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Darksight
A young blind deejay in New York—Audra Carter—reluctantly agrees to a risky experimental procedure to restore her vision. The surgical technique was invented by her father—Dr. Jenson Carter—who is still tortured by guilt over the car accident that blinded Audra when she was a child. The bold procedure is his last hope to ever restore her vision. Yet both father and daughter are unaware that sinister agents plan to hijack the experiment to trigger within Audra a remarkable and dangerous new ability: DARKSIGHT.
342 pages, Paperback
First published June 8, 2019
10 people are currently reading
1006 people want to read
About the author
D.C. Mallery
15 books37 followersD C Mallery's novel ARTEMESIA was the Gold Award Winner in the Thriller Classics category in the 2023 Reader Views Reviewer's Choice Awards.
SARA SARQUE & THE DEMON EXECUTIONER: and Other Stories of Mystery, Terror, Heartbreak, Hope and Humor was the Gold Award Winner as Best Horror Book in the in the 2023 Reader Views Reviewer's Choice Awards
CASSIA won the SILVER MEDAL in the 2022 Readers' Favorite Awards for Medical Thriller and was also short-listed for the 2022 Eric Hoffer Award Grand Prize.
DARKSIGHT received praise from Kirkus Reviews, The US Review of Books, and many others.
TRESSIA and OTHER STORIES has received praise from Readers' Favorite Reviews and Reader Views Reviews and many others.
His short fiction has appeared in numerous publications including Lamplight, The Bards and Sages Quarterly, Sanitarium Magazine, Hypnos, Ghostlike Magazine, Dark Horses, and The Mythic Circle.
His screenplay, Emergence, was awarded second place for Feature Screenplay at 2018 VisionFest.
"Mallery’s stories and talent are so otherworldly and unlike anything I’ve ever read. I may never read a full novel, or collection of short stories, as engrossing and enjoyable as this." —Reader Views Reviews
SARA SARQUE & THE DEMON EXECUTIONER: and Other Stories of Mystery, Terror, Heartbreak, Hope and Humor was the Gold Award Winner as Best Horror Book in the in the 2023 Reader Views Reviewer's Choice Awards
CASSIA won the SILVER MEDAL in the 2022 Readers' Favorite Awards for Medical Thriller and was also short-listed for the 2022 Eric Hoffer Award Grand Prize.
DARKSIGHT received praise from Kirkus Reviews, The US Review of Books, and many others.
TRESSIA and OTHER STORIES has received praise from Readers' Favorite Reviews and Reader Views Reviews and many others.
His short fiction has appeared in numerous publications including Lamplight, The Bards and Sages Quarterly, Sanitarium Magazine, Hypnos, Ghostlike Magazine, Dark Horses, and The Mythic Circle.
His screenplay, Emergence, was awarded second place for Feature Screenplay at 2018 VisionFest.
"Mallery’s stories and talent are so otherworldly and unlike anything I’ve ever read. I may never read a full novel, or collection of short stories, as engrossing and enjoyable as this." —Reader Views Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 16, 2019
Darksight by DC Mallery
This a story about a blind girl named Audra Carter. She uses Echolocation and Blindsight to do a lot of things the sighted can do. Like ride her bike along with guide dog. Her father has been working on a cure for her type of blindness. He thinks he finally has a breakthrough and starts running test on group of test subjects including his daughter. But he didn't know his research partner had other plans.
Quickly the test subjects start dying and the FBI is now involved. Audra is kidnapped. But has a new dangerous kind of seeing: Darksight. Jenson, Audra's father races to find the truth, avoid the FBI, and save his daughter.
This was a good action-adventure thriller, that I really enjoyed. This book was released in April 2019 so you can find it at your local bookstore. 4 out of five stars⭐⭐⭐⭐.
Many thanks to Goodreads, I won this book from them.
This a story about a blind girl named Audra Carter. She uses Echolocation and Blindsight to do a lot of things the sighted can do. Like ride her bike along with guide dog. Her father has been working on a cure for her type of blindness. He thinks he finally has a breakthrough and starts running test on group of test subjects including his daughter. But he didn't know his research partner had other plans.
