This is a frustrating book. The hardcore horror itself isn’t terrible, although it’s most noteworthy appearance involves a baby and a stew pot, while everything else is just boilerplate hardcore horror. The entire premise requires you accept this is the media interpretation of the “” Dark Web”” where drugs can be bought with the ease one finds a book on Amazon, terabytes of snuff films and child abuse materials at the ready, and master hackers that can make a device do whatever it wants.
Nobody in the story has any sort of critical thinking skills. A pair of peaceful protestors can’t find a person to sell them a gun (in TEXAS) so they decide to look for a seller on the dark web. Instead of keeping an eye on his son and going to the police after his son’s various accounts forward child pornography to everyone on his contact list, a father orders him to “go for a walk”. The main character is told how dangerous and screwed up the “” Dark Web”” is, and as soon as he’s on TOR, he just starts clicking random links and is surprised at what he finds
Speaking of which, the main character, Niles, is completely unlikable. From staring at the ass of a girl he later concluded to be 16 and still a virgin (I have no idea why this is relevant in their situation, and doesn’t help that he’s in his 30’s) to jerking off to a random video he found on the “” Dark Web”” for no reason other than to see a woman get her teeth knocked out for tension.
The cosmic entity is only seen at the start and end of the story, and I’ll give points for creativity. I never expected to see one of the unknown Old Gods depicted as a fusion of flesh and technology!
Sean does a good job of narration, and by the end of it, you can feel the fear and exhaustion meant to be conveyed in the story.
Full disclosure: This audiobook was given to me for free at my request and I provided this unbiased and voluntary review