The Dark Game Review

WOW. That's the only word to start off this review. Jonathan Janz is very quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. This is my second Janz title. After reading the first I went and ordered everything he has written. I was provided a copy of this by Flame Tree Press for review. Upon receiving it I cleared my schedule of any other book and put this to the top of my TBR. I’d heard good things, and let me say this. Janz and The Dark Game deliver.

Janz’s latest novel is the tale of 10 writers with aspirations of hitting it big. Some have tasted success and other’s have yet to glimpse it. They’ve been selected by superstar Scribe Roderick Wells to partake in a competition in which the winner is guaranteed literary success and financial security. The only catch being that only one of them can survive this competition. Unbeknownst to the writers, this is quite literal. Janz delivers us a cast of well developed characters, aside of course, from the early novel cannon fodder.  The cast of characters in this novel share one thing in common. They all have some serious skeletons in their closets. They don’t stay buried long. I had a blast reading this book. The chapters are short and move at a lightning fast clip which I found to be perfect for that just one more chapter feeling when you’re reading something you love. 

At times the book is sexually explicit. Other times it’s violent and aggressive. One thing it always is, is entertaining. As I finished this book, I found myself wishing that the antagonists past and his abilities had been further explored, although I understand sometimes too much explanation in a horror just ruins a good thing. I’m fine with what we did have here as the mystery of Wells serves the story just fine. If anything it’s a credit to how interesting of a character Janz wrote that I’m dying to know more. The book wrapped up nicely. So many times horror botches the endings. Whether it’s in print, on film, or in video games, people seem to have trouble sticking the landing. I’m very happy to say that isn’t the case here. I found the conclusion of this book equal parts satisfying and intriguing.

The Dark Game, by Jonathan Janz is another awesome title for the author. This is my second book by Janz, the first title being Dust Devils. Although I did love that as well, there is no denying that the leap in the quality of Janz’s writing from then to now is remarkable. This would be a standout title in any authors bibliography and I can’t recommend this one enough.

5/5 mortar Rounds