Quickly the test subjects start dying and the FBI is now involved. Audra is kidnapped. But has a new dangerous kind of seeing: Darksight. Jenson, Audra's father races to find the truth, avoid the FBI, and save his daughter.
This was a good action-adventure thriller, that I really enjoyed. This book was released in April 2019 so you can find it at your local bookstore. 4 out of five stars⭐⭐⭐⭐.
Many thanks to Goodreads, I won this book from them.
November 21, 2019
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (11/19)
“Darksight” by DC Mallery is an insightful psychological suspense that will take you on a thrilling ride!
Audra Carter is an adventurous risk taker. A tragic car accident at a young age not only took the life of her mother, but also caused a brain injury that stole Audra’s vision. In spite of this, Audra lives a full life – she deejays in New York City while living independently with her guide dog. Her father, Jensen however feels guilty because he was driving. Jensen is a neuroscientist who, as a result of the accident, has dedicated his life to research that involves restoring vision. He desperately wants Audra to be a participant in an experimental study that he hopes will be successful.
Initially, she is not interested because she already functions well using her gift of blindsight, a knack that Audra has for being able to maneuver around things, without any sight. She uses her gift at a higher level by engaging in daring activities such as riding a bicycle on the busy city streets. Audra is afraid that tampering with her brain might cause her to lose her blindsight, but to appease her father’s wishes, she agrees. She joins in with an eccentric group of research participants and starts treatment. Things start happening shortly after the experiment that appear promising, including a gift called darksight. While it holds promise for restoring a different kind of sight, something has gone awry and several of the participants start dying horrific deaths. Audra gets pulled into the drama and soon learns that other agencies are involved with this research and their insidious goals go way beyond sight restoration. Audra and her father are embroiled in a dangerous game and must do whatever it takes to survive.
Author DC Mallery has created an incredible thriller that is almost impossible to put down. If I didn’t have a job, I would have read it in one sitting. I love the complexity of the characters, including the ones that I didn’t like. The plot is extremely complex, yet not overdone. The twists and turns the story leads the reader on keep you guessing. The heroine begins as a person with depth, but as she faces challenges, she really evolves into a woman of incredible strength. We have to go into her childhood to gain a greater understanding of how she develops into a woman of such strength. We also get to watch her discover the truth about her past and how it affected her today. I hope to see Audra and her father again in future stories. Mallery also does an incredible job of being able to bring the story to life, in vivid detail. Readers will feel like they are actually watching the action from inside the pages.
Fans of science fiction, suspense, and thrillers will love “Darksight.” It would also make an excellent selection for a fiction readers group. Lively conversations are guaranteed!
“Darksight” by DC Mallery is an insightful psychological suspense that will take you on a thrilling ride!
Audra Carter is an adventurous risk taker. A tragic car accident at a young age not only took the life of her mother, but also caused a brain injury that stole Audra’s vision. In spite of this, Audra lives a full life – she deejays in New York City while living independently with her guide dog. Her father, Jensen however feels guilty because he was driving. Jensen is a neuroscientist who, as a result of the accident, has dedicated his life to research that involves restoring vision. He desperately wants Audra to be a participant in an experimental study that he hopes will be successful.
Initially, she is not interested because she already functions well using her gift of blindsight, a knack that Audra has for being able to maneuver around things, without any sight. She uses her gift at a higher level by engaging in daring activities such as riding a bicycle on the busy city streets. Audra is afraid that tampering with her brain might cause her to lose her blindsight, but to appease her father’s wishes, she agrees. She joins in with an eccentric group of research participants and starts treatment. Things start happening shortly after the experiment that appear promising, including a gift called darksight. While it holds promise for restoring a different kind of sight, something has gone awry and several of the participants start dying horrific deaths. Audra gets pulled into the drama and soon learns that other agencies are involved with this research and their insidious goals go way beyond sight restoration. Audra and her father are embroiled in a dangerous game and must do whatever it takes to survive.
