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Dark Heights, Season 1
Strange and terrible things are happening in the town of Park Heights. Unseen, sinister powers have been drawn here and work in secret to change the fate of the world. For Tess Bellamy, who grew up in the town but could never get away, a new friendship with a billionaire's mysterious daughter will challenge everything she knows about her family and herself. For Gabriel Majeaux, a world-weary drifter just passing through, all paths lead back to the war in the shadows he thought he had left behind.
Episode 1: What to Do in Park Heights
Episode 2: Shadow of the Sorrow
Episode 3: The Girl in the Mansion
Episode 4: Late Night at Crazies
Episode 5: 101 Wing
Episode 6: After the War
Episode 7: Coma Jump Confessions
Episode 8: Convergence
Episode 9: The Teacher
Episode 10: Arcyn and Absence
Episode 11: The Girl in the Mirror
Episode 12: Out of the Mockingbird’s Throat
Episode 13: Nightfall, Part 1
Episode 14: Nightfall, Part 2
Episode 15: Nightfall, Part 3
Episode 16: Tess
Episode 1: What to Do in Park Heights
Episode 2: Shadow of the Sorrow
Episode 3: The Girl in the Mansion
Episode 4: Late Night at Crazies
Episode 5: 101 Wing
Episode 6: After the War
Episode 7: Coma Jump Confessions
Episode 8: Convergence
Episode 9: The Teacher
Episode 10: Arcyn and Absence
Episode 11: The Girl in the Mirror
Episode 12: Out of the Mockingbird’s Throat
Episode 13: Nightfall, Part 1
Episode 14: Nightfall, Part 2
Episode 15: Nightfall, Part 3
Episode 16: Tess
Audiobook
First published January 1, 2019
3 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 17, 2022
Set the dial for a contemporary Twin Peaks vibe and brace yourself for a meandering, multi-POV tale of suburban life interrupted by amoral sorcerers and government death squads, where slow-building back-story and quirky relationships are punctuated by outbreaks of unexpected bloody violence.
It’s definitely the oddest thing I’ve listened to on Realm.FM and while the pace and lack of focus frustrated me at times, the narrative and characters have stayed with me, so I find I’m willing to give Dark Heights another season.
One reason is the spectacular audio production. This is a masterclass in voice narration from Julia Whelan (so expressive), Dion Graham (this man’s VOICE. I could listen to it all day) and the versatile Neil Hellegers. Chris Miller’s score provides an atmospheric counterpoint throughout. Consequently, Dark Heights is an immersive joy to listen to.
The other reason is the intriguing plot playing out in the shadows behind Crazies diner and in the gardens of the B&B and the Severand mansion, relayed through FBI case reports and the tortured reminiscences of a man on the run. This ticks all my shadowy supernatural boxes and - after a season of teasing and disjointed horror - I desperately want to know what is going on (and what will happen to Tess). There's no closure here, just a stunning cliffhanger - but with Season Two promised this year, I look forward to finding out.
Full review
It’s definitely the oddest thing I’ve listened to on Realm.FM and while the pace and lack of focus frustrated me at times, the narrative and characters have stayed with me, so I find I’m willing to give Dark Heights another season.
One reason is the spectacular audio production. This is a masterclass in voice narration from Julia Whelan (so expressive), Dion Graham (this man’s VOICE. I could listen to it all day) and the versatile Neil Hellegers. Chris Miller’s score provides an atmospheric counterpoint throughout. Consequently, Dark Heights is an immersive joy to listen to.
The other reason is the intriguing plot playing out in the shadows behind Crazies diner and in the gardens of the B&B and the Severand mansion, relayed through FBI case reports and the tortured reminiscences of a man on the run. This ticks all my shadowy supernatural boxes and - after a season of teasing and disjointed horror - I desperately want to know what is going on (and what will happen to Tess). There's no closure here, just a stunning cliffhanger - but with Season Two promised this year, I look forward to finding out.
Full review
February 11, 2025
This was a full cast with sound effects, which made it tolerable. A lot was being said and nothing really was going anywhere, exciting. If you were to read the physical copy, it'd be awfully boring.
October 18, 2020
This was a weird experience. Did I get this serial because 1) it was free and 2) Julia Whelan? Absolutely. The first 7ish episodes were delightful: spooky and a bit weird, with some magic and some mysteries, with a nice little teaser of some dramatic altercation in the near future.
But then it got weird and just kept getting weirder. Bradley was terrifying in a "white power militia" way, in a "scifi TV shows are actually a conspiracy that were canceled by the government to keep regular people from learning secrets" and then his part in the story is over (like... Whaaat?) and there are like 4 different factions of Magicians who all hate each other and have been at war for all eternity (what? What does this have to do with Tess?) and there's some secret therapy group that we never learn anything about (what?) and then we hear about Tess and it's all so normal (and sad).
For Tess being a main character, I feel like we needed more of her. Or maybe less? There's not enough balance. If she's the most important (which I think she was?) then I need more of how she fits in this magical battle or whatever is going on in the background. Or more of the other characters. I don't know.
But I do love Julia Whelan. She's phenomenal.
But then it got weird and just kept getting weirder. Bradley was terrifying in a "white power militia" way, in a "scifi TV shows are actually a conspiracy that were canceled by the government to keep regular people from learning secrets" and then his part in the story is over (like... Whaaat?) and there are like 4 different factions of Magicians who all hate each other and have been at war for all eternity (what? What does this have to do with Tess?) and there's some secret therapy group that we never learn anything about (what?) and then we hear about Tess and it's all so normal (and sad).
For Tess being a main character, I feel like we needed more of her. Or maybe less? There's not enough balance. If she's the most important (which I think she was?) then I need more of how she fits in this magical battle or whatever is going on in the background. Or more of the other characters. I don't know.
But I do love Julia Whelan. She's phenomenal.
June 23, 2021
Take the best things about Stephen King's small towns, Clive Barker's worlds of magic, and the otherworldly qualities of Twin Peaks and you get close to what Dark Heights is like...
November 1, 2020
A Beautiful, Rich Descriptive, Character-Driven Mystery, but feels like 11 hours of Prologue
CD Miller crafts wonderfully engaging and vivid characters and the world for Dark Heights, but often neglects his plot leaving too many things unresolved and unexplored within this first season for it to have a satisfactory ending for me. We are teased this ancient conflict between two magical forces the Archimages and the Watchers, but it never happens except in backstory or between Majeaux and the Watcher's minions. Instead, what we get is 11 hours of rich backstory and world-building that even though it makes you love the characters makes the first season feel more like a prologue than the actual story.
We spend too much time on our deuteragonist Tess' interpersonal struggles; her mental-ill mother; her newly minted friendship with the manic-pixie rich-girl Linna; her budding romance with Zach; her short-lived acting career in LA; we learn about every aspect about Tess life, but she is never an active participant in the main plotline of the war between these two magical factions.
Our other major POV character, Majeaux; an Archimage; also has a problem of being passive in the plot. Things happen to Majeaux rather than him actively engaging his enemy. His far more active than Tess, but a lot of this activity happened in the past and his story is told as a recollection adding to the sense of inaction. But ultimately between his and Tess storylines Majeaux's ultimately had more weight to the main plotline than Tess, but Tess was the had more screentime.
We are also teased a direct confrontation between Majeaux and the Watchers throughout Dark Heights that never happens. Majeaux is always given an option to run, be saved by a third party, or some other out. He never directly fights the Watcher's themself in the present only their minions. Adding to the unresolved feeling I get from Season 01. While it makes sense give his backstory he would prefer to run over a direct confrontation, it also feels like the narrative was promising a confrontation that didn't happen.
Miller also introduces numerous side plots which will probably come into play later, they just get never used in this season. And I felt that some of that time spent on these side plots and overextended narration could have been used to just make our characters more active participants in their own story.
Lastly, before I get into spoiler territory, Miller's character work may be masterful, with rich backstories and vivid descriptions, but all of his characters are very identifiably tropey. Tess is the #NotLikeOtherGirls type who wants to get away from her troubled family life; Linna is a manic-pixie-dream-girl with daddy issues; Majeaux a mysterious and world-weary mage; etc. Because Miller takes such care and detail to flesh out most of his characters they are often able to transcend their archetypes. Unfortunately, sometimes they aren't, usually due to a combination of factors; not enough screentime, too many subplots, too much focus on other characters backstories, and some tropes are just nigh impossible to subvert despite the authors best intentions.
Charlie Mills is a character we see mostly through other eyes, mostly unfavourably through Tess' and somewhat favourably through Tess' friend Kevin's - though nostalgic for Charlie's past self. Charlie is a disabled - through Traumatic Brain Injury; among other disabilities; mute, weird-kid with a connection to the supernatural. And some of you have already cringed at that description already. And I did too, and I only grew more uncomfortable with Charlie's character because Miller does nothing with Charlie. He gets one episode of narration - Episode 10 - and links to the Wellness Centre and Circle subplot, but other than that Charlie is not a character but a stereotype, the disabled character with (possible) magical powers whose disability gives him more insight into the supernatural than normal people. He is there to be another avenue into the supernatural goings-on in town but doesn't get as rich and fulfilling narration in his own voice as Tess or even Kevin who is only a minor character but gets several episodes of narration - he too is connected to the Wellness Centre and Circle subplot. Even the ultimate villain of season 01, though a stereotype himself as well, gets more care but into him than Charlie.
