by Tony Fonseca
Clark, Simon. Darker. New York: Leisure, 2002. 411 p.
As Michael, the mysterious stranger who is followed by an invisible godlike creature continually asserts to his victims throughout Simon Clarks new novel, no normal human being would choose to not be influential and powerful if given the opportunity. Darker asks that question, but looks at the other side of absolute powerthe deadly force with which power has always had to be taken by the great leaders of history. Although invisible, the horror in Darker, Power personified so to speak, is as real as the fear of having ones child hit by a speeding vehicle (which is an experience that Richard Young, the protagonist of the novel, first undergoes when he is first introduced to the reader).
Darker starts off with the story of a teenaged runaway named Rosemary Snow. She hitches a ride with a mysterious stranger who seems so nice in comparison to the other adults in her life that she allows herself to be sucked into his strange plans. Little does she know that the stranger, Michael, needs young women to help him control an invisible, brutal power he uncovered while in Turkey, a force that once unleashed cannot be controlled by any human, not even the one who has let this genie out of its bottle. After leaving Rosemary behind to face this force alone, Michael gets into an accident near the home of the Young family, snowballing a chain of events that eventually forces the father, Richard Young, to save his wife and daughter with the help of the badly mutilated and now clairvoyant Rosemary Snow.
Part dark fairy tale and part B-flick horror, Darker invites readers to dive into Clarks fictional world where invisible forces literally squash anything in their paths, all for the further glory of one human being. Michaels all too real desire to garner absolute power over people, especially given his passive and tortured childhood and the resulting cruelty of his teen years, is understandable to most readers. In fact, there is even some possibility that Michael could, with the right help, train this raw power in such a way that he could actually do some good in the world. However, as the citizens of Chamberlain, Maine found out in Carrie, absolute power, especially in the hands of a very angry and lonely individual, can be a real bitch.
What makes Darker work and sets Clark apart from the crowd is that he creates memorable and believable characters. The novels main characters, the lonely teenager Rosemary Snow, the worried father Richard Young, the supportive and intelligent mother Christine Young, and even the mysterious dark stranger Michael, are all people that readers can sympathize with. Ultimately this novel is more than a flight of fancy containing an ominous and unstoppable supernatural beast; it focuses on something much more horrific: the need to protect ones loved ones from people who will steamroll over them (in this case, pretty much literally) simply for material gain.
Originally published in 1996, Darker is one of the most demanded
of Clarks books. Leisures reprinting of this suspenseful text gives
American audiences the chance to discover one of Britains premier horror
writers. Readers who enjoy intelligent horror that delves into unfamiliar
territory and produces unconventional endings (hint: Michael isnt killed
by the force at the end of the novel, nor does he succeed in taking over
the world) will enjoy Clarks latest publication.