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Dark Company
Natale Ghent brings us an engrossing fantasy set in the near-future about the war between two worlds and a girl pitted in the battle of good and evil.
Seventeen-year old Caddy is haunted by visions of global destruction. They come on like seizures, taking her to a desolate place where dispossessed souls struggle to be heard. It is one possible future--one she feels she must prevent. But in a world where food and money are scarce, and the struggle over resources between the continents is escalating toward war, Caddy has little hope.
When her father goes missing, she searches for him and is abducted into a cabalistic society called The Dreamers--visionaries who "dream" to sustain the light against the dark energies that threaten to take over the planet. Caddy is shepherded into the society by a high school classmate called Poe, and through him, uncovers long-hidden truths about herself and her father.
The situation darkens when Caddy learns that the dreamers are hunted and killed by an ancient order known as the Grey Men--a cult dedicated to eradicating the light to assist a demonic entity they call The Speaker. By killing the dreamers, the grey men open rifts in the light that allow The Speaker to seed evil and darkness on the earth plane with the ultimate goal of destroying the planet. Things become more complicated when Meg, a girl from Caddy's high school, who has been ushered into this other reality, clashes with Caddy to supress the forces of light and to try to win back Poe's heart.
As she falls deeper and deeper into the world of the dreamers, Caddy discovers layers of deceit and treachery realizes it's up to her to find a way to overcome the dark and prevent the light from being extinguished forever. . .
Seventeen-year old Caddy is haunted by visions of global destruction. They come on like seizures, taking her to a desolate place where dispossessed souls struggle to be heard. It is one possible future--one she feels she must prevent. But in a world where food and money are scarce, and the struggle over resources between the continents is escalating toward war, Caddy has little hope.
When her father goes missing, she searches for him and is abducted into a cabalistic society called The Dreamers--visionaries who "dream" to sustain the light against the dark energies that threaten to take over the planet. Caddy is shepherded into the society by a high school classmate called Poe, and through him, uncovers long-hidden truths about herself and her father.
The situation darkens when Caddy learns that the dreamers are hunted and killed by an ancient order known as the Grey Men--a cult dedicated to eradicating the light to assist a demonic entity they call The Speaker. By killing the dreamers, the grey men open rifts in the light that allow The Speaker to seed evil and darkness on the earth plane with the ultimate goal of destroying the planet. Things become more complicated when Meg, a girl from Caddy's high school, who has been ushered into this other reality, clashes with Caddy to supress the forces of light and to try to win back Poe's heart.
As she falls deeper and deeper into the world of the dreamers, Caddy discovers layers of deceit and treachery realizes it's up to her to find a way to overcome the dark and prevent the light from being extinguished forever. . .
- GenresYoung Adult
304 pages, Paperback
First published March 3, 2015
1 person is currently reading
37 people want to read
About the author
Natale Ghent
11 books17 followersNatale Ghent has been writing stories since she was six. Her first books, written and illustrated, revolved around a family of circles: a momma circle, a papa circle and two baby circles. The momma circle wore a fur stole, distinguishing herself from the papa circle, who wore a fedora, naturally.
Natale graduated from writing about circles to writing and illustrating stories about a small fairy, and later, to stories about talking guinea pigs and eventually humans.
When Natale was very young, she wanted to be an archeologist, a ballerina, a veterinarian, a singer and a magician, but not necessarily in that order. Later in life, she realized she could be all these things and more through her writing. She says, "I never set out to be a novelist in the way that so many do these days. All I knew was that I had a voracious curiosity about life and that I loved telling stories. I simply stumbled along until writing took me by the hand and refused to let go, though I recognize now that there were many signposts guiding me along the way. I come from a long line of consummate story tellers. It just never occurred to me that I could tell stories for a living. And now I can’t imagine doing anything else."
Of NO SMALL THING she says, "The story is based on true events from my childhood. I carried it in my heart for years until it begged to be put on paper. I wrote the book for my family and for anyone, young or old, who has struggled for something they believe in. I never imagined the story would mean so much to so many children. I’m humbled by the letters and stories these children send to me."
Natale graduated from writing about circles to writing and illustrating stories about a small fairy, and later, to stories about talking guinea pigs and eventually humans.
When Natale was very young, she wanted to be an archeologist, a ballerina, a veterinarian, a singer and a magician, but not necessarily in that order. Later in life, she realized she could be all these things and more through her writing. She says, "I never set out to be a novelist in the way that so many do these days. All I knew was that I had a voracious curiosity about life and that I loved telling stories. I simply stumbled along until writing took me by the hand and refused to let go, though I recognize now that there were many signposts guiding me along the way. I come from a long line of consummate story tellers. It just never occurred to me that I could tell stories for a living. And now I can’t imagine doing anything else."
