Into the Dark

The Dark Trilogy #2

by Patrick D'Orazio

Six weeks ago, the mysterious virus came out of nowhere and engulfed the world. Everyone infected seemed to die ... then rise again. Jeff Blaine did his best to hold his family together and to protect them from the horrors scratching at their door, but in the end, they were ripped away from him like everything else that ever mattered. Lost and alone, Jeff decided his only option was to destroy as many of the monsters that stole his life away before they destroy him as well. But when he discovers Megan, George, and Jason, three other survivors not interested in giving up just yet, he reluctantly accepts that there might still be a reason to fight and live to see another day. Traveling through the blasted landscape their world has become, the quartet discovers that the living dead aren't the only danger with which they must cope. Even other survivors who promise safety and security from the hordes of ghouls roaming the wastelands will test loyalties and their faith in humankind. Jeff and his small band of newfound friends must forge a semblance of life in the newly blighted world. And they will have only the light of their own humanity by which to navigate as everything around them descends into the dark.

Genres: Zombies, Horror, Apocalyptic

190 pages, Paperback

First published November 22, 2010

About the author

Patrick D'Orazio resides in southwestern Ohio with his wife, Michele, two children, Alexandra and Zachary, and three spastic dogs. A lifelong writer, he decided a few years ago that attempting to get published might be a better idea than continuing to toss all those stories he's been scribbling down over the years into a filing cabinet, never to be seen again.
Over twenty-five of his short stories appear or will be appearing in various anthologies from a wide array of different small press publishers. He has dipped his toes into a variety of genres, including horror, science fiction, fantasy, erotica, bizarro, western, action-adventure, apocalyptic, and comedy.
He has also written a trilogy of apocalyptic novels dubbed "The Dark Trilogy". Originally published by The Library of the Living Dead Press, they have been acquired by another publisher and are in the process of being edited for re-release later in 2012.
You can see what Patrick is up to via his website at www.patrickdorazio.com.

Reviews

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Into the Dark is the second volume in Patrick D'Orazio's The Dark trilogy, and finds our crew of survivors being forced into a larger community of refugees led by a charismatic, if disturbing figure with an agenda of his own. Their safety is short-lived, as threats within combine with the hordes of undead outside the gates in a fast, furious confrontation.

Zombie 411 - For the most part, these are your basic Romero-style zombies, at least in terms of basic biology and means of infection. They run and scream though, which may put off a few purists.

For better or worse, Into the Dark reads a lot like a mid-season episode of The Walking Dead. It's good in the sense that you get some very tense and very entertaining conflicts and interactions between unique characters. It's not so good in that you're not going to get a satisfying conclusion. There's essentially one big event and then the story ends. This seems to be the case with zombie novels, especially middle volumes in trilogies, but it's kind of frustrating not to have a real ending.

D'Orazio keeps a pretty good pace here and his characters are very memorable. The dialogue gets a bit unbelievable at times, and it was weird to see Jeff more or less abandon his fixation on revenge against the zombies, but for the most part the story works.

As with the first book, there is a novella's worth of additional stories dealing with the supporting cast tacked onto the end of this ebook. Honestly I may have enjoyed these side stories more than I did the main story. They did a fantastic job fleshing out these new characters, and bump the novel up past 3-star territory.

[Matt Nord · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes it can be difficult to do a review of a central book in a trilogy. It's almost like reading 2/3 of a novel and doing a review without reading the entire thing. Maybe that's just me, though. But I suppose I'll just have to look at it like the central book is the bridge that leads to the third book. Is it sturdy? Does it support the story across to the other side? Do I feel safe walking over this bridge?

And the answer in some cases is yes. The bridge does support the story to the other end. However, the trip is anything but safe. It's like the rope bridge in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, where you may get across, but you've probably pissed your pants and most of the other people on it have fallen to their deaths. OK, maybe it's a bad analogy. Here's the scoop.

Into the Dark introduces us to a new group of survivors. Their leader, Michael, has a bit of a different idea of how they are going to continue to survive. And I have to be honest, despite the fact that I think the author was trying to get us to look at Michael as the bad guy, I think the entire outcome was that Jeff, the main character, ended up looking like an over-emotional brat.