Spoilers for the climax Nightfall (Slightly)
The ending is by far the most infuriating part, ending in the middle of the scene meant to hook you into the next season. Except, with so little resolved and explored properly in this season it feels cheap rather than earned. As I said it in the beginning, I felt like Season 01 was 11 hours of a prologue and we hadn't yet reached the actual story, and thus felt burnt by the hook ending instead of exciting to see what Season 02 onwards could offer.
---- ----
Ultimately, for me, Dark Heights was disappointing despite its fascinating world, evocative writing, and complex characters. It put so much energy into all these aspects that it forgets to progress its plot, making our characters passive in their own story. if your looking for a rich character-driven drama with excellent audio narration, I still recommend you check this out, but go in knowing a lot of the answers to the magical conflict won't be satisfied within this first season.
Major Tropes, Themes, and Story Elements:
Key:
✓ High impact
✢ Low impact or relevance
✗ minimal impact or no presence in the story
✓ Beautiful Rich Descriptions
✓ Complex Character Backstories
✓ Mystery Vibes
✢ Actual Plot? - I was promised Archimages and Watchers battles, I got everything, including the kitchen sink, but the Archimages and Watchers directly hashing it out.
Content Warning
From dark-heights.com
Dark Heights is a fictional work of psychological horror, weird suspense, and dark fantasy in a modern setting.
It is intended for Mature audiences only, and contains the following elements which are 100% unsuitable for younger readers: sexuality and sexual violence; pervasive strong language; depictions of child abuse; drug and alcohol use; as much violence and gore as you would find in most horror movies.
CD Miller crafts wonderfully engaging and vivid characters and the world for Dark Heights, but often neglects his plot leaving too many things unresolved and unexplored within this first season for it to have a satisfactory ending for me. We are teased this ancient conflict between two magical forces the Archimages and the Watchers, but it never happens except in backstory or between Majeaux and the Watcher's minions. Instead, what we get is 11 hours of rich backstory and world-building that even though it makes you love the characters makes the first season feel more like a prologue than the actual story.
We spend too much time on our deuteragonist Tess' interpersonal struggles; her mental-ill mother; her newly minted friendship with the manic-pixie rich-girl Linna; her budding romance with Zach; her short-lived acting career in LA; we learn about every aspect about Tess life, but she is never an active participant in the main plotline of the war between these two magical factions.
Our other major POV character, Majeaux; an Archimage; also has a problem of being passive in the plot. Things happen to Majeaux rather than him actively engaging his enemy. His far more active than Tess, but a lot of this activity happened in the past and his story is told as a recollection adding to the sense of inaction. But ultimately between his and Tess storylines Majeaux's ultimately had more weight to the main plotline than Tess, but Tess was the had more screentime.
We are also teased a direct confrontation between Majeaux and the Watchers throughout Dark Heights that never happens. Majeaux is always given an option to run, be saved by a third party, or some other out. He never directly fights the Watcher's themself in the present only their minions. Adding to the unresolved feeling I get from Season 01. While it makes sense give his backstory he would prefer to run over a direct confrontation, it also feels like the narrative was promising a confrontation that didn't happen.
Miller also introduces numerous side plots which will probably come into play later, they just get never used in this season. And I felt that some of that time spent on these side plots and overextended narration could have been used to just make our characters more active participants in their own story.
Lastly, before I get into spoiler territory, Miller's character work may be masterful, with rich backstories and vivid descriptions, but all of his characters are very identifiably tropey. Tess is the #NotLikeOtherGirls type who wants to get away from her troubled family life; Linna is a manic-pixie-dream-girl with daddy issues; Majeaux a mysterious and world-weary mage; etc. Because Miller takes such care and detail to flesh out most of his characters they are often able to transcend their archetypes. Unfortunately, sometimes they aren't, usually due to a combination of factors; not enough screentime, too many subplots, too much focus on other characters backstories, and some tropes are just nigh impossible to subvert despite the authors best intentions.
