other phenomenal works.
July 25, 2025
I read this for my local horror bookclub, but as a fan of all of Joe’s work, I wasn’t surprised that I loved this book too! It has the perfect summer horror vibe that feels like if IT, The Thing, and The Shining had a book baby. If growing up wasn’t scary enough, the darkness that the kids in this book face is enough to make your toes crawl. Would definitely recommend!
July 28, 2025
“Darkness Calls” is an absolute must-read for fans of dark thrillers and supernatural horror. It instantly reminded me of Supernatural Season 1, Episode 18, “Something Wicked”—where a seemingly harmless town hides a chilling truth: children mysteriously falling into comas, victims of a monster disguised as a trusted doctor. The vibes also echo Stephen King's IT, with its ancient predator feeding on children while the adults remain oblivious, their memories clouded by something far more sinister.
Much like those classics, Darkness Calls masterfully blends suspense, supernatural horror, and emotional depth. The tension builds with every page, and the atmosphere is dripping with eerie mystery. You’re pulled into a world where the danger feels real and the stakes couldn't be higher.
It’s captivating, riveting, and leaves you hungry for the sequel. If you enjoy dark secrets, monster lore, and stories that echo your favorite supernatural classics while carving out their own unique path—this book delivers. Don't sleep on this one.
Much like those classics, Darkness Calls masterfully blends suspense, supernatural horror, and emotional depth. The tension builds with every page, and the atmosphere is dripping with eerie mystery. You’re pulled into a world where the danger feels real and the stakes couldn't be higher.
It’s captivating, riveting, and leaves you hungry for the sequel. If you enjoy dark secrets, monster lore, and stories that echo your favorite supernatural classics while carving out their own unique path—this book delivers. Don't sleep on this one.
January 18, 2025
Darkness calls and boy did it call to me! While traveling out of the country reading this book, I not only got so enamored I wanted to keep reading it almost wanting to ignore traveling, I had moments of laughter, of crying on an airplane, of waiting in suspense for what was to come next.
The precise detail on what's happening and how each scene is set is painted so beautifully you're basically watching a high detailed movie.
The Yin Yang that comes through in this book of good vs evil and how they exist together is stellar. I not only cannot wait for the second book but I absolutely would LOVE to see this as a movie!
The precise detail on what's happening and how each scene is set is painted so beautifully you're basically watching a high detailed movie.
The Yin Yang that comes through in this book of good vs evil and how they exist together is stellar. I not only cannot wait for the second book but I absolutely would LOVE to see this as a movie!
August 6, 2025
I hate that I didn't enjoy this book. I LOVED Rabbit in Red, and was really looking forward to this new book, but from the very beginning I was disappointed. It was like picking up a series at book 2; like I was missing vital information that would bring everything into focus and make it make sense. The flow, the characters, the writing, everything was off. At times, it even felt like pages or chapters were missing as the story jumped awkwardly forward. It's a story with no beginning, and it will have no end for me, as I won't be picking up the next in the series, if one comes out. It pains me to write a bad review for an author I like, but I have to be honest.
June 16, 2025
wow, what an exciting and terrifying adventure! This was my first fantasy horror book, but I enjoyed every minute reading it. once I started, I couldn't stop! It was exciting and unpredictable. This story follows a group of teenagers who are having strange things happen to them and something drove them all apart but it's up to them to come together and face the darkness and save their town and those within it! There is death and murder in this story, as well as some violence. This is an incredible story that is wonderfully written! I highly suggest taking the chance and giving it a read!!
July 10, 2025
This author was selling his books at Ottawa Pride Festival and this looked like a good read! The cover art is what really drew me in.
Overall, it wasn't a bad read. My biggest "complaint" (if you could really call it that) about this book is that it read very much as a Young Adult novel. The plot was centered around young high school kids, and I just felt that the book would appeal more to readers of a similar age.
I think the concept was cool and for me, if it was fleshed out a bit more, maybe shortened up a little bit (they were ENDLESSLY needing to go talk to Mr. Lee, just go already, haha) and written with adult characters/more adult feelings/thoughts/actions it probably would have earned another star from me.
Again, overall not a bad read but I'm not sure if I would read it again.
Overall, it wasn't a bad read. My biggest "complaint" (if you could really call it that) about this book is that it read very much as a Young Adult novel. The plot was centered around young high school kids, and I just felt that the book would appeal more to readers of a similar age.
