Sunless

by Gloria Weber

The dark hides things. Threatening things. Dangerous things. Sitting in the windowless box of the detention room, Madison’s worst fears are realized as darkness grips her school.

Unknown Binding

First published September 15, 2015

About the author

Gloria Weber lives in Ohio with her husband, son, daughter, and many pets. She has been writing for publication since March 2006 and over a dozen of her short stories have been published. Her day job, comic shop manager, isn’t so much work as it is frolicking in her natural habitat.

Reviews

[Reading Corner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent short story about Madison who ends up in a windowless room for detention where the electricity suddenly turns off. Her fear of the dark becomes burdening as she tries to escape the school and her fear is nearly palpable as Gloria does a great job conveying this. The ending is a pleasant surprise and I'd definitely recommend to read this.I received this in exchange for an honest review.

[J. Kahele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

The story is narrated through the eyes of Madison. From the start, we learn she has a phobia of being stuck in small dark places, so when she receives detention and is forced to be stuck in a windowless room she is very nervous.

When the lights suddenly go off her phobia, is taken to the extreme. Her worst fears come to light, when the electricity sudden goes off and she is thrust into total darkness...and so much more. What more could happen you ask? The only way to find out is to read the book.

[Malay A. Upadhyay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sunless is Gloria Weber’s unbridled expression in continuum. Unlike Alicia, her former novel which was more time-based, this one plays with locational movement as we find ourselves trapped in a windowless space – a school – where one can almost feel the weight of darkness around.

The story starts with uneasy Madison trapped in detention at school one late afternoon. Her fear is not helped to the least when disappearences begin around her, followed by shrieks from somewhere afar. The narrative keeps us in the thick of an attempted escape – past the school door. What happens next? The protagonist manages to do so, only to realize she can’t. The end.

I requested the author for a copy of Sunless when I was done reading Alicia. A part of it may have been because I wasn’t done with her world in such quick time as that novella provided. More importantly though, it was because I wanted to confirm my judgment on what I had just read: that these works really are, simply put, an audacious display of unrestrained thought in Ms. Weber’s mind. I was right.

Sunless is best read when you wake up in the middle of the night, when you find yourself tapping mindlessly on your phone or when you simply need a shot of spooky entertainment. Have fun.

Note: I received a free review copy for a fair and honest assessment.