It seemed like the whole time the conflict wasn't that Team Jeff were the good guys and Team Michael were the bad guys. Granted the latter had some stereotypical rednecks that were jackasses and using the zombie apocalypse to act like bigger jackasses. I actually kind of liked the Cindy character, just for the "Crazy bitch zombie killer" factor, kind of like Jenni from As the World Dies, but without any redeeming qualities besides the fact the she's a "Crazy bitch zombie killer," and yes, I see that as a redeeming quality.

Anyway, back to Michael. In a world full of cannibalistic corpses, there would be times that tough decisions are going to have to be made if any of the human race was going to survive and rebuild. Apparently, he's the guy that's going to make those decisions. It's like the politician that is never going to please everybody, to the umpteenth degree because any and everything that comes across his desk could result in loss of life. Talk about stress.

So in my mind it's no wonder that he gets a little pissed when Jeff and George try to question his authority at every turn. Of course, there was the whole thing where the original quartet (Jeff, Megan, George and Jason) were basically kidnapped. Well, I guess Michael isn't perfect, but I see him as a better leader than Jeff.

OK, enough of my Sudafed inspired rant.

One of the things that I thought was really cool about the book was the character development of the young boy, Jason. Having a thirteen year old of my own, I could appreciate and understand the attitude the boy gave in the story and see its authenticity. The character that annoys me the most is George, who simply sulks a majority of the time. I understand that he's trying to get to his family/deal with the idea that they may be dead, but step up, dude! You've got people right there depending on you!

I have to say that I really liked the second book, but honestly I actually like the first book, Comes the Dark, more, but the author set a really high bar with that one. Again, I'm looking at it as only part of a whole and I'm really looking forward to the finale of the trilogy.

I highly recommend this book to any lovers of the zombie horror genre and I expect more big things from Patrick D'Orazio.

[Jonathan Moon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Into the Dark is Book 2 in author Patrick D’Orazio’s Dark trilogy. It picks up exactly were the terrific first installment ends on a cliff hanger note asserting itself as a worthy sequel right away. The main character, Jeff Blaine, and his small rag tag band of survivors (including a woman from Jeff’s former suburban neighborhood, a man driven by the need to return to his family his hasn’t seen since the zombies rose weeks before, and a sullen teenager) run from one intense situation to the next, avoiding both the undead and paranoid rifle packing humans, to end up ambushed by men carrying automatic weapons. The men force our band onto their stomachs, ransack their van, and steal their weapons.

Jeff, Megan, George, and Jason are herded to a circle of RVs that house a small camp of survivors. We met the leader of the camp Michael and his semi-deranged girlfriend, Cindy, and his duo of red neck cronies, Marcus and Frank before meeting the rest of the camp. Once within the rather safe confines of the RV circle we meet Ben (a giant of a man that appears to be muscle for Michael), Lydia (an older lay that plays mother to three children in the encampment), and Teddy and Ray (two nervous and excitable teenage boys).

Once introductions are made the story picks back up with the same human feel to it as the first in the series (Comes the Dark). In Comes the Dark D’Orazio developed the four main characters and he rises to the challenge of adding a fresh host of new characters. The action does slow down as we learn, little by precious little, more about the survivors. Each character is given time to develop as the action increases. Where as in the first installment the main characters are fleeing from undead crowded streets to even more undead crowded streets in an attempt at achieving safety here nearly the entire story takes place within the safety of the RV camp.

With the introduction of Michael and his cronies the story has a cast of human antagonists that clash with Jeff and his band of survivors. While Cindy, Frank, and Marcus are easy to view as psychopaths tearing out a niche in the world consumed by the dead the character of Michael is cut from a different cloth. He commands respect and uses any means to achieve his goals but under his semi-maniacal leadership style we see shades of a human worried about those he has sworn to protect. Like the first novel, Into the Dark packs as much emotion as it does action; though this time we see more than anger and sadness as pride and desperation both raise their ugly heads and put Jeff’s groups against Michael and his. Loyalties and friendships are tested as everyone adjusts to the camp-bringing more human drama into the story. The undead remain constant threats but none of the characters are simple zombie chow.

