Book Review: The Night Singers

Title: The Night Singers

Author: London Clarke

Date: 2024

ISBN: 979-8224802265

Quote: "If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration. - Nikola Tesla"

When bad writers have come to the end of their idea, and their readers want another story, they turn to ChatGPT. When good writers are in that situation, they do some research.

London Clarke did some research about a beautiful, tourist-friendly island. Islands led to the islands in the Odyssey. The islands in the Odyssey included Aeaea, Wailing Island, and the Sirens, for fear of whom Odysseus put wax in his men's ears and made them tie him to his ship's mast. The Sirens' magical song led to sound vibrations and a machine that some people think may stop the progress of cancer, at least for a while, with sound vibrations...Add the basics of a gothic horror/romance tale--the young woman who's immature and maybe a bit masochistic, too, enough to do exactly what she's been warned not to do, and the young man who seems not merely "grumpy" but unapproachable because of a terrible secret in his past--and you have the main plot elements in this book, tied together as only London Clarke can tie. 

It's not a retelling. Riff (short for Robert Isaac Franklin) is not Odysseus, the clever Greek who was able to reclaim his men and walk away from Circe. He is almost as young as Callisto (not Calypso), who takes upon herself to rescue him from a diabolical recording contract enforced by demonic creatures with punk hair and tattoos...

The details of their premarital sex act aren't spelled out in detail but there's no room for doubt that premarital sex takes place. There's also some explicit violence, though in the reality of the story, the characters who get stabbed, bashed with oars, and so on aren't human and deserve worse than they get. 

If you're looking for a Southern Gothic horror romance with movie potential, this book is for you.