Dark

The Watermark Trilogy #2

by Penelope Todd

For a moment the Joss of last summer flashed close, the sun-and-salt smell of his skin, the lupin-flower taste of his mouth. It�s been a year since Zillah visited Roimata, the place on the wild West Coast which changed ler life last summer. Now she�s back, expecting to meet up with Joss and Hep, the brother and sister who both challenged and bewitched her those strange, magical and sometimes terrifying few days. Yet this time, not only have Joss and Hep asked along another guest � who�s like the bad fairy at the banquet � the changes Zillah sees in Joss are disturbing. It seems he�s heading into a downward spiral: a breakdown he wants to handle in his own way… Dark, an elegantly written, stand-along sequel to the acclaimed novel Watermark.

195 pages, Paperback

First published December 12, 2004

About the author

Todd, Penelope (1958- ) spent her first thirty years in Christchurch, and now lives in Dunedin. She works freelance as a manuscript consultant and editor.

Reviews

[Anne Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zillah heads off to Roimata. It's a wild place on the west coast of New Zealand, where she met Joss and Hep the previous year. Her life changed because of their invitation and now she's expecting the same thing to happen for their next guest: Felicity 'Flea'.

But Flea is one of those people who feel entitled. She's a taker and, long before Joss and Hep arrive, Zillah wants to see the end of her.

But Joss and Hep bring even more disturbance. Joss is no longer the guy she fell in love with last summer. He's downward spiralling into a mental and emotional breakdown and, while he's been receiving psychiatric help, he's been taking most notice of a woman in Australia who's helping him on a path into shamanism.

Hep sets off with a cycling friend, leaving Joss by himself with only Zillah to look in on him from time to time. She's driven mad, in different ways, by both Flea and Joss.

Zillah's not sure whether Joss' increasing deterioration is a descent/ascent into shamanism or something more like Jacob's dream encounter with angels on a ladder to heaven.

And then Joss climbs a tree during a storm and walks along a branch hanging out over a sea cliff...

[Rachel (Sfogs) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book, but I was expecting a bit more after the first book.