Justine Avery’s The Darkness is a compelling short story about which I cannot say much without spoiling the plot. It ranks high for originality. If a master horror writer raised a pen to draft a gospel story for Biblical inclusion, The Gospel according to Justine could make a good start with Darkness. Everyone in a community must be a steward of light. A failed steward is a dead steward. You must be the light of the world.

Avery provides rich (and respectful) material for multiple allusions to salvationist theology. Whereas the main characters are prepubescent males enduring a test of salvation, one is tempted to see an allegorical picture of what Jesus and John might have been like as teenagers. I cannot stretch too much out of a short story. Just a thought. ( )

Can love conquer all? An enveloping shadow devours all life on the outskirts of a small village. As the population dwindles, the anxiety swells. During this time of diminishing hope, the readers are introduced to Lux and Limon, two young brothers in a close-knit family. Their brotherly bonds are tested when one is brave enough to face the terror to save the other.

The story is short, extremely well written and entertaining. My only wish was more context given to the entity. ( )

This short story was absolutely fantastic. Right from the very beginning you find yourself being pulled into a world where things are so simple yet terrifying. As you read the story you are filled with countless questions about the darkness and why it is the way it is. Since you will not be able to put it down, it is an easy read that will most likely be finished in one sitting. Overall, this short story is filled with great characters and beautifully crafted world. ( )

As with most short stories, there's not much time to evolve the world and characters. This short did a pretty decent job of doing that, but the ending fell flat. The idea is very imaginative that darkness would consume you if you didn't have light. But the ending left me thinking what now? It could have been a tad longer to explain a little bit more. But it's still an okay read ( )

Reviewed By Jack Magnus for Readers’ Favorite

The Darkness: A Short Tale of the Dawning of the Darkness is a fantasy short story written by Justine Avery. The village was brimming with fear of the darkness. It came each evening, laying waste to each and every thing that lay in its path. There were no solutions to and no reasoning with its implacable nature, so the villagers lived each dawn to dusk as fully as they were able, and they spent the evening warding off their foe. Lunam was very aware of the awesome responsibility he had in his family’s home each night. While he was still very small, he was charged with holding up his torch in one corner of the stone-walled cottage through the endless hours, until finally his father would declare his watch over and gently take the torch from his tired fingers. Each morning, Lunam and his brother Lux would rush out to play in the brilliant sunshine; sometimes they’d visit Stella and Videre, the elders of the village, and speak with Videre. The couple had survived the darkness for far longer than any before them, and they held the wisdom of the people in their minds. But when Lux and his brother knocked on the door, Stella’s eyes were sad as she opened the door, and she told them Videre was gone.

Justine Avery’s allegorical fantasy short story, The Darkness: A Short Tale of the Dawning of the Darkness, is an epic tale in miniature, jewel-like and rich in imagery as the reader watches villagers holding torches up against the darkness in night-long weary vigils. I was touched by the image of those villagers and the opening description of the Darkness, a living, breathing and horrific entity, played itself out in my imagination. Avery skillfully and adroitly builds up a world of post-apocalyptic dimensions and plants the reader squarely in the minds and imaginations of two young brothers who dare to question the status quo and challenge the night. This is a well-written story filled with richly developed characters, and it works wonderfully. ( )