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The Dark
from Kirkus Reviews:
"A rollicking adventure! Carr (a 2015 Kirkus Reviews 'Author to Watch') has a real talent for constructing living, breathing characters. After a tantalizing, action-filled prologue, Carr takes time to establish these volatile characters... Once the ship leaves the universe for a perfect vacuum... all hell breaks loose. In a quantum nothingness where anything can happen, everything does. Part sci-fi, part psychological drama, part zombie apocalypse, the thrillfest starts early and continues till the end. This is a rollicking adventure with religious, philosophical, and technological overtones!"
It’s said that God is infinite, and everywhere. But what if He isn’t? What if it were possible to fly so far out into space that you arrive at a place where God does not exist? How would you know it? What would happen?
These questions arise when nearly three dozen astronauts and observers embark on the most daring voyage of exploration in all of human history, a space flight designed to probe the very limits of our universe. Among those on board is a scientist who also wears a priest’s collar—Father Cameron Teal, director of the Vatican Observatory, recruited for the mission by an iconic industrialist who secretly hopes to find God. After the N.A.U.S. Santa Maria crosses an unimaginable distance, bizarre, unexplainable, and profoundly frightening events start to unfold. As the chaos increases and terror grips the crew, Father Teal begins to wonder whether, in the quest to find God, he’s actually lost Him.
“This novel delivers. Carr’s writing pulls the reader into the story, willingly or not. The images form as the suspense builds. Be careful of the dark.”
—Dr. Steve B. Howell
Project Scientist, NASA's Kepler mission and author of A Kepler's Dozen
This novel is intended for adults 18 and over.
"A rollicking adventure! Carr (a 2015 Kirkus Reviews 'Author to Watch') has a real talent for constructing living, breathing characters. After a tantalizing, action-filled prologue, Carr takes time to establish these volatile characters... Once the ship leaves the universe for a perfect vacuum... all hell breaks loose. In a quantum nothingness where anything can happen, everything does. Part sci-fi, part psychological drama, part zombie apocalypse, the thrillfest starts early and continues till the end. This is a rollicking adventure with religious, philosophical, and technological overtones!"
It’s said that God is infinite, and everywhere. But what if He isn’t? What if it were possible to fly so far out into space that you arrive at a place where God does not exist? How would you know it? What would happen?
These questions arise when nearly three dozen astronauts and observers embark on the most daring voyage of exploration in all of human history, a space flight designed to probe the very limits of our universe. Among those on board is a scientist who also wears a priest’s collar—Father Cameron Teal, director of the Vatican Observatory, recruited for the mission by an iconic industrialist who secretly hopes to find God. After the N.A.U.S. Santa Maria crosses an unimaginable distance, bizarre, unexplainable, and profoundly frightening events start to unfold. As the chaos increases and terror grips the crew, Father Teal begins to wonder whether, in the quest to find God, he’s actually lost Him.
“This novel delivers. Carr’s writing pulls the reader into the story, willingly or not. The images form as the suspense builds. Be careful of the dark.”
—Dr. Steve B. Howell
Project Scientist, NASA's Kepler mission and author of A Kepler's Dozen
This novel is intended for adults 18 and over.
- GenresScience Fiction
299 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2015
8 people are currently reading
465 people want to read
About the author
Forrest Carr
4 books9 followersNamed as a 2015 Kirkus Reviews "Author to Watch," Forrest Carr is novelist, blogger, former radio talk show host, and former TV news director. He is the author of the novels The Dark, Messages and A Journal of the Crazy Year, and co-author of the college journalism textbook, Broadcast News Handbook. After graduating from the University of Memphis with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications, Carr spent 33 years in the television news industry, and was a news director in the Tampa, Fort Myers, Albuquerque, and Tucson television markets. Carr has received or shared credit in more than 90 journalism awards, including a Suncoast Regional Emmy for investigative reporting and two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for investigative reporting. His latest scifi/horror novel, The Dark, centers on astronauts making the most ambitious voyage of discovery in human history who begin to wonder whether they've flown so far out into space that they’ve arrived at a point where God does not exist--with horrific consequences. A Journal of the Crazy Year is a zombie-genre post-apocalyptic novel inspired by an actual disease that has struck twice before and could strike again; Publisher's Weekly awarded it a coveted starred review in which it called the novel a "fascinating read" from top to bottom, and many of the events it predicted already have happened. His book Messages is a "buddy journalist" crime novel set in a 1980's newsroom that one critic called a "masterful exposé of TV News." Carr is a long-time fan of old school science fiction, particularly the works of Robert Heinlein. He resides with his wife Deborah and their two cats Ellis and Mina, a.k.a. Butthead 1 and Butthead Also, in Tucson, Arizona. He invites readers to reach him through his author page on Facebook or by way of his website, www.forrestcarr.com.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 28, 2015
I am the author of this novel.
"The Dark" explores this question: If there is a God, would it be possible to fly so far out into space that you arrive at a point where He does not exist? And if that were to happen, how would you know it? What would happen? Would anyone's behavior change?
The crew of the N.A.U.S. Santa Maria are destined to find out, as they embark on the most ambitious voyage of exploration in human history, a mission to chart the very limits of the universe. But when they get to their destination, horrible things begin to happen. As chaos descends, many wonder whether it will be possible to return from the place in which they now find themselves trapped.
I'm a huge fan of old-school science fiction and am aiming toward a "Stephen King meets Arthur C. Clarke" kind of feel here. I hope you enjoy. Feedback is welcome. Contact me via Goodreads or via my website: www.forrestcarr.com.
(Note: Publication is scheduled for 6/1. Enter the Goodreads giveaway for a chance to win a free copy!)
"The Dark" explores this question: If there is a God, would it be possible to fly so far out into space that you arrive at a point where He does not exist? And if that were to happen, how would you know it? What would happen? Would anyone's behavior change?
The crew of the N.A.U.S. Santa Maria are destined to find out, as they embark on the most ambitious voyage of exploration in human history, a mission to chart the very limits of the universe. But when they get to their destination, horrible things begin to happen. As chaos descends, many wonder whether it will be possible to return from the place in which they now find themselves trapped.
I'm a huge fan of old-school science fiction and am aiming toward a "Stephen King meets Arthur C. Clarke" kind of feel here. I hope you enjoy. Feedback is welcome. Contact me via Goodreads or via my website: www.forrestcarr.com.
(Note: Publication is scheduled for 6/1. Enter the Goodreads giveaway for a chance to win a free copy!)
July 11, 2015
I try to stay away from self-published fiction (bad experiences with too many overly self-indulgent plots and very poor grammar and punctuation). But The Dark sounded really interesting. There is a unique (to me, at least) idea here: using a newly developed interdimensional jump-drive engine (I'm not worried about, or doing justice to, the science here; it's well researched) that enables a spaceship to not only leave the Milky Way galaxy, but to travel to the edge of, and beyond, the known universe (many billions of light years distant). What will they find there? What will happen? Can they even exist outside of the universe?
The book is generally well-written and managed to keep my interest. It takes awhile to get going - it's nearly 100 pages in before the space mission gets out of the galaxy. There's an early scene where the reader is introduced to nearly a dozen major characters at a press conference, one paragraph dedicated to each one. It's a terrible technique, but somehow Carr manages to pull it off. There's some pretty fun sci-fi adventure throughout and I was often reminded of Star Trek (through the ship's crew, including a Scottish chief engineer) and 2001 (the self-aware, though maybe not psychotic, AI computer).
When they reach their destination, they find "the dark" of the title - no light, no matter, no radiation, no anything. I was a bit dismayed that the crew was surprised in looking back toward where they'd come from, they didn't see any light. This is never explained, but if they've gone beyond the "edge" of the universe, the light from the stars behind them wouldn't have gone that far yet. Shouldn't these scientists in the future (the book's set about 100 years from now) have realized that? A minor point, perhaps, but there are a number of places where some character doesn't understand something (which I felt they should have), so the author can use another character to explain some scientific principle or theory.
In "The Dark" bad things start happening, and the book takes a sharp turn from sci-fi into horror. (There's a sense of the haunted house mystery in space that the original Alien movie did so well.) The book gets pretty creepy (in a good way), and some of the horrific scenes and feelings made their way into my dreams a couple of nights. (Thanks a lot for that!) I wish that the author had used something besides spiders as a symbol of the horror (I don't find spiders particularly scary). Then again, the zombies toward the end didn't feel like they fit in either. The ending comes a bit too abruptly, though the ending is satisfying.
The back of the book questions, "What if it were possible to fly so far out into space that you arrive at a place where God does not exist?" Carr has stated that that question was a motivation in writing the book. The characters discuss this very briefly (one of the main characters is a Catholic priest, sent along on the mission as a Vatican observer). They refer back to the Bible, but there's no mention of any other religion, although the crew is multi-racial and multi-cultural (and as scientists 100 years in the future, I'm hoping some of them would be atheists). I felt that the religious aspects distracted, rather than adding to, the sci-fi/horror adventure of the book.
The book is generally well-written and managed to keep my interest. It takes awhile to get going - it's nearly 100 pages in before the space mission gets out of the galaxy. There's an early scene where the reader is introduced to nearly a dozen major characters at a press conference, one paragraph dedicated to each one. It's a terrible technique, but somehow Carr manages to pull it off. There's some pretty fun sci-fi adventure throughout and I was often reminded of Star Trek (through the ship's crew, including a Scottish chief engineer) and 2001 (the self-aware, though maybe not psychotic, AI computer).
When they reach their destination, they find "the dark" of the title - no light, no matter, no radiation, no anything. I was a bit dismayed that the crew was surprised in looking back toward where they'd come from, they didn't see any light. This is never explained, but if they've gone beyond the "edge" of the universe, the light from the stars behind them wouldn't have gone that far yet. Shouldn't these scientists in the future (the book's set about 100 years from now) have realized that? A minor point, perhaps, but there are a number of places where some character doesn't understand something (which I felt they should have), so the author can use another character to explain some scientific principle or theory.
In "The Dark" bad things start happening, and the book takes a sharp turn from sci-fi into horror. (There's a sense of the haunted house mystery in space that the original Alien movie did so well.) The book gets pretty creepy (in a good way), and some of the horrific scenes and feelings made their way into my dreams a couple of nights. (Thanks a lot for that!) I wish that the author had used something besides spiders as a symbol of the horror (I don't find spiders particularly scary). Then again, the zombies toward the end didn't feel like they fit in either. The ending comes a bit too abruptly, though the ending is satisfying.
The back of the book questions, "What if it were possible to fly so far out into space that you arrive at a place where God does not exist?" Carr has stated that that question was a motivation in writing the book. The characters discuss this very briefly (one of the main characters is a Catholic priest, sent along on the mission as a Vatican observer). They refer back to the Bible, but there's no mention of any other religion, although the crew is multi-racial and multi-cultural (and as scientists 100 years in the future, I'm hoping some of them would be atheists). I felt that the religious aspects distracted, rather than adding to, the sci-fi/horror adventure of the book.
December 13, 2015
When a dimension-hopping spacecraft ventures beyond the boundaries of the universe literally ending up nowhere, strange and disturbing events play havoc with the spacecraft and decimate the crew.
Carr (Messages, 2013, et al) has a real talent for constructing living, breathing characters from the ground up. Cermeno, is a Queeg-like captain with a questionable past who through nepotism has bumped De Vegas, a more competent officer, to second in command. Jervis, is a womanizing reporter, Teal, a drunken priest, and Nunn, a disfigured loner. Add to this a pedophile, and a crew with a surfeit of conflicting jealousies, gripes, and motives; toss them all aboard an untested space-faring technology heading off into the unknown and…What could go wrong? After a tantalizing action-filled prologue, Carr takes time to establish these volitile characters. He cleverly uses a mission press conference to quickly introduce his cast before sending them on their way. The craft, aptly named the Santa Maria, makes use of a new technology harnessing the science behind supernatural phenomenon such as poltergeist which was discovered to be caused by dimensional glitches. It works flawlessly on the way, however once the ship leaves the universe for a perfect vacuum, all hell breaks loose. In a quantum nothingness where anything can happen, everything does from personal demons come to life, to interdimensional kidnappings. As systems fail, the crew dwindles and the dead reanimate, survivors must overcome one impossibility after another. Part sci-fi, part psychological drama, part zombie apocalypse, the thrill fest starts early and continues till the end. The author slowly simmers his cast, lighting them from different angles. Nunn is first given her own extended scene interacting with her cat and Wilson, the computer she designed. The reader doesn’t learn about her disfiguring birthmark until another character reacts to it later on. But Carr can also sum up a character like Cermeno in a few brush strokes: "…his self-deprecating humor-a tactic with which he was not totally comfortable but that his consultants assured him would be good for his image." (21)
This is a rollicking sci-fi adventure with religious, philosophical, and technological overtones: science fiction for die-hard aficionados.
