The Ocean Dark

by Jack Rogan

The Ocean Dark is a riveting novel of suspense from Christopher Golden, author of Tin Men, written under the pseudonym Jack Rogan.In the uncharted waters of the Caribbean, far from the usual shipping lanes, lies a mysterious island surrounded by a graveyard of sunken ships—an island so remote that it’s the perfect rendezvous point for a handful of Central American arms dealers and the Antoinette, a gun-smuggling cargo ship out of Miami. Amid the wreckage of ships new and old, the crew of the Antoinette—and the undercover FBI agent on board—enter what looks like a haven for modern pirates, only to discover that it hides something far more terrifying.    In Washington, two Department of Defense scientists might understand what is about to happen. On an FBI ship monitoring the Antoinette’s illegal trade, armed agents might be able to intervene. But this assumes that the Antoinette’s crew survives their first encounter with a creature virtually unknown to man, yet whose eerie songs nevertheless echo down the corridors of mankind’s darkest legends.From the Paperback edition.

Genres: Horror, Thriller, Fiction, Action, Suspense, Science Fiction, Mystery

512 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Psuedonym for Christopher Golden

Reviews

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un buon action thriller misto a creature feature horror con personaggi ben caratterizzati ed interessanti, ma secondo me l'autore Jack Rogan, pseudonimo dello scrittore Christopher Golden, si è dilungato almeno 100 pagine di troppo.
Sulle origini dei "Los Diablos", allucinanti ibridi tra sirene vampiro e Deep Ones di lovecraftiana memoria, si poteva poi rivelare decisamente qualcosa in più, e quel finale melenso mi è rimasto davvero indigesto.

[Eos BookCar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Romanzo di genere horror/avventura, uscito diversi anni fa in un'unica edizione, la cui copertina ed il titolo ricordano molto i libri dello scrittore Clive Cussler.
I personaggi sono ben delineati e la storia è avvincente. Un gruppo di trafficanti d'armi dopo aver ricevuto un s.o.s dal peschereccio con cui dovevano contrattare, si ritrovano su un'isola deserta le cui coste sono disseminate di relitti di navi (dai pescherecci agli yacht), scopriranno presto il motivo di tanta desolazione, e si ritroveranno a vivere un incubo.
Molto bello, peccato per il finale che, secondo me, poteva tranquillamente aprire le porte ad un sequel peraltro mai scritto.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a pretty good book that could have been a really great one if it could have only settled down and decided what it wanted to be. It was part pirate story, part romance, part weird-menace, part lost-world, part crime novel, part ocean adventure.... and it never meshed well into a coherent whole. I kept reading sixty or seventy pages and then setting it aside for a while before coming back to it. There were great set-ups reminiscent of William Hope Hodgson or Dennis Wheatley's The Lost Continent (loved the '68 Hammer film!), but there were too many viewpoint characters cluttering the narrative... but give it a shot if you liked Mira Grant's Drowning Deep.

[Stdailey7 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay... please understand that I don't usually write reviews. This is simply because I don't feel like my input should impact another readers decision to read a book or not. However, I'm 187 pages into this book and I feel like I'm only 15 minutes into the story. That's not good when the basis of this book is cryptozoology and some unseen "monster". There is way too much back story on the characters for abook that will most likely lead to the majority of them being killed. I will not rate this book yet because I have not finished it yet, but I have to dsy that I am bored out of my mind so far...

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book, but I can only give it three stars because it was a bit unbalanced. There was a lot of action and adventure and not nearly enough explanation of the mysterious creatures that feature so prominently in the novel.

[Cristina Urdiales · Rating 2 out of 5]

I never thought a book on evil sea creatures could be so boring. Really, I was not expecting high literature or anything, just some fun pulp, but when one realises one's 250 pages into the book and nothing has happened yet, reading the whole thing starts to seem an unsurmountable task. Many pages are wasted on introducing characters that, when all is said and done, seem flat and unrelatable and one does not really care much about. Another big part of it is introducing a smuggling operation that is basically a McGuffin to bring the FBI into the equation. And don't get me started on the not-so-secret US defence organisation... All in all, it took a real effort to finish this one. Most likely, I won't give the author a second chance (a third, really, because I found out Rogan is a pseudonym for Christopher Golden, whose works in comicbooks I've not enjoyed, either).

[Aaron Daniels · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ocean dark is a mysterious novel that makes you wanna look down below your feet to see if anything is swimming up to get you.

Truth be told the second half of this book was pretty great. The first half of the book was much to long and had nothing of real importance going on and it took away from the book being able to develop some of the scenes of the second half.

Throughout the book the characters made unrealistic dumb desiscions and flip flop on every little thing. The thing that kept this book going was the great sci-fi creature arc and the adventure.

For a summer book to feel the chill as you look out at the dark ocean you can certainly do worse than this simple intertaining novel.

[Carolyn Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a perfectly ok weird supernatural thriller if a bit scattered like others have said. I would like the book a lot more if the female characters weren't so awful. All they think about are the guys they want to have sex with, have had sex with one time, or, in the case of the super science consultant for the department of defense, how their rockin 70 year old body they've kept in good shape attracts younger guys to have sex with. And only one of those things was tangentially related to the plot. There was also literally probably 5-10 pages of arguments with other characters (including the guy she's had sex with 1 time) about how they can't call the female FBI agent by her first name. I think it could have cut out like half the characters and still told the same story.

[Mauro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Primo di due libri (ad oggi) scritti dall'autore. Comincia come un thriller e diventa poi un horror. Lettura disimpegnata ma personaggi ben costruiti e approfonditi, ambientazione suggestiva e descritta in modo soddisfacente.
Complessivamente un buon prodotto anche se il finale sembra davvero un po' improvviso e ci sono alcune cose nella storia che non vengono mai spiegate.
Forse perché rimandate a un libro futuro?

[Emanuela · Rating 5 out of 5]

"In passato aveva fatto pazzie per uomini che non lo meritavano, e non era così stupida da crederci. Ma tra lei e Josh si era creato un legame: quell'uomo aveva toccato corde che Tori non aveva mai sospettato di avere in sé, e lei aveva iniziato a vedersi in una luce nuova. La donna che era diventata non avrebbe mai abbandonato quell'uomo, o qualsiasi uomo, solo per salvarsi.
Così vicina alla morte, si sentiva viva." p. 416

[Sharon Gallup · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story had a very slow beginning. to much trivial information in the first few chapters. I had a hard time trying to figure out who worked for who were they government or gun runners or terrorists
I found my self skipping pages to get to action and the purpose of what was happening. Apparently there was a ship graveyard on a island and on that island lived creatures that were like mermaids but were monsters and they attacked any ship that went near.

[April K Rohrer · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I first started I wasn’t sure what I’d think of this book or even if I’d stick with it. Was afraid it might devolve into too much of a “horror” book for me. But, it stuck with the characters, their development and their fight against the unknown which I liked.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

The action was great, the build up of suspense kept me reading all day to finish! I wanted to know more about the creatures though.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it. Good story with strong characters.

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack Rogan is a pen name for Christopher Golden. I first encountered Golden through one of his Buffy the Vampire Slayer novels and have since read a couple dozens of his books. He mostly writes for young adults. He’s got good characterization and really knows how to write suspense. His novel, The Ocean Dark, is written primarily for adults. The premise of the novel is that the Greek legend of the siren derived from a species of carnivorous amphibious humanoids whose communication sounds like a beautiful song to human ears. These sirens have survived in isolated portions of the globe and prey on humans that come into their reach. They make a surprisingly effective monster.

Golden skillfully lays the groundwork for his thriller by beginning the novel with a ship full of gunrunners who have the misfortune of trying to use a small (only a couple of square miles in size) Caribbean island as a rendezvous point to trade cash for weapons. They arrive a day early and die horribly, making it quite clear that this is not a part of the world that anyone would like to visit.

The book then picks up with the crew of a cargo freighter which is planning to buy the guns. Golden skillfully brings to life an interesting cast of characters. There’s a woman hiding from a marriage gone bad. The captain’s wife is cheating on him and its tearing him up inside. Plus half a dozen others, each with their own hopes and problems.

Following the freighter is an ship with an FBI team waiting to bust the gun deal. The leader of this team has a secret also. One of her agents is acting undercover on the freighter and she’s worried about him, especially when the Department of Homeland Security starts interfering in her case in an effort to steal the glory of the arrests.

As the freighter reaches the island, things slowly go badly wrong for just about everyone involved. The suspense is excruciating, but I don’t want to give too much away.

Let me end by saying that a major problem in this style of horror/thriller novel is that the monster, when it finally appears, often doesn’t live up to the reader’s expectations. That is definitely not a problem here. The sirens make a great threat and while Golden’s characters often make mistakes, he handles them in a credible fashion. 5 stars.

[Monster]

Near a remote, uncharted island with a graveyard of ships surrounding it in the Caribbean, the cargo ship Mariposa is on its way to meet the Antoinette, a ship that is to be filled with illegal weapons for a little illicit business transaction. When the crew of the Mariposa arrives, they find the crew of the Antoinette gone except for one survivor who mentions “devils”. The FBI has been aware of the Mariposa’s smuggling of contraband, and is following the ship, looking to catch them in the act. It all boils to a head as the law and the smugglers find themselves facing deadly creatures who view humanity as a fine food source.
The Ocean Dark is a fantastic blend of horror and thriller. It has a great combination of character development and an intriguing story that will keep you turning pages. Rogan avoids making his characters clichéd, and some of the smuggler characters are just as likeable as the law enforcement. Rogan’s creatures are creative enough that they will have any reader look at any body of water at night with a bit more trepidation. The Ocean Dark should appeal to both traditional thriller readers and horror readers. While the book is a fine stand alone tale, Rogan has left enough of an infrastructure, by creating an arm of the Department of Defense that investigates lost cultures that might pose a threat to humanity, that he could write additional tales along this line. The Ocean Dark is highly recommended for public libraries. Reader’s Advisory: Fans of Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child or Subterranean by James Rollins would enjoy this creature thriller.
Contains: Violence and some gore

[Mia Darien · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm always on the look out for a good "creature thriller," so to speak. That's why I picked this one up, and it wasn't bad. It's not super good either.

I know back in the day of Dickens, authors used to get paid by the word for their novels. Not so much now, but it kind of felt like the author was trying for it. Going on way too much about things that weren't really important to the story, and only kind of necessary to know about the characters.

The flashbacks didn't add much, I thought, and I almost stopped reading because I didn't think it got at all interesting until nearly a third of the way through. Too slow in the build up to the monster novel stuff; the stuff I came for.

Tori was a character that I should've liked, in theory, but in execution she annoyed me most of the time, though she had her moments. Gabe was a mixed bag. Josh was the only character I consistently cared for through out the book.

The monsters were interesting, though I was just hoping for more, I guess. And yet, even so, I ultimately came away not *dis*liking the book. I liked it, kind of in spite of myself, but unlike Crichton's animals-gone-wrong thrillers, I won't be re-reading it.

[Ingo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually the author of this is Christopher Golden, writing under Jack Rogan.
That was the main reason for me to buy this book, sounded like a Clive Cussler-novel.
Could have been shorter, nearly all major characters (5-8?) get a flashback-background story, and I could have done with less.
Good use of romance conflicting with job or task at hand, short sex-scenes add to the story, and are ok.
At one point I think there is a procedural mistake, where someone sprains his/her ankle and a few short pages later hears it break but nothing is mentioned after that - the person should have been unable to do most of the running around in the book after that.
Parts of the story could also have been by the Douglas Preston - Lincoln Child-Duo of writers.

Still, except for being to long, highly recommended, to fans of Christopher Golden and Clive Cussler, and also maybe Preston-Child-fans.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this sort of “creature-feature” thriller set in the Caribbean seas. The prologue hooked me in immediately, but from there the book shifted to focus on a surprisingly lengthy set up for the characters. Though some readers might find the book slow to reach the action promised in the prologue, the strength of the character development made the overall story more of a three-dimensional read than your typical “action” novel.

I was particularly intrigued by Alena’s character, and I would love to see her in the sequel that has already been published. I definitely do plan on reading this sequel, as I am quite curious to see where the series will go. I enjoyed the book - though it does have its flaws. There are some abrupt shifts in point-of-view that are quite distracting. Also it would have been nice to have a little bit more on the actual creatures themselves - they are the star of the show, after all. Still, I am quite curious to see where the series will go in the future.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is very highly rated on several sites, so I picked it up hoping for an excellent monster story. I truly love Steve Alten's Meg series, the Douglas and Preston's Relic and Reliquary, and Michael Crichton's creature features. The Ocean Dark does not come close to any of these. It is more of a slow-paced thriller in which some of the lead characters come out at the end as better people and many more just die somewhere out of sight.

The monsters really don't do very much until the end. I kept reading in hopes of finding out something fascinating about the monsters - genetically mutated, scientifically created, interesting turn of the evolutionary chain, etc. However, other than people eating and attacking their prey in mass, you never find out much about the monsters at all.

The Ocean Dark is not a bad book. However, I think monster book lovers will be very disappointed with it.

[Joy Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't stop reading

At first, I was very irritated every time a new chapter started with a new central character in a totally different location. But each chapter was so well written that I would quickly be caught up learning about each new person. Also, the relocations, while abrupt, gave me an opportunity to recover from the intense action of the previous chapters. Rogan doesn't waste a single word or description. Everything in every location illuminates the thinking and drive of each, critically vital character. If you like action, science, dedication, and an enemy too terrifying to say this is an adventure story, then this book is for you and you will be as disappointed as I am to have to leave these people at the end of the book. I hope he will write more SOON.

[Nora Peevy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book almost got five stars, aside from the cheesy ending. I'm having a romantic moment with the sea monsters Rogan created in his story. They are awesome! There's a little bit of healthy writer's envy in there too. The only thing I would change, is ditching the last beach scene between Josh and Tori. I'm grateful that didn't last long. Also grateful Rogan didn't do the dreaded predictable ending with a monster still lurking in the dark. I wouldn't want to meet these monsters in a dank cave, even with a gun. They're quite formidable. An enjoyable read for anyone that's a fan of Peter Benchley and the likes. I'll think twice before vacationing on an isolated tropical island in the near future!

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story centers around an FBI agent and a band of Smugglers in the Caribbean who come across Creatures that inhabit the waters of an uncharted island
This is one exciting and thrilling adventure, fans of Clive Cussler and James Rollins will enjoy this debut novel by Jack Rogan.
The book is very fast paced,the prolouge alone was enough to get me hooked. I found myself having to put the book down more then once just to slow it down,the characters and backround stories were well written and the action sequences were breathtaking.
Great first Novel, look forward to more from this new and exciting writer.

[FairyRain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Avventuroso, avvincente e con una tensione costante. Anche una volta scoperto il mistero dei los diablos, mantiene inalterata la carica partecipativa del lettore, anzi lo trascina con sé. Non meravigliatevi, quindi, se vi ritroverete a sobbalzare o a ritirare indietro le gambe, come guardando la famosa scena di Jurassic Park. Molti i personaggi, tra protagonisti e comprimari, ma tutti soddisfacentemente delineati e la narrazione, lungi dal risultarne appesantita, si rivela piacevolmente sfaccettata e coinvolgente. Un romanzo davvero "cinematografico"!
Non mi resta che aspettare la prossima pubblicazione italiana di questo bravo autore!

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot was great. There was mystery, suspense, and cool sea mini sea monsters. Kind of reminded me of lost with character flashbacks, a mysterious island, and finding random dead bodies surrounded in mystery. The writing left something to be desired...the author was quite long winded and too verbose in many areas stating and re-stating well established points. I think he was trying to build suspense but it just wasn't working. The ending was terrible. Worth reading if you've read the rest of your library and are board on a rainy afternoon.

[Chris Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the premise plot, characters in this one. The setting, for me begin that I live in the Treasure Coast of Florida, was easily precept able. The visual made it all the more interesting. It does stray a bit in the second half...after the FBI, and other government teams converge. I was expecting a bit more of the fear and dread. Its there, however the setup and execution of the second half was predictable for me.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever wondered what if myths were in fact based on reality? Well, this book is a prime example of sometimes things are much better left unknown. Wow, wow, wow, fast paced and kept you on the edge of your seat wondering who would make it. Great book! I recommend this book highly, but only in the daylight hours and not on water!!

[Ryan Rauber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. A traditional "science gone wrong" monster novel. The big difference here is the author didn't introduce the monsters until about halfway in the book. But the leadup was a great source of tension. The second half was a "run for your life" typical of these type of books, but I still enjoyed it. Recommend this to any fan of the genre.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than I expected it to be, although it didn't get particularly interesting until about half way through. Not the best monster-of-the-week book around, but entertaining none the less. I would have liked to see a more ominous ending, with one of the creatures secretly stowed away on a mainland bound boat, or something, but I suppose I can't fault the author for being an optimist, haha.

[Timothy Vogel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the monster/horror/thriller story in this book, but thought the back-story of each main character was a bit too stretched out. I understand that it was all about resolution and blah blah blah, but it was a bit excessive for my taste. Still, everything else was a fine read.