a dark side of reality
938533
*Disclaimer: a free copy of the book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review

Childhood should be carefree, playing in the sun; not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul. - Dave Pelzer

Bradley Hughes, single, works as a general laborer and tends bar on Fridays and Saturdays. Nothing exciting happens much to him until he hears disturbing noises from his neighbors upstairs. When he meets Luka and senses that there is more to his story than he cares to reveal, Brad goes the extra mile to help out.

This is the seventh book in the More Than Friends series but could well stand alone. Characters from other books in the series show up and play significant roles especially towards the latter part of the story. Brad and Luka's voices alternate as the plot unravels.

For me, trying to make sense out of something that does not - whatever explanation is offered -  is a futile exercise specifically when it is about child abuse. I cannot wrap my mind around such acts of violence.

Luka is a victim and suffers abuse at the hands of his own father. I felt Luka's dilemma - almost an adult and nearly tasting the freedom he desperately seeks but helpless at the moment. I could understand his hesitation to seek the system for help and i wished there was a better way for minors like him and children in general to be better protected. It is a sad reality that sometimes the system that offers refuge and protection to victims and prosecutes the offenders fails. Unfortunately, it happens. It is not a perfect one - as all human systems are.

Brad's own way of offering assistance is commendable and I too, felt his dilemma. He could only do as much. I admire his kind heart and his self-control, though. He could have let sleeping dogs lie but he took a risk and chose to be involved.

There was a turning point in the story that could have spelled disaster for Luka and Brad. How this was resolved was both comedic and tragic at the same time.

This was a well-written story but not a light read for me. It may have been fiction but it mirrors a dark side of reality that - for the sake of the innocent - begs to be stopped.
404151
O'Keefe's first novel provides great insight into the reality of the personal and professional life of a NYC police officer.  At times you can't help but wonder where the lines of reality and fiction meet. It is insightful and at times disturbing in a way that makes you sympathetic to the stress placed upon those that choose to protect us.  He may end up being the urban police equivalent as to what John Grisham is to the legal world.  Can't wait to see what is next from this rising star.
2523252
It's a thought experiment that answers the question: What if a society was set up and modeled after The Secret? This utopia is enforced by pervasive and critical surveillance, and the chronically happiness-challenged have a way of disappearing. But to where? Read and find out. I don't want to say too much about what happens, but the book hooked me from the first sentence: I was immersed in this paranoid, frustrating world. Warning, there are some pretty dark scenes in this "utopian" society's literal underground.
4010538
This book takes the reader through many frightening hoops, including current drone technology evolution, special forces, torture and the overall loss of American ideals to profit.  Fascist elements attempt to take control of our government using fear as justification, drawing parallels with terror threats since 9-11.  This is a fast paced book that will draw you into the dark side of "fictional" government, corporations and the greed.  Not for the light hearted, but very much for Americans concerned for the future of our democracy and culture.  Be brave and pick it up!
2945152
A story of what is and what isnt, reality and illusion, religious truth and personal interpretation, Campanas The Dark Side is a disturbing glimpse at religion gone wrong and right. There is much going on here, and while not all of it works, it does vividly depict the evils experienced in youth manifesting themselves in unknown and unidentified adult forms. At times this read like a Thomas Pynchon sexual-fetish bizarre-fest (some of the described scenes were overly lengthy and rather difficult to read). However, those same scenes do serve the plot, as does the sexual relationship between Austin and Samantha, brother and sister. Here one can see just what kind of taboo territory Campana has delved into. That being said, the story is both an indictment of organized religion and a defense of God. The argument is that while organized religions and God are of course connected, they are also not the same thing. The interpretation, the doctrine, the dogma, at odds with the personal beliefs of the individual follower is a key point. The idea of a corrupt and predatory clergy is nothing new. This is as old as religion. Campana does take this idea, in graphic forms, to present his point of view. And of course, any discussion of any church, pro or con, is akin to releasing the proverbial floodgates of irrationality, biases, chosen ones, martyrs, infidels, and on and on. I applaud Campana for presented multiple sides to such a convoluted and sensitive subject. And while the novel does have some wandering moments, it still works (though I feel it should have been either longer, or shorter; Im still undecided on this).  Campana has a lot to say and he knows his subject very well. All in all an interesting read, with elements taken from exorcism horror, church corruption, courtroom dramas, cult/serial killers, personality disorders, and God/Satan debates.
2982130
I definitely didn't like the way this book had started off. There were a few times I would start the book and then stop, because it felt slow going. I really enjoyed that the story was told by each character, but did not like that in some parts, you could tell what would happen next. A tragic event though shouldn't have to bring a community together. This book though shows the ugly truth about reality as it is today.
4431562
This story keeps you thinking and has a dark side that is only half expected. The author did a good job of making the isolation of living in a lighthouse real. Without giving away the story, I must say that it also has a very warn, sympathetic strain. I'll put this one on the shelf and read it again when I've half forgotten it.
1961889
This is a good read that really captures the frustrating difficulties with infertility issues and then the realities of childbirth and caring for an infant.  It is not an easy read, and you struggle to find something likeable in the main character, but it is this darkness that makes the book compelling.  You really feel the main character's desperation and struggle.  Hope to see more from this author soon!
510876
This book is gorgeous. I read it, and I had problems with my comprehension of reality for weeks. Not that it's a bad thing, just the fact that maybe there is a whole other world right in front of your face.... But you can't  see it because your mind's grip on "reality" won't let you...  Kind of interesting...
4219707
Danger is everywhere, especially in the suburbs.

This dark, disturbing novel is fascinating as well as psychologically complex.  Some of the characters are certifiably crazy, and perhaps the ones who have been certified as crazy are not.  We know from the beginning that this story is going to be a huge train wreck, but we just don't know how it will all play out.

At one point, it takes a Big Brother/1984 turn, especially regarding incarceration of criminals.  And those who would be criminals.  But that is only a small part of the story.  The people who buy into society's foibles and those who fight them are the bigger part.

We want so much for people to believe the young protagonist, Copley, and his outrageous tales.  We wonder why two other main characters, not friends, are meeting in a prison visitors' room at the beginning of the book, and  we don't really know until the end.  The book explores individuals' rights versus public rights, crumbling society exemplified by shoddy McMansions and  rotten land, historical evil hidden, modern evil justified.  Lives of quiet desperation.

I am the last tree standing on a clear-cut slope, the saws all pointed at my feet.

There is much to be taken from this book.  In itself, it is a complex, layered story, not in the sense of a complex plot but in the workings of human minds.  It's beautifully written.  Dark.  Yes, very.  And worth reading every word.

I was given an advance readers copy of this novel, and the quotes may have changed in the published edition.
3557828
Whoa boy. For people like myself who are skeptical of the nature of reality, this book is up there with the likes of The Dark Tower series. You will find yourself questioning your own mind and the observations you make through your daily life.  Ill give nothing away but this book is one of the very very few I have read more than once. Fantastic work of fiction and a great escape. I look forward to future work by the author.
2097678
Eleanor, a very repressed person, lived mostly in a fantasy world created in her mind. Her life appeared to be strictly sheltered from reality, as she took care of her mother for years until the one night Eleanor decided not to get up and her mother died. I think that tended to send her even farther down the hole of being mentally/emotionally disturbed, along with afterwards, having to live with family who used her and didn't care for her. Eleanor spent so much time coping by living in her imaginary world in her mind, she had no idea what actual reality and dealing with real people and situations were.
Once she came to investigate hauntings at Hill House, as an invitation because of past psychic phenomena in her life, she found she had a hard time relating; going back & forth between her self made reality to what was actually going on.  I think this story was more of the horror of a woman who was not emotionally equipped to exist in the real world at that time in her life. And between this and the experiences she had at Hill House just sent her all the way into insanity.
The book is a combination of a horror story, things that go bump  in the night, and psychological horror.
If one has a good imagination and some insight to psychological situations, this will be a great book to read. It's NOT a slasher story and everything isn't spelled out in black & white. It leaves situations up to the reader's imagination which in itself can be interesting. LOL
It is disturbing, yet fascinating to read. It's my favorite horror story of all time. I've probably read it 50 times over the past 50+ years.
Now, I heard NetFlix is planning to do a story on this. I hope it holds true, but not sure how any movie could project the psychological implications one can get from this book?
4497977
A graphic look into the darker, more personal side of war.
1916943
The Growing Gap between those that believe in Honor, Integrity and Values and those that sell themselves out to socialism and lack of personal accountabilty is pointed out so well in these reviews.

There is a dark and toxic cloud moving over America and I am afraid that too many do not see it coming. These reviews are a microcosm of the divide that is crippling America.

The premise of Card's book is all too real and frightening.

Political Correctness is a tool that the "Dark Side" is using to emasculate and neutralize those that hold values of absolute right and wrong and is a part of the set-up for the coming real conflict.

Card paints a picture that is daily coming closer to reality.

This is a must read for those that want to see how things will evolve in the near future.
4383824
I had to stop and think about this book after I read it. On one level it is a thriller, with a family poisoned by the unemployed father after trying to deal unsuccessfully with a child's mental illness. On another level it is about a family destroyed by a "reality" television show featuring an exorcism. Another level the family is plagued and destroyed by a manipulative teenager, frightened by her father's unemployment and decent into depression. Whatever it is, and we are shown these things through the eyes of an eight year old, this story includes madness, reality television, unemployment, poison, lies, misdirection, secrets, manipulation, and fame seeking. Personal note, I do not like reality television that invades a home watching the daily interactions between people in what should be their refuge from the world.
4141377
I was unfamiliar with the author's work prior to reading this book, so I frankly had no idea what to expect. As I got into it, however, I found it to be darker than other stories, but not quite in a noir sense. With elements reminiscent of Alan Dean Foster's Thranx, surrealism reminisncent of the movie Transcendenz, and just plain weirdness that would probably resemble Videodrome in movie form, the story has a way of taking hold of you. A part of me feels a morbid fascination while another part of me would like to see what sort of universe Werbeloff will continue to  create.
3848843
Seemingly caught up in the stress and tension of daily life we learn it is a lie. But even that belies the real lie that may or may not be reality. A short work that efficiently  twists its way into your mind like the Matrix.