Not for the faint of heart, this is a fantastic fictional tale (What better way to tell the truths of the matters?) by Les Visible. It since has been republished under the title The Darkening Splendor Of An Unknown World.
This book laid about the apartment unread for a couple of years because of a close encounter of the too-close kind with a drug dealer in my moderately short tour through youthful indiscretion. The penalties and pitfalls were known to me and right from the start of the book, it was clear that Visible knew all about the penalties and pitfalls as well. This fact made it difficult to proceed; however after falling paralyzed to a dental eruption, I was looking around for something fictional to read and there it sat - waiting to be reopened. It was worth facing the fear.
A warning to those interested in a vicarious thrill: This book is not for you. Bad ju-ju will follow. (Visible would use a different term and though not closely attached to the term ju-ju myself, the point is made.)
Here we have a master weaver of tales who swoops in with ferocity. The characters leap from the first page and spark a journey into their lives in a world that is as petrifying to the naive as it is alluring to the naively adventurous. By chapter three it is hard to put down, even to fetch a cup of tea. By then, the players are introduced from opposite sides of the American continent and one can sense an impending connection and becomes eager for the unfolding. By chapter twenty-one, the decision must be made as to whether or not to keep reading through the night (and perhaps continuing on to tow it to work the next day)!
The story opens with Corrina, the hapless wife of Royce, a west coast supplier to street dealers who fancies himself a big-time operator. Soon one is immersed with others: Alan, the New York City cop lost in the bottle after his wife is murdered; CarryAnn and her mother, Anise, a well-known television actress; Balfire and Malcomb, criminals with perverse dreams of grandeur; Ben the upright Los Angeles cop; Dr. Abadon, expert witness and learned researcher on the criminal mind; and the terrifyingly commissioned Billy Joe, a mastermind, a genius of the occult, whose continued successes keep him him emboldened and confident down the road to controlling all who come within his sphere.
The jacket cover description of The Dark Splendor calls the book, "One part crime novel and one part occult thriller". Perfect.
This book laid about the apartment unread for a couple of years because of a close encounter of the too-close kind with a drug dealer in my moderately short tour through youthful indiscretion. The penalties and pitfalls were known to me and right from the start of the book, it was clear that Visible knew all about the penalties and pitfalls as well. This fact made it difficult to proceed; however after falling paralyzed to a dental eruption, I was looking around for something fictional to read and there it sat - waiting to be reopened. It was worth facing the fear.
A warning to those interested in a vicarious thrill: This book is not for you. Bad ju-ju will follow. (Visible would use a different term and though not closely attached to the term ju-ju myself, the point is made.)
Here we have a master weaver of tales who swoops in with ferocity. The characters leap from the first page and spark a journey into their lives in a world that is as petrifying to the naive as it is alluring to the naively adventurous. By chapter three it is hard to put down, even to fetch a cup of tea. By then, the players are introduced from opposite sides of the American continent and one can sense an impending connection and becomes eager for the unfolding. By chapter twenty-one, the decision must be made as to whether or not to keep reading through the night (and perhaps continuing on to tow it to work the next day)!
The story opens with Corrina, the hapless wife of Royce, a west coast supplier to street dealers who fancies himself a big-time operator. Soon one is immersed with others: Alan, the New York City cop lost in the bottle after his wife is murdered; CarryAnn and her mother, Anise, a well-known television actress; Balfire and Malcomb, criminals with perverse dreams of grandeur; Ben the upright Los Angeles cop; Dr. Abadon, expert witness and learned researcher on the criminal mind; and the terrifyingly commissioned Billy Joe, a mastermind, a genius of the occult, whose continued successes keep him him emboldened and confident down the road to controlling all who come within his sphere.
The jacket cover description of The Dark Splendor calls the book, "One part crime novel and one part occult thriller". Perfect.
