Darkness in Him: Library Edition

Rating:
Summary: Go Beta Sigma!
Review: Andrew Lyons writes a captivating suspense story that demonstrates his talent. It took me 28 hours to finish the book during which time I competed in a triathlon and went to a Rams football game...ie I had trouble putting the book down once I started. Mr. Lyons, when is your next book?

Rating:
Summary: Virtually impossible to put down
Review: Everything is going right in Jake Conason's life. He is a college student at Washington University in St. Louis. He has a beautiful girlfriend who he is very serious about and plans to marry. He is a popular member of a fraternity yet manages to take school serious, has excellent grades and is an excellent prospect for one of the top law schools in the country. Everything is going right until one fateful night when he commits an indiscretion then a horrific crime. To keep his future prospects intact, Jake must do all he can to cover it up-- even if it takes murder.
Cornell Woolrich wannabe, Andrew Lyons has managed to hit a home run his first time at bat. The plight of antihero Jake Conason is so compelling that the book is virtually impossible to put down. The well paced and clever plot lacks originality but makes up for it in pure fun. This is the type of suspenseful thriller that few debut novelists attempt to write. So many of these first time authors write amateur detective stories that they are difficult to distinguish from each other and most are quite forgettable. Perhaps this type of suspense tale is very difficult to construct. However, the ending lacked originality and any semblence of realism. This marred an otherwise excellent debut effort.

Rating:
Summary: The finest end-times thriller since LaHaye's "The Mark"
Review: Gripping, but still carrying many of the usual flaws of sappy "Christian" apocalyptic novels. When Jake falls under the influence of the devil himself, in the form of Professor Millicent, you know exactly where it's going. (Well, maybe not exactly, but the journey there is cannily familiar.)

One of the few things that saves this novel from complete hackery is the rich use of Biblical symbolism. Early in the book, we see Jake as an everyman figure, explaining to his girlfriend why he began his journey down the dark path, and the parallels to the Fall of Man in Genesis 3 are unmistakeable. you can almost imaging Adam himself saying, like Jake, "I didn't lie. The situation changed. It was Fred Millicent."

Before long, stalking young boys by pretending to be teenage girls in internet chat rooms is the least of Jake's worries. Fred's early work as a fry cook is a foreboding to Jake's fate in the lake of fire that he soon enough learns about in time to escape his basement, but will it be enough to escape the abyss? But I shouldn't give away too much of the plot. Suffice to say the allegories are compelling if the ending is as queer as a sponge.

Rating:
Summary: Talent In Him!
Review: Jake Conason, the protagonist of DARKNESS IN HIM, is a senior at (fictional) Jefferson University in St Louis. He's pre-law and the two biggest things in his life are his relationship with Jordan --- whom he wants to marry --- and the results of his law school applications. His three first choices are Stanford, Harvard and Yale, which gives us some idea of the level at which he is working, complete with a grade point average near 4.0 and a pending summer internship at a prestigious New York law firm. Jake's father is a prominent lawyer in Texas.

Jordan is an art student and they don't always see eye to eye on Jake's devotion to studying. Jordan is an appealing character and we understand Jake's attraction; the enigmatic Lindsay is equally appealing.

In spite of his determination to keep his grades up, Jake doesn't let hitting the books distract him from partying. He's a member of a fraternity, a well-respected senior man and drinking is a huge part of everyone's life --- and death, as we come to learn eventually.

DARKNESS IN HIM is a first-person view into what some would call the corruption of innocence while others would call it learning to live as a successful adult in our contemporary society. Granted, though, Jake takes the learning process to extremes. He finds himself in a situation that could ruin his future and he handles it in a way that seems to him the least damaging to his life plans. Jake is intelligent and attractive. Because we are always hearing his inner thoughts through the first person narration, his rationalizing makes sense and, as we read, we are both appalled and torn with sympathy. This tension is what makes the novel work.

Andrew Lyons, the author, is apparently young enough to remember his own college days vividly and he is skilled enough as a writer to make the story move along in a page-turning sort of way. But what is most significant about this book and about Lyons's potential as a novelist is that his background in the television business shows. (The bio blurb says that he has worked in TV, most recently as a producer since he graduated from Washington University in St Louis.) The subject matter of DARKNESS IN HIM, as uncomfortable as it may be, is hugely significant in today's world. Lyons needs more skill and polish to his writing, which may come in time, but he already has the insight to choose a subject that beats close to the pulse of America's competitive, success-driven heart. If he continues to choose his subjects so unerringly and unflinchingly, his future looks bright.

--- Reviewed by Ava Dianne Day

Rating:
Summary: Go Beta Sigma!
Review: Mr. Lyons stopped me from doing anything else for a full day. I couldn't put this book down. I had to find out what was going to happen next.
The book revolves around a college senior who is willing to do whatever it takes to make his dreams a reality. The way things unfold and the way Jake feels about those events is what makes this book tick for me. You can actually follow Jakes line of thinking and in a sick and twisted way sympathize with him.
I enjoyed the book and I'm impressed with the author.
Be warned though if you're the least bit squeamish you may not want to pick up this book. The first death in the story is very brutal.

Rating:
Summary: Somewhat predictable, and a little over the top
Review: The book sounded interesting when reading a synopsis, but after reading it was not as good as it could have been. It was an interesting read due to the fact that it was done in the first person, but that is about all I can say.

The main character is definitely twisted, in his logic and everything else. To think that he could be that quick on his feet with his thinking, especially when he has been drinking etc, brings it down. Definitely not the worst book that I have read (thus 2 stars and not one), but not all that great either. Hopefully he can do better with his next novel. There is potential, but it was not fulfilled here.

Rating:
Summary: The best book about Fred Millicent ever written!
Review: While most of the reviews on this page have focused on the anti-hero Jake, the true hero of this story is Prof. Fred Millicent, who rose from humble beginnings to become "the foremost authority in the United States on death penalty precedent."

In his early days living in the basement of his mom's trailer home in Omaha, few would have believed Fred had the potential to climb the ranks of Ivy League academia. Little did anyone know that during his breaks from running the fry vat at the locak Kwiki-Mart, Fred was studying law books in the men's room. When a chance encounter with Justice William Rehnquist leads to a long discussion of the merits of the 8th ammendment, Fred's path to legal stardom is cleared. An inspiring story about an inspiring character I hope to read more about in the future.