I enjoyed Into the Dark and think it plays well as a middle part of a trilogy. I do think it reads best with the thicker meatier Comes the Dark (and most likely better still with the forth coming third installment, Beyond the Dark). Overall, through great character development and the ability to build an intensifying tension right up to the last cliff hanging page, Mr. D’Orazio gives us an excellent second installment of his trilogy with Into the Dark. I for one can’t wait for Beyond the Dark.

[Monster]

When last we saw Jeff, Megan, George, and Jason (at the end of Comes the Dark, the first book in the Dark Trilogy), they had survived hordes of flesh-eating zombies, only to be captured by a small group of gun-wielding humans. Into the Dark starts right where the last book left off. Jeff and his friends are taken at gunpoint to a camp fortified by circled RVs, led by Michael. Michael is the leader of a group of survivors that number about a dozen. He is friendly enough, introducing our intrepid heroes to, among others, his crazy girlfriend Cindy; Ben, the strong, silent one; Frank and Marcus, a couple of good ole boys; and Lydia, the mother hen. Everything seems fine, until Michael tells the newcomers that no one is allowed to leave. He wants to use the camp as a base for rebuilding civilization, and he won't allow anyone to upset his plans. Of course, the zombies don't care what ANYONE has planned. They just want to eat.
Comes the Dark was a fine, if unspectacular, zombie novel with good characterization, but didn't add much to the undead canon. With Into the Dark, D'Orazio has stepped up his game, writing a thrilling page-turner, in which the zombies don't even show up (!!!) until about halfway through. The addition of Michael and his crew brings some fresh blood to the mix, and adds some great drama. Michael has depth; it seems as though some secret is driving his need to control and his desire to rebuild. Cindy is that crazy chick you love to hate, and you just know she is going to cause some REAL trouble. Lydia is a caregiver, seemingly soft, but with hidden depths of strength.
The two groups clash early and often. There is plenty of stuff going on, aside from those pesky flesh munchers waiting in the wings. Once the zombies do show up, the action is fast, bloody, and frightening. D'Orazio builds the tension with the human conflict, until it explodes into violence against the undead. But even when the survivors must work together to fend off the slavering zombies, their fears, anger and jealousies bubble just under the surface.
It seems to me that D'Orazio has improved between the first book of this trilogy and the second. The dialogue crackles, the characters have more depth, and he doesn't need to throw in a zombie fight every few pages. This is much more of a character driven book, and the story is all the better for it. If D'Orazio keeps up this quality of writing, and, perhaps, branches off into other horror territory, I could see him making quite a name for himself.
Into the Dark ends with a cliffhanger, just as the previous book did. Only this time, I can't wait to see what happens next. I recommend Into the Dark for libraries, zombie fans, and anyone just looking for a thrilling read.
Contains: Violence, strong language, and gore.
Reviewed by: Erik Smith

[Heather Faville · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeff Blaine and Megan, a fellow survivor from Jeff's former neighborhood, George, a man driven to return to his family and Jason, your typical sullen teenager are continuing to move from one menacing situation to another. The worn out group do their best to avoid the undead, which are still interested in having them for dinner, and the socio/psychopaths who are finding that the chaos brought about by the dead now walking among the living give them an advantage that "normal" life would usually deprive of them. Alas, Jeff and his group are ambushed by several armed men, while the small group is forced to the ground, the marauders search the van and take the weapons Jeff, Megan George and Jason had managed to gather.

Blaine and his group learn that their ambushers are the leader of a nearby camp of survivors, Michael, Cindy, Michael's slightly disturbed girlfriend and Marcus and Frank, a couple of good ole boys. Herded like cattle into the small, yet seemingly safe, RV encampment the rest of the Michael's group is introduced, Ben, who appears to be Michael's muscle, an older lay who cares for three children in the encampment, Lydia and Teddy and Ray, two teenage boys who are a bit too excitable for dealing with the undead.