Charlie Mills is a character we see mostly through other eyes, mostly unfavourably through Tess' and somewhat favourably through Tess' friend Kevin's - though nostalgic for Charlie's past self. Charlie is a disabled - through Traumatic Brain Injury; among other disabilities; mute, weird-kid with a connection to the supernatural. And some of you have already cringed at that description already. And I did too, and I only grew more uncomfortable with Charlie's character because Miller does nothing with Charlie. He gets one episode of narration - Episode 10 - and links to the Wellness Centre and Circle subplot, but other than that Charlie is not a character but a stereotype, the disabled character with (possible) magical powers whose disability gives him more insight into the supernatural than normal people. He is there to be another avenue into the supernatural goings-on in town but doesn't get as rich and fulfilling narration in his own voice as Tess or even Kevin who is only a minor character but gets several episodes of narration - he too is connected to the Wellness Centre and Circle subplot. Even the ultimate villain of season 01, though a stereotype himself as well, gets more care but into him than Charlie.
Spoilers for the climax Nightfall (Slightly)
The ending is by far the most infuriating part, ending in the middle of the scene meant to hook you into the next season. Except, with so little resolved and explored properly in this season it feels cheap rather than earned. As I said it in the beginning, I felt like Season 01 was 11 hours of a prologue and we hadn't yet reached the actual story, and thus felt burnt by the hook ending instead of exciting to see what Season 02 onwards could offer.
---- ----
Ultimately, for me, Dark Heights was disappointing despite its fascinating world, evocative writing, and complex characters. It put so much energy into all these aspects that it forgets to progress its plot, making our characters passive in their own story. if your looking for a rich character-driven drama with excellent audio narration, I still recommend you check this out, but go in knowing a lot of the answers to the magical conflict won't be satisfied within this first season.
Major Tropes, Themes, and Story Elements:
Key:
✓ High impact
✢ Low impact or relevance
✗ minimal impact or no presence in the story
✓ Beautiful Rich Descriptions
✓ Complex Character Backstories
✓ Mystery Vibes
✢ Actual Plot? - I was promised Archimages and Watchers battles, I got everything, including the kitchen sink, but the Archimages and Watchers directly hashing it out.
Content Warning
From dark-heights.com
Dark Heights is a fictional work of psychological horror, weird suspense, and dark fantasy in a modern setting.
It is intended for Mature audiences only, and contains the following elements which are 100% unsuitable for younger readers: sexuality and sexual violence; pervasive strong language; depictions of child abuse; drug and alcohol use; as much violence and gore as you would find in most horror movies.
May 31, 2020
I am not normally a fan of horror. This book was more suspenseful than scary. I enjoyed the plot as the story wove the characters through their past and present as they moved forward to the end. I found myself organically learning about the characters as their past experiences were used to shape their reactions to current event. The ending left me a little disappointed but I definitely suggest you read this story and see what you think about Dark Heights.
October 20, 2020
I would not classify this as a horror .... fantasy? Yes. Mystery? Yes. Suspense? Most definitely! It would seem the prime objective of season 1 was to build the characters, their backstories, and introduce the nuggets of what this serial will become! There are so many little danglers taunting with “y’all come back now” endings .... I am like the fly to the spider’s web, and am fully caught up in this story. Will I be anxiously waiting on season 2? Oh, you know it!
October 19, 2020
Read the entire series in a binge rather than weekly but loved the intertwining stories from the different perspectives of the characters. It was advertised as a horror but it was much more suspense for me and I am looking forward to part 2.
October 5, 2022
Listened to via podcast as a fictional serial. Got lost a bunch of times, but struggled along enough to get the gist. Great voice acting and premise…. Just needed a bit more connecting dots and background to string it fully together. Will listen is there is a season 2.
August 3, 2019
I was lucky enough to have discovered Dark Heights in its virgin form. Author CD Miller and composer Chris Miller published this amazing novel online, blending literary horror and original music in a way I have never experienced. Then Serial Box discovered it and produced an audio book rendering the talents of narrators Dion Graham, Julia Whelan and Neil Hellegers. This is my first audio book, and I can only hope it is indicative of this burgeoning market.
I love things that are character driven, and CD Miller's capacity to create these deeply dark and interesting people, and entwining them in the town of Dark Heights is reminiscent of Twin Peaks (no dancing little people). I am also a stickler for really good prose, and will put aside the best of books because the writing is sub-par. With Dark Heights the writing is so skillful and scopious that I forget that I'm reading, and feel like I am just along for the ride, excited for the next turn.
Serial Box's blurb: "A determined young actress and a weary mage fight for survival as a series of horrifying & magical events converge."
I love things that are character driven, and CD Miller's capacity to create these deeply dark and interesting people, and entwining them in the town of Dark Heights is reminiscent of Twin Peaks (no dancing little people). I am also a stickler for really good prose, and will put aside the best of books because the writing is sub-par. With Dark Heights the writing is so skillful and scopious that I forget that I'm reading, and feel like I am just along for the ride, excited for the next turn.
Serial Box's blurb: "A determined young actress and a weary mage fight for survival as a series of horrifying & magical events converge."
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews