Darker Than You Think

By: Jack Williamson

Narrated by: Jim Meskimen

Who is the Child of Night? That’s what small-town reporter Will Barbee must find out. Inexorably drawn into investigating a rash of grisly deaths, he soon finds himself embroiled in something far beyond mortal understanding.

Doggedly pursuing his investigations, he meets the mysterious and seductive April Bell and starts having disturbing, tantalizing dreams in which he does terrible things - things that are stranger and wilder than his worst nightmares. Then his friends begin dying one by one, and he slowly realizes that an unspeakable evil has been unleashed.

As Barbee’s world crumbles around him in a dizzying blizzard of madness, the intoxicating, dangerous April pushes Barbee ever closer to the answer to the question “Who is the Child of Night?”

When Barbee finds out, he’ll wish he’d never been born.

Jack Williamson (1908-2006) published his first short story in 1928. The second person named Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America, he was always in the forefront of the field, being the first to write fiction about genetic engineering (he invented the term), antimatter, and other cutting-edge science.

©1940 Street & Smith Publications, Inc.; 1948 by Jack Williamson (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“ Darker Than You Think yields sheer enjoyment, generating wonder and suspense as Williamson springs his sequence of trap doors with the effortless agility of a master.” (Peter Straub, New York Times best-selling author)

“Outstanding fantasy [with] excellent plot design, fast-moving action, and suspense which explodes into high-tension horror.” ( Astounding Science-Fiction)

“Williamson’s story asks, not merely ‘How do you plan to fight a monster?’ but ‘Do you want to be a monster?’ - a much more disturbing question.” (William H. Stoddard, author of Gurps Fantasy)

Good Mix of Murder Mystery and Horror

This is a 1940s tale of a reporter and redhaired young woman named April. The style of writing is a little dated, a cross between Dashiell Hammett and HP Lovecraft. Of course the technology and social behaviour is of that era, for example, smoking in public places.

The character development is excellent as is the plot and pace of the story. I found it difficult to STOP listening when I had to attend to other things. The narrator is excellent.

If you like '40's detective novels, you'll enjoy this one. This book was well worth my time.

you'll either love it or absolutely hate it.

it was a good book was a little slow and a little dated. but listening to it on audible makes that easier. I wasn't offended by anything like a lot of other people I read the reviews were. the only thing I didn't enjoy too much about it was it's ending. I was kind of hoping there was a sequel. I would have liked it more if there was a sequel

Williamson at his best

Excellent story, different spin. I'd never heard of this book, but I enjoyed it enough for a one nite listen. R.I.P. Jack Williamson, Ive enjoyed every book of yours that I've ever read. A truly unique American author and thinker.

Disappointed in the ending

Did not like the story or narrator. The ending was abrupt and didn’t wrap up the story.

1948 Progenitor of a Genre

Before I begin, some context is important with regards to the time the novel was written. Jack Williamson was primarily an author of sci fi "pulp" with a forward thinking bent. "Darker Than You Think" is often considered his best work, name dropped by modern luminaries like Neil Gaiman. Williamson was one of the first authors to incorporate scientific ideals into his writing, diverging from the sort of "Buck Rogers" fantasy sci fi that was more common.

Given when it was published, some of the descriptions are outright racist (the phrase "oriental eyes" being the most common), and some of the attitudes with regards to women are certainly misogynistic. The women are less fleshed out, save for April Belle, who still falls into one of the historical archetypes of "sly/crafty women" versus a character with clear motivation and her own agency. There's also mention of "racial memory" that is presented for most of the novel as a genetic characteristic, it is only near the denouement that this is better explained as tradition, culture, et cetera. This update may have been introduced when Williamson converted the original novella into a full fledged novel. There are other notions of race/genetics that are outdated and based on earlier comprehension of the topic. Again, this was written just after WW2 and, even with these caveats, is still more progressive than "pulpier" works of his contemporaries. But be warned that these issues are still less acceptable to modern readers.

All that said, this is a compelling story. It is not merely a story about lycanthropy, but an attempt to explain it in pseudo-scientific terms. Williamson paints a world in which nothing is as it seems as the plot develops. The sanity of the protagonist (Will Barbee) is constantly a question for the reader... because it isn't written in first person, this is akin, but not quite the same as the device of an "unreliable narrator".

The "twist" in the story (not a spoiler) is probably discernible by most readers relatively early in the book, but that did not diminish my enjoyment of the story and the details of the "twist" include more information than the reader might guess. Williamson does a good bit of foreshadowing that only becomes clear when the story is almost over.

Jim Meskimen's narration is appropriate and transitions well into describing Will's degrading mental state.

If you enjoy historical sci fi, and the history of the genre, as well as a bit of "noir-like" narration, this is certainly well worth your time.

meh

well performed, but some very dated ideas and prejudices. good listen for car rides alone

Slow & Predictable

Kind of slow and predictable, definitely put me to sleep multiple times while I suffered through waiting for the story to get to the point or some action.

Potential

The writing seemed a bit lacking for how ambitious the idea was. Things I didn't care about were described in abundance, such as April's eyes.

Way Ahead of Its Time

An intriguing premise and good narration is only held back by two annoyances. The main character continually waffles between allegiances. “I shouldn’t do this or that to X person.” The ending is also quite abrupt, which undercuts the fun slow burn leading to the climax. Nevertheless, I appreciate a great story from 1940 that was way ahead of its time.

Dated but Fun

This was a favorite of mine, as a teen. Though it's dated now, especially as concerns paleontology, it is still a fun read.