Of NO SMALL THING she says, "The story is based on true events from my childhood. I carried it in my heart for years until it begged to be put on paper. I wrote the book for my family and for anyone, young or old, who has struggled for something they believe in. I never imagined the story would mean so much to so many children. I’m humbled by the letters and stories these children send to me."
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 14, 2015
A fascinating read that unabashedly engages with the fantastical and the contemporary, dystopian real in a genre-bending attack on ideology that speaks to the old days of 'weird fiction.' Dark Company disturbs by describing a world that is both foreign and familiar: a techno-mystical echo that sits at the end of every dark alley and ancient wooded glen. With equal parts Orwell's 1984, Pullman's The Golden Compass, and Lukyanenko's Watch pentalogy (with a dash of Ghent's precise, elegant prose to boot), this text sets the stage of a unique universe that will delight all those who are willing to check what they call 'reality' at the door. For to enter Dark Company is to recognize that things are not always what they seem... And the only way forward is to dream... dream... dream...
A must read!
A must read!
March 30, 2015
Something completely different from Natale, but also very compelling. I loved her world building, and hope that there is more in this style coming!
June 14, 2020
This book is on the top of my "laughably bad young adult books" list. The book is bland and the story is cliche. No character is likeable or relatable, and it just caused me to not care about the book in general. This book felt like it went for something epic, but missed the mark completely. If you don't like young adult books, I wouldn't read it, but if you're into cheesey teen novels, I would reccomend.
February 6, 2021
Halp me mony me
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 3, 2015
There really isn't anything I can say that's praiseworthy about this story. The characters were unlikable and not relatable. The world Ghent built was badly drawn, in that I could never set the scene, not in any real or concrete way. It was like I was watching a play without a real set and with only a vague backdrop and a few props.
She never clearly defined what was at stake. Things were cloaked in over simplified ways—Dark, Light, The Company, Dreamers—that were used in place of any useful description or meaning.
Ghent didn't make me understand why, other than in an overdramatized high school romance way, Poe and Meg were so special, or what it was about him that Caddy, even before everything went down, found so intriguing. And I don't even want to get into how much I hated any version of Skylark. The only mildly interesting character was Caddy, and even her story was glossed over before her final resolution.
She never clearly defined what was at stake. Things were cloaked in over simplified ways—Dark, Light, The Company, Dreamers—that were used in place of any useful description or meaning.
Ghent didn't make me understand why, other than in an overdramatized high school romance way, Poe and Meg were so special, or what it was about him that Caddy, even before everything went down, found so intriguing. And I don't even want to get into how much I hated any version of Skylark. The only mildly interesting character was Caddy, and even her story was glossed over before her final resolution.
August 7, 2015
I LOVE this book, it's a story and a setting that's completely original and otherworldly, so vividly painted that you feel like you can see, taste and smell the world that Natale Ghent has created. The two main characters are strong, yet relatable heroines, who are learning to wield their supernatural powers against a formidable force of darkness. The diabolical Speaker and his company men are relentless and terrifying, and the struggle for light to win out over the dark draws parallels to our current corporate realities, which holds a lot of relevance. The journey of the characters and the battle that ensues is nothing short of EPIC. I can see this being made into an incredible TV series or a blockbuster movie someday soon, and I'll be the first lining up to see it.
August 29, 2015
Sometimes things are complicated. There is darkness in the light, and possibly some light in the darkness. Ghent captures the push and pull of her two reluctant main characters, Skylark and Caddy, struggling to muddle through their worlds and the challenges that are put in their paths. Both characters exist on the edge, isolated by their differences from those around them. Skylark revels in her differences, travelling through the dreamlike "city" searching for details in a place that is murky and just beyond her ability to bring into focus. Caddy is inflicted with dreams, causing her to retreat even in the face of her ultimate destruction. Ghent presents us with a story that compels page turning and leaves you with questions about light, dark, and what really exists in the shadows.
July 3, 2015
Loved entering this world! Found myself slowing down at the end as I didn't want it to finish! Brilliantly suspenseful
October 7, 2015
A page turner that quickly has you engaged in 2 strong female protagonists. I must read for all teens and their parents.
December 31, 2016
Angels and afterlife and dark stuff - oh my! After reading a certain series, I now critique fictional worlds much, much harsher.
Challenge:
A book with a love triangle
Challenge:
A book with a love triangle
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews