When the Light Failed: An Apocalyptic Mystery Thriller

by Joshua T. Calvert

313 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 14, 2026

About the author

Joshua T. Calvert has traveled the world--on foot, by Jeep, by bicycle, by motorcycle, and lots of other ways besides. As you might imagine, he's seen many things most people never see - including an Iranian prison cell, from the inside! In Kyrgyzstan, he fared slightly better, narrowly avoiding being kidnapped for ransom. Skydiver, scuba diver, martial artist, adventurer - his goal is to experience everything possible, and then make it real to you in his books. And he's made a good run of it so far: in the Philippines, he did police training on multiple types of firearms (despite being no fan of guns himself); dove in Asian waters among sharks and shipwrecks; and patrolled with Sumatran jungle rangers.

That's what defines Calvert's approach to method writing: pushing himself beyond his own limits, to experience first-hand what his characters experience, to make your immersion in his stories as deep as it can be.

For Ganymede Rises, after a slight detour with some smugglers in the deserts of Uzbekistan and the steppes of Mongolia, he traveled by dogsled and snowshoe to the Arctic Circle to experience first-hand what it's like to be utterly isolated in the coldest place on Earth. For his book The Fossil, he sat with professional pilots in flight simulators for Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 aircraft to learn what it's like to fly a passenger jet. His latest adventure: a parabolic flight with European Space Agency astronauts, to experience zero-gravity. All so he can describe it to you, in his own words.

Reviews

[Matt Egan]

Brains Vs Firepower In Action Filled 2nd Installment

When The Light Failed, book 2 in the fascinating Ark trilogy, follows shortly after book 1, with the Russians from the Arkangel in control of the critical systems of Cassandra's Dream and the bunker on the island compromised. Its a battle of brain power vs firepower, with scientists forced to become soldiers. The book is immediately fascinating and stays that way straight through the epilogue. The real heart of the narrative, however, are the characters and the remarkable growth shown by many of the characters! Overall, 5/5 stars! When The Light Failed exceeded my already sky high expectations! Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys thoughtful, character driven apocalyptic survival thrillers and science fiction in general!

[Jarryd Kalideen]

Initially a four-star rating, dropped to three.

Again, not enough revealed. I do hope that the plan isn't to drag this story out to 5+ books, piecemealing us the actual story. Talk about being fed breadcrumbs.

There's a lot more character development here, which is a positive.

There's already one enemy - the black dome - the author then adds two more. However, both of these are terrible villains. Mutineering Russians who want to stockpile as much resources as possible so they can survive a little longer. Then we have the idiotic super secret MI6 agent who's still wishing to kiss his "majesty's" rear end. Who wants to bring a dead man to "justice" when the world is about to end in less than a month. Who's dead set on destroying everything Chen had set up, even though it's the only thing keeping a small remnant alive. Terrible writing.

[Portia]

An Exciting Second Part with a Few Errors

I am really enjoying this storyline and I can’t wait until the next book. I was deeply immersed in the story. The only thing that kept me from giving this book 5 stars was the author confusing the gender of his characters. Several times he referred to male characters as female and female characters as males. Aside from those errors, this story is perfect. I would love to see this made into a movie or television series.

[Ashley Adkins]

New Fear Unlocked!

I’ve always avoided movies and books about space, because the vastness overwhelms my brain. Now, having read a couple of books about the sun disappearing, I’m terrified of this as well. The author did a great job of expanding characters, and the plot is great as well. I can’t wait to see more of his stuff.

[Andrea Mantecon]

exciting and cliffhanger

Mr. Calvert you have done an exceptional job with this story. Much sadness for the loss of important characters but a hope that the remaining passengers will experience and rebuild a new future! Let November 3rd come quickly for the finale!

[CLINT GILMAN]

Book Two is an Exciting Read

Book two did not disappoint! I've enjoyed reading books one and two. I think the characters are well written and relatable. I'm interested to see where the rest of the story is headed. I will definitely be reading book three!

[Andre Mazeron]

The premise of the series is interesting, which made me stick with the second book, but the execution leaves something to be desired, especially when the author inserts supposedly humorous dialogue into tense scenes.

[Ann F.]

terrific book

This second book really is a thriller. I enjoy Joshua T. Calvert’s writing so much. Easy to read. Hope book 3 isn’t too far off .

[Lindan A.]

where are those sneaky aliens?

Or maybe it isn’t aliens. But, really all of his books have aliens, I think. Maybe earth’s callous billionaires are behind this, don’t know yet.

[Marco Nijsen]

can’t wait to read the final part

Great storyline finished in one go and anxiously waiting for closure with the third and final book! Compliments to the author

[Darrin Card]

interesting premise

Good read, interesting premise. Lots of character and world development brings the story to life. Can’t wait for book three