Carr (Messages, 2013, et al) has a real talent for constructing living, breathing characters from the ground up. Cermeno, is a Queeg-like captain with a questionable past who through nepotism has bumped De Vegas, a more competent officer, to second in command. Jervis, is a womanizing reporter, Teal, a drunken priest, and Nunn, a disfigured loner. Add to this a pedophile, and a crew with a surfeit of conflicting jealousies, gripes, and motives; toss them all aboard an untested space-faring technology heading off into the unknown and…What could go wrong? After a tantalizing action-filled prologue, Carr takes time to establish these volitile characters. He cleverly uses a mission press conference to quickly introduce his cast before sending them on their way. The craft, aptly named the Santa Maria, makes use of a new technology harnessing the science behind supernatural phenomenon such as poltergeist which was discovered to be caused by dimensional glitches. It works flawlessly on the way, however once the ship leaves the universe for a perfect vacuum, all hell breaks loose. In a quantum nothingness where anything can happen, everything does from personal demons come to life, to interdimensional kidnappings. As systems fail, the crew dwindles and the dead reanimate, survivors must overcome one impossibility after another. Part sci-fi, part psychological drama, part zombie apocalypse, the thrill fest starts early and continues till the end. The author slowly simmers his cast, lighting them from different angles. Nunn is first given her own extended scene interacting with her cat and Wilson, the computer she designed. The reader doesn’t learn about her disfiguring birthmark until another character reacts to it later on. But Carr can also sum up a character like Cermeno in a few brush strokes: "…his self-deprecating humor-a tactic with which he was not totally comfortable but that his consultants assured him would be good for his image." (21)
This is a rollicking sci-fi adventure with religious, philosophical, and technological overtones: science fiction for die-hard aficionados.
February 21, 2023
A very ambitious sci fi horror story, full of, well, everything. The first third of the book introduces the main characters and their gender preferences, there is a lot of talk about the dark and god, the purpose and working of the spacecraft. To me this goes on a bit longer than necessary, but then things start to happen. The action is slow and creepy at first and then speeds up. There is gore and death. It is very interesting and thought provoking. The ending worked well for me. I enjoyed reading this very much.
September 16, 2022
A good read for Sci-fi horror fans!
I’ve been reading a lot of sci-fi horror as of late(the awesome Earth Siege series, etc) and this novel was one of my favorites. It had a compelling plot, well developed characters, presented interesting scientific concepts, and was just plain fun to read.
I’ve been reading a lot of sci-fi horror as of late(the awesome Earth Siege series, etc) and this novel was one of my favorites. It had a compelling plot, well developed characters, presented interesting scientific concepts, and was just plain fun to read.
July 7, 2015
The Dark was a good book, just a bit difficult to get into. Once I was "caught", however, I could not put it down. The book's ending would have been better if it had left off the last chapter or two.
I recommend it to anyone who enjoys good sci-fi.
I received this book free from Goodreads First Reads.
I recommend it to anyone who enjoys good sci-fi.
I received this book free from Goodreads First Reads.
June 27, 2015
Awesome. Could not put down until finished. What a good read. Look out King and Speilberg.
January 7, 2016
Creepy, creepy and creepy! A thrilling trip beyond the edge of the known universe and into pure evil.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews