Dark Eden
Patrick Carman
Release date: November 1st, 2011
by HarperCollins Publishers
Fifteen-year-old Will Besting is sent by his doctor to Fort Eden, an institution meant to help patients suffering from crippling phobias. Once there, Will and six other teenagers take turns in mysterious fear chambers and confront their worst nightmares—with the help of the group facilitator, Rainsford, an enigmatic guide. When the patients emerge from the chamber, they feel emboldened by the previous night’s experiences. But each person soon discovers strange, unexplained aches and pains. . . . What is really happening to the seven teens trapped in this dark Eden?
Holy freaking cow! Now this is a thriller! I often go into books believing them to be thrillers, when they end up being barely creepy with a romance -or something similarly annoying- taking over the story. Dark Eden was not the case. It had me almost piss my pants! Seriously! I was reading this at 2 in the afternoon in a very bright and cheerful environment, wrapped up in the book, when my husband gets home… He throws the door open and I practically jumped out of my skin! I thought my heart would beat out of my chest! It was so much fun!!
Will, a 17 year old with a crippling phobia (of unmentioned nature to avoid spoilers), gets sent to an institution, with 6 other kids, that can apparently cure fears. As soon as they arrive, Will escapes from the group and ends up hiding in what appears to be a panic room… A panic room with monitors that lets him see what’s going on in the institution. Does this sound ominous enough for you? Prior to reading the book, visiting Dark Eden’s website worked wonders on my mind’s eye. It has videos, audio diaries, pictures, even a fun fear test, that really gets the imagination going. The teaser video is incredibly creepy and the freaky pictures sets the mood just right. This greatly added to my amazing experience with the book. I suggest you visit it beforehand.
Everyone is wary of the unknown to some degree. Patrick’s Dark Eden makes a great example of this. He took an especially creepy premise full of questions and unexplained occurrences and gave us a spine-chilling novel. The big plot twist isn’t completely impossible to deduce – I’m sure most will guess to a certain extent, but the whole ordeal behind it and sinister feeling throughout the book had me covered in goosebumps the whole way through. I never knew what’s going to happen next and on top of that, I was made constantly afraid of Will’s discovery.
The protagonist, Will, is smart, competent and brave. At times I was fearing this bravery, but I was also confident in his decisions. The other kids in the institution are not incredibly distinct, but their interactions aren’t prominent outside of what Will sees on the monitors. There are little tiny specks of romance in the story as well, which is not incredibly necessary but adds a bit of fun to all the angst. The ending has bit of everything: despair, contentment and foreboding. It’s not a cliffhanger ending, although it’s left open for the possibility of a sequel.
Ultimately, Dark Eden fully exceeded my expectations. It’s a very thrilling and interesting read that I think readers who like getting spooked will enjoy. Still not sure? If you take a look at the website you’ll get an idea of the vibe of the book: Click here enter Dark Eden’s website.
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Andrea
I’m reading this right now. I’m not terribly far in, & I’m not really loving it yet. I hope I end up feeling like you did. We’ll see. Nice review, girlie!
Mocha ღ Latte(Cupcake and a Latte)
Great review, cupcakes!
Unfortunately…Dark Eden didn’t really impress me though =(
–Wendy from A Cupcake and a Latte: YA Reviews
Vyki @ On The Shelf
I can’t wait to read this one! Great review 🙂
Giselle
I was really in the mood for a good, creepy book after being disappointed with Mara so I was really pleased with it. Hope you start enjoying it more, Andrea.
Jenna and Ashley
I loved Carman’s Thirteen Days to Midnight and have been wanting to check this out. You’ve thoroughly convinced me. Thanks for mentioning the website!
-Jenna @ Fans of Fiction.
layoffthebooks
Creepy, sounds like a great book to read for Halloween!
Christy (Love of Books)
I started this one, but had to stop to read a different book before my time with it was up. Can’t wait to get back to Dark Eden now.
Melissa (Books and Things)
The more I hear about this one, the more I want to read it. Yeppers, this is so going on the wishlist!!
Shellie
Great review. I am still waiting to get my hands on this one, sounds interesting =)
sierra
Dark Eden is amazing! I’ve won a ARC on Facebook and this is the most amazing book ever! Spread the word! And the app is out for IPhone/IPods,Droids, and Nooks:):) Dark Eden comes out on Tuesday November 1st, 2011:) Patrick Carman is my role model:):)!
Mimi Valentine
Oh my gosh, I want to read this book so much! The whole phobia thing sounds so cool, and since I have my own actual phobia of insects (which is more embarrassing than you could guess!), I can definitely relate!
Awesome review, Giselle! It sounds exactly like the kind of dark, creepy, thrilling, and extremely interesting book that I would love! I’m glad you liked it! 🙂
Book Sake
Just with your first line I know I need to read this book! Sounds really good from your review.