Dark City by Anna Mocikat is the sequel to her book Shadow City. It continues the saga of the human and vampire survivors of the Glitch, the unknown event that tore open a portal to another world. They battle the Dark Ones, creatures that came through the portal and are using Earth as part of a plan to conquer their true enemies.
The story picks up shortly after the Battle of the Freeway that occurred at the end of Shadow City. The humans are trying to recover, but the Dark Ones have a constant onslaught along the border of the Zone. Colton has become a symbol of hope for the few human survivors. As the one to have shot the leader during the battle, they see him as more than an average person, a special hero.
This is difficult for Colton to handle, as he doesn’t feel special. He also knows the only reason he knew what to do was because of the assistance of Vincent. Colton still has no memory of who he was before he appeared, which is made worse when he begins to show signs of illness.
Vincent, an unknown being posing as a human, has kept the secret of his liaisons with Eurydice, the vampire working with the Dark Ones, and has no idea what became of her after the battle.
The story doesn’t waste time picking up. The reader is immediately thrown back into the story from where things ended. The conflicts happening to both Colton and Vincent are only a small part of what Mocikat has set up for us. We get a glimpse into the lair of the Dark Ones and get hints as to their master plan and their motivation.
While Vincent comes to terms with what it means to be what he is while having human emotions affect him. There are new parts of Los Angeles we get to experience, which are mentioned briefly in the previous novel, we are invited into those secret places.
I have to say, I truly enjoyed this book. This is the third book of Mocikat I have read and she never disappoints. One of the things that stands out, is her attention to detail in the story. No time is wasted in the story. There are bits and pieces of clues, that at first glance seem insignificant. But if the reader takes notice of them, they get awarded a huge payoff later.
Not only that but unlike many other writers, Mocikat gives a complete story in both her books. When I originally read Shadow City, it felt like a bigger story than what I was reading. As I approached the end, I began to worry that the story would be incomplete. But the conflicts and characters that were the focus of the book were resolved with enough satisfaction that I wasn’t disappointed. While having enough setup built into the story that made me want to read more. A skill she repeated with Dark City.
If you enjoy post-apocalyptic stories, if you enjoy urban fantasies, if you enjoy sci-fi, then this is the story for you. It has the elements of these genres weaved together perfectly. I highly recommend picking it up and giving it a try.
Esteban Q Mathieus 