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In The Black Room #4
The Black Room, Part Four: The End
All of the answers. Everything explained.
In a final volume three times longer than any of the other parts, the story follows on from the stunning cliffhanger that closed out Part Three as Charlie and Minnie are led down paths that neither of them saw coming in their worst nightmares...
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There are hangovers, there are bad hangovers, and then there's waking up inside someone else's head. Thirty-something bartender Charlie Wilkes is faced with this exact dilemma when he wakes to find finds himself trapped inside The Black Room; a space consisting of impenetrable darkness and a huge, ethereal screen floating in its centre. Through this screen he is shown the world of his female host, Minnie.
How did he get there? What has happened to his life? And how can he exist inside the mind of a troubled, fragile, but beautiful woman with secrets of her own? Uncertain whether he's even real or if he is just a figment of his host's imagination, Charlie must enlist Minnie's help if he is to find a way out of The Black Room, a place where even the light of the screen goes out every time Minnie closes her eyes...
The final part of a thrilling four-part novel, 'The Black Room, Part Four: The End' concludes the story of Charlie Wilkes and his efforts to solve the enigma of The Black Room. All the answers are revealed.
This is an alternate cover edition. The original ISDN/ASIN is B014I4EE0A.
In a final volume three times longer than any of the other parts, the story follows on from the stunning cliffhanger that closed out Part Three as Charlie and Minnie are led down paths that neither of them saw coming in their worst nightmares...
----------
There are hangovers, there are bad hangovers, and then there's waking up inside someone else's head. Thirty-something bartender Charlie Wilkes is faced with this exact dilemma when he wakes to find finds himself trapped inside The Black Room; a space consisting of impenetrable darkness and a huge, ethereal screen floating in its centre. Through this screen he is shown the world of his female host, Minnie.
How did he get there? What has happened to his life? And how can he exist inside the mind of a troubled, fragile, but beautiful woman with secrets of her own? Uncertain whether he's even real or if he is just a figment of his host's imagination, Charlie must enlist Minnie's help if he is to find a way out of The Black Room, a place where even the light of the screen goes out every time Minnie closes her eyes...
The final part of a thrilling four-part novel, 'The Black Room, Part Four: The End' concludes the story of Charlie Wilkes and his efforts to solve the enigma of The Black Room. All the answers are revealed.
This is an alternate cover edition. The original ISDN/ASIN is B014I4EE0A.
Audiobook
First published July 29, 2013
4 people are currently reading
55 people want to read
About the author
Luke Smitherd
32 books594 followersLuke Smitherd is the author of The Stone Man (shortlisted for Audible Book of the Year 2015) and its sequels as well as several other novels. A former singer and guitarist, he now writes full time, hosts the comedy music-discussion show Cracker Juice, and performs around Los Angeles as a stand-up comic. He divides his time between the United States and the United Kingdom.
www.lukesmitherd.com
www.lukesmitherd.com
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 28, 2021
Relieved to be done with this series
Very interesting initial plot premise, that repeatedly reminded me why I dislike reading fictional books portraying mentally unsound antagonists who more often than not come off as one dimensional, cardboard cutouts of cartoon villainy, bc most writers lack in-depth education in psychology. #MentalHealthMatters suffer from an overabundance of gross misrepresentation and prejudice in media due to writers and witnesses lacking deep (science backed) understanding of the human psyche. Such cavalier misrepresentation continues to perpetuate unfounded fears and prejudices toward the mentally ill and mental health in general--resulting in the impediment of humanity's psychological & emotional maturity.
Besides that mighty obstacle to my enjoyment, decent enough writing, except the many times verbiage felt plodding &/or redundant. -1 star. I also found the long, pleading outtakes following each part of the series to feel annoyingly verbose & needy, and the nickname "Smithereens" (for fans) sounds cultish & self-important. -1 star.
Very interesting initial plot premise, that repeatedly reminded me why I dislike reading fictional books portraying mentally unsound antagonists who more often than not come off as one dimensional, cardboard cutouts of cartoon villainy, bc most writers lack in-depth education in psychology. #MentalHealthMatters suffer from an overabundance of gross misrepresentation and prejudice in media due to writers and witnesses lacking deep (science backed) understanding of the human psyche. Such cavalier misrepresentation continues to perpetuate unfounded fears and prejudices toward the mentally ill and mental health in general--resulting in the impediment of humanity's psychological & emotional maturity.
Besides that mighty obstacle to my enjoyment, decent enough writing, except the many times verbiage felt plodding &/or redundant. -1 star. I also found the long, pleading outtakes following each part of the series to feel annoyingly verbose & needy, and the nickname "Smithereens" (for fans) sounds cultish & self-important. -1 star.
October 27, 2020
In which The Black Room, a novel in 4 parts, ends smashingly!
After parts 1-3 of The Black Room, author Luke Smitherd surprised me with what he had in store for the final part. It has an incredible level of action and suspense! I rarely encounter an actual “page-turner” (although I once met a lady named Paige Turner), but part 4 of The Black Room is one!
