The Dark

Star Wars: Adventures in Wild Space #4

by Tom Huddleston

In a galaxy far, far away... Milo and Lina are adrift on a starship that is spiralling towards disaster. A dangerous criminal is on the loose, the Empire is closing in - and something even deadlier awaits them in The Dark...

Genres: Star Wars, Science Fiction, Fiction, Childrens, Middle Grade, Audiobook, Young Adult

144 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2016

About the author

I'm Tom Huddleston, author of fiction and non-fiction for adults and children. I've written books on famous creatives including DAVID LYNCH: HIS WORK, HIS WORLD; THE WORLDS OF GEORGE RR MARTIN and THE WORLDS OF DUNE, all about the inspirations behind the greatest SF novel of all time.

For younger readers, I've written original adventure stories like the FLOODWORLD trilogy (FLOODWORLD, DUSTROAD and STORMTIDE), along with several episodes in the WARHAMMER ADVENTURES and STAR WARS: ADVENTURES IN WILD SPACE series.

I also write about film and TV for publications including Time Out, the BFI and The Guardian, and I sing in a folk-rock band called The No Sorrows.

I was born in Kendal and raised in North Yorkshire, though I now live in London. I realise that I almost have the same name as Loki, but rest assured I'm not him: I'm slightly rounder and a lot less famous. However, I have managed to make him admit that it's his family who spell their name wrong, not mine.

If you have any questions, please get in touch!

Reviews

[Jim C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is part of a series that is meant for young children. These are not stand alone stories and this series should be read in order. In this one, Milo and Lina have been captured by the bounty hunter and are going to be delivered to the Empire. How will they escape?

If you have read this series in order you basically know what you are going to get. Once again, we have a little side adventure with these children trying to evade the Empire and very little progression of them getting to their parents. I did like this side adventure as it had a tinge of horror being stuck on a spaceship with creatures. This horror is not horrific enough that it would scare the audience of young children which this series is geared towards. Besides the touch of horror there was really nothing new added to the overall series.

I believe one's enjoyment of this book and series depends on how one views it. If you are looking for logic in the story and it to be serious I believe one will be disappointed. If you are looking for a fun adventure that you can share with your children this series is one you should check out.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one started out strong and had a great, creepy vibe but became a little more predictable and expected. I was hoping for something a little scarier and original than space spiders.

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really getting into this series and it's a shame the library doesn't have the rest of the books in their catalogue. The Dark contains further tie-ins to Rebels, which I appreciate - and it isn't done in an annoying or intrusive way, which I appreciate even more.

[A Meneses · Rating 4 out of 5]

This books get better and better.... It was so gooood

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dangerous criminal poses a threat to the young adventurers when they are captured by a bounty hunter.

Again, some nice writing which doesn't patronise reluctant readers.

[Chelsea · Rating 2 out of 5]

In yet another adventure Lina and Milo make the exact same mistake of trusting people they shouldn't...and run around a ship this time instead of a new planet...but alas! They may have found a lead to their parents! Finally!

[Jason Boyd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Usually, I don't rate low or review kids books because they're not aimed at me, but this one was particularly meh.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely for Rebels fans.

[JJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adventures in Wild Space had stayed in its predictable formula for the past few entries, and The Darkness (or The Dark, depending on which edition you have) shakes it up a bit -- although it's not all positive. If you've been following the series to this point, there's no reason to stop now; but if you haven't been compelled to start reading yet, The Darkness doesn't make it more enticing.

The Darkness shakes up the status quo a bit for child protagonists Milo and Lina Graf. They're still on the trail of their parents (and they're still making progress toward that goal at a snail's pace, seemingly to draw out the series as long as possible) but now they're in the clutches of a devious bounty hunter. They stay that way for much of these ten brief chapters and the resulting tale is much more, well, dark as a result. Kids are locked up, stun batons are used, there's (sort of) a killer on the loose, there are mechanical spiders crawling all over the place, and at one point the lights go out. It's slightly horror-tinged, although it's still a kids story so it's not really that scary. If your kid is deeply afraid of spiders though, you have been warned.

All this is well and good, and it makes for a brisk and entertaining tale. But it doesn't really go anywhere and, as always in this series, we end almost exactly where we begin: The minor conflict in the book has been resolved, and the kids are on the trail of their parents once again. The annoying logic of Milo and Lina is also amplified in a lazy way here. I was impressed that they both seemed self-aware at having made naïve decisions in previous novels and were resigned to do better, but then they make an even stupider and more obviously terrible decision shortly afterward -- probably the dumbest thing they've done in the whole series so far in a very clearly contrived scenario designed to set up a twist that anyone could easily see coming.

So as always, you know what you're getting with the Adventures in Wild Space series: A basically reasonable and entertaining Star Wars kids chapter book that is one tiny step on a very slow-moving journey with a little bit of dumb kid logic thrown in for good measure. Good for what it is, I suppose.

[S.J. Higbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in the very familiar world of the Star Wars franchise, this series of science fiction books is designed to appeal to boys between the ages of 7-10. We discovered this series last year when Oscar had his World Book Week £1 token and picked up the prequel, full of excitement that he had found something he really wanted me to read to him. The covers are attractive, the font a friendly size and there are a number of black and white illustrations dotted throughout that help the story along, but it is designed for newly independent readers.

