Token of Darkness [Hardcover]

Ever since his car accident, Cooper has seen things he shouldn't see. Specifically, ghostly Samantha, a colorful, annoyingly spunky girl with amnesia, and creatures that randomly latch onto people in ways that look scary but don't actually seem to affect anything. The story follows Cooper as he tries to solve the mystery of who and what Samantha is and why Cooper can suddenly see her. Along for the ride are former couple, paranormally-endowed, and of questionable motives Brent and Delilah. Add in Cooper's post-accident anxiety uselessly peppered throughout and the story is complete.

Years ago Amelia Atwater-Rhodes was a decent author. She wasn't stellar, and no one would dream of calling her characters and storylines original, but she stuck to the basics and they worked. Now it seems she's constantly trying to expand her horizons, and it just doesn't work. Her book right before this one (Persistence of Memory) was a muddled mess of undergraduate psych major trying to add character depth by taking a cue from psychological case studies. The paranormal aspects were equally muddy and presented in a haphazard thrown together manner that just reeked of the author trying way too hard to write in a more complex and higher level than her previous books. She failed, badly. I was hoping she'd have learned her mistake, gotten the psych major newness out of her system and would return to what she does best with formulaic but solid paranormal fiction.

My hopes were not fulfilled. The much hyped Token of Darkness reads like an amateurish mash-up. Where the author was probably trying for character depth with damaged backgrounds (oh no, my mommy takes pills and that makes me sad!) and "quirky" traits (look, I'm spunky, I have multi-colored hair! Ooh, I'm bad, I do dangerous things for power!), she ended up with caricatures. Every single character is a wooden checklist of traits with no emotional depth, but what makes it even worse is that the book smacks of the author trying really hard to make deeper, fleshed out characters. There was also zero connection between the romantic pairs.

She also has a tendency to write about her characters as if they're fully developed people with long histories we the reader are just happening to see a glimpse of now. This style worked in her earlier books, particularly her earlier vampire books, but for some reason it really did not work in ToD. I think this may be because more people are involved in her creative process now and so she's used to discussing these characters with people who know them. By the time the book gets written and published, these beta readers are familiar with the characters "off screen," but regular readers are not and so their presence in the book seems less rooted. In the past I think she had less of a beta reader following and so this wasn't as much of a problem.

I wont even touch the plot, which is so convoluted and just plain stupid. Again, it would have been ok, nothing wonderful, but ok, if the author had recognized the limitation of the idea and went with it. Instead it seems like the big reveal was supposed to have been a BIG REVEAL that would make the reader gasp and think, "Oh my! How original!" But it wasn't. Big buildup, bigger let down.

In the future, I hope AAR realizes her place in the pecking order of authors and embraces it. She's a fine author when she plays to her abilities, but when she overreaches, she falls flat on her face.

When an author begins by using or quoting The Raven, (my favorite), then I automatically know I'm in for a wild ride.

Cooper Blake is a young man who is beginning his senior year of high school. He's had an absolutely horrible time trying to get back on his feet after a near-fatal car accident that almost left him dead and buried. When he wakes up in the hospital room, Coop not only has to struggle to try and heal his body and mind, he also has to deal with the very real fact that a ghost named Samantha has materialized by his side. In fact, Samantha is a big part of why Coop is still alive. She sat by his side in the hospital room every day, being his friend, and telling him that he could overcome any amount of pain no matter what. She did everything within her power to keep him alive and support him through the darkest time of his life. Not only is Coop grateful to Samantha for that, but having an invisible friend is also beneficial during, say...a quiz, where she can "pop" around the room and retrieve the correct answers for him.

Now that Coop has somewhat recovered, there's a part of him that wants to help Samantha. You see, Samantha is tired of being a spirit; she believes that there must be a way to "create" a body for her - perhaps, out of clay - so that she can be human again. Trouble is, Samantha has no idea who she was before she went to the "other side." She has no memory of what happened to cause her death, only the fact that she wants more than anything to be in a live body.

Going to the library, trying to investigate a way to help Samantha get her dream, Coop runs into a young man by the name of Brent in the paranormal section. Not only is Brent interested in the same strange subjects as Coop, but he also seems to be a little "odd" himself. As Cooper is introduced to Brent's world - the world of telepathy - Coop gets even more confused. Whatever happened to his nice, normal, boring life - playing football and prowling after cheerleaders?

Speaking of cheerleaders...Coop also discovers that the head of the cheerleading squad, Delilah, is also knee-deep in this mystical paranormal world, and she is on a path that no one could possibly comprehend. Bring into the mix a man named Ryan le Coire, who is a mentor for all these teenagers with "special gifts;" and demons that come in all different shapes and sizes searching for a way to "feed" on the innocent, and you end up with a fantastic story that not only deals with the trauma and challenges of teenage life, but also offers a spell-binding story in the process.

This author published her very first work at the age of thirteen; I must say she's truly a one-of-a-kind writer. This story is powerful, fun, frightening, and intriguing all at the same time, and I can't wait to read her next one.

Until Next Time,
Amy Lignor, Bookpleasures.com Reviewer

This is one of several books that I have read by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, and she never fails to produce very interesting stories. I really enjoy an author that is capable of leading the reader through a story, and still surprise them with an unexpected ending. Token of Darkness includes four key characters that were all equally likeable. This book was 197 pages of non stop action; that will surprise you when you find yourself at the last page.

The only downfall I find to this author is her books are very quick reads without anything exceptional. I find myself finishing the story, and while I have enjoyed I have nothing that jumps out at me and holds in interest past the ending. This is your perfect book if you enjoy simple and quick reading.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 17 reviews  4.2 out of 5 stars