Publication Date: April 1, 2015
The Earth is in a Golden Age. A pacifist alien race known as The Prognosticate has helped humanity solve its greatest problems. Every Golden Age must come to an end.
A terrorist organization comprised of religious zealots known as The Orphanage, destroys a trade ship. It seems that someone in the Alliance has given the intel and Aiden DeCaro, captain of a near-Earth defense ship is the prime suspect.
[easyazon_link identifier=”B00VJEOIGI” locale=”US” tag=”rabidreaders-20″]The Darkest Of Suns Will Rise[/easyazon_link] is a non-traditional and somewhat sadistic science fiction novel. There are some philosophical call-backs to predestination and the idea that humanity can never allow itself to be at peace, no matter how peaceful the existence may appear. Without faith, humanity lacks passion. In the Golden Age, people don’t control the path of their lives and slowly go insane. Having read and reviewed Mr. Sfina’s previous novel, The Sexual Adventures of Time and Space, I expected a Vonnegut-style surrealism. While Sfinas breaks all of the rules and makes no apologies, his story is fairly straightforward and, at times, stiffly scientific.
The Prognosticate is an interesting race. They rule with an iron fist wrapped in cashmere. They reminded me of something that I’ve either read or seen before but the likeness of experience was too distant; it could not be called to mind. Because they have all of the answers, they have all of the control. Would you sell your soul if your loved one could be cured of cancer extending their time with you? Would your give your allegiance and loyalty to someone that shows you how to live the most comfortable life? They are given control—people are monitored, always. If you wanted to escape the Prognosticate, suicide would not be an option. They would only save you. The only escape is within oneself and the slow, sweet, release of the mind.
Aiden and Clarissa are at the core of the story and their relationship is a strange one. They are violent and self-loathing. Aiden is deeply jealous and secretive and hides Clarissa in his room on his ship. When someone accidentally sees her, he kills them and it reads as something Aiden does as part of his daily routine.The relation is uncomfortable to read and is one that perhaps, readers with an inability to disconnect will find intolerable.
The story is largely told through letters, journal entries etc. which allows it to be nonlinear. There are no warm fuzzies. If you’re a reader that needs to like the characters you read, [easyazon_link identifier=”B00VJEOIGI” locale=”US” tag=”rabidreaders-20″]The Darkest Of Suns Will Rise[/easyazon_link] is not the book for you. Sfinas gives us a run with a broken story style that readers will either love or hate. This reader landed somewhere in the middle. While deeply uncomfortable to read, the story had some merit and the world building was fascinating in its perfidy. If you like very different and very dark reads, [easyazon_link identifier=”B00VJEOIGI” locale=”US” tag=”rabidreaders-20″]The Darkest Of Suns Will Rise[/easyazon_link] is the book for you.
Read an excerpt and pick up The Darkest of Suns Will Rise by Brian Sfinas on:
Amazon U.S. • Amazon U.K. • Amazon Canada
For more information about Brian Sfinas and his work, visit his website. You can connect with him on Goodreads, Facebook and Twitter @cunningandvalor.