The dark net: a novel

In this fast-paced demonic cyber-thriller, Percy has a sinister take on the deepest parts of our digital lives: much of who we are as living, breathing humans is actually being infiltrated by every device we touch. Anxiety and fear are set up from the opening pages as we are quickly introduced to a ragtag group of misfit heroes: Hannah, a young blind girl getting brand new technology that will allow her to see; Lela, her technophobic reporter aunt; Mike, a homeless-shelter manager; and Cheston, a computer hacker with a nefarious employer. They discover that strange happenings all stem from the founding of the Internet, and that this foundation is laid upon the backs of ancient demons who have been interfering with mankind for millennia. Dark Net can get gruesome, and the body count is high, but Percy keeps it suspenseful and compelling from the first page. The authentic Portland, Oregon, setting with a pivotal scene in Powell's Bookstore is also a draw. Think twice before accessing this on an e-reader, unless you think can handle the extra layer of terror.--Spratford, Becky Copyright 2017 Booklist

An unlikely group of misfits battles supernatural evil in Percy's blend of fantasy and SF. In near-future Portland, Ore., 12-year-old Hannah is fitted with a prosthetic to allow her to overcome her incipient blindness; Lela, a work-obsessed journalist, hunts a big story in the Pearl District's blood-soaked Rue Apartments; and Mike, famed as a child for his (false) claims about near-death experiences involving Jesus and angels, tries to atone for his sins by sheltering Portland's homeless. Around them cluster a swarm of malevolent bluebottle-like spirits, which are held off by secondary characters for most of the book. Then Hannah is swept into the Dark Net, the horrific digital hell below the Deep Net that underlies the Internet, and Lela and Mike must help her save Portland from demonic possession. Percy (Thrill Me) notes in the acknowledgements that he tried to ground his novel in reality; there's an abundance of local Portland color and an overabundance of technical detail bogging down his lurid prose. Nonetheless, fans of cyberpunk and occult-flavored fiction may enjoy this outlandish nonreligious fable of good and evil. Agent: Katherine Fausset, Curtis Brown Ltd. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

There's a deep global net in the virtual world, accessed only by those wishing to remain anonymous. Black-market trading and illicit dealings occur here, along with programs that provide prurient services. Keeping their operations vital but nearly untraceable is the task of people who are well paid to keep these servers up and running. What happens when demonic forces acquire log-in abilities at these dark levels? Can a computer hacker, a onetime child evangelist, a technophobic journalist, and a little girl with prosthetic eyes come to grips with hell on earth if it's only a keystroke away? VERDICT Percy (The Dead Lands) turns in a fast-paced dark thriller with crisp, honest dialog and well-imagined characters. His premise is fanciful yet anchored in believability. [See Prepub Alert, 2/27/17.]-Russell Miller, Prescott P.L., AZ © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In Percy's (Thrill Me, 2016, etc.) techno-horror thriller, a small band of misfits must counteract a full-scale demon possession of Portland, Oregon.Below the internet we use every day lurks a violent and terrible place known as the Dark Net. This is where people come to satisfy their most destructive and perverted desires, and, according to Percy, it's naturally where demons would go when working to possess people in the 21st century. While the demons in question begin by possessing the bodies of humans in order to physically manipulate and control technology, their ultimate quest is nothing less than complete domination of the human race, to be achieved through torture and mass murder. And the only people who can stop it are a 12-year-old blind girl, two demon hunters "on the spectrum" (meaning they have supernatural tendencies of their own), and an intrepid reporter. Percy's vision rather obviously offers commentary on our contemporary lifestyle: "People fuss so much about what they eat.But they don't worry as much about what they consume online." Once the demon virus is released from the Dark Net, anyone accessing our everyday staplesNetflix, Tinder, Googlebecomes a homicidal maniac. Percy takes the darkest conspiracy theories you can imagine and makes them the stuff of nightmares. Oh, and all this happens on Halloween, "the fall climaxa time of reaping harvest, of accounting." Humankind is held responsible for its irresponsibility, paying the price for all the convenience we take for granted, for our obsession with the digital world. While the message is effective and scary, though, the characters and the writing fall short of mesmerizing. Who says science and religion are incompatible? There's something undeniably creepy about the thought that your smartphone can possess you. A gory cautionary tale. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

In this fast-paced demonic cyber-thriller, Percy has a sinister take on the deepest parts of our digital lives: much of who we are as living, breathing humans is actually being infiltrated by every device we touch. Anxiety and fear are set up from the opening pages as we are quickly introduced to a ragtag group of misfit heroes: Hannah, a young blind girl getting brand new technology that will allow her to see; Lela, her technophobic reporter aunt; Mike, a homeless-shelter manager; and Cheston, a computer hacker with a nefarious employer. They discover that strange happenings all stem from the founding of the Internet, and that this foundation is laid upon the backs of ancient demons who have been interfering with mankind for millennia. Dark Net can get gruesome, and the body count is high, but Percy keeps it suspenseful and compelling from the first page. The authentic Portland, Oregon, setting with a pivotal scene in Powell's Bookstore is also a draw. Think twice before accessing this on an e-reader, unless you think can handle the extra layer of terror. Copyright 2017 Booklist Reviews.

The Dark Net is that dusky corner of the Internet where movies are pirated and drugs sold, and demons are planning to use it to enter the real world. They're up against a techno-challenged journalist, a former child evangelist, a hacker with a cause, and a 12-year-old girl with a visual aid who sees shadows around some people. With a 40,000-copy first printing.

The dark net is where people go online for things that satisfy their illicit desires. But what if something truly evil exists below the dark net? Standing in its way is a group of misfits in a near-future Portland, OR. Percy's blend of cyberpunk-style sf and occult horror is a perfect combo for summer chills.

There's a deep global net in the virtual world, accessed only by those wishing to remain anonymous. Black-market trading and illicit dealings occur here, along with programs that provide prurient services. Keeping their operations vital but nearly untraceable is the task of people who are well paid to keep these servers up and running. What happens when demonic forces acquire log-in abilities at these dark levels? Can a computer hacker, a onetime child evangelist, a technophobic journalist, and a little girl with prosthetic eyes come to grips with hell on earth if it's only a keystroke away? VERDICT Percy (The Dead Lands) turns in a fast-paced dark thriller with crisp, honest dialog and well-imagined characters. His premise is fanciful yet anchored in believability. [See Prepub Alert, 2/27/17.]—Russell Miller, Prescott P.L., AZ

An unlikely group of misfits battles supernatural evil in Percy's blend of fantasy and SF. In near-future Portland, Ore., 12-year-old Hannah is fitted with a prosthetic to allow her to overcome her incipient blindness; Lela, a work-obsessed journalist, hunts a big story in the Pearl District's blood-soaked Rue Apartments; and Mike, famed as a child for his (false) claims about near-death experiences involving Jesus and angels, tries to atone for his sins by sheltering Portland's homeless. Around them cluster a swarm of malevolent bluebottle-like spirits, which are held off by secondary characters for most of the book. Then Hannah is swept into the Dark Net, the horrific digital hell below the Deep Net that underlies the Internet, and Lela and Mike must help her save Portland from demonic possession. Percy (Thrill Me) notes in the acknowledgements that he tried to ground his novel in reality; there's an abundance of local Portland color and an overabundance of technical detail bogging down his lurid prose. Nonetheless, fans of cyberpunk and occult-flavored fiction may enjoy this outlandish nonreligious fable of good and evil. Agent: Katherine Fausset, Curtis Brown Ltd. (Aug.)