Having finished it, I also want to express amazement at the Author’s Notes after each of these. I’ve never read any books that had such long Author’s Notes! They are mostly interesting “behind the scenes” reflections, although there are always lengthy pleas for Amazon reviews as well. So . . . Mr. Smitherd, this one is for you.
After parts 1-3 of The Black Room, author Luke Smitherd surprised me with what he had in store for the final part. It has an incredible level of action and suspense! I rarely encounter an actual “page-turner” (although I once met a lady named Paige Turner), but part 4 of The Black Room is one!
Having finished it, I also want to express amazement at the Author’s Notes after each of these. I’ve never read any books that had such long Author’s Notes! They are mostly interesting “behind the scenes” reflections, although there are always lengthy pleas for Amazon reviews as well. So . . . Mr. Smitherd, this one is for you.
July 4, 2019
White knuckle ending to a wonderfully entertaining series. It wrapped up beautifully and full of adrenaline. Smitherd has a new fan in me.
August 13, 2019
Wonderful
Couldn't put them down, read all 4 in a few days. I love the concept.
I loved the amount of detail gone into the other points of view, especially book 4, thanks Luke
Couldn't put them down, read all 4 in a few days. I love the concept.
I loved the amount of detail gone into the other points of view, especially book 4, thanks Luke
April 10, 2016
Wow. Really. Wow. I just finished this book minutes ago and wanted to leave the review while it was still fresh in my mind and my emotions were still raw. The ending of this book series changed all my assumptions (assumptions are bad) from the prior books, but it all came together to make perfect sense, although can perfect love ever make perfect sense? I think I would have cried at the end if I believed that. But I didn't.
This continues and ends the story of Charlie and Minnie, two people whom destiny seems to have fated to be together always. Their love jumps off the pages (or screens) at you and you feel it with no doubts whatsoever. Even though they have never met in person or touched each other, theirs is a longing so deep it makes your heart ache. And this all happened over the course of three days. I guess when the man fated to love you for eternity jumps into your head, you get to know everything about each other and know that love is real and profound very quickly.
There is one major impediment to their love story--and it's a big one. There is someone else that love Minnie with all his heart and he is willing to do anything to get her. He blew his chance with her, but he blames her for that and wants revenge. This guy is obsessive and deranged and does bad things, but I also felt a little sorry for him. He built his entire life around loving Minnie and he lost it all in a moment. How many people could survive such a loss intact? He could either have been destroyed by his loss and probably end up killing himself, or he could lose touch with reality and become the destroyer.
Minnie shows she isn't a fragile woman in this installment. She knows she has to fight to save everything she holds dear and she does just that. She has an inner strength that carries her through the rest of her life.
The title of this book was changed from, "The Black Room" to "In the Darkness, That's Where I'll Know You". The new title is much more descriptive of the actual story. Ever since ten-year-old Charlie lost his mother in the car accident in the water (that's what all the flashes in the previous installments were) and started dreaming of his Woman in the Night, to the minute he found himself in her head, he knew and loved her and he didn't need the light of day to know that.
The book could also have been titled, "In The End, That's Where I'll Find You" and you'll know what that means when you finish the book.
Very highly recommended. The characters are real. The things they do and the emotions they have are all genuine, even the minor characters. I wasn't sure what, "A Paranormal Love Story" was before these books. Now I do.
This continues and ends the story of Charlie and Minnie, two people whom destiny seems to have fated to be together always. Their love jumps off the pages (or screens) at you and you feel it with no doubts whatsoever. Even though they have never met in person or touched each other, theirs is a longing so deep it makes your heart ache. And this all happened over the course of three days. I guess when the man fated to love you for eternity jumps into your head, you get to know everything about each other and know that love is real and profound very quickly.
There is one major impediment to their love story--and it's a big one. There is someone else that love Minnie with all his heart and he is willing to do anything to get her. He blew his chance with her, but he blames her for that and wants revenge. This guy is obsessive and deranged and does bad things, but I also felt a little sorry for him. He built his entire life around loving Minnie and he lost it all in a moment. How many people could survive such a loss intact? He could either have been destroyed by his loss and probably end up killing himself, or he could lose touch with reality and become the destroyer.
Minnie shows she isn't a fragile woman in this installment. She knows she has to fight to save everything she holds dear and she does just that. She has an inner strength that carries her through the rest of her life.
The title of this book was changed from, "The Black Room" to "In the Darkness, That's Where I'll Know You". The new title is much more descriptive of the actual story. Ever since ten-year-old Charlie lost his mother in the car accident in the water (that's what all the flashes in the previous installments were) and started dreaming of his Woman in the Night, to the minute he found himself in her head, he knew and loved her and he didn't need the light of day to know that.
The book could also have been titled, "In The End, That's Where I'll Find You" and you'll know what that means when you finish the book.