Author DC Mallery has created an incredible thriller that is almost impossible to put down. If I didn’t have a job, I would have read it in one sitting. I love the complexity of the characters, including the ones that I didn’t like. The plot is extremely complex, yet not overdone. The twists and turns the story leads the reader on keep you guessing. The heroine begins as a person with depth, but as she faces challenges, she really evolves into a woman of incredible strength. We have to go into her childhood to gain a greater understanding of how she develops into a woman of such strength. We also get to watch her discover the truth about her past and how it affected her today. I hope to see Audra and her father again in future stories. Mallery also does an incredible job of being able to bring the story to life, in vivid detail. Readers will feel like they are actually watching the action from inside the pages.
Fans of science fiction, suspense, and thrillers will love “Darksight.” It would also make an excellent selection for a fiction readers group. Lively conversations are guaranteed!
June 2, 2019
A creepingly spooky chiller and certainly not for the faint-hearted in terms of blood, gore and trauma. Take some real science about blindness and push the barriers; think the old X-files, if you are old enough. Remember how you can sometimes feel someone behind you although haven't consciously heard or smelt them coming? That's blindsight. It's considerably enhanced in some blind people and this is the starting point of the story. A group of people with strong blindsight is brought together by a scientist who has developed a treatment that could allow them to "see" using this faculty. Naturally there are those who want to highjack this, as it could give a military or strategic advantage rather than just for the good of blind people. 'Blindsight' quickly becomes 'darksight'. The characters are strong, although a little stereotypical - snake tattooed pole dancer and drug addict, her boyfriend, a rejected man who trains killer dogs, a devout Christian woman, mad aka eccentric scientist and so on, The relationships develop well especially between Jenson, the scientist and his daughter, the very talented Audra. He has a lot of guilt from the past and is trying to come to terms with it. She wants to continue her independent life. The group of blind people is, essentially, kidnapped by Jenson's rogue colleagues, given drugs and then put through scenarios, not pleasant, to test the efficacy of the 'treatments'. It seems as if half the book is taken over with the tests and challenges presented to the group - becoming more visceral and gory as they go. This almost dropped a star for me. However, the story is strong enough in itself and compelling enough to merit 4 stars (with skip reading over the most gory bits!). There are twists and turns as to whether any of the subjects will resist and survive to help their fellow kidnapees or whether any will escape at all, will the FBI charge in in time to save them? If so will their new "sight" be retained or do they return to their former world of senses? Does Jenson come to terms with his guilt? All good story telling and the author does a good job of turning scientific knowledge into something understandable by all. Thanks to NetGalley and Black Opal Books for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
May 31, 2019
Thanks to Netgalley, Black Opal Books, and D. C. Mallery for a copy of Darksight in exchange for an honest review.
In a word: freaky. While Darksight is fantasy, there’s a realistic edge. Whenever science proclaims medical “progress”, there is the flip side: what are we giving up in exchange for the cure? Are the side effects worth the treatment? Or is the cure worse than the illness?
What worked for me:
1. The father-daughter relationship
Jenson, consumed by guilt from the accident that caused his daughter’s blindness, obsesses over curing her. But Audra’s content with her freedom and empowering lifestyle and wrestles against her father’s will. He wants to cure her; she doesn’t want to be cured.
It’s the age-old child-parent tug-of-war, freedom versus protection, with the complication of blindness, both literal and metaphorical. They love each other, but neither truly understands the other’s concerns.
2. The scientific/medical aspect
Mallery does a great job integrating and explaining the complicated science of sight and blindness. Some people have cortical blindness: the optic nerves and retina function, but the visual cortex (part of the brain that processes vision) is damaged. “Blindsight,” Jenson explains, is the ability among some with cortical blindness “to sense objects even though they have no visual field, even if totally blind” (chapter 2). That’s how Audra is able to ride her bike, work her way through complicated mazes, and find her way through New York City.
