Review: A thriller conjured by a Master at their craft.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 25, 2014
Looking for something fresh on your reading menu? How about something haunting with a side of dark adventure and an order of mystery? For dessert, how do dark secrets topped with deadly revelations sound? Don’t worry about the calories, the cardio factor will pump up your metabolism just fine.Ivan Amberlake’s Diary of the Gone is dark, urban fantasy at its best! Young teen, Callum, is an average fifteen year-old boy, a little awkward, sometimes spewing some attitude and trying to come to terms with having moved to the small town of Olden Cross. What separates Callum from his peers is that he is haunted by the dead. Only his diligent writing in his secret diary seems to put the ghosts to rest in his mind, that is, until an adventure into the woods surrounding Olden Cross becomes a living nightmare he may never escape. Teens are going missing and ghosts are pleading with Callum for help and his diary goes missing. With help from unlikely sources and a determination to stop theses grisly deaths, Callum finds himself coming face to face with crazed evil from his past and his last chance to save innocents from their vile fate. Is Callum up to facing a challenge that would crush the spirit of a full-grown warrior?Have you read anything by Ivan Amberlake? The man can create an atmosphere that is bleak and foreboding with just a stroke of his pen. You find yourself cringing and tensing as you’re sucked into the dark vortex of his tale. Think roller coaster traveling at hyper speeds through a black tunnel. You had the scare of your life, but you get back in line to go again, because you find yourself addicted to the thrill. Callum is the typical teen, from his dialogue to his actions, seriously who else would run headlong into danger? Mr. Amberlake’s world is so well-defined, you are more than a spectator, you are part of the story, feeling every chill, smelling every smell and dealing with the emotional upheaval along with the rest of this fantastic cast. (So if you see someone cowering behind a tree, that would be me, never said I was the hero type, I just love a thriller conjured by a master at their craft.) I highly recommend this walk on the dark side, Young Adults on up!