Crystal Connor

This book takes what we know is happening with scientific experiments and mixes it with what we think may be happening and what we fear to imagine happening , especially in the hands of the military - any military. It will hold you in its grip until its unexpected conclusion. I say unexpected because of all the ways I saw this ending I had not come to the one given. The author really does an excellent job at bringing out the dilemma of Solomon and the two mothers. The story line I found to be somewhat fresh and unique. The author took something familiar and added a twist that I have not read very often. And she did it very well. The mystifying air was maintained through out the book. This is a writer who truly knows her craft. She is someone to watch. Full review on my blog.

The review is my personal opinion of the book. I received no monetary compensation for the book review. A copy of this book was provided to me for free for review purposes.… (altro)

Artemisia has devoted her life to science, alchemy and jewelry. Family wasn’t as important to her as trying to obtain forbidden knowledge. She is a founding member of The Skyward Group which is a team of scientists working on top-secret projects. Artemisia’s main goal is to learn how god thinks and play god herself. There is another woman like her named Inanna. Inanna is a powerful witch who also has everything she wants and desires to be more god like. The one thing that neither has is a child.

This brings us to Adam, a three-month old boy who is being kept in a cage in a science lab. The doctors won’t get close to him because he’s dangerous. Alex has power but he doesn’t understand it and what he wants more than anything is to be loved. Inanna and Artemisia have their eyes set on the boy and want to raise him in their own image. Only one can be his mother while the other will suffer at the hands of both mother and child.

The Darkness by Crystal Connor is the first book in The Spectrum Series and it was hard to put down. This isn’t a story of good versus evil, it’s the story of forbidden magic versus forbidden science. It’s also a study on what happens when you become to powerful and have too much forbidden knowledge. I admire Crystal’s ability to make you love a character and hate them at the same time. The story here takes place over several years and we get to watch Adam go from a child to an adult. We see what destruction he causes when he can’t get what he wants, but we also see a boy who tries desperately to save the people he loves when they are in danger and how bad he feels when he hurts someone he loves.

You also see the good and bad in Inanna. You feel bad for her when her mother is taken away and she cries but then when she takes her vengeance on a group of people, you see that maybe this isn’t a person you should show pity for. One of my favorite scenes in the book has Inanna summoning warlocks and demons in order to do a protection spell for Adam. As she does this, one of the demons says that when she dies there will be no end to her suffering. Inanna’s reaction to this is indifference. I loved this scene because she was using evil and sacrificing herself to protect someone she loved. Inanna knows what she wants and nothing will stop her from having it.

What makes The Darkness interesting is that there are no heroes and villains, everyone is a shade of grey. The characters are complex, at times both Artemisia and Inanna show that they have a dark side but they also both show that they have a compassionate nature. The boy Alex also shows a lot of depth such as at one point he takes his anger out on one of the doctors in the lab but then another time we see him cry as another doctor hugs him for the first time. The characters are so fascinating you don’t see any of them as good or evil, they’re just people. Rather then choose sides I found myself compelled to just sit back and enjoy the ride. The way their personalities are, you’re never sure who to root for, which made for an unpredictable story.… (altro)

Mixing evil queens, dark fantasy, and a fast flowing blend of newspaper accounts, letters, lists, scientific documents, and even text messages, author Crystal Connor's short stories move from distorted zombie apocalypse to ghost story to a terrifying Christmas wish (my favorite) and more. The formatting is intriguing and pleasing to the eye, nicely designed for a modern day audience of text-messaging new adult readers.

“Father McAlister’s heart shattered” at the sins of twin cities, “everyone pays the piper” in the end, and the “burning bush” blends mystery and faith. Monsters’ tentacles “burst from the water with... fear inspiring awe and splendor” and terrors both Biblical and strange fill the pages of a collection where happily most surely is not ever after.

Some readers might find the formatting distracting. It was the curious word choices that distracted me, but I’m not a new adult. Still, the ideas are intriguing and really well-presented with lots of variety and lots of scares. A cool, cool-looking book.

Disclosure: I was given a free ecopy during the author’s blog tour.… (altro)

It started off slowly, but a quarter of the way in, I was completely interested in the story. The Darkness deals with a mixture of super technology and dark witchcraft, which I found intriguing. The writing was more factual than I generally like (a lot of telling, very little showing), but I got used to it and didn't find it as annoying once I started reading more. Overall, I think this is an entertaining story that remains suspenseful until the very end.

However, the characterization wasn't enough for me. Part of this is told in first person, and with that point of view, I especially expect to have some sort of emotional connection to the main character. This didn't happen at all. I think it was because the narration was entirely factual. We don't get a lot of Artemisia's feelings, and if we do, they're rather shallow. Instead of reflection, the character only says, "I'm upset" (or whatever emotion she's supposed to be feeling) and moves on. Maybe she'll have a drink, but that's it. There aren't any deeper thoughts or tell-tale actions going on. I wanted more from her. The same thing can go for Inanna and Adam (The Child) as well, but I didn't have so much of a problem with their characters. Their stories were told in third person, and I didn't consider them the "main characters." Besides, I think their history was more fully realized than Artemisia's, which gave them more depth.

Also, all the characters are perfect. They are all beautiful, incredibly rich, successful, smart, can speak multiple languages, etc. I wanted them to have some flaws.

Despite this, I thought the story was enjoyable. I liked how the magic came from different cultures, and I especially liked the voodoo influence. The plot was suspenseful and delightfully frustrating as Adam tries to come to terms with his past. I thought the ending was rushed, but it's a perfect ending -- I would have been disappointed if it had ended any other way. If you're at all interested in dark stories or witchcraft, you should give this one a try. Like I said, the characterization had flaws, but the story is truly fantastic.… (altro)