I think the concept was cool and for me, if it was fleshed out a bit more, maybe shortened up a little bit (they were ENDLESSLY needing to go talk to Mr. Lee, just go already, haha) and written with adult characters/more adult feelings/thoughts/actions it probably would have earned another star from me.
Again, overall not a bad read but I'm not sure if I would read it again.
February 27, 2025
Darkness Calls is an amazing ode to high school, first loves, friendship, hope and, of course, horror! I would’ve absolutely devoured this book at 16, and it hit right in my nostalgia at 30.
Like a modern day Stranger Things, this novel is a great gateway into the horror genre and a fun read for avid spooky lovers. The author masterfully manages to reel us in with eerie and vivid imagery, diverse characters and a fast-paced plot that leaves us on the edge of our seat!
Like a modern day Stranger Things, this novel is a great gateway into the horror genre and a fun read for avid spooky lovers. The author masterfully manages to reel us in with eerie and vivid imagery, diverse characters and a fast-paced plot that leaves us on the edge of our seat!
July 27, 2025
This is one of the few horror books I have recently got into reading and I got to say this hooked me in.
The main character is my favorite kind a struggler against an unstoppable force that destroys all in its path. If your interested in a blood curdling story as young adults fight against the impossible and with everyone on the chopping block then I recommend those who want to dip their toes into world of horror.
The main character is my favorite kind a struggler against an unstoppable force that destroys all in its path. If your interested in a blood curdling story as young adults fight against the impossible and with everyone on the chopping block then I recommend those who want to dip their toes into world of horror.
January 1, 2026
Joe Chianakas is one of my favorite authors. Rabbit in Red was my first introduction and he has never disappointed since. I was worried this was going to be my first when I read the first chapter. It starts VERY dark and very confusing. As is typical with Joe though, the story did not disappoint. Each chapter unraveled a new part of the mystery, finishing with a new mystery to unravel (looking forward to book 2!) A dark story that shows the power of friendship.
February 16, 2025
I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I liked the character development and the story being told from different points of view IT was good to see the story deal with Highschool anxietyless the loss of loved ones and the feeling of Not belonging to what people feel is the social Norm. I look forward to the Next installation in the series.
July 1, 2025
This book was amazing! It grabbed my attention from the first chapter. I loved the horror aspect of this. I pictured the Losers Club and a little bit of Stranger Things. Would recommend to any horror fan who wants a great friend group who fight till the end.
Plus the author was nice enough to sign my copy! Wonderful guy and wonderful book!
5⭐️
Plus the author was nice enough to sign my copy! Wonderful guy and wonderful book!
5⭐️
January 5, 2026
I would give this book zero stars if I could. Awful writing, racist + sexist tropes for no reason, next to zero character development. The author joined our book club meeting via Zoom and he seems like a really nice guy but yikes man his writing is just not for me (or most literate people, I reckon)
March 5, 2025
If You Value Your Beauty Sleep--Read Fast!
If you like scary, you'll like DARKNESS CALLS. If you like good writing, you'll like this book. If you like falling asleep reading--don't bother because you will not sleep until you're finished every twisty-turny word!
If you like scary, you'll like DARKNESS CALLS. If you like good writing, you'll like this book. If you like falling asleep reading--don't bother because you will not sleep until you're finished every twisty-turny word!
March 10, 2025
Joe Chianakas does NOT disappoint! Once again he has written a well developed, entertaining and engaging story. There is just enough suspense to keep you engaged in the story line- I’m not one to write a review with spoilers, just read his book! You will be glad you did!
March 13, 2025
Excellent read, had me wondering “what could possibly happen next?” at every turn.
June 18, 2025
I was very excited for this book since I was a big fan of Rabbit in Red and it delivered. Hands Down!
June 25, 2025
Joe does it again with this dark fantasy. Originally I was a lover of Rabbit in Red and finally a new horror to share. If you like Dark coming of age stories this is for you.
July 15, 2025
A very exciting book to read cant wait till the next book
July 29, 2025
Currently reading and it’s giving me all the creeps you could ever want! I feel like it’s starting to break open into whole ass spooky escapade and I can’t wait to sit down and DIG IN!
November 12, 2025
Besides 1 little cringe worthy part, it's a great story worth reading.
December 16, 2025
So glad I picked up the hardcover of this. The words inside are as good as the bomb cover!
December 30, 2025
DNF- This book couldn’t not hold me. I slogged my way through 40 pages and gave up.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews