Book Review, Book Review Tour, Science Fiction, Suspense

Dark Dweller by Gareth Worthington


Captain Kara Psomas was pronounced dead when her research vessel slammed into Jupiter.

More than a century later, the crew of the Paralus, a helium mining freighter, find a pristine escape pod with a healthy young girl nestled inside. A girl who claims to be Kara-and she brings a message of doom.

She says she has been waiting in the dark for that exact moment. To be found by that particular crew. Because an ancient cosmic being has tasked her with a sacred responsibility.

She claims she must alter the Fulcrum, a lever in time-no matter the cost to the people aboard-or condemn the rest of civilization to a very painful and drawn-out demise.

She sounds convincing. She appears brave. She might well be insane.

This was an okay read. In all honesty, parts of this story lost my interest. The pacing was slow in the beginning and quickened towards the end, which is kind of odd with how short this story is. The premise was interesting, and that was what kept me wanting to know more.

Sadly, I could not connect with most of these characters. Their stories felt rushed and not very well flushed out. Some of them felt like the author could have edited them out and the story would have been fine. I still am not understanding what Capitan Kara Psomas roll was in this story. Maybe it was explained, but I missed it or the author did not explain it well enough. It felt like it took forever for her to say anything relevant. But the author could have sent her message differently.

This story is told in the first person and by multiple characters. This allows readers to see different angles from certain situation. I think this works for this story. It kept the suspense going, not knowing who was behind what.

The story sets place in the future where humans are mining helium from space. In the second group, I had a hard time understanding where they were supposed to be. Was it on a different planet or the same planet, but on a different side? The author explained the freighter well enough to understand where the characters are located.

This story was not for me. It was okay, but I felt nothing after I finished it. I kept reading it because I wanted to know what happened, but the ending felt a little like a letdown. But I would still recommend this story to anyone who is maybe starting out on science fiction and who like suspense.

*I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion.

I give this book a 2/5

Rating: 2 out of 5.

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