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A review by avalonenigma
Gods of the Dark Web by Lucas Mangum
4.0
At 136 minutes Gods of the Dark Web presents more as a novella than a full length novel and at first I thought this would present a story that skimped on detail or presented as a simplified story to fill such a meagre amount of time but as I clicked play and the story began to unfold neither assumption turned out to be true.
Instead – after a brief, brutal teaser – we are introduced to that character of Niles Highsmith, true crime writer with his own tragic past, and his search for his younger brother who we met in the opening teaser.
Niles journey takes us through his brothers shadowy world, meeting characters of dubious virtue along the way as Niles grows closer to the mystery of the dark web which swallowed his brother into its writhing depths.
One of the strongest aspects of the book was Mangum's ability to quickly produce well rounded characters that seemed to have life outside of the story, something many authors neglect, and the brave stance he takes with these characters. There are no heroes in Gods of the Dark Web, and Niles flaws make it – at times – very difficult to sympathise with him in his journey. A debilitating darkness has infested Niles, perhaps this is due to recent tragic events in his life, or perhaps this darkness is an inherent part of his personality; the latter seems more likely as his brother Leon also travels very dark roads in life.
Gods of the Dark Web is a dark book, one of those books that fits in the genre often referred to as “extreme horror”, a genre which – though I am a fan of horror – I rarely like. Too often stories I have read in this sub-genre degrade to freak-show mechanics where each scene seeks to top the last in its portrayal of perversion.
A reader does have to have a strong stomach with God's of the Dark Web, I would be lying if I told you that you wouldn't, but the violence portrayed did not seem gratuitous to me but rather a necessary evil essential to dragging the reader into the correct – self-recriminating – state of mind for the end message to work.
Over all I enjoyed Gods of the Dark Web far more than other books in the sub-genre, well, as much as someone CAN enjoy such a story of course, but this isn't to say I don't have criticisms; though they are small ones.
Personally I think I would have benefited with a little more scene-setting, perhaps a little more time engaging with the world around the characters, making the worlds beats and flavours more immediate. It would have helped me ground the internal worlds of the characters more into our common world, making the story more immediately affecting for me as a reader.
I also found the narrator an inconsistent one, at times wonderful, with a broad grasp of the characters and a deft “hand” at the dialogue but lacking with scenes that tended to be a little more exposition heavy. In fairness I imagine such a scene would test any narrator, but they are still necessary scenes and still a valid part of any story.
If you do intend to give Gods of the Dark Web 136 minutes of your time (or 109 pages) you should be warned that this is a violent tale that will unsettle you in some scenes and a reader with a more delicate stomach may be remembering those scenes long after they close the book.
Of course much like the characters in Gods of the Dark Web; that last sentence will be a warming to some and an invitation to others, just be sure you know which you are before you answer the call.
Instead – after a brief, brutal teaser – we are introduced to that character of Niles Highsmith, true crime writer with his own tragic past, and his search for his younger brother who we met in the opening teaser.
Niles journey takes us through his brothers shadowy world, meeting characters of dubious virtue along the way as Niles grows closer to the mystery of the dark web which swallowed his brother into its writhing depths.
One of the strongest aspects of the book was Mangum's ability to quickly produce well rounded characters that seemed to have life outside of the story, something many authors neglect, and the brave stance he takes with these characters. There are no heroes in Gods of the Dark Web, and Niles flaws make it – at times – very difficult to sympathise with him in his journey. A debilitating darkness has infested Niles, perhaps this is due to recent tragic events in his life, or perhaps this darkness is an inherent part of his personality; the latter seems more likely as his brother Leon also travels very dark roads in life.
Gods of the Dark Web is a dark book, one of those books that fits in the genre often referred to as “extreme horror”, a genre which – though I am a fan of horror – I rarely like. Too often stories I have read in this sub-genre degrade to freak-show mechanics where each scene seeks to top the last in its portrayal of perversion.
A reader does have to have a strong stomach with God's of the Dark Web, I would be lying if I told you that you wouldn't, but the violence portrayed did not seem gratuitous to me but rather a necessary evil essential to dragging the reader into the correct – self-recriminating – state of mind for the end message to work.
Over all I enjoyed Gods of the Dark Web far more than other books in the sub-genre, well, as much as someone CAN enjoy such a story of course, but this isn't to say I don't have criticisms; though they are small ones.
Personally I think I would have benefited with a little more scene-setting, perhaps a little more time engaging with the world around the characters, making the worlds beats and flavours more immediate. It would have helped me ground the internal worlds of the characters more into our common world, making the story more immediately affecting for me as a reader.
I also found the narrator an inconsistent one, at times wonderful, with a broad grasp of the characters and a deft “hand” at the dialogue but lacking with scenes that tended to be a little more exposition heavy. In fairness I imagine such a scene would test any narrator, but they are still necessary scenes and still a valid part of any story.
If you do intend to give Gods of the Dark Web 136 minutes of your time (or 109 pages) you should be warned that this is a violent tale that will unsettle you in some scenes and a reader with a more delicate stomach may be remembering those scenes long after they close the book.
Of course much like the characters in Gods of the Dark Web; that last sentence will be a warming to some and an invitation to others, just be sure you know which you are before you answer the call.