Review: The Gathering Dark by Christine Johnson

Title: The Gathering Dark
Author: Christine Johnson
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: Feb 14, 2013
Buy: The Book Depository

The Gathering Dark, unfortunately, is not nearly as intriguing as it sounds. With the main character plagued by obscure and mysterious hallucinations – trees appearing indoors, dark moving patterns appearing on a stranger’s arms – this book is simply a long and tedious journey to finding out the how and why. The concept, once revealed, is actually rather imaginative. By then, however, it is far too late to be truly redeeming.

It is almost like reading two different books here. The first half is a slow trek uphill, with a fairly uninteresting main character for company. Keira is difficult to describe as there is little that is genuinely distinguishable about her outside of the hallucinations. Calling her dull may be a little harsh, but the word is disappointingly accurate here. She has a strict schedule with her beloved piano, which isn’t at all a bad thing (pianos are cool), but the excessive descriptions and thoughts centred around her musical abilities become extremely tiring after a short while. There is only so much you can say about a piano before I lose interest entirely. It perhaps doesn’t help that the bare minimum takes place during the first couple hundred pages of the book. And even less so that the writing is a fraction too awkward:

“The oily-smooth voice cracked her focus like an egg smashing against a windowpane.”

The figurative language is not a consistent thing in this book, admittedly, but, when presented with a simile like the one above (on the first page, no less), it is not too difficult to feel the need to locate other equally ridiculous sentences. The dialogue, too, is lacking authenticity, especially when love interest Walker is a participant in the conversation. The two, perhaps not too surprisingly, are inexplicably drawn to each other, and bond over their shared love for music. Walker is puppy-like at times and (what I imagine is supposed to be) dangerously enigmatic at others. Whilst not a staggeringly poor character, he is incredibly lacklustre and forgettable. My feelings towards him, and to the romance in general, in fact, are mostly of indifference.

Once the reasons for Keira’s hallucinations are finally revealed, the book takes a far more interesting turn. While the storyline during the final part of the book is not of a particularly high standard compared to several other and better books that involve a similar concept, it is a great deal of an improvement from the first half, plot-wise. (Mild spoilers ahead). A few aspects are weakly explained, however, even when taking into account the uncertainty of dark matter, such as why Darkside is clearer to Keira when in physical contact with Walker. Ignoring these, the science-fiction edge is a clever touch and fairly original, even if the build-up to the introduction is far too elongated.

Despite the brief turn-around towards the end, The Gathering Dark is not a book I can easily recommend. My first book by Christine Johnson will now most likely be my last.

Rating: 2 stars