As an early reviewer for “What the Night Knows”, I was eagerly anticipating the novella “Darkness Under the Sun”. It serves as both a prequel and sequel to “What the Night Knows” and delves deeper into the mind and persona of serial killer Alton Turner Blackwood. The childhood and making of the monster that would become a serial killer is chronicled through Blackwood’s journal in “What the Night Knows”. The setting for the novella is before the murderer begins the killing spree that gains him notoriety as the sick, twisted killer that he will come to be known as.
Though “Darkness Under the Sun” can stand on its own as a novella, I found that I had much more insight into the novella having read “What the Night Knows” first. The character of John Calvino, who is introduced toward the end of the novella, is in fact the main character in “What the Night Knows” and the conversations that take place in the novella between its main character and Calvino have much more depth if you understand more about Calvino’s character and what he witnessed and endured at the hands of Blackwood.
Personally, I truly enjoyed “Darkness Under the Sun” and thought that it was eerily spooky, but I wonder if it would have had the same impact if I hadn’t had the insight into Blackwood and Calvino that I did by reading “What the Night Knows” first. It is short — I read it in just over an hour — but it is definitely worth $1.59 and you also get a preview of “What the Night Knows” after the novella.
My advice? Purchase the e-book, go ahead and read it and enjoy it. Then buy “What the Night Knows” when it is released in December and read the novella again once you have had the pleasure of reading it and see how much more you can relate to the characters then.
And for those that are wondering, yes there is a dog in the novella, though it plays a very minor part toward the end of the work almost as an afterthought.
Cheers!
~ Peter West
Though “Darkness Under the Sun” can stand on its own as a novella, I found that I had much more insight into the novella having read “What the Night Knows” first. The character of John Calvino, who is introduced toward the end of the novella, is in fact the main character in “What the Night Knows” and the conversations that take place in the novella between its main character and Calvino have much more depth if you understand more about Calvino’s character and what he witnessed and endured at the hands of Blackwood.
Personally, I truly enjoyed “Darkness Under the Sun” and thought that it was eerily spooky, but I wonder if it would have had the same impact if I hadn’t had the insight into Blackwood and Calvino that I did by reading “What the Night Knows” first. It is short — I read it in just over an hour — but it is definitely worth $1.59 and you also get a preview of “What the Night Knows” after the novella.
My advice? Purchase the e-book, go ahead and read it and enjoy it. Then buy “What the Night Knows” when it is released in December and read the novella again once you have had the pleasure of reading it and see how much more you can relate to the characters then.
And for those that are wondering, yes there is a dog in the novella, though it plays a very minor part toward the end of the work almost as an afterthought.
Cheers!
~ Peter West
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