The Nightworld

This slim adventure has an unusual provenance. Developed by James Frey’s Full Fathom Five packaging company and first published by Harper in November 2011 as an e-book in conjunction with a mobile game app of the same name, the story serves as the origin for a world devoid of sunlight. Everyteen Nick Robbins’s physicist father is brutally murdered soon after a mysterious cloud blankets the Earth, cutting off all light. On his own, with civilization rapidly collapsing around him, Nick must find a way to survive. While some—like his newfound love interest Lara and tough guy Zeke—are on his side, most people are ready to murder, enslave, and pillage at the drop of a hat. Moreover, government thugs are after Nick for the light-generating MacGuffin his father left him. The end result is a bleak, tense affair where no one is safe and every moment is fraught with danger. Blaine does his best with the material, but with the book ending just as things start to get interesting, this is more like an appetizer than a full meal. Ages 14–up. (May)