Darkbound

By: Michaelbrent Collings

Narrated by: Steve Marvel

There is no light at the end of some tunnels.... The New York subway system has:656 miles of track... 468 stations... 31 thousand turnstiles... and 1.64 BILLION fares yearly.

For six of those fares, the trip is going to be one they will never forget.

Six strangers will board a subway. But this subway is unlike the others.

This subway doesn't take you where you want or where you need. It takes you where you fear.

This subway...is Darkbound.

©2012 Michaelbrent Collings (P)2014 Michaelbrent Collings

...And The Train Kept Going

If you could sum up Darkbound in three words, what would they be?

Intriguing, Original, Creepy

What other book might you compare Darkbound to and why?

Another type story doesn't come to mind

Which scene was your favorite?

The ending

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I like the way the author used the ending to answer questions I had while reading the book

Any additional comments?

Collings put together a smart original story

Gripping!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Definately, its edge of the seat stuff from start to finish

What did you like best about this story?

just how it left you wondering the whole time Why???

What about Steve Marvel’s performance did you like?

I thought he was an excellent narrator

If you could take any character from Darkbound out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Karen

Any additional comments?

As the plot unravelled, taking us from one carriage to the next, I could not wait to hear how it would end.

Great Read

Really great book with a very surprising ending!! Narration read excellent and was quite comical (in a good way) at times with how characters were portrayed

horror novel with some gore

Warning: this is a horror novel with some gore and mentioning of rape.

For a horror genre the settings of the novel are real, it’s a normal subway station in the early morning hours.

In the early morning, there are six people waiting in the subway to ride the Metro. The problem is that the Metro isn’t taking them to where they want to go or even where they should go. Instead this Metro goes where their fear is . . . We see Jim, a family man, describing the other passengers by stereotypes so we have a sweet old grandma, a ganger, a rapist, a rich lawyer, and a pedophile. You know the normal people you see every day, yet moving with the chapters of the story we realize how the characters are much more complex than their simple stereotypes. The author really focused on the inner psychology of each character in their behavior, speech, and reactions. There were reality aspects to each of these characters, but I didn’t find them likable.

The events had a very visual aspect told from Jim’s point of view, but he wasn’t the narrator here. The plot was fast going; we see an incident after another in very quick session, with the degree of horror intensity climbing up a notch with each incident. As is common in the horror genre this had a very climatic ending, but was it predictable? For me some aspects were clear, I knew the jest of what was happening, but I will say there were some very good plot twists here.

Steve Marvel did a great job here as his voice was calm but chilling in describing the horror and even the gory parts. He really gave each character its own voice and accent depending on the background of each of them. He delivered the emotion in each moment making the reader feel as if they are there watching what is happening.

A psychological note: since I’m a psychologist, I couldn’t pass by without saying, there is a character whom we are told is a sociopath. I have to say this isn’t quite accurate, a sociopath wouldn’t feel anxious, afraid, or despair, a sociopath feel so little or mostly nothing.

Audiobook provided for review by the author.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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Fast Paced Horror

This book was right up my alley, dark and bloody with an end that made me say "didn't see that one coming". It began with seven characters who find themselves trapped on a subway train. All but one made me a little bit nervous with their distasteful personalities. Throughout the story the author is trying to get us to guess who the bad guy is. Who is the one responsible for the entrapment of all the passengers on this train. The description of gore was vivid and reminiscent of Stephen King in quality. Although I found myself wondering if there was going to be anything ELSE to this book besides the horror (more character depth, new scenery, etc) and thought it deserving of only 3 stars. BUT the ending, the ending. When it all came together and I saw the WHY.

This book is not for the queasy. But if you can handle some blood and guts, otherworldly horrors, and (very mild) language combined with characters that make you want to wrinkle your nose with disgust then read up. Enjoy the ride.