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Darkness Demands - Simon Clark Book Review

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Review Summary


Leisure, July 2001, 5.99
ISBN 0843948981

    It has taken John Newton a long time to make it as a true crime writer but he finally done it when his last book attained the hardcover bestseller lists. Now, he and his family have moved to the bucolic village of Skelbrooke in the heart of England. John, his wife Val, their teenage son Paul, and their preadolescent daughter Elizabeth have found their dream home and have become a part of the village.

    Paradise ends when the first letter arrives demanding that John deliver a candy bar to a particular grave in the nearby cemetery commonly called the Necropolis. John ignores the letter and his daughter is seriously injured. When the second letter arrives, John follows the instructions of the note and realizes other people have received the same memo as well. When the entity that is sending the letters makes his final horrific request, John decides to take his family and flee town if they can.

    This is definitely a very scary horror novel that preys on our most primal emotions and fears. While the reader never actually gets to see the entity inspiring terror in Skelbrooke, the author cleverly entices the audience into imagining what it is and what it looks like. That is more terrifying than any description could be. Simon Clark understands the horror genre by terrifying his fans to the point that the electric companies will treat him as a VIP because of all the profits made from adults sleeping with the lights on.

Harriet Klausner

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar


Detailed literary breakdown of Darkness Demands
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book - depressing/sad
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - fantasy story on current Earth
Spying & Investigations Yes
What is main char. doing? - rescue mission/escape from confinement
Mental/magical powers focus Yes
magical powers: - good magical powers hunting non/weaker magical(s) (fantasy)
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Horror story? Yes

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - writer
Age: - 40's-50's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - magical being
Has magical powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main antagonist: - can see into the future - can read emotions
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Setting
Earth setting: - during "Tolkien" (fairytime) times
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How much dialogue? - significantly more descript than dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
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