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magencorrie's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
My Review:
I've had Dark Inside on my reading list for a while now, but I've been back and forth with if I should read this one. I do love me a good dystopian world to get lost in, I was; however, unsure if I would be able to really enjoy this one.
I am very happy I finally picked this one up! The world was beyond scary (I'm not a fan of scary anything: movies, books, games etc.), but I do love a book that'll keep me on my toes and wrap me up in a suspenseful bubble. Dark Inside did all that and much more. The detail was gory and the violence of the world hypnotizing. I love when dystopian books don't sugarcoat the horror of a world gone mad and I felt that Roberts did do a great job at showing how toe-curling scary, frightening, and violent her world was. Though I do admit, I was pretty scared (made sure my doors were locked and my curtains closed) while reading this one.
The characters were very diverse and I loved that she gave so many perspectives. Each character had their own situations and their own experiences. I enjoyed watching how they each reacted to the world around them and what was happening. I felt that each one came off as real and I enjoyed watching their transitions throughout the book by the developing horrors of their world.
However, I did have a bit of a time keeping them all separated and not confuse them or their situations. I've always had a hard time when a handful of characters are introduced, but, like always, it didn't take long before I was able to keep them all "untangled" in my head. The book was also told in third person and I'm actually not a big fan of third person perspective. But I was able to get lost in the environment, the world, and the characters. I did wish that the book had more detail of what/how [it] was happening. I also wanted more action/movement of the characters. But that's all personal preference on my part.
I enjoyed the transitions between characters and I liked how Roberts handled each character and their reactions to the world (as I have mentioned). Again, I just loved the world that Roberts created though I want more as to why and how. I definitely can't wait to see what is going to happen next to the characters and the world. I do recommend this series to lovers of scary dystopians!
My Review:
I've had Dark Inside on my reading list for a while now, but I've been back and forth with if I should read this one. I do love me a good dystopian world to get lost in, I was; however, unsure if I would be able to really enjoy this one.
I am very happy I finally picked this one up! The world was beyond scary (I'm not a fan of scary anything: movies, books, games etc.), but I do love a book that'll keep me on my toes and wrap me up in a suspenseful bubble. Dark Inside did all that and much more. The detail was gory and the violence of the world hypnotizing. I love when dystopian books don't sugarcoat the horror of a world gone mad and I felt that Roberts did do a great job at showing how toe-curling scary, frightening, and violent her world was. Though I do admit, I was pretty scared (made sure my doors were locked and my curtains closed) while reading this one.
The characters were very diverse and I loved that she gave so many perspectives. Each character had their own situations and their own experiences. I enjoyed watching how they each reacted to the world around them and what was happening. I felt that each one came off as real and I enjoyed watching their transitions throughout the book by the developing horrors of their world.
However, I did have a bit of a time keeping them all separated and not confuse them or their situations. I've always had a hard time when a handful of characters are introduced, but, like always, it didn't take long before I was able to keep them all "untangled" in my head. The book was also told in third person and I'm actually not a big fan of third person perspective. But I was able to get lost in the environment, the world, and the characters. I did wish that the book had more detail of what/how [it] was happening. I also wanted more action/movement of the characters. But that's all personal preference on my part.
I enjoyed the transitions between characters and I liked how Roberts handled each character and their reactions to the world (as I have mentioned). Again, I just loved the world that Roberts created though I want more as to why and how. I definitely can't wait to see what is going to happen next to the characters and the world. I do recommend this series to lovers of scary dystopians!
fai_aka's review against another edition
3.0
3.6 stars
There's a lot of apocalyptic novel out there but I like the idea of this book; people slowly turning crazy from voices inside their heads-it's like zombies (without the human-eating dead people and the sickness part) meets The Purge. It kind of reminds me of Yakjuj Makjuj.
It's fast-paced and very suspenseful; I can't help feeling so afraid for the characters and it keeps me reading to know what's going to happen next. And I appreciate the fact that there's very little romance because you know, this kind of genre always have cliche romance.
However, sometimes the author used to much pronouns, that I got confused who's who.
I'm quite satisfied with the ending so I'm not going to continue the series (￣▽￣)
There's a lot of apocalyptic novel out there but I like the idea of this book; people slowly turning crazy from voices inside their heads-it's like zombies (without the human-eating dead people and the sickness part) meets The Purge. It kind of reminds me of Yakjuj Makjuj.
It's fast-paced and very suspenseful; I can't help feeling so afraid for the characters and it keeps me reading to know what's going to happen next. And I appreciate the fact that there's very little romance because you know, this kind of genre always have cliche romance.
However, sometimes the author used to much pronouns, that I got confused who's who.
I'm quite satisfied with the ending so I'm not going to continue the series (￣▽￣)
mortaldivergence's review against another edition
5.0
I honestly did not expect to love this as much as I did! It was so creepy and suspenseful, and kept me on my toes and guessing through the whole book.
laureltree13's review against another edition
5.0
An earthquake in Seattle, WA unleashes an ancient evil (virus, sort of) as a means to purge the Earth. Infecting the minds of nearly everyone; the evil brings on a murderous lust like no other. Those few that have not been infected are forced to fight in order to survive.
Through a multi-pov between four uninfected characters (Clementine, Aries, Mason, and Micheal) and one infected being that calls himself/herself 'Nothing' we are taken on a literary adrenaline rush through the beginning of the end.
It had everything a good read should have: lots of action, high-emotion, and a great cast of characters.
I liked that the story line tested the integrity of the human mind, causing me- alongside the characters- to question what I would do in a certain situation. Most of the time, unlike those cheesy horror films, the characters made intelligent decisions. Thank god!
My only beef with this book is the confusion I had between Michael and Mason's POVs/chapters. Personally, I found it difficult to remember who was who and who was where. It would take me a few pages to place them before I could remember. (It's not a huge deal. I mean, it would have made my reading experience a bit easier, but that's it.) It's still a pretty great book.
If you don't mind gore, and like shows like The Walking Dead then I'm sure you'll enjoy this one!
Mind you there's no REAL zombies.
Through a multi-pov between four uninfected characters (Clementine, Aries, Mason, and Micheal) and one infected being that calls himself/herself 'Nothing' we are taken on a literary adrenaline rush through the beginning of the end.
It had everything a good read should have: lots of action, high-emotion, and a great cast of characters.
I liked that the story line tested the integrity of the human mind, causing me- alongside the characters- to question what I would do in a certain situation. Most of the time, unlike those cheesy horror films, the characters made intelligent decisions. Thank god!
My only beef with this book is the confusion I had between Michael and Mason's POVs/chapters. Personally, I found it difficult to remember who was who and who was where. It would take me a few pages to place them before I could remember. (It's not a huge deal. I mean, it would have made my reading experience a bit easier, but that's it.) It's still a pretty great book.
If you don't mind gore, and like shows like The Walking Dead then I'm sure you'll enjoy this one!
Mind you there's no REAL zombies.
maxxesbooktopia's review against another edition
4.0
“The stranger smiled at her. “Humanity has found a cure to a disease they never new existed.”- Dark Inside, Jeyn Roberts.
My thoughts: Introduction
Let us start off with the world-building and the atmosphere of this book. The atmosphere throughout this novel was crazily suspenseful. The constant pressure among the characters in the book filled the atmosphere with suspense- like I have said earlier, streams of tear-jerking tears and a spark of romantic vibes. All the atmosphere clung well together and that was what made the book great with all the mixed elements.
However, the world-building in this novel was a little lacklustre. It was actually going very well in the beginning, with no info-dumps and the story just flowed like how it was supposed to be. Then, the story came to the middle of the story and everything became confusing from there. It was as if the story went 90 degrees downhill but was able to save itself. Besides the middle part, I thought the ending saved the story for me because the world-building went back to normal. Therefore, I am going to give a 15 out of 25% for the world-building.
