Dark Inside
When I opened the book to the first page I wasn't really sure on what to expect, but never did I imagine that Jeyn Roberts would introduce me to a world that would have me cringing with horror one moment and almost crying the next.
Dark Inside tells the story with four narrators - Aries, Mason, Michael and Clementine and their fight to stay live in the madness their world had become. Each and everyone of them started off their story in some terrible way. From losing friends in an Earthquake to parents getting shot by madmen and women. If you're looking for a book filled with blood and gore, this is it.
The thing that gets me about this book is that people who had been brilliant neighbors and friends turned into something really ugly in a matter of moments. For the survivors - those not chosen to be homicidal maniacs - everyday is a battle for survival.But, even in times of horror, friendships can be made. And that's what happens to each of the four mentioned above. Strangely, I think it is the girls in this book who seem so much stronger than the male main characters. They seemed to be like the glue that held everything together - the ones that fought the hardest to stay alive and outrun the 'Baggers' as they were called.
The 'Baggers' are what you can imagine the worst criminals are like. They have no conscience - no regard whatsoever for human life and the scary thing is that in that world they could quite easily be you or me. I kind of felt sorry for them. They never went the way they did voluntarily - they were taken over. I can't tell you by what or even how, but I do know that it is open to interpretation and your imagination.I think the sheer genius of the way this book is written is that it's like four short stories that have been blended seamlessly into one great story.
This book was by no means boring and it kept me anxious and tense, wondering what would happen next.Silly me, I almost forgot the fifth narrator - Nothing. I don't know how to explain this character apart from the feeling that he/she is one of the characters I knew, but from a different perspective. The only way to appreciate how he/she fits into the story is to read it.Now I must point out that the telling from five perspectives may become confusing - particularly if you stop reading it for some time.
It is definitely not a book that you can put down and then start again without figuring out where you left each of the main characters' story. I made that mistake and had to skim the pages I had already read just so I could catch up again.But, even with that slight issue, I loved this book for the simple reason that it kept me thinking about what happened days after I finished reading it.
So my rating for this book is:- 4 out of 5 stars.