Very highly recommended. The characters are real. The things they do and the emotions they have are all genuine, even the minor characters. I wasn't sure what, "A Paranormal Love Story" was before these books. Now I do.
April 7, 2016
I loved the conclusion to this novella mini-series. The plot happenings were intense and had me totally griped from the first minute to the last.
This series ended up being a weird blend of sci-fi and horror and Luke Smitherd got the balance perfect. The story was every bit as weird and intriguing as the exciting sounding synopsis promised it would be. The plot was packed full of crazy twists and turns that managed to surprise, intrigue, and horrify me in equal measure. It really helped that Charlie and Minnie were genuinely likeable characters.
All in all I loved this unusual and original sci-fi/horror and will definitely be trying more of Luke Smithred's books in the future.
Rating: 5 stars.
Audio Note: Luke Smithred narrated the audio for this book himself. I usually avoid self narrated stories like this as if they have the plague as they are almost always awful. I'm glad I ignored my instincts and took a chance on this one as Smithred did an OK job. He is no rival for the top audio narrators in the business, but he is competent and a whole lot better than some of so called professional narrators I've suffered through over the years. I think he even got better as the book progressed!
This series ended up being a weird blend of sci-fi and horror and Luke Smitherd got the balance perfect. The story was every bit as weird and intriguing as the exciting sounding synopsis promised it would be. The plot was packed full of crazy twists and turns that managed to surprise, intrigue, and horrify me in equal measure. It really helped that Charlie and Minnie were genuinely likeable characters.
All in all I loved this unusual and original sci-fi/horror and will definitely be trying more of Luke Smithred's books in the future.
Rating: 5 stars.
Audio Note: Luke Smithred narrated the audio for this book himself. I usually avoid self narrated stories like this as if they have the plague as they are almost always awful. I'm glad I ignored my instincts and took a chance on this one as Smithred did an OK job. He is no rival for the top audio narrators in the business, but he is competent and a whole lot better than some of so called professional narrators I've suffered through over the years. I think he even got better as the book progressed!
July 26, 2016
Not the end I was expecting. But I've come to accept that from this author, and it keeps me coming back for more! At the end of part 3 I wanted to scream... The cliffhanger was evil... And towards the end of this one I wanted to but
Luke brought it all around, maybe a little too neatly for some readers tastes but after the suspenseful roller coaster ride this serialization has put me through, the soft landing was needed.
I take on different artists every now and then and provide them with as much support as I can to help fuel their careers and I'm very happy to add Luke Smitherd to the current short list of musicians and artists - the first author to make it there. Keep the stories coming! Highly recommended for lovers of suspense and supernatural.
Luke brought it all around, maybe a little too neatly for some readers tastes but after the suspenseful roller coaster ride this serialization has put me through, the soft landing was needed.
I take on different artists every now and then and provide them with as much support as I can to help fuel their careers and I'm very happy to add Luke Smitherd to the current short list of musicians and artists - the first author to make it there. Keep the stories coming! Highly recommended for lovers of suspense and supernatural.
February 26, 2014
Well, I've finally finished the fourth book in this series (The End). And honestly, I'm glad.....I must state that I agree with the author's comment that this, the fourth, was much longer than it needed to be. It was literally three times as along as the first three. I thoroughly enjoyed the first three, however, at times (as I read this final installment), I didn't know if the good Charlie would actually win out over or succumb to the bad Chuck. How many alternate world are out there Luke? Honestly, this book left me wanting for "LESS" not more. Seriously, Luke, I know you've probably written a few more book since you finished this one, but I might suggest you take a look back at this one and consider a rewrite !!!
August 19, 2014
Interesting Concept
Interesting Concept
Interesting concept, good writing but really out there. I think the author did his best to try and explain how one person can enter another person's mind but it is just a really weird concept. As the story developed, I began to enjoy the characters. Looking for something different, this is it.
Interesting Concept
Interesting concept, good writing but really out there. I think the author did his best to try and explain how one person can enter another person's mind but it is just a really weird concept. As the story developed, I began to enjoy the characters. Looking for something different, this is it.
September 10, 2014
I can't say I didn't have fun reading it, though the 4th in the series dragged a bit too much. It’s a love story. With Jeffrey Dahmer thrown in the mix. Heck, Jeffrey Dahmer is Mr. Rogers compared to the bad dude in this book. Makes me wonder what goes on in the head of the writer. If someone in Derby shows up dead with major body parts bitten off, Scotland Yard should give him a ring...
May 5, 2014
Fantastic story, like nothing I've read before. I'm already looking forward to reading Luke's other books.
August 4, 2014
I actually liked the ending better than the middle, but maybe not as much as the beginning. Not sure I'd recommend it all, but interesting to read a self-published book like this...
February 3, 2015
Had to stop reading it. Became something I didn't care to finish reading. Moving onto something else.
May 18, 2014
Even after grasping the concept I found this hard to follow.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews