Newton’s Third Law of Motion states that “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” Michael Cale’s latest novel, As the Darkness Deepens, is an interesting study into this universal law as it relates to the forces of good and evil. While this is a stock story, Cale’s strong characterization and powerful climax give an otherwise hackneyed theme substance to formulate a strong story.
We first meet unassuming Christopher Jones who walks his seven-year-old daughter, Sally, to school. After a hug and a kiss, Christopher sends her son across the street, when suddenly a speeding car hits Sally, mortally wounding her. In the terror of the moment, Christopher calls upon a mysterious power to heal his daughter and save her life. This act of love creates an equal and opposite reaction that literally gives birth to the main antagonist of the story.
Christopher discovers a renewed sense of self and direction. He transforms from a soft-spoken pushover to a man filled with the need to use his newfound power for the good of humanity. Eventually, the news of his powers spread and attracts millions upon thousands of the hopeless, sick and insane. Christopher becomes nothing more than a pinball game, bouncing off those who want to help those who want to take advantage and vice versa.
Cale, whose 2001 novel The Room of Shrunken Souls was an Eppie finalist, knows how to build a strong story. Here he does a satisfying job mixing good and evil in greedy entertainment executives, religious cults, and the Catholic Church. When these three groups collide in the dramatic finale, the reader is given a powerful overview of the moral fallacies harbored in everyday dogma. Effectively using the dreary backdrop of South Los Angeles, he builds an array of vivid characters that spill over from the 150-page novel.
Despite several annoying dialogue ticks and a sometimes sloppy narrative style, Cales pulls off the characters and setting. He would recommend As the Darkness Deepens to readers as a study in the evil side of morality that turns destruction into good.
Published by LTD Books
ISBN: 1-55316-138-6
150 pages
$14.95 hardcover, $5.00 eBook
http://www.ltdbooks.com