Neon Darkness, A: A Bright Sessions Novel (The Bright Sessions)

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When a tall figure, immune to their powers, discovers them, the first family that Robert has ever wanted is at risk of being destroyed. The only way to keep them all together is to get his powers under control. He exhales. More smoke. More squinting. I stand perfectly still and focus on what I want, and then:

What can I get ya?” I hear as I slink onto a bar stool at the long and empty wood bar. I swivel around to see a woman a few years older than me behind the bar, moving toward me. She’s stunning— tall, tan, and slender, her cheekbones lifted with a warm smile, her whole face glowing. But as she approaches me, her smile sinks a bit. Like the bouncer, she squints.Damien was always my favorite character in The Bright Sessions (I love a good, humanized villain), so when I saw he was going to be the subject of one of Ms. Shippen's books, I was super excited. And overall, especially with Damien's character, this book really delivers. He walks this wonderful balance of relatable and hateable, and I found myself wanting him to do the right thing over and over, while knowing what the ultimate outcome had to be. He's a very well realized version of what would happen to someone who never had to do a lot of the tough work of growing up, but at the same time had some serious trauma to contend with. As a character, Robert’s arc is genuinely emotional. He sees himself as the protagonist of his story, but what he is really doing is transforming into Damien and becoming the antagonist. He wants to be a good person, but his actions are selfish and manipulative, wanting to be the group’s main focus. The more obsessive he becomes in wanting them all to stay and be together, the more Damien’s moral compass points to becoming the villain. I do love that Shippen doesn’t justify his actions or put reason to them in her writing. He is a character that is not presented as likable. But part of you still feels for him, especially when he does seek out therapy. He shows moments of wanting to change but takes no ownership of any of his actions. He just doesn’t change for the better. He gets darker. One thing is for sure as he leaves Los Angeles in the rear-view mirror, Robert is gone and buried. Damien is here to stay.

What Alex didn’t realize, what he didn’t see in his pacing, was that the tall figure was already in the shadows. He loomed there, waiting. Waiting for Alex to pace past him. Waiting for his moment. Waiting to set off an explosion. I don’t wanna!” I screech. The hands recoil from me, leaving my face cold. Their mouths snap shut. And then they have no mouths. Their skin grows over their lips, their eyes, their noses. They are blank and screaming and I wanted them to stop. I wanted them to stop telling me what to do and now they can’t tell me anything. I’ve taken it all away and suddenly their faceless bodies are gone too and I’m left alone with two empty chairs and the echoes of their screams— I turn to see a woman waving me over from reception. I barely suppress a sigh and eye roll as I saunter over to the desk. Robert?” I hear again, and I spin and I spin and suddenly I’m not in LA either. I’m sitting at my kitchen table. The table I sat at when I was small. The table where we had every meal together, as a family.Very good, sir.” He nods once, deferentially. “It looks like we have one of our Deluxe Villas available—that’s twelve hundred a night.” I close my eyes for a moment, focus on letting go of the envy, the bitterness. I don’t want her to not smile. I want her face to do whatever it wants to do. I do my best to drop the strings. Whatever’s good here.” I shrug, going for nonchalant. “Which I’m assuming is … something with vodka?” I add, gazing pointedly at the Russian decor before throwing her my best rakish smile, ignoring the uncomfortable pinching in my cheeks.

Night photographers seek to capture the essence of our world at a time when the majority of people don’t see it. A Neon Darkness is a villain origin story, which could have been an interesting tactic following the sugary sweet tone of the first book. It does lean into the tonal whiplash of its premise, but not to the strength of the narrative. Throughtout ages, all the prophets of all the religions have been saying the same things. Earlier it was kings then society, now its screens.

A Neon Darkness remains a novel that while it frustrated me, was intriguing on some level. We always want to be the hero of our own story. But what happens if we aren’t? We all know the saying, “with great power comes great responsibility”, but who enforces that? For me, my intrigue with the A Neon Darkness came with the exploration of this question. And the associated wonder if someone can put in the hard work to change. (Though it features Robert, who is a white cis seemingly straight able bodied man with the power of persuasion, which is kind of like a series of my worst nightmares and a symbol of the world). But? I’m thinking about just calling it a night, starting the process of finding a place to crash, when I glance across the street to see a bright red neon sign proclaiming BAR LUBITSCH. There’s a bored guy out front, smoking a cigarette, but otherwise the place looks a hell of a lot emptier than the street. Emptier and easier. Eventually I’ll have to sleep, but right now I just want to sit in something other than the driver’s seat. I take a deep breath and saunter across the street, plastering on my most innocuous “nothing to see here” face. A beat. That familiar beat that sometimes happens in the blink of an eye—usually without my realizing what I’m doing—and that sometimes takes an eon. But no matter how long it takes, I almost always get where I’m trying to go. Let me start by saying, although this is labeled as a standalone, if you haven’t either listened to the Dark Sessions podcast or read the first book, I recommend doing that first. A Neon Darkness was my introduction to the world, and I feel that was one of the biggest things stopping me for really enjoying it. This book is also labeled as an “origin story,” and without the word “hero” or “villain” in front of it, I thought it would just be the main character’s story of growth in general. Let me tell you, that is the farthest thing from the truth. Do NOT go in to this expecting character development from anyone. At all.

The Bright Sessions] combines shades of The X-Files and the HBO psychotherapy drama In Treatment, plus the youthful characters of a WB drama like Roswell or Smallville, into one compulsively listenable tale.... A testament to the simple power of good storytelling.” — Vox While trying to kidnap Adam, Damien was beaten severely by Caleb. After spending several weeks in a coma, Damien woke to discover his ability no longer worked. Damien can still feel thinking minds in the vicinity, but he can no longer influence them. Chloe also still cannot read his mind. LA seemed as good a place as any to hit up next on my haphazard tour of the western United States. Anything’s better than goddamned Nebraska. But, in another boneheaded move, I haven’t looked at a calendar in weeks, which means I’ve somehow timed it so that I’m driving into Los Angeles on the night of Halloween. Created by the brilliant Lauren Shippen, The Bright Sessions is probably my number one favorite podcast right now.” —Patricia Thang, Book Riot Storyteller, director, writer, and fantastic playlist maker Lauren Shippen’s second YA novel release is just around the corner. A Neon Darkness is a character-driven story that will focus on Damien, one of the more troubled characters. Nerds and Beyond was fortunate enough to get an advanced reader copy through NetGalley to review.What can I get ya?” I hear as I slink onto a bar stool at the long and empty wood bar. I swivel around to see a woman a few years older than me behind the bar, moving toward me. She’s stunning—tall, tan, and slender, her cheekbones lifted with a warm smile, her whole face glowing. But as she approaches me, her smile sinks a bit. Like the bouncer, she squints. Joan Bright's brother whom Damien removed from the AM premises as part of Joan and Sam's plan, only to kidnap him and keep him captured and uninformed of his sister's and Sam's involvement. Damien's reason for the kidnapping was his desire to find someone with the same ability as himself. Although Mark's feeling towards him are undetermined, it has been confirmed that Damien has more than platonic feelings for him. [5] Samantha Barnes [ ]