About the Book
-
Author:
- Marisha Pessl
- Genre:
- Mystery
- Voices:
- Cis Girl
- Straight
- White (Non-Specified)
Cover Story: Get a Clue
BFF Charm: Oda Mae Brown
Talky Talk: Immersive
Bonus Factors: Worldbuilding, Mystery
Relationship Status: Game On!
Cover Story: Get a Clue
On the surface, this cover hints at a mystery, with tangled ivy and an hourglass at the center. But if you look closer, you’ll spot shapes and figures that won’t mean much to you… yet.
The Deal:
Like most of the world, Arcadia Gannon (who goes by Dia) has been obsessed with the legend of Louisana Veda and the groundbreaking games she created before her untimely death in 1985. Each game, or Darkly, isn’t your average tabletop distraction; it’s an all-consuming, mind-blowing journey of wits and imagination that can lead you into the deepest parts of yourself. Prototypes sell for the price of a Picasso, and Veda’s enigmatic life, shrouded in secrecy, only fuels the value of her legacy.
When Dia sees the news about an internship with Veda’s foundation, she’s immediately suspicious, but she also can’t help herself and decides to apply—along with thousands of other teens. So you can imagine her shock when she is chosen along with six others to travel to London and, eventually, to the island where the Darkly factory sits, long abandoned. Once they arrive, the interns are issued a challenge by Veda’s estate lawyer, Nile Raiden: their mission is to find Valkyrie, a secret Darkly that was stolen right before Veda’s death and has, if rumors are to be believed, recently surfaced, leading to the disappearance of a local teenage boy.
As Dia and her fellow interns dive down rabbit holes and hunt for ways into the world of Valkyrie, they discover that they are looking for something even more dangerous and elusive: the truth about Louisana Veda.
BFF Charm: Oda Mae Brown
Before this whole “internship” situation, I would have definitely been pals with Dia. She’s a loner who works at her mom’s antique shop after school, and her two elderly coworkers also happen to be her best friends. So yeah, maybe she was born in the wrong era (“If I had it my way,” she says, “the world would go back to communicating by telegram and candlestick telephones.”), but that just means she’s wiser beyond her years, and thanks to her flighty mother, she’s also incredibly self-sufficient. I would have been SO down to hang with her at the shop, looking through old treasures/trash, before we marathoned Katharine Hepburn movies on the couch.
But once Dia hits the island, she can only think about one thing: finding and winning Valkyrie, and, in doing so, drawing closer to the spirit of Louisana Veda. And to accomplish that, she has to do a LOT of scary shit and take GIANT risks and y’all, I am way too much of a baby for that!! Of course I believed in her, and I was rooting for her to succeed… but from AFAR. Very afar.
Swoonworthy Scale: 3
Back at home, Dia’s been mooning over Choke Newington*, the all-star golden boy who used to be her childhood bestie and maybe, just maybe, is also crushing on her? But then she meets her fellow intern, Poe Valois*, a rich kid hottie from Paris, and she’s instantly intrigued by his sharp intelligence and his sharp cheekbones. There’s definitely some chemistry there, but even an attractive Frenchman has to take a backseat to Dia’s mission, especially when she has no idea who she can trust.
*I know, Marisha Pessl’s character names are bananas. And I love her for that.
Talky Talk: Immersive
It’s been over six years (!) since Pessl published Neverworld Wake, and I have been DYING for my next chance to tumble into one of her incredible stories. When it comes to twisty plots and shadows of the macabre, Pessl is a true master, dropping potent particles of breadcrumbs that even the most observant reader will easily miss because they’re too busy sitting on the edge of their seats. She has the uncanny ability to evoke the unsettling dread and hallucinatory contradictions of a nightmare—one that you actually don’t want to wake up from, because it’s as delicious as it is terrifying. (I know that sounds weird but if you’ve experienced Night Film, which is even more frightening, you know what I’m talking about.)
It’s not just the intricate plotting and harrowing situations; Pessl is also skilled at painting a tone with her words, adding layers that make the world all the more captivating. Take, for example, this description:
On the opposite side, across a deserted cobblestone courtyard, sits a hulking Gothic building with turrets and towers, windows of stained glass. But these whimsical details look downcast and glum, given that the limestones are stained black like mascara after a century-long sob.
Adding to the intrigue, Darkly‘s chapters are interspersed with old letters, maps, and photographs to puzzle over as you draw closer and closer to an ending that you will NEVER guess (and possibly never recover from).
Bonus Factor: Worldbuilding
Or in this case, game building! The lore of the Darklies is fascinating—with names like The Red Hounds of Garsington, Disappearing Act, and 18 Lost Icelandic Sailors—and ghastly, from the premises of some to the results of others (a game called Rasputin was banned for reasons I won’t spoil for you). The experience of Valkyrie itself is WILD, like a cross between Sleep No More, an escape room, and a haunted house, and even as I raced through the pages, I found myself pausing in straight up awe at the electrifying magic of Pessl’s genius.
Bonus Factor: Mystery
I’ll keep it vague here but DAMN, navigating the web of buried secrets and hidden agendas and deadly intrigue was a RIDE, Y’ALL! If you have a strong appetite for mystery, Darkly will fill you up to bursting.
Relationship Status: Game On!
From the very first page, I was in it to win it with this book. Our time together set my pulse pounding and my mind racing, and its daring sense of adventure made me feel alive (or totally freaked out, same diff). Though I made it to the finish line, I’d happily roll the dice for another round.
Like, seriously, Marisha, can we get a sequel?!!
Literary Matchmaking
If you haven’t read Pessl’s first YA novel, Neverworld Wake, you’re gonna need to clear out the top of your TBR pile.
The Chase (The Forbidden Game #2)
The Kill (The Forbidden Game #3)
Okay, so this might seem out of left field but I totally thought of L.J. Smith’s The Forbidden Game series while reading this book (and while VERY different, it’s a ton of ’90s paperback fun).
You’ve probably already read The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes BUT it has a similar mysterious quest/scavenger hunt plotline.
FTC Full Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. I received neither compensation nor cocktails in exchange for this review. Darkly is available now.
