Review: A unique undead experience
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 30, 2014
Into The Darkness: The Legend of Shadow and Light is billed as an apocalyptic zombie novel, but it is anything but your average run of the mill undead exploration.Instead, Fox Lee’s book, which by all accounts, is the beginning of what promises to be an epic series of Armageddon sized proportions, eschews standard zombie fare to become a melange of action, thrills and terror that also happens to be occurring right in the centre of a zombie apocalypse.At the heart of it, detailed in a brief prologue and a couple of gruesome and intricately introductory chapters a sinister parasitic entity feeds upon all the terrible sorrows and travails which are experienced by humanity, an entity that has travelled through the mists of time warping the minds of men to do evil bidding, both Vlad the Impaler and Adolf Hitler recounted as prime examples.Fast forward some seventy odd years later and unusually lucky ladiesman Quinn O’Brien is out enjoying an evening drinking with his buddies, checking out girls. After meeting the feisty Hope, Quinn later discovers in her company why it is he has always been so lucky, with a mysterious old fellow spinning him a tale about him being in possession of the Shine. And while the Shine is the Light, the good within the world, there too exists the Shadow, the Dark Veil.Thus, the universes of these two random souls are completely turned upside down as they enter a world they would believe possible.Into The Darkness has a broad scope, encompassing a wide array of characters, landscapes and situations and with such a vast array of character developments and storylines unfolding, this could have fallen into a state of disarray or confusion, but in the deft hands of Lee, the complexities which crop up are handled with aplomb and plots are neatly linked throughout.This tale pits good against evil with great results and memorable villains-Zorn is truly a standout-and to top off all of these engaging plots and subplots, and wonderfully realised characters, the author drops in bucketloads of flesh chomping zombies and the scene is truly set for horrendous apocalypse.There are taut thrills, myriad bursts of action, and loads of undead horror and even spots of romance woven all together to create this captivating piece and it’s a wonderful stage setter for the ensuing series.Once you read this one, you’ll be hanging out for the next episode of the Legend of Shadow and Light.