Newton's Third Law of Motio states that "For ever action, there is an equal and o osite reaction." Michael Cale's latest novel, As the Darkne Deepe , is an interesting study in this universal law as it relates to the forces of good and evil. While this is a common storyline, Cale's strong characterization and the powerful climax give an otherwise trite subject su tance to formulate a solid story.
We first meet the una uming Christopher Jones walking his seven-year-old daughter, Sally, to school. After hugs and a ki , Christopher sends his child acro the street, when suddenly a careening car slams into Sally, mortally wounding her. In the terror of the moment, Christopher draws upon a mysterious power to heal his daughter, saving her life. This act of love creates an equal and o osite reaction that literally births the story's primary antagonist.
Christopher discovers a renewed se e of self and direction. He tra forms from a soft- oken pushover to a man filled with the need to use his new power for the good of humanity. Eventually, word of his powers read, and he attracts hundreds and thousands of the hopele , the infirm, and the i ane. Christopher becomes nothing more than a pi all, bouncing off those who want to help to those wanting to take advantage and back again.
Cale, whose 2001 novel, The Room of Shrunken Souls, was an E ie Finalist, knows how to co truct a solid story. Here he does a satisfactory job of blending the good and evil in greedy entertainment executives, religious cults, and the Catholic Church. When all three of these grou collide in the dramatic finale, the reader is given a powerful overview of the morale fallacies harbored in day-to-day dogma. Effectively using the dingy backdrop of south Los Angeles, he builds an array of vivid character that overflow from the 150 page novel.
De ite several a oying dialogue tics and a sometimes slo y narrative style, Cales nails the characters and setting. I would recommend As the Darkne Deepe to readers as a study in the evil side of morality bringing destruction to good.
Published by LTDBooks
I : 1-55316-138-6
150 Pages
$14.95 Hardback, $5.00 eBook
http://www.ltdbooks.com
Jason Sizemore is the publisher of Apex Science Fiction and Horror Digest, a quarterly magazine of dark science fiction, interviews, book reviews, and e ays. You can read more about Jason and his writing at http://members.iglou.com/jaso /index.html. Apex Digest has its own we ite at http://www.apexdigest.com
BY:VooFox.net
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