From Powells.com
Hot new releases and under-the-radar gems for adults and kids.
Staff Pick
Benjamin Percy's The Dark Net is a thrilling ride of nonstop action and horror set in Portland (yeah!), with one of the best and spookiest scenes set in Powell's and the Rare Book Room after closing. Recommended By Adrienne C., Powells.com
This is a riveting supernatural tale set in Portland, Oregon and in the hellish world of the virtual dark places of the internet. Percy makes Portland a truly creepy place, and I will never again feel comfortable in Powell's after closing. Plus, the intrepid band of demon fighters includes a heroic German Shepherd named Hemingway. Irresistible! Recommended By Kathi K., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Hell on earth is only one click of a mouse away...
The Dark Net is real. An anonymous and often criminal arena that exists in the secret far reaches of the Web, some use it to manage Bitcoins, pirate movies and music, or traffic in drugs and stolen goods. And now an ancient darkness is gathering there as well. This force is threatening to spread virally into the real world unless it can be stopped by members of a ragtag crew:
Twelve-year-old Hannah — who has been fitted with the Mirage, a high-tech visual prosthetic to combat her blindness — wonders why she sees shadows surrounding some people.
Lela, a technophobic journalist, has stumbled upon a story nobody wants her to uncover.
Mike Juniper, a one-time child evangelist who suffers from personal and literal demons, has an arsenal of weapons stored in the basement of the homeless shelter he runs.
And Derek, a hacker with a cause, believes himself a soldier of the Internet, part of a cyber army akin to Anonymous.
They have no idea what the Dark Net really contains.
Set in present-day Portland, The Dark Net is a cracked-mirror version of the digital nightmare we already live in, a timely and wildly imaginative techno-thriller about the evil that lurks in real and virtual spaces, and the power of a united few to fight back
Review
"Written in vivid, often lyrical prose, but with exhilarating comic-book energy, The Dark Net is a megawatt defibrillator to the reader’s heart. Quirky but very human characters confront an explosive emergence of the supernatural into our world, in this imaginative, spooky, swiftly paced tale threaded through with dark humor." Dean Koontz
Review
"Percy takes the darkest conspiracy theories you can imagine and makes them the stuff of nightmares.... Humankind is held responsible for its irresponsibility, paying the price for all the convenience we take for granted, for our obsession with the digital world...the message is effective and scary...there's something undeniably creepy about the thought that your smartphone can possess you. A gory cautionary tale." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Percy (The Dead Lands) turns in a fast-paced thriller with crisp, honest dialogue and well-imagined characters. His premise is fanciful yet anchored in believability." Library Journal
About the Author
Benjamin Percy has won a Whiting Award, a Plimpton Prize, two Pushcart Prizes, and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. He is the author of the novels The Dead Lands, Red Moon, and The Wilding, two story collections, and an essay collection, Thrill Me. He also writes the Green Arrow and Teen Titans series for DC Comics. He lives in Minnesota with his family.