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The Dark Side
In this dark and gripping sci-fi noir, an exiled police detective arrives at a lunar penal colony just as a psychotic android begins a murderous odyssey across the far side of the moon.
Purgatory is the lawless moon colony of eccentric billionaire, Fletcher a mecca for war criminals, murderers, sex fiends, and adventurous tourists. You can’t find better drugs, cheaper plastic surgery, or a more ominous travel advisory anywhere in the universe. But trouble is brewing in Brass’s black-market heaven. When an exiled cop arrives in this wild new frontier, he immediately finds himself investigating a string of ruthless assassinations in which Brass himself—and his equally ambitious daughter—are the chief suspects.
Meanwhile, two-thousand kilometers away, an amnesiac android, Leonardo Black, rampages across the lunar surface. Programmed with only the notorious “Brass Code”—a compendium of corporate laws that would make Ayn Rand blush—Black has only one goal in to find Purgatory and conquer it.
Visual, visceral, and tons of fun, The Dark Side fuses hard science with brutal crime and lunar adventure. It’s an intense, stylish, and action-packed thriller with a body count to match.
Purgatory is the lawless moon colony of eccentric billionaire, Fletcher a mecca for war criminals, murderers, sex fiends, and adventurous tourists. You can’t find better drugs, cheaper plastic surgery, or a more ominous travel advisory anywhere in the universe. But trouble is brewing in Brass’s black-market heaven. When an exiled cop arrives in this wild new frontier, he immediately finds himself investigating a string of ruthless assassinations in which Brass himself—and his equally ambitious daughter—are the chief suspects.
Meanwhile, two-thousand kilometers away, an amnesiac android, Leonardo Black, rampages across the lunar surface. Programmed with only the notorious “Brass Code”—a compendium of corporate laws that would make Ayn Rand blush—Black has only one goal in to find Purgatory and conquer it.
Visual, visceral, and tons of fun, The Dark Side fuses hard science with brutal crime and lunar adventure. It’s an intense, stylish, and action-packed thriller with a body count to match.
390 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2016
97 people are currently reading
2758 people want to read
About the author
Anthony O'Neill
14 books63 followersAnthony O’Neill is the son of an Irish policeman and an Australian stenographer.
He was born in Melbourne and lives in Edinburgh.
He is the author of Scheherazade, a revisionist Arabian Nights epic; The Lamplighter, a psychological horror novel set in Victorian Scotland; The Empire of Eternity, a history-mystery involving Napoleon Bonaparte and the early years of Egyptology; The Unscratchables, a Swiftian satire featuring dog and cat detectives; and The Dark Side, a crime novel set on the far side of the moon.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
He was born in Melbourne and lives in Edinburgh.
He is the author of Scheherazade, a revisionist Arabian Nights epic; The Lamplighter, a psychological horror novel set in Victorian Scotland; The Empire of Eternity, a history-mystery involving Napoleon Bonaparte and the early years of Egyptology; The Unscratchables, a Swiftian satire featuring dog and cat detectives; and The Dark Side, a crime novel set on the far side of the moon.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 228 reviews
April 7, 2016
I received a free copy of this from NetGalley.
Only human beings would look at a lifeless hunk of rock in a vacuum and think, “This place is too dull. We should spice it up by making it a haven for the worst of humanity, and then it could also be a cesspool for crime and corruption.”
Purgatory is a colony on the far side of the moon founded and controlled by a wealthy tycoon named Fletcher Brass who left Earth because he was about to be prosecuted for various crimes, and that makes it perfect for any anyone else trying to avoid a prison sentence. It’s also a tourist destination where money can buy drugs, surgery, sex, privacy, or pretty much any depraved thing a person might be looking for. What happens in Purgatory stays in Purgatory.
Damien Justus was an honest cop on Earth which earned him a face full of acid as a reward as well as a target on his family so he’s come to Purgatory to hopefully avoid further repercussions. The assassination of one of Brass’ top officials is his first case, and he quickly learns that he can’t count on the corrupt police force. He also realizes that he’s probably being used as a pawn in a battle for power between Brass and his upstart daughter.
In a parallel story we follow the adventures of an android as he journeys across the moon towards Purgatory. He’s been downloaded with the Brass Code, a set of pithy declarations created by Brass that are essentially boasts about how willing he is to be a selfish asshole to gain and keep power that would make Donald Trump seem low-key and rational by comparison. Unfortunately, the android’s literal interpretations of the code mean that he gruesomely murders almost everyone he meets.
This is an interesting hybrid of several genres. There’s obviously the sci-fi elements, and O’Neill delivers there with a great setting and a well thought out society. He does enough world building to make the idea of a seedy crime-ridden moon colony seem real, and the depictions of things happening outside on the moon’s surface are equally compelling. There’s enough hard science here to ground it and make it feel authentic, but it never does info-dumps to the point of boredom.
It’s also a noirsh mystery, and the story of one good cop facing a rich bastard who controls everything is a familiar concept that feels fresh in this setting. My favorite parts involve the killer android because once you realize how this thing is going about its business those sections read like a horror movie as it relentlessly pursues its goal, and its twisted personality becomes genuinely creepy so that every interaction he has with anyone will keep you on the edge of your seat as you wait for him to start his usual crazy murder spree.
The writing style and pacing keep the whole story cooking along, and even minor supporting characters are fleshed out very well with quick backstories. There’s also an underlying dark humor to the whole thing that I appreciated. Overall, it’s an entertaining and well written story that should appeal to fans of sci-fi, hard boiled mysteries, and killer robots.
Only human beings would look at a lifeless hunk of rock in a vacuum and think, “This place is too dull. We should spice it up by making it a haven for the worst of humanity, and then it could also be a cesspool for crime and corruption.”
Purgatory is a colony on the far side of the moon founded and controlled by a wealthy tycoon named Fletcher Brass who left Earth because he was about to be prosecuted for various crimes, and that makes it perfect for any anyone else trying to avoid a prison sentence. It’s also a tourist destination where money can buy drugs, surgery, sex, privacy, or pretty much any depraved thing a person might be looking for. What happens in Purgatory stays in Purgatory.
Damien Justus was an honest cop on Earth which earned him a face full of acid as a reward as well as a target on his family so he’s come to Purgatory to hopefully avoid further repercussions. The assassination of one of Brass’ top officials is his first case, and he quickly learns that he can’t count on the corrupt police force. He also realizes that he’s probably being used as a pawn in a battle for power between Brass and his upstart daughter.
In a parallel story we follow the adventures of an android as he journeys across the moon towards Purgatory. He’s been downloaded with the Brass Code, a set of pithy declarations created by Brass that are essentially boasts about how willing he is to be a selfish asshole to gain and keep power that would make Donald Trump seem low-key and rational by comparison. Unfortunately, the android’s literal interpretations of the code mean that he gruesomely murders almost everyone he meets.
This is an interesting hybrid of several genres. There’s obviously the sci-fi elements, and O’Neill delivers there with a great setting and a well thought out society. He does enough world building to make the idea of a seedy crime-ridden moon colony seem real, and the depictions of things happening outside on the moon’s surface are equally compelling. There’s enough hard science here to ground it and make it feel authentic, but it never does info-dumps to the point of boredom.
It’s also a noirsh mystery, and the story of one good cop facing a rich bastard who controls everything is a familiar concept that feels fresh in this setting. My favorite parts involve the killer android because once you realize how this thing is going about its business those sections read like a horror movie as it relentlessly pursues its goal, and its twisted personality becomes genuinely creepy so that every interaction he has with anyone will keep you on the edge of your seat as you wait for him to start his usual crazy murder spree.
The writing style and pacing keep the whole story cooking along, and even minor supporting characters are fleshed out very well with quick backstories. There’s also an underlying dark humor to the whole thing that I appreciated. Overall, it’s an entertaining and well written story that should appeal to fans of sci-fi, hard boiled mysteries, and killer robots.
May 6, 2018
“The envy of others is a self-replenishing feast.”
I picked up this book for a couple of reasons. First, I was looking for fun, and this seemed to have it all, sci-fi noir, hard-boiled crime, and an exotic setting. Second, I had recently read Artemis, by Andy Weir and I thought it might be an interesting comparison. So, let me cut to the chase, it delivers on its promise; a masculine, suspenseful, jaunt across the moon, with interesting characters and regular gory action.
“Find Oz. And be the Wizard.”
The book has three storylines. The first is the backstory of the setting itself, a future, colonized Moon. Anthony O’Neill has clearly put in the requisite research to make this a believable description full of technical details about a future life on the harsh moon. The acknowledgments at the end contain a long list of books that O’Neill leveraged for his work. But he’s also imaged a rich history inspired by Pitcairn Island as well as the penal colonies in Australia. Basically, the idea is that only people crazy enough to establish a foot hold on the moon are lunatics, in a very literal sense. This backstory worked for me and O’Neil does a fine job of unfolding it throughout the novel. At the heart of the backstory is Fletcher Brass, a larger than life, patriarch of the seedy underworld culture that has developed on the moon. His philosophy on life is described by his “Brass Code”, of which I have include excerpts throughout this review.
“Lose your temper often. And well.”
The second follows Damien Justus (his name being an intentional cliché), a broken man and a detective who’s been effectively banished from earth. He’s brought in to provide a fresh perspective on a series of brutal assassinations that have been occurring on the Moon’s most infamous city, “Purgatory”. It’s through Justus’ naïve eyes (at least as far as the moon), that we largely see the crime drama revealed. O’Neill creates several interesting characters with believable pasts and its entertaining to watch their lively interactions.
“Shake hands in public. Decapitate in private.”
The third storyline concerns a manic, homicide android, who starts on a remote lunar location, but begins a gory rampage that continuously brings him every closer to Purgatory. The robot has no memory, only a dark purpose, which provides fantastic mystery and imagery. O’Neil alternates these three storylines until they come together seamlessly at the end. Speaking of the ending, it felt a bit rushed to me, and there were a few plot items that felt odd, but nothing big enough to spoil my enjoyment of the story and its climax. My other knock on this book is that the technology capabilities of Androids seems to be far more advanced than the rest of technology described in the story.
“It's merciful to go for the jugular.”
This isn’t the type of book or genre to have deep thematic messages, but O’Neil manages to still bring a few to the surface. The primary and shrewdest is the play on the title itself. The primary moon city in the story is Purgatory, which lies on the dark side of the moon. However, by the end of the novel, you question if the title refers to that, or more so a commentary on the shadier aspects of several key characters or even humanity itself.
“It’s good to have a rival. It’s even better to crack his skull.”
Returning to my point on Artemis by Andy Weir, these two works are very comparable. They both have very believable technical details of life on a lunar colony. They are both suspenseful and picture a seedy underbelly on a dangerous lunar colony. O’Neill’s setting is a bit farther into the future. The Dark Side is also a bit grittier and darker, not surprising. In the end, while I gave them both four stars, I enjoyed “The Dark Side” more. It had more interesting characters and backstory and was just as well researched. Weir may have a leg up on the physics and scientific details, but that’s not necessarily a strength in a crime noir setting.
“See El Dorado. Take El Dorado. Find another El Dorado.”
This book is dark and grisly noir, but not so much that it affected my ability to enjoy the eccentric settings and colorful characters. We find while everyone has a dark side, some are able to find redemption.
I picked up this book for a couple of reasons. First, I was looking for fun, and this seemed to have it all, sci-fi noir, hard-boiled crime, and an exotic setting. Second, I had recently read Artemis, by Andy Weir and I thought it might be an interesting comparison. So, let me cut to the chase, it delivers on its promise; a masculine, suspenseful, jaunt across the moon, with interesting characters and regular gory action.
“Find Oz. And be the Wizard.”
The book has three storylines. The first is the backstory of the setting itself, a future, colonized Moon. Anthony O’Neill has clearly put in the requisite research to make this a believable description full of technical details about a future life on the harsh moon. The acknowledgments at the end contain a long list of books that O’Neill leveraged for his work. But he’s also imaged a rich history inspired by Pitcairn Island as well as the penal colonies in Australia. Basically, the idea is that only people crazy enough to establish a foot hold on the moon are lunatics, in a very literal sense. This backstory worked for me and O’Neil does a fine job of unfolding it throughout the novel. At the heart of the backstory is Fletcher Brass, a larger than life, patriarch of the seedy underworld culture that has developed on the moon. His philosophy on life is described by his “Brass Code”, of which I have include excerpts throughout this review.
“Lose your temper often. And well.”
The second follows Damien Justus (his name being an intentional cliché), a broken man and a detective who’s been effectively banished from earth. He’s brought in to provide a fresh perspective on a series of brutal assassinations that have been occurring on the Moon’s most infamous city, “Purgatory”. It’s through Justus’ naïve eyes (at least as far as the moon), that we largely see the crime drama revealed. O’Neill creates several interesting characters with believable pasts and its entertaining to watch their lively interactions.
“Shake hands in public. Decapitate in private.”
The third storyline concerns a manic, homicide android, who starts on a remote lunar location, but begins a gory rampage that continuously brings him every closer to Purgatory. The robot has no memory, only a dark purpose, which provides fantastic mystery and imagery. O’Neil alternates these three storylines until they come together seamlessly at the end. Speaking of the ending, it felt a bit rushed to me, and there were a few plot items that felt odd, but nothing big enough to spoil my enjoyment of the story and its climax. My other knock on this book is that the technology capabilities of Androids seems to be far more advanced than the rest of technology described in the story.
“It's merciful to go for the jugular.”
This isn’t the type of book or genre to have deep thematic messages, but O’Neil manages to still bring a few to the surface. The primary and shrewdest is the play on the title itself. The primary moon city in the story is Purgatory, which lies on the dark side of the moon. However, by the end of the novel, you question if the title refers to that, or more so a commentary on the shadier aspects of several key characters or even humanity itself.
“It’s good to have a rival. It’s even better to crack his skull.”
Returning to my point on Artemis by Andy Weir, these two works are very comparable. They both have very believable technical details of life on a lunar colony. They are both suspenseful and picture a seedy underbelly on a dangerous lunar colony. O’Neill’s setting is a bit farther into the future. The Dark Side is also a bit grittier and darker, not surprising. In the end, while I gave them both four stars, I enjoyed “The Dark Side” more. It had more interesting characters and backstory and was just as well researched. Weir may have a leg up on the physics and scientific details, but that’s not necessarily a strength in a crime noir setting.
“See El Dorado. Take El Dorado. Find another El Dorado.”
This book is dark and grisly noir, but not so much that it affected my ability to enjoy the eccentric settings and colorful characters. We find while everyone has a dark side, some are able to find redemption.
November 1, 2016
<<>> SHOULD have made GR's Best Awards nominees for Science Fiction <<>>
Welcome to Purgatory
On the Dark Side of the Moon, the far side that never sees Earth is a world less inhibited than our own. Less inhibited, less super ego, and less lawful. A bastion for those hunted on Earth, a thriving Mecca of corruption and unbridled excess--unless it interferes with someone important, like Brass.
It looks a lot like a Las Vegas version of ancient Mesopotamia.
The exposition has a tour guide quality to it, one can almost hear the tinny voice over the speakers as relevant facts are detailed to the reader summarily. It works well at creating that disembodied sense and distrust of the mechanical delivery, which plays brilliantly into the story itself.
Fletcher Brass is the iron fist ruling Purgatory. He is a self-made man living by a code, the Brass Code. It is very Hegelian Superman and not Ayn Rand, that blurb comment seemed to be a lure; it's more Milken than Rand.
Purgatory is a restless place with the denizens adopting a laissez-faire attitude. The city itself is a mishmash of pre-Christian architecture; Ancient Near East fans will get a kick out of all the references in Sin, the main city.
There's a new guy in town: Damien Justus.
Damien Justus, great name, the one who tames and is just. Perfect for a cop. The characters names are hysterical: Nat U. Reilly, Dash Chin, Dr. Janus. In context, they are both punny and a critique. Let's just say that it's been awhile since residents have seen a cop like him.
Hard science fiction fans: Enough legit science to make people happy. Seriously, I feel much more well versed in lunar procedures. And might I add that it was a delight to not see the same 10,000 words used; in fact, I collected a few of my favorites: sintered, hummocky, internecine, lugubrious, caroms, ablative.
So for a book with a body count that exceeded my fingers and toes it was pretty funny. Really. The humor is dry, even campy at times, but psychotic. Probably says all kinds of things about me that I enjoyed this immensely. The violence is rendered with such an amoral compass that it's hard to be upset, rather I just watched as it blithely happened.
Needless to say, with all the deaths someone has to be in charge of investigating and that's Justus. There is a good bit of strategizing and gamesmanship employed--Win. And it is a wild ride as we traverse Purgatory dashing from murder to murder. All things must come to an end though, and I took a perverse pleasure at the inevitable. My biggest fear is that the end would be disappointing after all the theatrics--Nope. *Big smile*
Overall, a nonstop, murder-filled lunar romp with chess masters.
~~ARC provided by Netgalley~~
--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--
ARC is all mine, baby. I'm like a rooster that escaped the axe--Excited!
Words like psychotic android, lunar penal colony, murderous odyssey, and Ayn Rand are an irresistible trail of crumbs. Sci-fi noir--yum.
Welcome to Purgatory
On the Dark Side of the Moon, the far side that never sees Earth is a world less inhibited than our own. Less inhibited, less super ego, and less lawful. A bastion for those hunted on Earth, a thriving Mecca of corruption and unbridled excess--unless it interferes with someone important, like Brass.
It looks a lot like a Las Vegas version of ancient Mesopotamia.
The exposition has a tour guide quality to it, one can almost hear the tinny voice over the speakers as relevant facts are detailed to the reader summarily. It works well at creating that disembodied sense and distrust of the mechanical delivery, which plays brilliantly into the story itself.
Fletcher Brass is the iron fist ruling Purgatory. He is a self-made man living by a code, the Brass Code. It is very Hegelian Superman and not Ayn Rand, that blurb comment seemed to be a lure; it's more Milken than Rand.
Purgatory is a restless place with the denizens adopting a laissez-faire attitude. The city itself is a mishmash of pre-Christian architecture; Ancient Near East fans will get a kick out of all the references in Sin, the main city.
There's a new guy in town: Damien Justus.
Damien Justus, great name, the one who tames and is just. Perfect for a cop. The characters names are hysterical: Nat U. Reilly, Dash Chin, Dr. Janus. In context, they are both punny and a critique. Let's just say that it's been awhile since residents have seen a cop like him.
Hard science fiction fans: Enough legit science to make people happy. Seriously, I feel much more well versed in lunar procedures. And might I add that it was a delight to not see the same 10,000 words used; in fact, I collected a few of my favorites: sintered, hummocky, internecine, lugubrious, caroms, ablative.
So for a book with a body count that exceeded my fingers and toes it was pretty funny. Really. The humor is dry, even campy at times, but psychotic. Probably says all kinds of things about me that I enjoyed this immensely. The violence is rendered with such an amoral compass that it's hard to be upset, rather I just watched as it blithely happened.
Needless to say, with all the deaths someone has to be in charge of investigating and that's Justus. There is a good bit of strategizing and gamesmanship employed--Win. And it is a wild ride as we traverse Purgatory dashing from murder to murder. All things must come to an end though, and I took a perverse pleasure at the inevitable. My biggest fear is that the end would be disappointing after all the theatrics--Nope. *Big smile*
Overall, a nonstop, murder-filled lunar romp with chess masters.
~~ARC provided by Netgalley~~
--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--
ARC is all mine, baby. I'm like a rooster that escaped the axe--Excited!
Words like psychotic android, lunar penal colony, murderous odyssey, and Ayn Rand are an irresistible trail of crumbs. Sci-fi noir--yum.
February 9, 2017
I've never met a more polite or sex-crazed (at least verbally) android upon the moon, and I've read about a lot of androids on the moon.
Seriously, this is kinda the perfect mixture of traditional mystery meeting an SF adventure. We've got all the world building elements of seedy communities accessible only with a great deal of difficulty or by monorail if you're lucky, crime bosses who are literally a world away from the authorities, and of course, since we're dealing with a mystery, that ONE INCORRUPTIBLE COP.
Lol. How delightfully traditional. :)
So yeah, if you enjoy mob bosses and robots and indiscriminate murder and unimaginable ambition mixed with an investigation and tons of corruption, this book might just be perfect for you. :)
Mr. Black is easily one of my favorite robots in literature now. :) He just has that certain something, you know, Sir? lol
Seriously, this is kinda the perfect mixture of traditional mystery meeting an SF adventure. We've got all the world building elements of seedy communities accessible only with a great deal of difficulty or by monorail if you're lucky, crime bosses who are literally a world away from the authorities, and of course, since we're dealing with a mystery, that ONE INCORRUPTIBLE COP.
Lol. How delightfully traditional. :)
So yeah, if you enjoy mob bosses and robots and indiscriminate murder and unimaginable ambition mixed with an investigation and tons of corruption, this book might just be perfect for you. :)
Mr. Black is easily one of my favorite robots in literature now. :) He just has that certain something, you know, Sir? lol
June 21, 2016
4 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2016/06/21/...
If you enjoy gritty and dark, violent futuristic sci-fi mystery thrillers, then The Dark Side by Anthony O’Neill will be just the book for you. O’Neill works crime, sex, drugs, and a psychotic murdering android into a full-on non-stop plot, and that’s just to name a handful of the topics covered in this book.
In The Dark Side, two key narrative threads can be discerned, but even though they are fundamentally related to each other, the connections won’t become clear until later on. In one storyline, Lieutenant Damien Justus has come to Purgatory, a lunar territory founded by megalomaniac billionaire-in-exile Fletcher Brass. Its capital, appropriately called Sin, has been turned into a haven for fugitives and other undesirables from Earth who have come to the moon to escape their old lives. It is the only place where the shadier your record is, the better the chance you’ll be let in. Even the police here have dodgy backgrounds.
Justus, however, is the patently incorruptible good cop who has just arrived from Earth, and he’s just the kind of guy Purgatory needs to clean things up. To him, no one is above the law—and no exceptions. He is immediately given the lead role in the investigation of a string of assassinations targeting the movers and shakers of lunar society. Fletcher Brass quickly shoots to the top of the list of prime suspects, naturally. So does his daughter, the manipulative and magnetic woman known as QT Brass. But while PPD is content to just look the other way, Justus most definitely is not.
Meanwhile, far from Purgatory in the Seidel Crater, the second storyline has begun. A black-haired, black-eyed, black-tied, black-suited homicidal droid takes his first steps towards self-discovery and a two-thousand kilometer journey of death and destruction, all the while spewing forth such mottos as “It’s good to have a rival. It’s even better to crack his skull”, “Friends help you get there. Everyone else is vermin” or “Smile. Smile. Smile. Kill. Smile.”
Those damn creepy androids.
All in all I really enjoyed this fresh and addictive mystery, notwithstanding a few stylistic choices that I found peculiar, such as the frequent cutaway shots to a second-person narrative mode—a form used here I believe for the sole purpose of giving the audience a quick-and-dirty overview of the big picture. And you know what? I liked what I saw, in spite of myself. The setting in which all of these characters pound away is an incredibly rich and vivid one, considering this story takes place entirely on the desolate surface of the moon. Reading about Sin in Purgatory made me think of a city a lot like Vegas—that is, if all the hotels and casinos on the Strip were to replace their individual themes with ancient Babylonian motifs and you dialed up the seediness to 11. This is pure noir, set in a world drenched in lawlessness and “wild frontier” vibes.
I also found this blend of styles at once interesting and effective at creating a palpable sense of foreboding. The book alternates between very different atmospheres, from the extremely sordid, extremely loud streets of Sin to the deep, dark, chilling emptiness of the lunar wasteland. Justus’s perspective made for some very tense, anticipatory chapters that got the gears in my head grinding, while the android Leonardo Black’s chapters were straight-up gorefests that were so shocking and freaky that they sometimes got too hard to read. O’Neill is really good at writing scenes that capture the sheer intensity of the moment, not to mention the ruthless and demented manner of the rogue android. The book was also well-paced, drawing the reader into the story by degrees. Before I knew it, I was sweeping through the pages. The story was fun to read and it was a joy to watch all its elements fall into place in the end.
Dark humor, uncanny science, futuristic tech noir and full-throttle tensions are all deftly married together in this wild and thrilling ride. The Dark Side would be a perfect choice for fans of sci-fi who might also be looking for a hard-boiled detective mystery with an edge sharp enough to cut. O’Neill proves inventive in his prose style, and there is a curious artfulness and elegance to his characters even when they are written to be fodder for a killer robot. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more by this author!
If you enjoy gritty and dark, violent futuristic sci-fi mystery thrillers, then The Dark Side by Anthony O’Neill will be just the book for you. O’Neill works crime, sex, drugs, and a psychotic murdering android into a full-on non-stop plot, and that’s just to name a handful of the topics covered in this book.
In The Dark Side, two key narrative threads can be discerned, but even though they are fundamentally related to each other, the connections won’t become clear until later on. In one storyline, Lieutenant Damien Justus has come to Purgatory, a lunar territory founded by megalomaniac billionaire-in-exile Fletcher Brass. Its capital, appropriately called Sin, has been turned into a haven for fugitives and other undesirables from Earth who have come to the moon to escape their old lives. It is the only place where the shadier your record is, the better the chance you’ll be let in. Even the police here have dodgy backgrounds.
Justus, however, is the patently incorruptible good cop who has just arrived from Earth, and he’s just the kind of guy Purgatory needs to clean things up. To him, no one is above the law—and no exceptions. He is immediately given the lead role in the investigation of a string of assassinations targeting the movers and shakers of lunar society. Fletcher Brass quickly shoots to the top of the list of prime suspects, naturally. So does his daughter, the manipulative and magnetic woman known as QT Brass. But while PPD is content to just look the other way, Justus most definitely is not.
Meanwhile, far from Purgatory in the Seidel Crater, the second storyline has begun. A black-haired, black-eyed, black-tied, black-suited homicidal droid takes his first steps towards self-discovery and a two-thousand kilometer journey of death and destruction, all the while spewing forth such mottos as “It’s good to have a rival. It’s even better to crack his skull”, “Friends help you get there. Everyone else is vermin” or “Smile. Smile. Smile. Kill. Smile.”
Those damn creepy androids.
All in all I really enjoyed this fresh and addictive mystery, notwithstanding a few stylistic choices that I found peculiar, such as the frequent cutaway shots to a second-person narrative mode—a form used here I believe for the sole purpose of giving the audience a quick-and-dirty overview of the big picture. And you know what? I liked what I saw, in spite of myself. The setting in which all of these characters pound away is an incredibly rich and vivid one, considering this story takes place entirely on the desolate surface of the moon. Reading about Sin in Purgatory made me think of a city a lot like Vegas—that is, if all the hotels and casinos on the Strip were to replace their individual themes with ancient Babylonian motifs and you dialed up the seediness to 11. This is pure noir, set in a world drenched in lawlessness and “wild frontier” vibes.
I also found this blend of styles at once interesting and effective at creating a palpable sense of foreboding. The book alternates between very different atmospheres, from the extremely sordid, extremely loud streets of Sin to the deep, dark, chilling emptiness of the lunar wasteland. Justus’s perspective made for some very tense, anticipatory chapters that got the gears in my head grinding, while the android Leonardo Black’s chapters were straight-up gorefests that were so shocking and freaky that they sometimes got too hard to read. O’Neill is really good at writing scenes that capture the sheer intensity of the moment, not to mention the ruthless and demented manner of the rogue android. The book was also well-paced, drawing the reader into the story by degrees. Before I knew it, I was sweeping through the pages. The story was fun to read and it was a joy to watch all its elements fall into place in the end.
Dark humor, uncanny science, futuristic tech noir and full-throttle tensions are all deftly married together in this wild and thrilling ride. The Dark Side would be a perfect choice for fans of sci-fi who might also be looking for a hard-boiled detective mystery with an edge sharp enough to cut. O’Neill proves inventive in his prose style, and there is a curious artfulness and elegance to his characters even when they are written to be fodder for a killer robot. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more by this author!
May 19, 2025
4.0 Stars
This was a solid science fiction thriller with good characters and an engaging plot. I would recommend this one to readers looking for a hidden gem.
This was a solid science fiction thriller with good characters and an engaging plot. I would recommend this one to readers looking for a hidden gem.
April 28, 2019
Kad sam bio majeni i gledao Blade Runnera, doživio sam ga iznimno dosadnim iskustvom i zadrijemao gledajući ga. Prije nekoliko godina, kad je izašla nekakva ultimativna verzija filma s fantastičnim slikom i zvukom, mislio sam si 'hajde sad ću više ocijeniti ovaj kultni spektakl', a kad ono - opet mi je uspjelo zadrijemati, no nedavno prilikom trećeg gledanja, u jeku najave Blade Runnera 2049, ipak sam dogurao do kraja i pomalo su mi se počele sviđati i atmosfera i sporost filma.
No kakve to veze ima s ovom knjigom... Pa, kao i u slučaju Blade Runnera, i ovdje je policajac i android i oni se pred kraj filma love, ali to je samo jedna nit priče, i sve zajedno svakako nije dosadno kao Blade Runner. Ne sjećam se kada sam bio bolje uvučen u neku priču...
Pošteni new-guy policajac imenom Justus (get it? ;) dolazi na Mjesečev teritorij zvan Purgatory u glavni grad Sin sa zadatkom rješavanja ubojstva poznatog znanstvenika. Odmah dolazi na čelo tima istražitelja, i to takvog tima kojem je od svakog posla najteže raditi, pa Justus siromak mora sve sam. Purgatory, koji se nalazi na tamnoj strani Mjeseca, utočište je za odbjegle prijestupnike i slično ljudsko smeće sa Zemlje koji ovdje svakako prosperiraju u raznom shady biznisu - kockanju, krijumčarenju, kurveraju, operacijama promjene identiteta i slično. Ukratko - sve ono što vole mladi!
Na čelu Purgatoryja, nešto poput 'čovjeka u visokom dvorcu', je Fletcher Brass, megalomanski milijarder, križanac, recimo, Elona Muska (radi tehničke potkovanosti) i Donalda Trumpa (koji je asshole). Brass planira let na Mars gdje namjerava i ostati i sumnja da se ostali moćnici žele domoći njegove pozicije u Purgatoryju i upropastiti to mjesto kad njega ne bude. Justusu je Fletcher glavni osumnjičeni misleći da ih želi sve eliminirati, no tu su još i razne terorističke skupine kao i ambiciozna Fletcherova kćer QT.
Meanwhile, negdje dalje, pomahnitali android imenom Leonardo Black, koji je u nekom istraživačkom centru skrenuo sa svojih električnih krugova i doživio amneziju, odlazi u ubilački pohod vodeći se tzv. Brass codeom, skupinom pravila i filozofija pisanih od samog Fletchera Brassa, poput "Smile. Smile. Smile. Kill. Smile" ili "Don't Break the Law. Break the Law." Black sebe naziva Čarobnjakom i misli da mu je zadatak domoći se Oz-a i ubiti kralja i sebe postaviti na tron. Scene s Blackom su zaista smiješne, poput one kad se vozi mjesečevim autobusom sa skupinom rockera koji ga zadirkivanju radi identiteta i nude mu travu, ili kad ga ispituje religijska sekta da li je on sam Sotona.
Pisanje Anthony O'Neilla je jednostavno fantastično. Kad opisuje likove, imam dojam kao da čitam nečiju stvarnu biografiju, a kad priča o negostoljubivim Mjesečevim mjestima, imam osjećaj kao da se i sam nalazim na hladnom i klaustrofobičnom mjestu tamne strane. Napetost kada jednom liku pušta svemirsko odijelo ili neposredan trenutak kada Black počinje sa svojim ubojstvima zbilja se mogu nožem rezati. Ovdje ima vožnja po mjesečevim kraterima i cestama, čak i vožnje Mustangom iz '67 po slaboj gravitaciji, natjeravanja po gradskim uličicama kojima padaju doslovno balončići kapljica kiše - jer što je noir atmosfera bez 'teške' kiše?
No kakve to veze ima s ovom knjigom... Pa, kao i u slučaju Blade Runnera, i ovdje je policajac i android i oni se pred kraj filma love, ali to je samo jedna nit priče, i sve zajedno svakako nije dosadno kao Blade Runner. Ne sjećam se kada sam bio bolje uvučen u neku priču...
Pošteni new-guy policajac imenom Justus (get it? ;) dolazi na Mjesečev teritorij zvan Purgatory u glavni grad Sin sa zadatkom rješavanja ubojstva poznatog znanstvenika. Odmah dolazi na čelo tima istražitelja, i to takvog tima kojem je od svakog posla najteže raditi, pa Justus siromak mora sve sam. Purgatory, koji se nalazi na tamnoj strani Mjeseca, utočište je za odbjegle prijestupnike i slično ljudsko smeće sa Zemlje koji ovdje svakako prosperiraju u raznom shady biznisu - kockanju, krijumčarenju, kurveraju, operacijama promjene identiteta i slično. Ukratko - sve ono što vole mladi!
Na čelu Purgatoryja, nešto poput 'čovjeka u visokom dvorcu', je Fletcher Brass, megalomanski milijarder, križanac, recimo, Elona Muska (radi tehničke potkovanosti) i Donalda Trumpa (koji je asshole). Brass planira let na Mars gdje namjerava i ostati i sumnja da se ostali moćnici žele domoći njegove pozicije u Purgatoryju i upropastiti to mjesto kad njega ne bude. Justusu je Fletcher glavni osumnjičeni misleći da ih želi sve eliminirati, no tu su još i razne terorističke skupine kao i ambiciozna Fletcherova kćer QT.
Meanwhile, negdje dalje, pomahnitali android imenom Leonardo Black, koji je u nekom istraživačkom centru skrenuo sa svojih električnih krugova i doživio amneziju, odlazi u ubilački pohod vodeći se tzv. Brass codeom, skupinom pravila i filozofija pisanih od samog Fletchera Brassa, poput "Smile. Smile. Smile. Kill. Smile" ili "Don't Break the Law. Break the Law." Black sebe naziva Čarobnjakom i misli da mu je zadatak domoći se Oz-a i ubiti kralja i sebe postaviti na tron. Scene s Blackom su zaista smiješne, poput one kad se vozi mjesečevim autobusom sa skupinom rockera koji ga zadirkivanju radi identiteta i nude mu travu, ili kad ga ispituje religijska sekta da li je on sam Sotona.
Pisanje Anthony O'Neilla je jednostavno fantastično. Kad opisuje likove, imam dojam kao da čitam nečiju stvarnu biografiju, a kad priča o negostoljubivim Mjesečevim mjestima, imam osjećaj kao da se i sam nalazim na hladnom i klaustrofobičnom mjestu tamne strane. Napetost kada jednom liku pušta svemirsko odijelo ili neposredan trenutak kada Black počinje sa svojim ubojstvima zbilja se mogu nožem rezati. Ovdje ima vožnja po mjesečevim kraterima i cestama, čak i vožnje Mustangom iz '67 po slaboj gravitaciji, natjeravanja po gradskim uličicama kojima padaju doslovno balončići kapljica kiše - jer što je noir atmosfera bez 'teške' kiše?
January 23, 2018
this book had suspense and action up the wahoo. that wasnt completely surprising. the humour was more surprising. there were serious paasages i laughed out loud, usually to do with Leonardo black. the overall tone was a fine mix of noir and sci-fi. this book wont be for everyone, there us some graphic violence and language but there is also a balance of brilliant writing.
March 2, 2021
Purgatory is a lunar territory founded, and dominated, by Fletcher Brass. The capital of Purgatory is the domed city called Sin. Most of the citizens of Purgatory are fugitives from Earth. QT Brass is Fletcher's 31 year old daughter. Fletcher and QT are constantly outdoing each other in being dishonest, deceitful and completely repellent.
This book has very imaginative descriptions of Sin, like the raindrops that "splat like slow-motion water balloons". Parts of Sin feel like they came out of a 1950s cop drama, parts feel like Babylon. Brass has developed a series of rules of business conduct and philosophies called the Brass Code, including: "Never let the fly know when you're going to swat"; "Find Oz. And be the Wizard"; and "If you can't cover your tracks, cover those who see them".
Lieutenant Damien Justus is the lone honest cop who has recently come to Sin. He is immediately plunged into investigating a series of murders, including that of an important scientist. Justus joins a strangely disinterested police department headed by an obese buffoon with questionable motives.
While the police procedural part of the book is going on, there is a parallel story taking place on the dark side of the moon. A penal colony was established there to both isolate the most horrific criminals on Earth and as an experiment about the physical and psychological effects of long term exposure to the lunar environment on the human body. This part of the plot involves a rogue android named Leonardo Black. Black takes the Brass Code very literally. For a while he is pursued by a suspicious civilian named Plaisance. Some of the Plaisance story reminded me of "The Martian", but I won't tell in what way, because that would be a spoiler. If an android can legitimately be described as delusional, then the word certainly fits Black. After the first few times he encounters humans as he tries to make his way to Sin, we pretty much know what to expect from him. For that reason, I don't think that part of the book worked as well as the police procedural part. The Leonardo Black/ human encounters seemed redundant and pointless until the end of the book.
I thought the book was entertaining. I have no idea whether the author is planning on other books set in this world, but I liked Justus and would read another book featuring him.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
This book has very imaginative descriptions of Sin, like the raindrops that "splat like slow-motion water balloons". Parts of Sin feel like they came out of a 1950s cop drama, parts feel like Babylon. Brass has developed a series of rules of business conduct and philosophies called the Brass Code, including: "Never let the fly know when you're going to swat"; "Find Oz. And be the Wizard"; and "If you can't cover your tracks, cover those who see them".
Lieutenant Damien Justus is the lone honest cop who has recently come to Sin. He is immediately plunged into investigating a series of murders, including that of an important scientist. Justus joins a strangely disinterested police department headed by an obese buffoon with questionable motives.
While the police procedural part of the book is going on, there is a parallel story taking place on the dark side of the moon. A penal colony was established there to both isolate the most horrific criminals on Earth and as an experiment about the physical and psychological effects of long term exposure to the lunar environment on the human body. This part of the plot involves a rogue android named Leonardo Black. Black takes the Brass Code very literally. For a while he is pursued by a suspicious civilian named Plaisance. Some of the Plaisance story reminded me of "The Martian", but I won't tell in what way, because that would be a spoiler. If an android can legitimately be described as delusional, then the word certainly fits Black. After the first few times he encounters humans as he tries to make his way to Sin, we pretty much know what to expect from him. For that reason, I don't think that part of the book worked as well as the police procedural part. The Leonardo Black/ human encounters seemed redundant and pointless until the end of the book.
I thought the book was entertaining. I have no idea whether the author is planning on other books set in this world, but I liked Justus and would read another book featuring him.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
March 30, 2016
"Only a lunatic would live on the Moon.So opens The Dark Side, a bold, brash, larger-than-life adventure with the aforementioned lunatics on the dark side of the moon. Exploding goats, discussions of democratic murder, bouncing chases across rooftops--bouncing because of the lower gravity, of course--, men with bowie knives popping up to interrupt informants as they open their mouths to tattle on the villain, rough terrain vehicle chases across moon craters… this book's got it all.
The Moon is a dead rock--eighty-one quintillion tons of dead rock. It's been dead for nearly four billion years. And--inasmuch as a dead rock wants anything--it wants you dead too."
In some ways, The Dark Side reminded me of Douglas Adams, if Douglas Adams decided to borrow plot points from Guillermo de Toro and James M. Cain. Like Hitchhiker's Guide, the tone of the book is conversational, repeatedly breaking the fourth wall with explanatory asides to the reader, apparently with the assumption that the reader is a prospective tourist to the moon. The whimsical and punny character names-- Q.T. Brass, Johnny D-Tox, Dash Chin, Prince Oda Universe, etc-- reminded me of Adams as well.
However, there is one sharp difference: the level of gore. Since Purgatory started life as a penal colony, the number of immoral characters isn't much of a surprise, but the details of some of their atrocities are still horrifying. Don't get attached to the characters of The Dark Side because in almost every case, here's what's going to happen: the character will be introduced, be humanized (or possibly dehumanized) through a backstory, and then suffer a grisly fate. All within a few pages. Rinse and repeat. Sure, Adams has a pretty high death toll in Dirk Gently and Hitchhiker's Guide, but Adams' deaths are comparatively gentle and mostly happen offscreen, with a whale and a pot of petunias suffering some of the most graphic on-page deaths. (I still feel badly for the whale.) Like Adams or early Pratchett, I think O'Neill is using death as comic relief, but it's something I have difficulty appreciating, particularly since the deaths are often wincingly, breath-catchingly graphic. Unfortunately for me, I don't find death--even the death of sperm whales falling towards a planet--all that funny.
At the same time, O'Neill really, really gets the hardboiled/noir vibe. He's got the cheerfully immoral city, the almost admirably egotistical gangster kingpins, the enigmatic femme fatales, the sly wit, and the jaded but earnest detective. Example quintessential hardboiled quote:
"He's come to trust the droids implicitly. It's an illusion, of course, because he knows very well that robots can be programmed to betray, but in his experience humans are always programmed to betray."Our protagonist, Damien Justus--pronounced like "Eustace," although no one on the moon seems to believe him-- has just been transferred to the city of Sin, part of Purgatory, on the dark side of the moon. (They tell it like it is in Purgatory. Motto of the city: "There's nothing better than living in Sin.") On his first day of work, he gets a bombing, and while no one on his team seems all that bothered, Justus quickly realizes that the murder may be tangled up in something much, much larger: a conspiracy that will put him in the middle of a power struggle between mob boss Fletcher Brass and his daughter, QT Brass. All too soon, Justus is fencing with the Brass family and their shared "art of preemptive candor" while dodging bullets, escaping hits, and investigating an ever-increasing pile of bodies. Even as Justus remains mired in Sin, a psychotic android is on its way to the city, swiftly internalizing Fletcher' Brass's "Brass Code" into its new moral system:
"Never bang your head against a wall. Bang someone else's."
If you're in the mood for a crazy, colorful, flamboyant noir space adventure, The Dark Side may be for you.
~~I received an advanced reader copy of this ebook from the publisher, Simon & Schuster, in exchange for my honest review. Quotes were taken from an advanced reader copy and while they may not reflect the final phrasing, I believe they speak to the spirit of the novel as a whole.~~
Cross-posted on BookLikes.
April 24, 2016
This was a WIIIIIIIIIIILD book. Chapters alternate between a lunar-noir-esque investigation into a series of assassinations, the adventures of a murderous and smiley android, and a sort-of travelogue.
The Dark Side is like reading Philip K. Dick and Cassandra Rose Clarke, slapped together with a Quentin Tarantino film. It's bloody. It's strangely comical. It's fun. It's a little terrifying. I'm really obsessed with any media concerning androids, so I'm not sure I'm 100% the most reliable reader, BUT THIS IS SUCH A GREAT, ENTERTAINING READ.
This was also shockingly hard sci-fi, which I wasn't really expecting, but still accessible enough for me to not feel dumb (NOT a hard sci-fi person- I'm all about that soft sci-fi) and I think thriller fans should enjoy this one too!
Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the review copy!
The Dark Side is like reading Philip K. Dick and Cassandra Rose Clarke, slapped together with a Quentin Tarantino film. It's bloody. It's strangely comical. It's fun. It's a little terrifying. I'm really obsessed with any media concerning androids, so I'm not sure I'm 100% the most reliable reader, BUT THIS IS SUCH A GREAT, ENTERTAINING READ.
This was also shockingly hard sci-fi, which I wasn't really expecting, but still accessible enough for me to not feel dumb (NOT a hard sci-fi person- I'm all about that soft sci-fi) and I think thriller fans should enjoy this one too!
Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the review copy!
June 4, 2016
A psychotic Tin Man android on a murderous romp across the moon, on a quest to find Oz and become The Wizard. A lone cop trying to do an honest job while pitted in the middle of a blood feud. Sinners looking for redemption in a lunar Gomorrah. A potentate seeking immortality who rules with a brass fist.
This book really grew on me as I read it. At first, I was a little put off by the fact that it is written in the Present Tenserather than the more usual Past Tense, but I quickly adjusted to it and enjoyed the ride. While the author does show a lot of cleverness, there are spots where he fumbles the ball a bit. For example:
Chapter 24, page 177 The author describes a cavernous construction chamber as "... like something out of a James Bond movie." Come on man, that's just being lazy!
Chapter 12, page 79 Two characters are introduced, but it is not immediately clear that they are both females. This makes the ensuing conversation with the android a bit confusing at first and takes away from the impact of the scene. It could have been better clarified.
But, that is just nit picking on my part, because really, this is a great blending of classic Noir and Sci-Fi and it is a LOT of FUN!
It's Mickey Spillane kicking Ben Bova in the balls while getting punched in the nose by Philip K. Dick with Elmore Leonard sitting in the corner laughing!
*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review, which I have given freely.
This book really grew on me as I read it. At first, I was a little put off by the fact that it is written in the Present Tenserather than the more usual Past Tense, but I quickly adjusted to it and enjoyed the ride. While the author does show a lot of cleverness, there are spots where he fumbles the ball a bit. For example:
Chapter 24, page 177 The author describes a cavernous construction chamber as "... like something out of a James Bond movie." Come on man, that's just being lazy!
Chapter 12, page 79 Two characters are introduced, but it is not immediately clear that they are both females. This makes the ensuing conversation with the android a bit confusing at first and takes away from the impact of the scene. It could have been better clarified.
But, that is just nit picking on my part, because really, this is a great blending of classic Noir and Sci-Fi and it is a LOT of FUN!
It's Mickey Spillane kicking Ben Bova in the balls while getting punched in the nose by Philip K. Dick with Elmore Leonard sitting in the corner laughing!
*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review, which I have given freely.
May 14, 2018
Killer robots, politics, lawlessness, an incompetent police force, and characters that say smart things. Very binge-worthy-Netflix-police-drama, which incidentally are shows that I'm sure people like (which is why there are about a thousand of them just with different names), but are also shows that I would watch a grand total of 3 episodes because I was bored and then hate myself for wasting my own time.
3 stars. (I forced myself to read everything though)
3 stars. (I forced myself to read everything though)
June 18, 2018
To nejlepší z detektivů staré školy, Tarantina a komiksové poetiky v jednom 400stránkovém balení. Konec je sice silně předvídatelný, ale to u tohohle žánru snad ani jinak nejde. Btw, těšte se na androida. Je boží.
Má delší recenze tu: https://www.fantasymag.cz/na-odvracen...
Má delší recenze tu: https://www.fantasymag.cz/na-odvracen...
December 19, 2020
When I saw that this is a sci-fi noir I just had to read it and I'm glad I did. It was so much fun with an sci-fi and crime book in one
January 23, 2019
I was hoping to like The Dark Side by Anthony O'Neill more. Based on the summary it's got just about everything I could want - I mean, it's a sci-fi noir set on the moon after all. The world building was intriguing and I like getting to see the author's vision of the far side of the moon. My main issue with the story was the fact that I wasn't interested in any of the characters.
June 22, 2016
Loved this one – it was dark and violent yet humerous and often human nature insightful – a pretty banging story that fairly rocks along.
First of all in the severely creepy stakes comes Leonardo Black, a murderous android. He is CHILLING for sure, as he rampages across the moon, very politely and with due consideration, yet you cross his path at your peril. This layer of the novel appealed very much to MY dark side. I kind of loved Mr Black.
The other side of the story is one man on a mission to bring justice to the moon. A job with rather a lot of issues seeing as how the moon happens to harbour the worst of the worst – the author does some intriguing and clever character building alongside some gorgeous and hip descriptive prose to create a beautifully vivid backdrop peppered with fascinating people (and androids) – The Dark Side is a totally immersive novel, one of those you live in the moment.
The narrative is intelligently complex , Anthony O’Neill paints pictures with words and there is really addictive quality to this one. The two sides of the story come together explosively for the conclusion and overall it was an entirely enjoyable and fun read. With murderous androids. And explosions and chases and criminally good characters. Spot on. More please.
First of all in the severely creepy stakes comes Leonardo Black, a murderous android. He is CHILLING for sure, as he rampages across the moon, very politely and with due consideration, yet you cross his path at your peril. This layer of the novel appealed very much to MY dark side. I kind of loved Mr Black.
The other side of the story is one man on a mission to bring justice to the moon. A job with rather a lot of issues seeing as how the moon happens to harbour the worst of the worst – the author does some intriguing and clever character building alongside some gorgeous and hip descriptive prose to create a beautifully vivid backdrop peppered with fascinating people (and androids) – The Dark Side is a totally immersive novel, one of those you live in the moment.
The narrative is intelligently complex , Anthony O’Neill paints pictures with words and there is really addictive quality to this one. The two sides of the story come together explosively for the conclusion and overall it was an entirely enjoyable and fun read. With murderous androids. And explosions and chases and criminally good characters. Spot on. More please.
May 4, 2020
Me gusto, tiene una trama muy original pero siento que ese final no quedo a la altura.
December 18, 2016
Didn’t work for me.
I lost interest. I read 20% and skipped to the end. I’ve loved some sci fi and crime noir stories. But this one just didn’t work for me.
Endings are important to me. And I bought this because one reviewer said "There's a good ending, too. I for one did not see it coming, but it was clean, complete, satisfying on every level."
Well, for me, the ending was not satisfying.
I lost interest. I read 20% and skipped to the end. I’ve loved some sci fi and crime noir stories. But this one just didn’t work for me.
Endings are important to me. And I bought this because one reviewer said "There's a good ending, too. I for one did not see it coming, but it was clean, complete, satisfying on every level."
Well, for me, the ending was not satisfying.
July 7, 2023
Woah. Now that was a scifi thriller, murder myster done right.
(More soon)
(More soon)
June 16, 2018
Na Mesiaci, neďaleko Mora nepokojov stojí zhrbená postava s rozcuchanými vlasmi a opierajúc sa o lopatu hľadí na Zem.
To je Tarantino kopajúci si plytký hrob, aby sa mal kde obracať, keď ho zas niekto bude spomínať na obálke knihy.
Nie že by to bolo až také zlé, miestami to bolo zábavné a celkom to odsýpalo ale ja by som to už dala ako 11 božie prikázanie: „Nevezmeš meno Tarantinovo, Chandlerovo, Gaimenovo, Adamsovo, Pratchettovo ani nikoho iného zo spisovateľského/režisérkseho panteónu ani žiadnu z ich postáv v anotáciách nadarmo.“
PS: Neffov Měsíc mého života je tematicky podobný, nie je síce tak nablýskaný a štýlovo noirový ale bavil ma viac.
To je Tarantino kopajúci si plytký hrob, aby sa mal kde obracať, keď ho zas niekto bude spomínať na obálke knihy.
Nie že by to bolo až také zlé, miestami to bolo zábavné a celkom to odsýpalo ale ja by som to už dala ako 11 božie prikázanie: „Nevezmeš meno Tarantinovo, Chandlerovo, Gaimenovo, Adamsovo, Pratchettovo ani nikoho iného zo spisovateľského/režisérkseho panteónu ani žiadnu z ich postáv v anotáciách nadarmo.“
PS: Neffov Měsíc mého života je tematicky podobný, nie je síce tak nablýskaný a štýlovo noirový ale bavil ma viac.
July 3, 2016
3'5/5
An entertaining novel, often surprising and funny, which uses the moon as a very original setting, and treats the details carefully.
Review in english: http://dreamsofelvex.blogspot.com/201...
Reseña en castellano: http://dreamsofelvex.blogspot.com/201...
An entertaining novel, often surprising and funny, which uses the moon as a very original setting, and treats the details carefully.
Review in english: http://dreamsofelvex.blogspot.com/201...
Reseña en castellano: http://dreamsofelvex.blogspot.com/201...
March 6, 2020
An original idea, quite well executed. There's not much emotional depth here or character development for that matter, but the social and political commentary is sharp and echoed what my country is going through at the moment. Greed, moral corruption and the disintegration of the rule of law is something that has sadly been characterizing many governments around the world over the past decade, more so than ever before, and this novel relates to this trend. It is also suspenseful and fun to read. I look forward to more from this author.
November 2, 2017
The Dark Side is a highly entertaining moon-based science fiction novel. The Lunar world created by Anthony O’Neill is fresh, vivid and a great setting for a novel about a serial killing robot (who apparently represents corporate capitalism run amok) and political intrigue. Darkly funny and built around a good mystery, this novel isn’t dull for a moment.
March 22, 2022
No. Absolutely not. Expect a rant on my channel very soon.
November 9, 2016
I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway. It is the first (and only, thus far) one that I won, and I'm hoping that there isn't some algorithm in place that will preclude me from winning again by giving this book a somewhat negative review!
I probably wouldn't have ever come across this book if I hadn't seen it listed as a giveaway. That being said, the plot seemed interesting and I was excited to read it. It was a very quick and easy read. I wouldn't say that I was ever bored with it, by any means, but at the end of the day I just felt that it tried too hard to be too many different things and ultimately failed on multiple levels.
You can look at all of the genre tags on this book, but it's basically a combination of sci-fi, crime noir, horror, thriller, and I guess even humor, to an extent? It was never laugh-out-loud funny, but some of the story lines were so ridiculous that they had to be intentionally so.
There are really two main, alternating plots in this book that ultimately converge together at the end. In one plot line, Damien Justus (which is absolutely NOT pronounced "justice", which I guess is supposed to be ironic? Other characters in the book have intentionally quirky sounding names, so it wouldn't be unreasonable if Justus were supposed to be pronounced as "justice") is a police detective who recently transferred to Purgatory, a colony on the moon comprised mostly of former criminals and deviants from Earth. Although the story is set in the future, the police infrastructure is very much set in the past. The uniforms and police station sound like they are out of some early 20th-century detective show (you know the one where the detective is wearing a suit and fedora, typing on a typewriter at his wooden desk. A pretty lady in a big hat and overcoat walks into the office and presents a case that she needs to be solved...). Justus takes his job as a cop very seriously, but it is clear from the start that the other officers and the police chief are incredibly corrupt and lazy. They give him a large amount of fake respect and deference, but are basically laughing behind his back because he takes the job so seriously. There is a series of murders/terrorist acts that Justus must try to solve, and he ends up getting in the middle of a power struggle between Purgatory's founder/leader, Fletcher Brass, and his daughter QT Brass (pronounced Cutie). Mr. Brass is a power-hungry megalomaniac who is about to embark upon a mission to Mars, where he intends to live for a while. There will be a power vacuum when he leaves Purgatory, but he doesn't want QT to fill it.
In the other plot line, a deranged android is on the loose on the dark side of the moon, and is on a mission to make his way to Purgatory and conquer it. He is programmed with "the Brass Code", which is a series of tenets that Fletcher Brass lives by, most of which are all about gaining power and stomping on anyone that steps in your path. The robot, Leonardo Black, kills virtually everyone who stands in his path to get to Purgatory.
Once the 2 plot lines converge, it turns out that Leonardo Black was Mr. Brass' bodyguard, and he was sent away secretly to be programmed to stand in for Brass while he was away. Unfortunately the "evil" parts of the Brass Code were programmed into him before any inhibitors were put into place, which is why Black killed the robotics engineers and escaped for Purgatory.
I am probably forgetting a number of crucial things, but that's what happens when I take a few days after finishing a book to write a review. All in all I think my biggest issue with the book is that it doesn't spend much time really developing the characters. Justus, the protagonist, is pretty flat. You get a little insight into his background and personality, but it doesn't run too deep. The book isn't particularly long, but the author bounces around too much to really gain any traction on developing anything very deeply. There are chapters where he starts to develop random people, but then they are killed by the robot by the end of the chapter.
Overall I think it was an interesting premise, but it just wasn't all that satisfying in the end.
I probably wouldn't have ever come across this book if I hadn't seen it listed as a giveaway. That being said, the plot seemed interesting and I was excited to read it. It was a very quick and easy read. I wouldn't say that I was ever bored with it, by any means, but at the end of the day I just felt that it tried too hard to be too many different things and ultimately failed on multiple levels.
You can look at all of the genre tags on this book, but it's basically a combination of sci-fi, crime noir, horror, thriller, and I guess even humor, to an extent? It was never laugh-out-loud funny, but some of the story lines were so ridiculous that they had to be intentionally so.
There are really two main, alternating plots in this book that ultimately converge together at the end. In one plot line, Damien Justus (which is absolutely NOT pronounced "justice", which I guess is supposed to be ironic? Other characters in the book have intentionally quirky sounding names, so it wouldn't be unreasonable if Justus were supposed to be pronounced as "justice") is a police detective who recently transferred to Purgatory, a colony on the moon comprised mostly of former criminals and deviants from Earth. Although the story is set in the future, the police infrastructure is very much set in the past. The uniforms and police station sound like they are out of some early 20th-century detective show (you know the one where the detective is wearing a suit and fedora, typing on a typewriter at his wooden desk. A pretty lady in a big hat and overcoat walks into the office and presents a case that she needs to be solved...). Justus takes his job as a cop very seriously, but it is clear from the start that the other officers and the police chief are incredibly corrupt and lazy. They give him a large amount of fake respect and deference, but are basically laughing behind his back because he takes the job so seriously. There is a series of murders/terrorist acts that Justus must try to solve, and he ends up getting in the middle of a power struggle between Purgatory's founder/leader, Fletcher Brass, and his daughter QT Brass (pronounced Cutie). Mr. Brass is a power-hungry megalomaniac who is about to embark upon a mission to Mars, where he intends to live for a while. There will be a power vacuum when he leaves Purgatory, but he doesn't want QT to fill it.
In the other plot line, a deranged android is on the loose on the dark side of the moon, and is on a mission to make his way to Purgatory and conquer it. He is programmed with "the Brass Code", which is a series of tenets that Fletcher Brass lives by, most of which are all about gaining power and stomping on anyone that steps in your path. The robot, Leonardo Black, kills virtually everyone who stands in his path to get to Purgatory.
Once the 2 plot lines converge, it turns out that Leonardo Black was Mr. Brass' bodyguard, and he was sent away secretly to be programmed to stand in for Brass while he was away. Unfortunately the "evil" parts of the Brass Code were programmed into him before any inhibitors were put into place, which is why Black killed the robotics engineers and escaped for Purgatory.
