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The Dark Game
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The Dark Game
Unavailable
The Dark Game
Audiobook11 hours

The Dark Game

Written by Jonathan Janz

Narrated by Josh Wichard

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

Ten writers are selected for a summer-long writing retreat with the most celebrated and reclusive author in the world. Their host is the legendary Roderick Wells. Handsome, enigmatic, and fiendishly talented, Wells promises to teach his pupils about writing, about magic, about the untapped potential that each of them possesses. Most of all, he plans to teach them about the darkness in their hearts.

The writers think they are signing up for a chance at riches and literary prestige. But they are really entering the twisted imagination of a deranged genius, a lethal contest pitting them against one another in a struggle for their sanity and their lives. They have entered into Roderick Wells’s most brilliant and horrible creation.

The Dark Game.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateApr 11, 2019
ISBN9781787581906
Author

Jonathan Janz

Jonathan Janz is the author of more that fifteen novels and numerous shorter works. Since debuting in 2012, Jonathan’s work has been lauded by Booklist, Publishers Weekly, The Library Journal, and many others. He lives in West Lafayette, Indiana. Jonathan Janz grew up between a dark forest and a graveyard, which explains everything. Brian Keene named his debut novel The Sorrows “the best horror novel of 2012.”

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Reviews for The Dark Game

Rating: 3.990740740740741 out of 5 stars
4/5

54 ratings9 reviews

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  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Felt like an overdone trope. Group of writers get mysteriously invited to remote location for a writing contest just felt cliché.
    Just not a fan of the writing style. So misogynistic, hated all the characters, made me think that all authors are snobbish pricks and I know that isn’t true.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    There is a wide and varied cast of characters, but I didn’t find myself losing track of who’s who or disliking the number of perspectives; if anything, it was intriguing to watch the story-telling style change as the players began to exit the game. And believe me...they do exit quickly. The story’s action picks up early and never lets up. A word of warning: If you get a letter in the mail that begins with, “Mr. Roderick Wells invites you...”, just throw it away. Don’t read the rest. Don’t consider it for even a moment, and most importantly of all... DO NOT RESPOND!!!.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Excellent! One if my favorite audiobooks. Janz was incredible from beginning to end. Tactfully yet masterfully executed, the book had just the right amount of everything to make it spellbinding. I couldn't stop listening to it, even the narrator who is a monotoned reader, was a strong contributor to its success. Every scene offered a twist or turn but flowed with ease. You didn't have to fight to track the happenings, Janz laid it out seamlessly. Great characters, great premiss, great depictions with just the right blood and gore to keep up the shock value...I say again excellent.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A few years ago I may have said Jonathan who? These days I need only see the name Jonathan Janz to know that I need to grab the book without even reading the description. Jonathan Janz knows horror, More than that he is an amazing story teller who doesn't need to go for the cheap scares or the gore only route. Every character has a purpose and I am not going to go into the plot much except to say each character has their own twisted little back story and the way in which it all played out was deliciously creepy. I also loved the way it mentioned The Siren and The Spector, which is another book by this author that you really need to read if you haven't yet.

    I received an advance copy for review.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    While THE DARK GAME turned out to be a good book, I had a couple of problems with the beginning. I'll admit that those problems were probably might fault for the way I consumed the story. I listened to the book on Audible instead of reading the words. Part of me wonders if I would have had the same problems if I had read the words instead of listening to them. It's never been a problem before but maybe this time it was. Other reviews have compared the book to LORD OF THE FLIES, the more obvious comparison in my mind is the TV show "Survivor".Ten authors are invited to a summer-long retreat at famous author Roderick Wells' hidden mansion in the woods. While he promises to tutor and assist the writers in becoming better, he also frames it as a challenge. One-by-one the authors are slowly eliminated until one is left. That one will win three million dollars plus a publishing contract for the book that was written during the summer. Unknown to the authors, the elimination is permanent and directly beneficial to Roderick. Once they accept the reality of what is happening, the fight to win the challenge morphs to a fight for their lives.As I mentioned, I had a problem getting into the book. With the ten contestants, Roderick, and a small supporting staff, I had issues keeping track of all the characters. It was more of a surface issue though; the characters were defined and relatable but it would take me a minute or two to realize who the character was. "That's right. Amanda is married to Roderick. Lucy is another writer." That type of thing. Of course, once authors started being eliminated, it was easier to remember everyone. Some of the initial deaths were also annoying, sort of. Each contestant in the story was chosen in part because of their past, their personal demons. While at the retreat, the authors had to face those same demons. In some cases, those demons killed. It made sense and fit the reality of the story. However, it also was disappointing to see them die because they gave up rather than fighting. Defeating personal demons is always hard but maybe those early deaths could have been done differently. On the other side of the coin though, once enough characters died, I was pulled completely into the story. And in normal great book fashion, I couldn't get through the final third of the book fast enough and yet also couldn't stretch it out so that I could enjoy it longer. As an additional plus, there are Easter eggs in the story. I unfortunately haven't read enough Janz to have found them all; hell, I only found one when he mentions one of his books: THE SIREN AND THE SPECTER. While I didn't recognize most of the Easter eggs, they were written in a way that I knew there was something there that I was missing. I don't know if it would be better considered as surreal or a meta-reality, but that line between the fiction of the story and the reality of our world was smudged a little. I think I'm going to read more books by Janz and then come back and read this book again. Maybe then I'll catch a few more of those references.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This has been on my too read list for a year.....I don't know why I waited so long. Amazing story.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    As a pre-reader for horror novelist, Jonathan Janz, I have to good fortune to read his work before almost anyone else. He's become one of my favorite authors because of his ability to quickly draw readers into creative stories that are filled with memorable and identifiable characters.So, as an early reader for one of his latest books, “The Dark Game”, it is my happy duty to report that Mr. Janz has done it again! In this novel, Janz has mixed the best elements of Agatha Christie's book, “And Then There Were None” (or as it's better known “Ten Little Indians”) with film director Willam Castle's great “House on Haunted Hill”. Ten young, aspiring writers are invited to the house of renowned horror novelist, Roderick Wells. None of them know why they were chosen but all have been promised the professional opportunity of a lifetime – the chance to learn at the foot of a master. And, as a bonus, the writer who produces the best work is promised riches beyond his or her imagination. As part of their invitation to this summer “retreat” at Wells' mansion, the novices are instructed to bring their best manuscript with them. Shortly after the first meeting with Wells, he collects all of the manuscripts and throws them into the fireplace burning them beyond salvage. Above their cries of anguish and dismay, Wells announces that their best work lies ahead for these inexperienced authors under his tutelage. The challenge that he's established calls for each writer to create a brand new work of horror fiction within a six-week time limit.From that point, the book takes off with Janz' usual great characterization. The reader is quickly drawn into the plot as Janz shares the backstory of each aspiring novelist. Another Janz trademark soon takes its place in this novel. He is not afraid to kill off popular characters early in a book which stokes the levels of anxiety and curiosity for his readers. I should add that one of my favorite characters in the entire book doesn't even come from the group of writers, but instead in the form of one seriously deranged sheriff.One by one the surviving writers begin to question the real motivation for this gathering as they continue to polish their novels and compete against one another. As their numbers dwindle and the stakes become higher, the survivors of this gruesome game realize that Wells is an unbalanced puppet master capable of blurring the lines between fantasy and reality.Hard to put down, “The Dark Game” is truly a wonderful read by a horror novelist at the top of his game. Janz will scare the pants off of you while giving an experience that will stay with you for a while.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Another crazy ride from someone who's fast becoming one of my favourite authors. Ambition and secrets collide in a blood bath where it's never certain who, if anyone, will be lucky enough to survive. Again, I am impressed with how different the book is to the other titles I have read by the same author (and I loved the little salutes to them buried in the fabric of this book). I sometimes found it hard to keep track of the characters but overall it's a very satisfying horror novel.Many thanks to Flame Tree Press. My review is my honest, voluntary opinion. If they keep publishing works like this, they have a very bright future!

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I have been wanting to read a book by Jonathan Janz for quite a while because I have been hearing/reading so many raving reviews on Instagram about his books. I managed to snag a copy of, "The Dark Game" and now I am mentally smacking myself for taking so long. I was literally hooked by the first sentence in the first chapter. I am not sure if I am allowed to quote a sentence or not so I won't but pick up a copy of this book and you will see exactly what I mean.Imagine the tv show, "Survivor" but the contestants are writers and not survivalists. Ten writers are chosen by the most famous and successful author in the world to go on a retreat where they will learn and benefit from his expertise. The catch is there can only be one winner. The truth is that they are now in the grasp of a sadistic and possibly insane host. Throw in a hint of the supernatural and you have the perfect storm.The book drew my interest from the beginning and didn't let up until the very last page. Mr. Janz knows how to slowly raise the suspense and keep it going until the very end. I actually ended up staying up late to finish which is unusual for me. I also gave 5 stars which I do not do very often either. Do I recommend this book? The answer is a resounding, hell yes!1 like

    1 person found this helpful