Darkness Within, The (Book)
Gareth Jones
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Written by Sam Stone
Published by Telos Publishing
The Sun is dying. No, not the stupifyingly popular British tabloid (if only!), but the actual Sun. In response to this uncomfortable inevitability, the colony ships ‘Adventure’ and ‘Freedom’ are launched into space. Harbouring a selection of colonists specifically chosen for their perfect genetic traits and fertility, the ships head toward New Earth, where the crew and passengers shall forge a new beginning for the human race.
Keeping the various systems working, and thus the colonists happy, on board the ‘Freedom’ is Chief Engineer Madison Whitehawk and her hardy team of tool-wielding technicians. Unfortunately, their problems become much larger than simple malfunctioning showers or air conditioning when a routine mineral check on a piece of space debris sees one of the crew infected with a mind (and body) altering alien organism.
Before long, the contagion is spreading – spurred on by the vampire-like sexual allure of the infected, led by queen bee host Sasha Townsend, who can pass on the organisms through a simple kiss. Besides that, some of the infected don’t take too kindly, on a genetic level, to their new brain-slugs – leading to massive reproduction within their bodies that turns them into shambling, worm-spewing, flesh-eating zombies.
By the time the remaining humans realise that something is very, very wrong aboard the good ship ‘Freedom’, it’s down to Madison, fellow engineer Priddy, First Officer Crichton, colonist Syra Connor and ship doctor Hallow to form a rag-tag group and destroy the infected by any means necessary.
Stone paints a pulpy, yet interesting world in The Darkness Within, with the ‘Freedom’ posing as somewhat of a social microcosm – the colonists are pampered, given only the best living arrangements, cuisine and anything they can wish to make their time on the ship as luxurious as possible. The crew, however, are a different class altogether. While similarly chosen to be on the ship due to their genetic makeup, they are viewed by the colonists – except for the more humble Syra – as an underclass; servants that are not to be mixed with.
Throwing a bit of a dramatic spanner into the works, there is a burgeoning relationship between Syra and Priddy – the latter immediately infatuated with the down-to-earth colonist, and the former slowly falling for him as he continues to try and woo her. The problem here, though, is Stone’s concept of the ‘pairing’ system within the ship’s community. All colonists and crew on board are expected to choose a mate before their destination is reached, and Syra has been paired with the arrogant and bullish Ben – a man who treats her more as his property than a bona fide partner.
There’s a consistent sexual thread running throughout The Darkness Within, with the bonds of attraction between various characters being a frequent call-back as they try to settle on an on-board mate, but it’s handled with poise – never particularly gratuitous nor aiming for erotica. It adds an intriguing slant to the infected, with those whose parasites have taken complete control of them able to mesmerise and coerce their victims, bringing to mind Tobe Hooper’s classic Lifeforce by way of David Cronenberg’s Shivers. Using these extra angles, Stone manages to make the villains of her novella hive-minded brain slugs, zombies and vampires all in one. No mean feat!
The Darkness Within is most definitely outside of the scope of hard sci-fi, with little detail given to the various workings of the colony ship, the deeper technical aspects of the characters’ work on-board or even to the physical scope of the craft – which makes it difficult to truly picture the size of the ‘Freedom’ amidst the talk of its various floors and corridors throughout character movement.
Also absent is a physiological depth in terms of the workings of the parasites – you won’t find any Scott Sigler-style science breakdowns here – but Stone is confident enough in her writing without these elements, aiming squarely for the popcorn horror crowd and delivering plenty of gruesome set pieces sporting crushed heads, bodily dismemberment, cannibalism and bodies pouring space-worms from every orifice. Ain’t nothing wrong with that!
The finale comes on in rather rushed form, as the small army of infected make a move on the remaining humans and an all-out bloodbath ensues, leaving a number of characters and interesting story threads not quite as mined as they could have been. For example, a notion is presented that the authorities on Earth are aware that time is so short that there won’t actually be a third colony ship heading for the stars – these guys are humanity’s last hope – but a lie has been propagated to reassure colonists that their loved ones will follow. More conflict could have been made from this revelation, alongside some further exploration of the back-story and political situation on our home planet.
Perhaps it’s unnecessary given the schlock leanings of the book – but it may have added a little more weight to the loss of colonists and crew aboard the ‘Freedom’, something which is already somewhat denied harder impact by the knowledge that the maiden ship, ‘Adventure’, has already reached its destination. Of course, if any of the infected were to make it to New Earth, the consequences could be devastating – but the loss of human lives from what is to be the race’s final stock feels less existentially horrifying here than it could be.
Still, The Darkness Within is a novella that moves along at a chipper pace and features enough empathetic characters, tense situations and splashy gore to keep the fun levels up throughout. It won’t blow you out the airlock, but it’ll take you on a trip that’s more than worthwhile.
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