Into the Dark begins right where Comes the Dark ends. Thankfully Patrick D'Orazio continues to deal with the human condition, which is the best part of any zombie story, in my humble opinion, in very much the same way that he did in the 1st book. The characters are the focal point of Into the Dark , not the zombies. We learn a great deal about Michael and his crew, but what I really enjoyed is that we learn even more about Jeff Blaine, Megan, George and Jason. Our original survivors did not take a backseat. In fact, we start to learn that not everyone has the same agenda as Jeff originally thought. Loyalties and friendships are definitely tested in Into the Dark.

The action is a bit slower in Into the Dark as the characters are no longer moving from place to place, but staying put at the camp and going out on excursions. That's not to say that here are no action scenes. There is plenty of action. It's just a bit more subdued.

I would have to say that the only complaint I had with Into the Dark is that it seemed a bit short or maybe I just enjoyed it so much it went by too fast. Into the Dark is definitely not a stand alone book and goes along very well with its predecessor Comes the Dark.

[T.W. Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book two in Patrick D'Orazio's Dark trilogy, Into the Dark, gives its readers just enough time to suck in one gasp of air before plunging them back into the nightmare that started with Comes the Dark. The well-crafted foursome that D'Orazio created are scooped up by a batch of survivors that seem a shade more aggressive and organized than Jeff and his band.

There is a lot to dislike about this new bunch, however, for the most part, even if you dislike the leader of this new band, Michael, it is difficult to fault his decision making. Rather it is his manner and surrounding cronies that fuel the reader's distrust and negativity.

Once again, D'Orazio gives a clinic on creating characters that are more than the some of their parts. Perhaps not so much with Frank--or even Cindy--but, you feel that Michael is more than a cardboard villain.

The pace of this story is even better than book one, which could get a bit jumbled at times, and keeps you turning the pages. This is a Library7 of the Living Dead Press book that deserves to carry the banner in the forefront.
There are a few things that do weigh down what must be considered a great read. There are the usual suspects in a small press release such as typos, homonym confusion (such as they're; there; their or to; too; two errors that slip past the standard spell check) and punctuation. A walk through will clean most of these up and I suspect D'Orazio and his editor will eliminate those in time. But none of them take away from the story. The only two points I will bring up is that, unless I missed something in book one, it seemed that the timeline jumped a little too far forward. (Did book one really encompass six weeks?) My other complaint comes at the very end. I don't divulge key parts of the story in reviews (i.e. spoilers...I mean really, who doesn't keep reading AFTER the spoiler alert?) I will say this...it had to do with the RV maneuverability. Also...length. I hope book three is beefier.

Into the Dark is a good book. Fans of part one will be even more anxious. The Library has a winner in D'Orazio and will hopefully offer up many more stories by this talented storyteller.

[Chris Gaida · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a couple of hours to read this book. I enjoyed the adventures of Jeff and his crew from Comes the Dark, and looked forward to seeing how they continued on in this book. Into the Dark was an ok book. Jeff, George, Jason, and Megan find themselves being forced to join another group with a tyrannical leader. As in most zombie stories, the living tend to give more grief than the dead. One of the problems that I had with the first book, is that the ending was abrupt and the book was way to short. I lent my book out to my father and a friend and they both agreed. Into the Dark was was 24 pages shorter than Comes the Dark, and it also ended with a cliffhanger. Also the first book dealt with the group being mostly on the road, and that was it's charm. Here the group is mostly stationary, and adventure takes a back seat to group conflicts.

[Joe Stamber · Rating 3 out of 5]

The middle of D'Orazio's "Dark" book that was released as a trilogy despite being 3 parts of the same book. An improvement on the first part, probably due to the extended character set and with it further menace from a different direction. The larger cast meant less time listening to the incredibly annoying whiner Megan. It just about scrapes an average rating, and as I'm feeling generous I'll round it up to 3 stars.

[Felicia A Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

YAYYYYYYYYYYYY! Another editing project is now a published book! Catch up with Jeff and Megan after their harrowing escape from their neigbborhood in Book 1 (Comes the Dark), and find out what new challenges await them.

[RJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, somewhat better than the first book, but no Pulitzer here. The characters get a little more fleshed out, so to speak, but I don't really know them or care about them all that much. The story is moderately interesting so I am curious to find how things turn out in book three.