I am probably forgetting a number of crucial things, but that's what happens when I take a few days after finishing a book to write a review. All in all I think my biggest issue with the book is that it doesn't spend much time really developing the characters. Justus, the protagonist, is pretty flat. You get a little insight into his background and personality, but it doesn't run too deep. The book isn't particularly long, but the author bounces around too much to really gain any traction on developing anything very deeply. There are chapters where he starts to develop random people, but then they are killed by the robot by the end of the chapter.
Overall I think it was an interesting premise, but it just wasn't all that satisfying in the end.
February 27, 2016
Anthony O'Neill's "The Dark Side" is a dark and frequently unpleasant satire about greed, power, corruption, murder, and the meaning of justice in a deeply unjust world. It features a hard-nosed cop named Justus who's been exiled from his homeland for being a little too good at his job. He's been hired by the lawless town of Purgatory -- a sort of Las Vegas/Wild West hybrid -- to bring some professionalism to its police force. Or so he is led to believe. His first big challenge is to figure out who was behind a bombing that leaves several people dead, including one of the key aides of local strongman Fletcher Brass. Unfortunately, Justus has too many suspects, including Brass, his estranged daughter QT, and the mysterious band of terrorists who claim credit for the attack. Meanwhile, somewhere far away, a well-dressed psycho is quietly invading the homes of criminals, engaging them in conversation, and then brutally offing them. Justus, the Brass family, and the serial killer are clearly destined to meet, but not before the stakes for each of them are at their most desperate.
If you've seen the cover of "The Dark Side" or read any editorial reviews, you know that Purgatory is on the moon and that the sadistic killer is a malfunctioning android. These facts are relevant, and O'Neill takes pains to convince us that he's done his homework (there are non-fiction references in the Acknowledgements), yet it's the human drama (or tragicomedy) that interests O'Neill; the rest, while not pro forma, is not much more than stage dressing.
O'Neill writes well, with both humor and blunt bloody-mindedness. Fletcher Black, the flamboyant and single-minded sociopath who has shaped Purgatory since the beginning is a memorable character, as is the Russian policeman Grigory Kalganov whose grave criminal history doesn't stop him from helping Justus. Even if you don't enjoy the story he tells -- and I mostly didn't -- you can still respect the O'Neill's skills.
Bottom line: True to the noir references of some early editorial reviews (e.g., comparisons to Raymond Chandler), this book examines the dark underbelly of society and finds that the rich and powerful are much bigger criminals than the petty thugs, thieves, and murderers they scorn and lock away. Still, "The Dark Side" is not a pleasant read, it's only intermittently engaging, and a lot doesn't add up in the end. I don't recommend it, but I don't dislike it enough to recommend against it.
If you've seen the cover of "The Dark Side" or read any editorial reviews, you know that Purgatory is on the moon and that the sadistic killer is a malfunctioning android. These facts are relevant, and O'Neill takes pains to convince us that he's done his homework (there are non-fiction references in the Acknowledgements), yet it's the human drama (or tragicomedy) that interests O'Neill; the rest, while not pro forma, is not much more than stage dressing.
O'Neill writes well, with both humor and blunt bloody-mindedness. Fletcher Black, the flamboyant and single-minded sociopath who has shaped Purgatory since the beginning is a memorable character, as is the Russian policeman Grigory Kalganov whose grave criminal history doesn't stop him from helping Justus. Even if you don't enjoy the story he tells -- and I mostly didn't -- you can still respect the O'Neill's skills.
Bottom line: True to the noir references of some early editorial reviews (e.g., comparisons to Raymond Chandler), this book examines the dark underbelly of society and finds that the rich and powerful are much bigger criminals than the petty thugs, thieves, and murderers they scorn and lock away. Still, "The Dark Side" is not a pleasant read, it's only intermittently engaging, and a lot doesn't add up in the end. I don't recommend it, but I don't dislike it enough to recommend against it.
April 10, 2016
I'm not a sci fi fan. I might occasionally watch a sci fi movie, but seldom a tv show and never read a book in the genre, it just isn't the sort of thing that I can enjoy enough to commit that much time to. All of which only serves to highlight just how much I liked this book. Originally I was taken in by the description, that happens when cults and killer robots are mentioned, but it was so much more than that. It actually made me see the appeal of the genre itself. The author got to created an entire world, his moon, particularly, of course, the dark side, has so much texture and color to it. And not just imagination either, according to an extensive reading list, there was a lot of research involved to create the most believably unreal place, then to colonize it with lunatics, which is a terrifically clever colloquialism for the locals. There on the dark side of the moon is Purgatory, created and ruled by a megalomaniacal truculent sociopath, a place populated by fellow sociopaths, criminals and various social rejects, a place where vice comes to play and conscience comes to sleep. And then there is, of course, the android on a mission, so awesomely atypically homicidal, so invariably polite, so hilariously mentally warped by a list of personal credos, he comes across as a demented love child of Donald Trump and Ayn Rand. And a fresh from Earth to Purgatory detective who's trying to figure out strange new world he's thrown into and solve a series of crimes that seem to only escalate. The proverbial straight man, the moral man in the immoral world, navigating the infinitely self serving, self righteous, venal schemes and schemers. This book was just so much fun to read, sheer unadulterated fun, superlatively entertaining armchair visit somewhere you probably wouldn't ever want to go in real life. It read like a movie in the best possible way, in fact it is meant to become a movie at some point, the rights have been sold, and one can only hope adaptation will do it justice. After all, justice (pun on detective Justus) is such a scarce commodity on the Dark Side. Very enjoyable reading experience. This one gets a most enthusiastic recommendation. Thanks Netgalley.
February 20, 2017
This was a lot of fun! Especially because of the android all too happy to wreak havoc on criminals, colonists and researchers on the moon alike. Meanwhile, a law-abiding, seemingly incorruptible lieutenant is caught between a dodgy battle of power he knows nothing about in a city known for its utter lawlessness. That made for quite an interesting read. Even still, some parts of it are predictable which fortunately, the non-stop plot makes up for well enough.
The intense violence, absolutely free of any kind of inhibitions, really blows the mind at times (even in a place where it's expected since it's made for shady people by even shadier people). Moreover, the setting keeps changing in terms of atmospheres and imagery so there's always something new to look forward to. It's all clearly well-executed since all of it is happening on a largely desolate surface of the moon. In all, 'lunar gothic' mystery is really the best way to categorize this book.
The intense violence, absolutely free of any kind of inhibitions, really blows the mind at times (even in a place where it's expected since it's made for shady people by even shadier people). Moreover, the setting keeps changing in terms of atmospheres and imagery so there's always something new to look forward to. It's all clearly well-executed since all of it is happening on a largely desolate surface of the moon. In all, 'lunar gothic' mystery is really the best way to categorize this book.
February 18, 2018
If you were to make the DarkNet a real Place, mix it with some Vegas Glam and a narcissistic, all powerful magnat, you get Purgatory - or as his chess-opponent and daughter would call it: Redemption.
The Dark Side is an entertaining and realistic* Sci-Fi "crime story", brought to life through the eyes of the police lieutnant Justs and the optic sensors of a highly "evolved" android, both finding their own paths.
I thoroughly enjoyed the mood the author builds up by his introductions of each chapter. Things are not easy or convenient as in many space sci-fi, but the phsyics of the moon have an impact in the story. The cast of people is diverse and seems facetted, if you only meet them for a short time or see the world through their eyes. For gamers I'd recommend thinking about the moon in Destiny, to have a great imagination of what the world O'Neill created might look like.
*realistic as in is thinkable with the physical laws of our universe, the human condition and is well researched. Of course it is still a story.
"Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody."
"Only a lunatic would live on the moon."
"All they see is a standard that needs to be emulated. So clearly satire doesn't work."
I thank NetGalley for the opportunity to be able to read this book in change for a review.
The Dark Side is an entertaining and realistic* Sci-Fi "crime story", brought to life through the eyes of the police lieutnant Justs and the optic sensors of a highly "evolved" android, both finding their own paths.
I thoroughly enjoyed the mood the author builds up by his introductions of each chapter. Things are not easy or convenient as in many space sci-fi, but the phsyics of the moon have an impact in the story. The cast of people is diverse and seems facetted, if you only meet them for a short time or see the world through their eyes. For gamers I'd recommend thinking about the moon in Destiny, to have a great imagination of what the world O'Neill created might look like.
*realistic as in is thinkable with the physical laws of our universe, the human condition and is well researched. Of course it is still a story.
"Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody."
"Only a lunatic would live on the moon."
"All they see is a standard that needs to be emulated. So clearly satire doesn't work."
I thank NetGalley for the opportunity to be able to read this book in change for a review.
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