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This Brilliant Darkness

Red Tash

Why we're reading this: A brooding monster. A quirky professor. A small Indiana town with a soul of its own.

Imagine if the writer…more
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A brooding monster. A quirky professor. A small Indiana town with a soul of its own.

Imagine if the writers of Northern Exposure sat down with Stephen King and decided to craft a dark fantasy thriller starring absent-minded academians, every day goofballs, and a dark fantasy creature for good measure. Pondering big picture questions like "Why am I here?" and "Does Love Conquer All?" has never been so fun.

That's THIS BRILLIANT DARKNESS, the top-rated dark fantasy debut novel by the author of TROLL OR DERBY, Red Tash.

Nothing is as it seems to be, and no one behaves in ways characters are "supposed" to act. How will it end? It's anyone's guess, in a book that keeps you turning pages, racing to find out what will happen next.

Christine Grace finds her predictable scholarly life comforting, if a bit boring. Her live-in boyfriend presses her for marriage, but she's too philosophically inclined to take an interest. So, really, why does she suddenly start imagining things in the window's reflection? Is time truly starting and stopping all around her, or is she inexplicably cracking up?

Greachin is an age-old being so tortured by his own karmic cycle that he no longer knows how to connect, except to identify potential threats through the cosmic ripples of space. When he zeroes in on Christine Grace, he experiences second thoughts for the first time in millenia. Will he go through with his grisly plan of murder and destruction?

And what of these other characters--an aging physicist of ill-repute, a stubborn monk who takes his vow of silence too far, and a time-shifting star visible only from Bloomington? What a tangled web we weave, when monsters practice to deceive. Dive into This Brilliant Darkness, and follow the journeys of these characters, from Britain to the Heartland, from January's snowfall to Halloween's costumed festivities.

THIS BRILLIANT DARKNESS is a smart, karmic mystery populated by lovable brainy characters. Climb on, strap in, and hold tight.

Readers are saying:

"This is a fast-paced, exciting book that keeps you guessing until the very end. With an eclectic cast of characters, time travel and a karmic mystery, how can you go wrong?" ~Zombie Bedtime Stories author Thea Gregory

**

"By midnight, I had not put the book down, and had no intention of putting it down. At 12:15am, my fourteen-year-old son stumbled out to get a drink of water. "You're still up?" he asked. "Go to bed." I looked up from my Nook, smiled, and said, "Not on your life, dude. Not until this ends." ~Librarian Amy Marshall

**

"The way the author weaves fantasy, humor, science fiction, and mystery is, for lack of a better word, brilliant. I read the entire thing with admiration/envy, taking notes and thinking 'THIS is how you write a novel.' Remember when Scream blew the horror world away by actually using technology in a realistic way? Well here's blogging and online forums and long distance cyber friendships, honestly depicting the way we live in the 21st century." ~Poet Christina Grey

**
AN OFFICIAL JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB MUST READ

"The atmosphere of this book, so hard to simply label horror or paranormal...how about simply...A GREAT READ, is the true star. Ms. Tash so finely weaves a path of intrigue, terror, humor and suspense, that the reader is taken with each character, so very finely drawn. THIS BRILLIANT DARKNESS is that rare book that one truly does not want to end!! When it does...next question is 'What else by Red Tash can I get my hands on? QUICK!!!'"~ Rick Friedman

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What Members Thought

Oct 11, 2011 Rick-Founder JM CM BOOK CLUB rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

As one looks at the cover of This Brilliant Darkness- the reader is immediately drawn to it- that art promises such a facinating yarn- and in the hands of a master writer like Red Tash- this is exactly what the reader gets!

The atmosphere of this book- so hard to simply label horror or paranormal..how about simply ..A GREAT READ...is the true star. Ms Tash so finely weaves a path of intrigue, terror, humor and suspence- that the reader is taken with each character- so very finely drawn by Red Tas ...more

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Dec 12, 2011 Axel Howerton rated it it was amazing

The enigmatic Red Tash has created a compelling, multi-layered - and fully nuanced - modern fairytale, full of pop reference and varied philosophical allusions. This Brilliant Darkness is smart, thrilling, funny and full of great characters tangled in the kind of small-town webs Stephen King revels in. Excellent writing from a writer to watch. One of the best new writers I've read in years. Pick it up! ...more

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Sep 08, 2012 R.J. Palmer rated it really liked it

Where do I begin? I found myself in a bit of a quandary because the first two thirds of the book itself had me completely confused and absolutely riveted at the same time. Greachin was quite the enigma and I'm not entirely sure all my questions about "it" (which I say because I'm not sure if Greachin is actually male, female, neither or both) were answered completely. Red Tash, you're going to have to write a second book now because there is so much there that has to be finished. You left the st Where do I begin? I found myself in a bit of a quandary because the first two thirds of the book itself had me completely confused and absolutely riveted at the same time. Greachin was quite the enigma and I'm not entirely sure all my questions about "it" (which I say because I'm not sure if Greachin is actually male, female, neither or both) were answered completely. Red Tash, you're going to have to write a second book now because there is so much there that has to be finished. You left the story so open for so much continuation that I'll be powerfully disappointed in you if you don't write another one. Please? Pretty, pretty please? (Hint, hint.)

I have to say without further adieu that I love Red's writing style and the aura and mystery that surrounds the work. She gave just enough detail to keep me guessing and just when I thought I had it all figured out, it was as if she reached up through the pages of the book, smacked me upside the head and said, "Haha, you haven't got it all figured out!" There were several places in the book that I felt could've used more detail but had they actually had that detail, it would've taken away from the compelling mystery of the storyline itself. See my dilemma here?

She touched on such ideas as time travel and heavily theoretical concepts, not the least of which is the star over Bloomington that doesn't show up any place else and I loved the look into her soul and all that she believes because I've had my questions about it. I simply don't ask anyone about their faith because I feel it's none of my business but that doesn't mean I'm not itching to know more or ask questions from time to time. There were deeply faith based ideas in This Brilliant Darkness that would've been considered horrifyingly heretical even twenty years ago and I have to admire and respect her courage in writing about them openly.

In having to give a star rating, because most who know me would know that I don't believe in them but I'll do it anyway because I'm forced, (under duress, I tell you) I'd have to give a four star rating because there is just so much in the story that's left entirely to the reader's interpretation. Now, if Red will be so kind as to write a continuation of the storyline itself, I might just be compelled to retract that four star and make it a five star. In short, I really liked This Brilliant Darkness and will be looking and hoping for a sequel and will not only buy it, but be there with bells on and first in line. I'm impressed, Red Tash but you have to write more, my friend. You can't leave me hanging like that! Have a little mercy, woman! ...more

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Feb 17, 2012 Jessica McHugh rated it really liked it

Initially, I was bit confused by "This Brilliant Darkness". The POV changes seemed abrupt and I was starting to worry that the style of writing might not be my cup of tea. Luckily, the character of Greachin kept me reading, and I'm so glad it did. "This Brilliant Darkness" is a very original and mysterious tale. Even by the end, you're not quite sure why poor Christine Grace was targeted by such an evil creature as Greachin, but I'm looking forward to the sequel to divulge that information. The ...more

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Apr 02, 2012 Robert Dufalo rated it liked it

Overall this was a good book with a great plot/story. My largest issue is that it swapped perspective too much at the start and it made it hard to get into any one character and was confusing to follow for a bit. Do give it a read I think that you’ll enjoy the characters and brilliant darkness!
Story – Good
Characters – Good
Dialog – Awesome.

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