Moving on, let us talk about the pacing of the book. The pacing for this book was extremely quick with the constant action and the ongoing thoughts of the characters with their hopes and survival instincts to stay alive in a world that had gone mad. Although it was quick, it took me a couple of days to finish due to my school work and many other things that I had to accomplish during my days with this book. Thus, I was not able to finish it in 2 days.
Furthermore, there are quite a number of unexplained plots in this book and those unexplained plots led to plot holes. The plot holes started off with the gap between the time of the scenes the character were facing. For example, they were running from the monsters and out of the blue, ‘three weeks later’ appeared and nothing was really explained on how they managed to escape the monsters. Then, from that particular plot hole onwards, the same thing happened again near the end of the book. Therefore, I did not really enjoy this factor of the story.
In addition, I loved the way on how Jeyn managed to make the characters to intersect in their lives and although the scene of union between the characters was short, I still really loved it. Therefore, the score for the union between the characters is 10% out of 10% for me!
Moreover, there is a quote that I really loved and I would like to share it with you guys, right here, right now, of course. Here’s the quote:
“There are different types of people in the world. There are people who accept what’s in front of them unquestioningly.
The live in the dark. In defeat. Ignoring what the future might bring or how they might help to make things happen.
Then there are people like me. Optimists. They too live in the dark, in times like these, but dream of the light.
I trust in the possibilities of betterness. I believe there is more to life than this. I have to. There’s no other choices for me.”
Oh my gosh! This quote. Okay. Some characters did not have hope in the new world but this particular character named Chickadee stood up to me as a glowing star in this book. She was full of hope, full of happiness in the darkest time and it was not fair that she had to go through all those crappy things in the past. Thus, this quote will forever have a place in my heart!
As for the continuation of the review, I found the tone for this book to be very dark because there were a lot of killing and the author actually went to the length of describing the murder of a person including children as young as five years old. So, if you do not like those kind of things, I do not recommend you to pick this book up.
Finally, let us talk about the relationships between all the characters in this book. I thought the relationships in this book were very well planned and rounded as they were very compassionate about each other although they were not as nice as they were in the beginning. Thus, I would say that they have a great character improvement!
Now, let us move on to the writing section of the review!
Writing:
“There are so many empty people walking around on this little planet. Lonely people. Angry people. Bitter. Forgotten.”- Dark Inside, Jeyn Roberts.
The writing style was crisp, articulate, flowery at times and mundane when it came to certain part of the story. It was crisp and articulate because it was easy to read and the story flowed smoothly along the trail.
However, when it came to the romance part of the novel the writing style turned all flowery and I did not like that because the writing style did not stay constant. Plus, when it came to certain part of the attacking element in the story, the writing style transformed into something milky and mundane. Therefore, I have many thoughts on the writing style of the book.
Other than those things above, I enjoyed the alternate point of views between the characters and I thought that it was a great addition to the story due to the fact that we, as readers, are able to capture the whole world and the struggles of each of the characters in the book. Therefore, a 5% out of 5% for the alternate point of views element!
Now, let us move on to the characters section!
Characters:
Colin: He was the worse character in this book. He was a selfish little coward who does nothing to help up with his group of friends even if he voted to sacrifice himself to help them to get the food from the outside world. He was also a liar and an egocentric person who only thought for what is good for himself and not the others. Therefore, I disliked him and I will not care for this character.
Aries: I loved her. She was thoughtful of others and was careful enough not to provide conflict into her and others lives. Plus, she was a leader with all the best qualities and therefore, she was my favourite character in this book and as for her character development, I would say that it shot upwards like a seed to a plant.
Mason: The thing is, I did not really like Mason in the beginning. He was an alcoholic teenager with a mean personality that made him looked like a bully but as the story progressed forward, he started to realize that he was being an ass to everyone around him and when he opened up himself, it was the saddest and the most emotional scene in the book. Therefore, he had a great character development!
Michael: I loved him in the beginning. He was helpful, brave and careful at first but unfortunately the author destroyed his character (Why?) and made him a coward that could not believe that he betrayed his own group. However, that scene was what made his character shone again. He helped Clementine and began searching for his brother and that was where he learned his mistake. Therefore, I still enjoyed his character!
Clementine: She was in the middle of hilarious, smart and dumb. Everything she does make me laugh but sometimes it does not because she was going through a hard time and the action scenes between her and the crazies were not funny but scary. Therefore, I loved her character!
Daniel: I do not really know what to say about him because he comes and goes with absolutely no reason and he was hiding something. Something he knows but would not want to share and the author did not reveal what he was hiding from the crowd and the things he knew. Therefore, I have absolutely no idea what to talk about his character!
Overall:
I am giving this book an 85% rating. I liked the book but it had its flaws and therefore, it did not make it up to the 90% list.
This Review is also posted at Maxxesbooktopia
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amybraunauthor's review against another edition
4.0
Deeply enjoyed this story of survival, horror, friendship, loss, betrayal, and suspense. While it was clearly a build up to another, larger story, I was aptly engrossed in the actions of characters who were diverse and unique and who I genuinely came to care for. Plus the setting was in Canada, and it's always refreshing to read a book that names a city or setting and allows me to day, "I know where that is!" Anyway, the story was fairly straightforward and led to various characters interacting with each other and leading to a conclusion that promises to pave the way for an even more explosive journey. All the characters were layered and interesting, though I have to say that Mason, Daniel, and Michael are my favourites so far. I can't wait to see what happens in book two!
kimlynn77's review against another edition
2.0
This book confused me. It take place during and after a mega-quake effectively destroys the west coast of North America. Somehow prophecies and/or a virus of alien (?) origin is involved. I say this this because those infected (?) say things like "Couldn't keep it closed forever. Too much hate. They found a crack.", which would indicate prophesies that would make a prophet go wacko and alternate between acting like refugees from 28 DAYS LATER. And the chapters alternate between characters, which is fine, I like to know what is going on in different parts of the story. But the is one "character" called "Nothing" that really infuriated me. What EXACTLY was this supposed to be? I thought maybe it was one of the characters internal dialog but it wasn't. There was no reveal for this "Nothing." Very frustrating read!
missbookiverse's review against another edition
4.0
Lang und breit
Dark Inside legt sich gleich auf den ersten Seiten mächtig ins Zeug. Erst gibt es ein paar düstere Andeutungen, anschließend ist man nirgendwo mehr sicher. Ständig wird man verfolgt und gerät in die nächste brenzlige Situation. Fast nie bleibt Zeit, um Luft zu holen und eine der vielen Fragen zu stellen. So verläuft das ganze Buch. Adrenalinhochdruck in jedem Kapitel, der mich in Rekordtempo dem Ende entgegen getrieben hat.
Erzählt wird das ganze aus fünf verschiedenen Perspektiven. Darunter befinden sich jeweils zwei Jungen und zwei Mädchen im Teenageralter. Person Nummer Fünf bleibt vorerst unbekannt und berichtet unter dem Namen „Nothing“. Allerdings habe ich eine starke Vermutung, um wen es sich dabei handelt. Ich hoffe das wird später nicht als große Enthüllung gehandelt, denn wenn ich Recht habe, ist es ziemlich offensichtlich.
Der Perspektivenwechsel kam dem Nervenkitzel der Geschichte zu Gute. Immer wieder brechen Erzählungen an spannenden Stellen ab, um später leider nicht direkt dort weiterzumachen, sondern in der Retrospektive zu erzählen, was passiert ist. Die vier Protagonisten kennen sich untereinander vorerst nicht und befinden sich den Großteil des Buches alle an verschiedenen Orten. Dadurch wird dem Leser ein breites Spektrum an Locations geboten und man erfährt wie es im Rest von Amerika aussieht und zugeht.
Leider sind die Hauptpersonen etwas seicht geraten. Ich fand ihre Erzählperspektiven nicht besonders abwechslungsreich, geschweige denn leicht auseinander zu halten. Aber durch den hohen Spannungsgrad hat mich das nicht weiter gestört.
Neben den Actionszenen sorgen die mysteriösen Geschehnisse für ein hervorragendes Leseerlebnis. Plötzlich wird die ganze Welt von schweren Erdbeben erschüttet und Tausende von Menschen fühlen sich zu Mord und Totschlag hingezogen. Sie verändern sich, erinnern an Zombies. Zum Glück wird hier nicht nur in Gut und Böse Kategorien sortiert. Es gibt auch Figuren, die sich zur dunklen Seite hingezogen fühlen, aber versuchen dagegen anzukämpfen.
Unglücklicherweise bleiben in diesem Bereich noch viele Fragen offen. Es wird nicht direkt geklärt, woher diese abrupte Apokalypse kommt, warum sie gerade jetzt losgeht. Weil es einfach an der Zeit ist, fände ich eine etwas schwache Begründung. Wie genau breitet sich „das Böse“ aus? Kann es jeden befallen oder muss ein Mensch eine gewisse Kapazität an dunklen Gedanken hegen? In diesem Fall setze ich all meine Hoffnungen auf die Fortsetzung. Die Autorin schreibt angeblich schon fleißig daran. Ich hoffe sie braucht nicht mehr all zu lang, Dark Inside endet nämlich mit einigen offenen Möglichkeiten, die mich äußerst neugierig machen.
Kurz und knapp
Ein actionreiches Gruselabenteuer vom Feinsten. Verschiedene Perspektiven bieten einen großen Handlungsspielraum und der Wechsel unterstützt den Nervenkitzel. Viele Fragen bleiben noch ungeklärt, aber da schafft die Fortsetzung hoffentlich Abhilfe.
Dark Inside legt sich gleich auf den ersten Seiten mächtig ins Zeug. Erst gibt es ein paar düstere Andeutungen, anschließend ist man nirgendwo mehr sicher. Ständig wird man verfolgt und gerät in die nächste brenzlige Situation. Fast nie bleibt Zeit, um Luft zu holen und eine der vielen Fragen zu stellen. So verläuft das ganze Buch. Adrenalinhochdruck in jedem Kapitel, der mich in Rekordtempo dem Ende entgegen getrieben hat.
Erzählt wird das ganze aus fünf verschiedenen Perspektiven. Darunter befinden sich jeweils zwei Jungen und zwei Mädchen im Teenageralter. Person Nummer Fünf bleibt vorerst unbekannt und berichtet unter dem Namen „Nothing“. Allerdings habe ich eine starke Vermutung, um wen es sich dabei handelt. Ich hoffe das wird später nicht als große Enthüllung gehandelt, denn wenn ich Recht habe, ist es ziemlich offensichtlich.
Der Perspektivenwechsel kam dem Nervenkitzel der Geschichte zu Gute. Immer wieder brechen Erzählungen an spannenden Stellen ab, um später leider nicht direkt dort weiterzumachen, sondern in der Retrospektive zu erzählen, was passiert ist. Die vier Protagonisten kennen sich untereinander vorerst nicht und befinden sich den Großteil des Buches alle an verschiedenen Orten. Dadurch wird dem Leser ein breites Spektrum an Locations geboten und man erfährt wie es im Rest von Amerika aussieht und zugeht.
Leider sind die Hauptpersonen etwas seicht geraten. Ich fand ihre Erzählperspektiven nicht besonders abwechslungsreich, geschweige denn leicht auseinander zu halten. Aber durch den hohen Spannungsgrad hat mich das nicht weiter gestört.
Neben den Actionszenen sorgen die mysteriösen Geschehnisse für ein hervorragendes Leseerlebnis. Plötzlich wird die ganze Welt von schweren Erdbeben erschüttet und Tausende von Menschen fühlen sich zu Mord und Totschlag hingezogen. Sie verändern sich, erinnern an Zombies. Zum Glück wird hier nicht nur in Gut und Böse Kategorien sortiert. Es gibt auch Figuren, die sich zur dunklen Seite hingezogen fühlen, aber versuchen dagegen anzukämpfen.
Unglücklicherweise bleiben in diesem Bereich noch viele Fragen offen. Es wird nicht direkt geklärt, woher diese abrupte Apokalypse kommt, warum sie gerade jetzt losgeht. Weil es einfach an der Zeit ist, fände ich eine etwas schwache Begründung. Wie genau breitet sich „das Böse“ aus? Kann es jeden befallen oder muss ein Mensch eine gewisse Kapazität an dunklen Gedanken hegen? In diesem Fall setze ich all meine Hoffnungen auf die Fortsetzung. Die Autorin schreibt angeblich schon fleißig daran. Ich hoffe sie braucht nicht mehr all zu lang, Dark Inside endet nämlich mit einigen offenen Möglichkeiten, die mich äußerst neugierig machen.
Kurz und knapp
Ein actionreiches Gruselabenteuer vom Feinsten. Verschiedene Perspektiven bieten einen großen Handlungsspielraum und der Wechsel unterstützt den Nervenkitzel. Viele Fragen bleiben noch ungeklärt, aber da schafft die Fortsetzung hoffentlich Abhilfe.
michalice's review against another edition
5.0
Original review from Much Loved Books
From the minute I started Dark Inside I was hooked. It had all of my favourite things, earthquakes, zombie-ish people, adventure. The book is spilt into chapters which follow different people as they try to survive one day at a time, trusting very few people and only when they have too. Friends they thought were safe turn out not to be, and total strangers can actually help you survive.
There are ups and downs throughout this book as we see the characters lose loved ones, hide to keep themselves safe, and characters who we start to like die.
I cried, laughed and sat on the edge of my seat reading Dark Inside.
The writing is superb with enough action to keep you turning the page and mystery that keeps you guessing right till the end, and even beyond.
A chapter is posted by a mystery person/thing every so often and all throughout I was guessing what character's point of view it was, and I still don't know.
I really like how the country was affected in different ways, and how each group of people affected acted differently. I thought I would have gotten confused with all the different points of view, but I didn't. Each point of view fitted in brilliantly with the previous one, and by the time you returned back to the persons point of view you didn't feel like you had missed out on anything, or had to read it again.
Dark Inside has joined my bookcase with authors like Melissa Marr, Lesley Livingston, Richelle Mead, Patricia Briggs, Ilona Andrews, and I really can't wait for the sequel to be published next year.
From the minute I started Dark Inside I was hooked. It had all of my favourite things, earthquakes, zombie-ish people, adventure. The book is spilt into chapters which follow different people as they try to survive one day at a time, trusting very few people and only when they have too. Friends they thought were safe turn out not to be, and total strangers can actually help you survive.
There are ups and downs throughout this book as we see the characters lose loved ones, hide to keep themselves safe, and characters who we start to like die.
I cried, laughed and sat on the edge of my seat reading Dark Inside.
The writing is superb with enough action to keep you turning the page and mystery that keeps you guessing right till the end, and even beyond.
A chapter is posted by a mystery person/thing every so often and all throughout I was guessing what character's point of view it was, and I still don't know.
I really like how the country was affected in different ways, and how each group of people affected acted differently. I thought I would have gotten confused with all the different points of view, but I didn't. Each point of view fitted in brilliantly with the previous one, and by the time you returned back to the persons point of view you didn't feel like you had missed out on anything, or had to read it again.
Dark Inside has joined my bookcase with authors like Melissa Marr, Lesley Livingston, Richelle Mead, Patricia Briggs, Ilona Andrews, and I really can't wait for the sequel to be published next year.
hiveretcafe's review against another edition
3.0
I liked it. It sucked me in to the story, with the world that was built. However, I didn't feel like the game changer happened too late into the book. It would have been alright to have it there if the book were longer, but it didn't. I'll probably read the second book. but meh.
I totally guessed who Nothing was. Way. Obvious.
I totally guessed who Nothing was. Way. Obvious.