After following Lina and Milo in their desperate search for their parents through the previous four books, we were keen that they should be able to escape from their current predicament. Locked up in a cell and heading towards the vicious Captain Korda, their prospects look bleak – and indeed, I was surprised at just how genuinely creepy this offering is. Rapidly, things start to go wrong on this freighter and when the lights go out, there is a rushing, scuttling sound as it appears some of the cargo has escaped…

We ended up reading this not just before bed and first thing in the morning, but we also slotted in a reading session mid-afternoon as we both wanted to discover what would happen next, when two new prisoners are picked up. One has the title the Butcher of Brentaal IV – and it’s easy to see how the huge alien came by his grim title, with his scarred face and growling voice – Lina and Mira are very relieved that he is safely locked up, though they decide not to let the friendly Stel out, either. After all, they had trusted another character earlier in their adventures and look where that led them…

We were both gripped by this one and although I guessed one of the main plot twists that changes the fortunes of our two brave prisoners, it didn’t really matter as there was so much going on. Like Oscar, the moment we came to the end of this one, I was keen to find out when the next instalment in this entertaining series was coming out. This is an enjoyable read and comes highly recommended particularly for boys between 7-10, depending on maturity and reading ability.
9/10

[Boots LookingLand · Rating 3 out of 5]

every time i start one of these books i think it's sorta blah and standard adventure fare, and every time it manages to be a little better than that by the end. still don't love the main characters, unfortunately, but their circumstances continue to be interesting enough and the tie-ins to Rebels are sort of fun.

some continuity problems with things like the Lasat in this one (doesn't Zeb believe they're extinct? or did that happen later?). also a reference to the Kessel run that doesn't support what we know about Kessel since the Solo movie. but these are very minor quibbles.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series alternates authors between Cavan Scott and Tom Huddleston. So far, I feel like the ones written by Huddleston have been the most solidly written, more exciting for a slightly older age, but also both of them so far (#2, The Nest, and #4, The Darkness) have also had bits of creature horror too. This one gets four stars for the suspense, though I am now getting thoroughly sick of spiders in Star Wars so I wish it had been something different. I liked that the Bridgers were still in this book too.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Dark is by far my favourite in the Adventures in Wild Space series so far. The book does Star Wars horror very well, giving actual terror rather than cartoonish shenanigans. The Shade is a competent bounty hunter and a real threat, not to be dismissed just because she's in a children's novel.

Honestly, this book could be read without reading the previous novels, and it's really worth it.

[Ursula Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an action packed entry in the series. Trapped on a damaged ship with dangerous cargo, Lina and Milo must learn who to trust from two new prisoners that have been brought on board the bounty hunter's shipped. This entry has lots of twists and turns along with some bad decisions. January LaVoy is wonderful on the audiobook narration.

[Brandon Antequera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Los nuevos personajes son bastante sosos, la historia se alarga innecesariamente y es muy predecible, el arte sigue siendo muy bueno, aunque en blanco y negro.

Este libro sin llegar a ser malo, sí se siente un bajón de calidad considerable respecto a los anteriores, que lo deja en lo mediocre.

3 de 5.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Doesn't end on a cliffhanger per se, but definitely leaves huge threads open for future books. The girl was so against trusting people because of what happened in previous book, and then she turns around and trusts the exact wrong person? I didn't buy that from her character.

[Iwi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably my favorite one so far. The mystery wasn't that much of a surprise for me but I still really enjoyed the dynamic. I think the stories are getting better as they go and the characters for likable too.

[Joe Kilmartin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, no nonsense Star Wars adventure with a good story intended for younger readers (because, really, just how “adult” should a Star Wars story be?).

Not exactly heavy lifting but a good way to spend about 90 mins. Fun characters, straightforward stuff.

[Gabriel Benitez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuación directa de El Robo (el libro anterior) Lina y Milo se tendrán que enfrentar en pleno espacio con una amenaza que los puede devorar a ellos y a sus captores. Como siempre en esta serie, la moraleja principal parece ser: no confíes en NADIE... O al igual, no juzgues por la portada.

[Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another decent entry into this junior novels series. All of the books sorta blend together, with none sticking out as any better or worse than the others. If you are already this far into the series, you may as well finish it.

[Frederick M Ballew IV · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Adventures in Wild Space Book

This is great continuation of a fun story that takes place prior to Star Wars Rebels in which you get to meet Ezra’s parents.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good entry in this series. Good to see another Lasat.

[David Albee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically, Alien/Aliens and Star Wars.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25

[Alex Mayfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

7.5 out of 10

TikTok Review - https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeMFQbmC/

[Sophie_The_Jedi_Knight]

This series is very middle-grade, but it's so much fun.

[Kareen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Siguiendo esta historia y ya quiero saber cómo termina, pero aún me falta espero sólo un libro más, así que a seguir leyendo.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two thing's I find creepy are spiders and the Borg (and yes, I know this is Star Wars but still); why mix both. Yuck! I don't want spider-borg...

[Kai Charles(Fiction State Of Mind) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great adventure as the Graf twins continue on their search for their parents and struggling to tell if they are surrounded by friends or foes.

[Reader]

good