Dark Digital Sky

Carac Allison

Sep 2014 · Crime Planet Press

About this ebook

LA Private Investigator Chalk is hired to find three adult sons a Hollywood mogul fathered through a sperm bank many years before. United, the three half brothers discover they share a desire to be warriors. They plan a heist to prove they are worthy of enlisting with a paramilitary leader who has taken both a name and a mad inspiration from Kubrick's dark satire Dr. Strangelove. General Ripper's forces begin by robbing pharmaceutical warehouses and then mailing the stolen prescription drugs to America's veterans. They escalate to kidnapping video game designers and broadcasting their deaths. The ensuing chaos builds toward a culminating drone attack that will forever prove Ripper's warning that graphics have made warriors terrorists. 

 

Chalk is an ex-FBI agent whose specializations are cults and computer forensics. The tools of his trade as a PI are a Porsche 911, an unregistered Glock, modified cellphones, radios, and an eclectic collection of computers. He suffers from bipolar disorder, lives alone and hopes to one day be able to see his son without the constraints placed on him by the courts.

Ratings and reviews

This is excellent post-punk noir fiction, and, after the first 30 pages, I tore through it. Characterization and pacing, again, after the first little bit, are excellent, and while the prose could use a bit of clean up here and there, it is snappy and tight. I don't do spoiler reviews, but I will say that the plot is modern and original, even while the style feels vintage and authentic. Hits lots of 90s cultural references but not in such a way that it takes you out of the moment. The very beginning of the book was a bit choppy and disorienting for me, but once the book hits its stride, it is all good. I look forward to the next installment. *The author provided a copy for me to read and review.

Dark Digital Sky is an interesting mix of film noir, mysteries, and techno thrillers all set against a modern landscape. Imagine if Phillip Marlowe's genes were spliced with Sherlock Holmes in this day and age. You'd end up with the anti-hero of this book, the brilliant, if heavily troubled, cynical gumshoe named Chalk. This novel spans several days of Chalk's life as he starts off taking what should be an easy vanity case by a wealthy client only to get drawn further and further into a dark conspiracy that threatens the very fabric of our nation. The character of Chalk is fascinating in that he's a man trying to do the right thing, but willing to cross many lines, both legal and ethical, to get the job done. If he were wearing a spandex costume he wouldn't quite be the Punisher, but he'd certainly be several steps beyond Batman's comfort zone. As it is, Chalk is written as a man who you'd want to hire, but most certainly wouldn't want to be in the way of.

No spoilers here. Just praise, appreciation, and advice. I'm not certain how Carac managed to write it, but DDS is one alternate future of my life. His crystal ball was channeling my innermost fears about my own life. I have a phobia of high school reunions for fear that they will turn into a reenactment of "Grosse Pointe Blank" starring yours truly instead of John Cusak's uninspired performance. I suppose that means I'm one divorce away from becoming Chalk. But I digress... Other reviewers have regaled the hard-boiled noir goodness that Carac paints in bold strokes, so I will highlight something new... The protagonist, Chalk, is a fundamentally broken person. And you'll love him anyway. Carac masterfully captures the essence of being bipolar. It's exceedingly rare that mental illness gets such an accurate AND sympathetic treatment. Reading Chalk's ordeal throughout the book was like having an out of body experience. Carac delivers a characterization that only another beeper would know to be authentic. Believe it. I'm holding back just one star for three reasons. If you care to know what those are, tickle me privately and I'll tell you.

About the author

 Carac Allison started playing with PET and Tandy computers when he was a young teen. He learned to write on a Commodore 64 but he was never much of a programmer.

When he finished his undergraduate degree, Carac started working for the University of Western Ontario as a low level clerk. He went on to found the Web and IT Team in Student Services and has directed projects on database security, electronic data interchange, mobile devices and distributed online identity. As a member of Western's Information Group on Security, the Risk Assessment team and an investigator in student hacking cases, he has seen the good, the bad and the ugly of the digital frontier.

Visit Carac Allison's website at caracallison.com