Back in 2002, Peter Crowther began a series of post-apocalyptic books entitled FOREVER TWILIGHT. The first book in the series – DARKNESS, DARKNESS – followed four people who worked at a small-town radio station as they sought to make sense of a strange light that changed the world forever. In the aftermath, the quartet found that some people had disappeared, while others from their community had essentially been turned into zombies – they only came out at night, always wore sunglasses, altered vehicles to make them fly, and had the ability to kill someone with a simple touch. The long novella was quite entertaining, and left Crowther’s fans anticipating the sequel.
After a long delay, Crowther has finally delivered the second installment, a short novel entitled WINDOWS TO THE SOUL. And was the book worth the wait? Well…
The main problem I had with WINDOWS TO THE SOUL is that it does absolutely nothing to advance the series. In fact, it feels almost like a prequel as opposed to a sequel. The group of people from the radio station in DARKNESS, DARKNESS never makes an appearance in the second book, so we’re still left wondering what happened to them. Also, with the exception of the short prologue (which happens twelve hours after the rest of the story), the “zombies” never make an appearance. Instead, we’re introduced to a new group of people from the Denver area – a young clairvoyant girl, two middle-aged men, a young serial killer, and a woman who appears to have split personalities – and watch what they go through once the light causes most of the people in their area to disappear. While there’s ultimately nothing wrong with their storylines, I couldn’t help but feel that WINDOWS TO THE SOUL was just a less interesting retread of DARKNESS, DARKNESS.
Another problem is that there is no climax or proper ending. Several plotlines are left unanswered (including the prologue, which gets alluded to further along in the story, but is never addressed). The finale quite literally stops mid-story, initially making me wonder if I was missing part of the book.
And last, the narration in the earlier sections of the story was too…laid-back? I don’t know how to properly describe it, but it seemed too casual. Crowther’s commentary and dialogue tried way too hard to be funny/hip/edgy, but it ended up taking away from the story and characters (most of whom failed to be likeable until the story settled into a groove after the majority of the population disappeared).
And so, while it pains me to say it (being that I’m a huge fan of Crowther’s writing), I didn’t like WINDOWS TO THE SOUL. I do think it’d be a good place to start for readers who missed the first book in the series, but will ultimately be a big letdown for anyone who was hoping to see the series progress. Eventually we might get some answers in the third installment – tentatively entitled DARKNESS RISING – but will it be a case of too-little-too-late? I sincerely hope not, but I think Crowther now has some work to do to keep people interested in the series.
FOREVER TWILIGHT 2: WINDOWS TO THE SOUL is available as a $40 signed, limited edition hardcover from Subterranean Press.
(4 out of 10)
After a long delay, Crowther has finally delivered the second installment, a short novel entitled WINDOWS TO THE SOUL. And was the book worth the wait? Well…
The main problem I had with WINDOWS TO THE SOUL is that it does absolutely nothing to advance the series. In fact, it feels almost like a prequel as opposed to a sequel. The group of people from the radio station in DARKNESS, DARKNESS never makes an appearance in the second book, so we’re still left wondering what happened to them. Also, with the exception of the short prologue (which happens twelve hours after the rest of the story), the “zombies” never make an appearance. Instead, we’re introduced to a new group of people from the Denver area – a young clairvoyant girl, two middle-aged men, a young serial killer, and a woman who appears to have split personalities – and watch what they go through once the light causes most of the people in their area to disappear. While there’s ultimately nothing wrong with their storylines, I couldn’t help but feel that WINDOWS TO THE SOUL was just a less interesting retread of DARKNESS, DARKNESS.Another problem is that there is no climax or proper ending. Several plotlines are left unanswered (including the prologue, which gets alluded to further along in the story, but is never addressed). The finale quite literally stops mid-story, initially making me wonder if I was missing part of the book.
And last, the narration in the earlier sections of the story was too…laid-back? I don’t know how to properly describe it, but it seemed too casual. Crowther’s commentary and dialogue tried way too hard to be funny/hip/edgy, but it ended up taking away from the story and characters (most of whom failed to be likeable until the story settled into a groove after the majority of the population disappeared).
And so, while it pains me to say it (being that I’m a huge fan of Crowther’s writing), I didn’t like WINDOWS TO THE SOUL. I do think it’d be a good place to start for readers who missed the first book in the series, but will ultimately be a big letdown for anyone who was hoping to see the series progress. Eventually we might get some answers in the third installment – tentatively entitled DARKNESS RISING – but will it be a case of too-little-too-late? I sincerely hope not, but I think Crowther now has some work to do to keep people interested in the series.
FOREVER TWILIGHT 2: WINDOWS TO THE SOUL is available as a $40 signed, limited edition hardcover from Subterranean Press.
(4 out of 10)
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