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Souls of Darkness
Do you remember The Worlds of Power? They were trashy little kids books based on Nintendo games. They had plots like, "What if a kid got sucked into Castlevania and watched Dracula drink cherry soda?"
'Souls of Darkness' is parody of these books based on Dark Souls. It follows a young Souls scholar as she's sucked into her favorite video game world, Koledran, where she embarks on a harrowing journey and encounters incredible figures like Lunarious, Moonlit Knight and Lounging Carl, seated man.
'Souls of Darkness' is parody of these books based on Dark Souls. It follows a young Souls scholar as she's sucked into her favorite video game world, Koledran, where she embarks on a harrowing journey and encounters incredible figures like Lunarious, Moonlit Knight and Lounging Carl, seated man.
- GenresVideo Games
150 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2015
46 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 26, 2018
If you were a Nintendo kid in the 80s, or have ever been to a garage sale, you might remember the Worlds of Power series. I picked up Before Shadowgate at a garage sale because I was eager for any kind of incidental gaming material at a time where I got a new game maybe once ever few months or so, but even in elementary school I could tell that the quality is lacking. Before Shadowgate was a transparent ripoff of The Sword of Shannara, which itself is, um, "heavily inspired" by The Lord of the Rings. The serial number hadn't been filed off, it was taped over, and the tape had ripped off a big chunk of the paint. Or something. Hey, I'm just trying to match my metaphor to the quality of the text there.
Souls of Darkness is written--and illustrated; compare the cover to an actual Worlds of Power book--from that perspective, as a parody of those dashed-off works of old. The writing is simultaneously turgid and juvenile in the way that only an author trying to be hip with the kids these days while still slipping in under Nintendo of America's draconician censorship laws can be, and while you might think this sounds insufferably annoying, I liked it a lot. There's a precipice that parodies of bad writing walk along, where they have to obviously reflect the work that they're parodying but not be so badly written that they themselves cause suffering. This book managed to walk that line exactly for me. Here's a sample:
It's minor, but I loved how all of Maya's curses are all based on fruit. "What the raspberries?" for example. It's exactly the kind of thing that adults do because it's "age-appropriate" that children see through immediately.
The plot is the (deliberately) generic one where a kid from the real world gets sucked into their favorite game and has to use their knowledge of the plot and systems to metagame their way to victory. It's hard for me to say how interesting this would be for someone who came to Souls of Darkness knowing nothing about Dark Souls, because I've beaten the game and expansion and so I got all of the in-jokes. Some of the jokes extend to the community and memes around it as well, like the section in Bloodroot Wood where Maya, Lunarious the Moon Knight ("The Moon shines even in daylight!"), and Lounging Carl fight The Legend. This is a problem, both because The Legend spends the whole fight making incredibly bad jokes and because the The Legend has never been defeated in battle, because the legend never dies.
When fighting Pevley the Stomper, Lounging Carl marvels at how protective his armor is and wonders why everyone doesn't wear a set. Artos the Void Saunterer is a vaping fedoralord. Maya kills the Marrowlord by convincing her to commit suicide, which warmed my Fallout-loving heart. The beginning of the book also suggests that you check out other Power Worlds SuperStation books, like "Atomic! A Post Nuclear SuperStation Adventure," "SigilScape: Torture," and "God From the Machine."
I really hope that Butterfield writes all of those. He's managed to capture the silliness inherent in early video game books as well as the modern culture that surrounds the work he's parodying, all in a quick narrative that I read in an hour or so. I'd gladly read any other Power Worlds books that came out.
Souls of Darkness is written--and illustrated; compare the cover to an actual Worlds of Power book--from that perspective, as a parody of those dashed-off works of old. The writing is simultaneously turgid and juvenile in the way that only an author trying to be hip with the kids these days while still slipping in under Nintendo of America's draconician censorship laws can be, and while you might think this sounds insufferably annoying, I liked it a lot. There's a precipice that parodies of bad writing walk along, where they have to obviously reflect the work that they're parodying but not be so badly written that they themselves cause suffering. This book managed to walk that line exactly for me. Here's a sample:
The village was a depressing sight. The houses sagged with moist, rotting wood and the walkways were narrow and cramped and also moist. Elevated paths between houses were made from dusty planks of wood that had been reclaimed from haunted orphanages. One man was casually kicking week old offal at a cat while the cat contemplated suicide. It was super bleak.It's that "It really felt like a video game" line that does it, I think. Both in the aesthetics--I'm sure you can think of games where the color palette is done in black and brown and grey and charcoal and slate and tan--and in the typical gameplay. You may insert a comic of Link smashing pots in people's houses here, if you wish.