This is fascinating. As best I can tell, it’s all true, too. It’s not echolocation (like bats have).
3. The protagonists
It’s easy to root for Audra. She’s snarky, spunky, good at yanking other people’s chains, reckless, and empathetic. She was an art major (!) who’s made a life for herself and refuses to give up her independence, even for her father. Just as importantly, she’s empathetic and a natural leader. Though she doesn’t want to undergo the procedure, her reasons for doing so make sense.
Jenson is also easy to care about. What dad wouldn’t want his daughter’s sight restored? Who wouldn’t feel consumed by guilt over the accident that killed his wife and blinded his daughter? What person wouldn’t develop a bit of a blindspot, tunnel vision over their scientific quest?
4. The plot
Mallery cranks up the tension over and over and over. I stayed up late reading because I needed to find out what happens. Ironically, this happened even though I’d read the ending first: I needed to see all the story dots connected, and I couldn’t bear to leave Audra and company in danger over night.
What didn’t work for me:
1. The antagonistic characters
In my opinion, Mallery doesn’t quite develop all of the antagonistic characters in depth, unfortunately. But people like Sasha (the blind stripper with snake tattoos) and Stefan (Jenson’s colleague with the massive ant colonies) are given more development and a chance at redemption. (Though whether either will take that chance is a different story!)
Some of the other test subjects feel a bit cliched. Connie, for example, seemed a stereotype of an overly devout woman. Frank Parker feels over-the-top as a blind, paranoid, bad-to-the-bone attack dog trainer.
2. Some of the writing quirks
Frequently, words are italicized for emphasis. It’s a style quirk that I personally dislike, as I don’t need the author to stress which words should be emphasized: my mental reading “voice” fills that in well enough.
There are a few typos, as well. “Gate” instead of “gait”, “now” instead of “know”, that sort of thing. Whether either of these are things that other readers notice or care about, I don’t know. But they distracted me.
Overall, a good thriller.
For fans of fantasy thrillers and those who love a spooky read, Darksight will please you and make you think.
In a word: freaky. While Darksight is fantasy, there’s a realistic edge. Whenever science proclaims medical “progress”, there is the flip side: what are we giving up in exchange for the cure? Are the side effects worth the treatment? Or is the cure worse than the illness?
What worked for me:
1. The father-daughter relationship
Jenson, consumed by guilt from the accident that caused his daughter’s blindness, obsesses over curing her. But Audra’s content with her freedom and empowering lifestyle and wrestles against her father’s will. He wants to cure her; she doesn’t want to be cured.
It’s the age-old child-parent tug-of-war, freedom versus protection, with the complication of blindness, both literal and metaphorical. They love each other, but neither truly understands the other’s concerns.
2. The scientific/medical aspect
Mallery does a great job integrating and explaining the complicated science of sight and blindness. Some people have cortical blindness: the optic nerves and retina function, but the visual cortex (part of the brain that processes vision) is damaged. “Blindsight,” Jenson explains, is the ability among some with cortical blindness “to sense objects even though they have no visual field, even if totally blind” (chapter 2). That’s how Audra is able to ride her bike, work her way through complicated mazes, and find her way through New York City.
This is fascinating. As best I can tell, it’s all true, too. It’s not echolocation (like bats have).
3. The protagonists
It’s easy to root for Audra. She’s snarky, spunky, good at yanking other people’s chains, reckless, and empathetic. She was an art major (!) who’s made a life for herself and refuses to give up her independence, even for her father. Just as importantly, she’s empathetic and a natural leader. Though she doesn’t want to undergo the procedure, her reasons for doing so make sense.
Jenson is also easy to care about. What dad wouldn’t want his daughter’s sight restored? Who wouldn’t feel consumed by guilt over the accident that killed his wife and blinded his daughter? What person wouldn’t develop a bit of a blindspot, tunnel vision over their scientific quest?
4. The plot
Mallery cranks up the tension over and over and over. I stayed up late reading because I needed to find out what happens. Ironically, this happened even though I’d read the ending first: I needed to see all the story dots connected, and I couldn’t bear to leave Audra and company in danger over night.
What didn’t work for me:
1. The antagonistic characters
In my opinion, Mallery doesn’t quite develop all of the antagonistic characters in depth, unfortunately. But people like Sasha (the blind stripper with snake tattoos) and Stefan (Jenson’s colleague with the massive ant colonies) are given more development and a chance at redemption. (Though whether either will take that chance is a different story!)
Some of the other test subjects feel a bit cliched. Connie, for example, seemed a stereotype of an overly devout woman. Frank Parker feels over-the-top as a blind, paranoid, bad-to-the-bone attack dog trainer.
2. Some of the writing quirks
Frequently, words are italicized for emphasis. It’s a style quirk that I personally dislike, as I don’t need the author to stress which words should be emphasized: my mental reading “voice” fills that in well enough.
There are a few typos, as well. “Gate” instead of “gait”, “now” instead of “know”, that sort of thing. Whether either of these are things that other readers notice or care about, I don’t know. But they distracted me.
Overall, a good thriller.
For fans of fantasy thrillers and those who love a spooky read, Darksight will please you and make you think.
June 30, 2019
Other reviews will give you an idea of the story. I wanted to note how Mallery gives some of the best descriptions of what it is like to be blind. Hint: it's not like sighted people just closing their eyes. Early on (pages 16-17) he gives a description that explains it so simply, I'll remember it for the rest of my life. His research in this subject really shines through. A compelling read.
Full disclosure: Mallery and I have the same literary agent, but I do not know the man. I have not been asked, encouraged, or in any way rewarded for writing this brief but positive review.
Full disclosure: Mallery and I have the same literary agent, but I do not know the man. I have not been asked, encouraged, or in any way rewarded for writing this brief but positive review.
May 25, 2019
What if you discovered a cure for blindness and could restore sight to your child? What if there were side effects?
DC Mallery explores this very scenario in his outstanding medical thriller (with science fiction overtones) Darksight. Highly entertaining and full of non-stop action.
DC Mallery explores this very scenario in his outstanding medical thriller (with science fiction overtones) Darksight. Highly entertaining and full of non-stop action.
June 10, 2019
Darksight is a great medical thriller that shows the darker side of medical experiments and cures. This is a fast paced thriller that will keep you flipping the pages.
July 9, 2019
Thanks to the publisher for an ARC of Darksight. This isn't my normal genre, but I really enjoyed this book in all of its creepiness!
July 10, 2019
This book was exciting from start to finish!
July 14, 2019
This novel was amazing. Though, I was confused and it was a little slow in the beginning, it became completely addictive, thrilling, and an all out adventure!! I love this novel!
July 28, 2019
I really enjoyed this book and read it all in one day. It's a fascinating g concept and the characters were brilliant.
October 28, 2019
Darksight is a science fiction thriller by DC Mallery that grips the reader from the very start and doesn't lessen the grip until the exhilarating conclusion.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
March 28, 2025
Great thriller. Super fun take on sci-fi and supernatural.
July 2, 2023
Liked ✅
- Netflix Sense8 vibes
- Not what I expected
- Loved the father/daughter relationship
- Deadly
Didn't Like ❌
- Inconsistency with age of main character during blinding event
- Plot was odd
- Uneventful ending
More in depth review at patreon.com/salinaandtanya
- Netflix Sense8 vibes
- Not what I expected
- Loved the father/daughter relationship
- Deadly
Didn't Like ❌
- Inconsistency with age of main character during blinding event
- Plot was odd
- Uneventful ending
More in depth review at patreon.com/salinaandtanya
February 15, 2021
Full Review Here
Darksight is a gripping science-fiction thriller exploring how far you’d go to truly see. If the cost is higher than you’re prepared to pay, what would you sacrifice to keep your vision?
An intriguing mix of science and science fiction, Darksight has a strong pace, great characters and will keep you hooked as events spiral out of control.
I love the premise of Darksight. Returning vision to the blind is far more primal than scientific, tapping into parts of the human brain that have long been dormant, bringing not only vision, but abilities with it. The powers vary from person to person, but the idea of being able to get into someone’s head – controlling their heart; knowing their fears – is so chilling. The tension and suspense meant I couldn’t put this one down.
Audra is a great protagonist. She’s stubborn and headstrong, her determination to live her own life rivalled only by her need to protect her father from himself and false hope. When she starts to experience abilities, there’s no sudden mastering of the talent, but a real and painful development as she fights to protect those she cares for.
Jenson is a desperate father and a brilliant scientist – although the two things aren’t mutually exclusive. While he’s driven by his need to save Audra, there were times when I wanted him to stop and think rather than being rash, but you understood his drive.
The secondary characters are all engaging in their own right. The blind stripper who longs for more, but her heart is in the right place. The special agent who takes on a case more complicated than she’d ever imagined. They balance Audra and Jensen perfectly – pushing them on, but also holding them in check when needed.
The misdirection with the villains and who is the true power behind the experiment adds a sense of foreboding, and you reach a point of realising there are no depths they won’t stoop to in order to get what they want.
Darksight opens with a lot of science, and it took a few chapters to establish this isn’t just going to be about medical procedures. But the pace is strong and you’re soon swept up as the tension builds, each chapter raising the stakes more. What starts off as an effort to restore vision soon turns into a potential terrorist threat, murders, kidnappings and understanding how far you’ll go to hold onto something as precious as vision.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book – a solid five stars from me. It achieved that level of having no idea how the characters are going to get out of their situation, who would come through and what price would be paid before we reached the end. Any book that keeps me gripped in such a manner is a definite recommendation.
If you like your science-fiction set into today’s world and sounding plausible, you’ll enjoy this!
Darksight is a gripping science-fiction thriller exploring how far you’d go to truly see. If the cost is higher than you’re prepared to pay, what would you sacrifice to keep your vision?
An intriguing mix of science and science fiction, Darksight has a strong pace, great characters and will keep you hooked as events spiral out of control.
I love the premise of Darksight. Returning vision to the blind is far more primal than scientific, tapping into parts of the human brain that have long been dormant, bringing not only vision, but abilities with it. The powers vary from person to person, but the idea of being able to get into someone’s head – controlling their heart; knowing their fears – is so chilling. The tension and suspense meant I couldn’t put this one down.
Audra is a great protagonist. She’s stubborn and headstrong, her determination to live her own life rivalled only by her need to protect her father from himself and false hope. When she starts to experience abilities, there’s no sudden mastering of the talent, but a real and painful development as she fights to protect those she cares for.
Jenson is a desperate father and a brilliant scientist – although the two things aren’t mutually exclusive. While he’s driven by his need to save Audra, there were times when I wanted him to stop and think rather than being rash, but you understood his drive.
The secondary characters are all engaging in their own right. The blind stripper who longs for more, but her heart is in the right place. The special agent who takes on a case more complicated than she’d ever imagined. They balance Audra and Jensen perfectly – pushing them on, but also holding them in check when needed.
The misdirection with the villains and who is the true power behind the experiment adds a sense of foreboding, and you reach a point of realising there are no depths they won’t stoop to in order to get what they want.
Darksight opens with a lot of science, and it took a few chapters to establish this isn’t just going to be about medical procedures. But the pace is strong and you’re soon swept up as the tension builds, each chapter raising the stakes more. What starts off as an effort to restore vision soon turns into a potential terrorist threat, murders, kidnappings and understanding how far you’ll go to hold onto something as precious as vision.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book – a solid five stars from me. It achieved that level of having no idea how the characters are going to get out of their situation, who would come through and what price would be paid before we reached the end. Any book that keeps me gripped in such a manner is a definite recommendation.
If you like your science-fiction set into today’s world and sounding plausible, you’ll enjoy this!
December 15, 2020
This book is intriguing! A suspense thriller that will keep you hooked!!! Highly recommend for an engaging read!!!!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews