A Night of Blacker Darkness

Being the Memoir of Frederick Whithers As Edited by Cecil G. Bagsworth III

By: Dan Wells

Narrated by: Sean Barrett

EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE IN AUDIO

No one else has Dan Wells’ hilarious new novella - it’s not available in print, in ebook, by mobile phone text or Victorian phonograph. Audible is bringing it to you exclusively, for a limited time.

The basic premise is this: it's 1817, and a man named Frederick Whithers is wallowing in jail for a crime he didn't commit, desperate to get out so he can go and commit it for real. He fakes his own death and escapes in a coffin, but when he gets to the graveyard and crawls out of the coffin, somebody sees him and assumes he's a vampire. It's pretty much all downhill from there. Frederick spends the rest of the book doing everything he can to steal a massive inheritance from a dead man, all the while running from constables, vampire hunters, ghouls, poets, proper young ladies, highly improper young ladies, morticians, mysterious figures, and the most pathetic collection of vampires to ever disgrace a work of fiction.

The book is Extremely Silly: imagine a horror story, as written by Monty Python, in the style of the old screwball comedies like The Producers, What's Up Doc?, and Some Like it Hot, and then imagine that for some reason it's also in the style of a Victorian frame story starring John Keats and presented by a fake historian. A delightfully funny novel full of witty dialogue brought to life by the narrative voice talents of Sean Barrett.

©2011 Dan Wells (P)2011 Audible Ltd

Shawn of the Dead, but with vampires, and better

Absolutely hilarious.
Laughed out loud multiple times.
Wonderful narration.
Pity that it wasn’t a bit longer.

Clever and Hilarious

What an amusing and enjoyable read... Poking fun at vampire worship... Not the kinda vamps you'd expect either... The weaving in of literary references,a con man/scofflaw fleeing justice in a most unusual way, th laughs, the gore, and all of it just plain fantastic... You won't be disappointed, I promis...

Hilarious and enjoyable

Fun story and great narration. The plot was excellent. Great humor. Very entertaining and enjoyable read!

The silliness

Laughed through the whole bloody thing. Cross between Monty Python Sketch and a Mel Brooks ala Young Frankenstein film. 10/10, would recommend.

What a brilliant comedy!

I loved every second of this witty comedy. The fun characters and screw-ball plot made for a very enjoyable listen. Narrator did a great job and nailed the comedic timing!

My Goodness! This is one story I would love to SEE

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely! Just thinking about it makes me grin. It was laugh out loud funny. Ridiculous fun!

What does Sean Barrett bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Mr Barrett did a marvelous job of distinguishing all of the characters. The story may not have had the same hilarity without his excellent delivery.

Any additional comments?

Vampires, Frankenstein, and John Keats! Oh My! Hope it gets made into live action or CG movie, with Johnny Depp and Helene Bonham Carter.

Great Fun

Dan Wells nails a niche that is lacking books in my opinion. This has a good Pratchett feel to it, and is just a delight to read. The story progression and escalation are divine, and there were several spots that had me laughing out loud, then glancing around to see if anyone was staring at me.
Thank you Dan for such a delightful read.

Hilariously stupid good!

Wow, this book is so funny, and keep me up all night! Please find more, and reply with recommendations!!!

A Remarkably Amusing Tale

Quite a good book, though don't look for it to fall into any one genre easily. Perhaps the closest fit is "absurdist", but even that doesn't fit well. The story moves at a brisk pace, with plenty of twists and turns to keep it interesting. The cameos by famous authors offer an interesting character mix.

Overall, recommend quite highly.

Priceless Riot!

Would you consider the audio edition of A Night of Blacker Darkness to be better than the print version?

Sean Barrett's performance definitely added something I would have missed in the printed book.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Night of Blacker Darkness?

The epic battles of silly logic throughout the book. Laugh out loud funny the entire time! John Keats' character was a delight!

What about Sean Barrett’s performance did you like?

His serious tone added so much to the story and made it feel so authentic that the comedy was perfectly complimented. His different voices for each character were fantastic!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I actually was not quite at a chapter break when I had to be in class... I ended up listening through the entire hour. Couldn't put it down!

Any additional comments?

Dan Wells has risen to become one of my absolute favorite authors between Night of Blacker Darkness and his Serial Killer series.