The group mostly kept their heads down, and the rest of their bodies down, to avoid detection by the cursed villagers. They made their way down back alleys, side alleys and front alleys. Also, alleys that are on the other side from the first side alleys. They ducked in and out of houses with no respect for property rights, let alone The Castle Doctrine. Maya was ecstatic. It really felt like a video game.
It's minor, but I loved how all of Maya's curses are all based on fruit. "What the raspberries?" for example. It's exactly the kind of thing that adults do because it's "age-appropriate" that children see through immediately.
The plot is the (deliberately) generic one where a kid from the real world gets sucked into their favorite game and has to use their knowledge of the plot and systems to metagame their way to victory. It's hard for me to say how interesting this would be for someone who came to Souls of Darkness knowing nothing about Dark Souls, because I've beaten the game and expansion and so I got all of the in-jokes. Some of the jokes extend to the community and memes around it as well, like the section in Bloodroot Wood where Maya, Lunarious the Moon Knight ("The Moon shines even in daylight!"), and Lounging Carl fight The Legend. This is a problem, both because The Legend spends the whole fight making incredibly bad jokes and because the The Legend has never been defeated in battle, because the legend never dies.
When fighting Pevley the Stomper, Lounging Carl marvels at how protective his armor is and wonders why everyone doesn't wear a set. Artos the Void Saunterer is a vaping fedoralord. Maya kills the Marrowlord by convincing her to commit suicide, which warmed my Fallout-loving heart. The beginning of the book also suggests that you check out other Power Worlds SuperStation books, like "Atomic! A Post Nuclear SuperStation Adventure," "SigilScape: Torture," and "God From the Machine."
I really hope that Butterfield writes all of those. He's managed to capture the silliness inherent in early video game books as well as the modern culture that surrounds the work he's parodying, all in a quick narrative that I read in an hour or so. I'd gladly read any other Power Worlds books that came out.
May 17, 2016
I absolutely loved "Souls of Darkness" It was like revisiting my childhood as an adult, eerily familiar, however a completely unique experience, just as hilarious and terrifying as childhood tends to be. I really enjoyed all the cameos and nods to DS community "personalities". I would definitely recommend this to people who enjoy fantasy, as well as anyone who is a fan of the game series this was inspired by, or the book series that inspired the format. (Whoa! now that's cyclical) You don't have to be a DS fan to love this book. Gary Butterfield (F.X.) truly has a unique command of the English and Koledran languages. Nick's illustrations were wonderful and they thoroughly complimented a truly engaging experience.
May 24, 2016
Souls of Darkness is a great quick, fun, and funny book. I laughed out load several times and have quoted several lines from the book to my friends. I highly recommend anyone a fan of Dark Souls, World of Nintendo books, or someone just looking for a light funny book read "Souls of Darkness".
September 3, 2019
I admit I am biased here. To be completely honest, this book is not for everyone.
But honestly it is very much for me and like minded people.
I once heard someone say "I want to be successful at something so complicated I never have to explain it to people," and this book encompasses that feeling.
On one hand, it is an exemplary parody of the old Nintendo novelizations of video games, but on the other, it is a parody of the fandom of Dark Souls. To understand the humor, you probably need to be versed in at least one. To recognize the sheer amount of cleverness, you have to be in both. This book was made for me, but I don't presume it was made for you.
But honestly it is very much for me and like minded people.
I once heard someone say "I want to be successful at something so complicated I never have to explain it to people," and this book encompasses that feeling.
On one hand, it is an exemplary parody of the old Nintendo novelizations of video games, but on the other, it is a parody of the fandom of Dark Souls. To understand the humor, you probably need to be versed in at least one. To recognize the sheer amount of cleverness, you have to be in both. This book was made for me, but I don't presume it was made for you.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews