Book Review | The Dark Game by Jonathan Janz

The Dark Game is a horror novel by Jonathan Janz.

Ten writers are selected for a summer-long writing retreat with the most celebrated and reclusive author in the world. Their host is the legendary Roderick Wells. Handsome, enigmatic, and fiendishly talented, Wells promises to teach his pupils about writing, about magic, about the untapped potential that each of them possesses. Most of all, he plans to teach them about the darkness in their hearts. The writers think they are signing up for a chance at riches and literary prestige. But they are really entering the twisted imagination of a deranged genius, a lethal contest pitting them against one another in a struggle for their sanity and their lives. They have entered into Roderick Wells's most brilliant and horrible creation. The Dark Game.

"Once a reader holds a book, the story belongs to her." - Jonathan Janz, The Dark Game

This is one of those moments as a reviewer where I don't have the words to adequately describe my connection with a book.

On the surface, The Dark Game is a great read. It's Jonathan Janz! The characters are over the top, the horror is fun, the reader has no idea what's coming next.

Under the surface, though, it's something much more. There is so much of a writer's heart in this one. We are given insights into a writer's process, thoughts, fears, and struggles, references to Janz's personal work, a beautiful scene featuring Jack Ketchum...

I'm currently celebrating the year of the Janz. Not only is Flame Tree Press reprinting Janz's previous releases, but we've been gifted with a brand new release with The Dark Game!

Hopefully you will connect with The Dark Game like I did. If not, it's still a wickedly fun read.

⭐⭐⭐⭐★

Review copy provided by publisher