Review: Dark Life

When earthquakes and rising water destroyed many of the continents, humanity was forced to retreat to stack cities, where they live on top of each other with no space, no luxury, no freedom. The alternative? Move to the ocean floor and live the Dark Life.

Ty is one of the first children growing up entirely underwater. He lives a happy, peaceful life on his family farm... until outlaws attack his homestead, and Gemma appears, a girl from Topside searching for her brother. Ty is pulled into and underworld of intrigue, secrets, and mysteries of Dark Life...

And then there's the secret he must keep hidden at all costs.

Enjoyment: ★★★★★

Fun. Exciting. Awesome. A really interesting mix of Old West-style homesteading and banditry, and post-apocalyptic futuristic adventure. I couldn't put it down. I really don't have anything negative to say here; honestly, it was that cool.

Plot: ★★★★★

Amazing. Let me repeat that: a-maz-ing. One of the coolest plot ideas ever (and really unique, too!) An excellent mix of exciting bits, calm bits, villians, protagonists, secrets, revelations... and did I mention it's under the ocean?

So yeah. I loved this plot. A lot.

Characters: ★★★★

I liked Ty a lot, and Gemma was okay (although I wasn't quite as impressed with her.) I loved Ty's little sister. Kat Falls does an excellent job, in my opinion, of bringing side characters and villains to life, whereas most authors focus solely on their star. So there were a lot of characters worth loving in this book. I didn't give it five stars, however, because there wasn't a great deal of transformation/emotional growth/things like that. I like to see characters grow and change, and although Ty and the gang were pretty cool, they were also pretty static.

Writing: ★★★★★

Again, I don't have much to say here; it was excellently written. The only critique I can come up with (and it's pretty petty) is that the writing was a little simplistic and the vocabulary limited. Beyond that, nothing to complain about. And I have to admit, I'm a sucker for cool slang, and Falls does a brilliant job with her slang.

End Result: Five Stars. A really excellent book. Read it.