Jonathan Janz has written one of the best thrillers I have read in a very long time. The premise alone is not one that you see frequently so that in and of itself intrigued me. Ten writers are chosen to do a summer long writers retreat at the home of one of the most celebrated writers of all time, Roderick Wells. Mr. Wells promises to teach each of them things that will open their minds to things like magic. He wanted them to look inside of themselves and use their full potential as a writer to publish books that will excite readers all over the world. But, we soon learn that this is more than just a writers class but a game…..a Dark Game. This game pits one author against the other and will decide who will be victorious. This novel is full of suspense, creepy details, well written characters that are so believable that you honestly think you are right there with them. This book has what it needs to keep you up on the edge of your seat waiting to see what will or what won’t happen.


5+++ out of 5 stars.


Thank you to NetGalley as well as the author/publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

The first book I have ready by this author, The Dark Game delivers exactly what I expected, a thriller.

Synopsis:
Ten writers are selected for a summer-long writing retreat with the most celebrated and reclusive author in the world. Their host is the legendary Roderick Wells. Handsome, enigmatic, and fiendishly talented, Wells promises to teach his pupils about writing, about magic, about the untapped potential that each of them possesses. Most of all, he plans to teach them about the darkness in their hearts. The writers think they are signing up for a chance at riches and literary prestige. But they are really entering the twisted imagination of a deranged genius, a lethal contest pitting them against one another in a struggle for their sanity and their lives. They have entered into Roderick Wells’s most brilliant and horrible creation. The Dark Game.

Creepy, scary, kept me guessing. Love Janz's books and The Dark Game is no exception. Janz really knows how to delve deep into the horror psyche and deliver knockout punches.

Jonathan Janz has quietly become the genre’s most reliable storyteller.
Always engaging, intriguing, I feel Janz deserves a bigger pedestal for all to see.

Whatever you do, don't accept an invitation to a secluded estate. It never ends well.
10 writers are invited to the private estate of renowned author, Roderick Wells to compete for the ultimate publishing prize. The run-down estate will host them for a summer-long writing retreat and competition. We are told the troubled backstory of each character and we realize that they all have demons and past atrocities that they bring with them. As they write their stories, one by one, they start to go missing or "leave" the competition but their writing stays. And as the competition goes on, the estate starts to flourish and regenerate itself. Even Rodrick Wells himself starts to look younger and younger. Is he a demon? Is he a vampire? What is happening to our contestants?

Jonathan Janz can write a good horror novel. Some of his scenes (I'm thinking of the sucking wall in particular) are seriously horrifying. The premise quickly grabbed me and I enjoyed this read. My one issue would be the writers. There were just too many of them! As a reader, I had a hard time keeping track of who was who especially with the male writers. Only until it came down to the last few, could I grasp who was who. Their voices weren't as distinct or easy to hear and I had a hard time knowing who was who.

With that said, I did enjoy this book and I will continue to search out Janz horror novels. Loved the nod to his previous book, The Siren and the Specter.

Christie’s ‘And Then There Were None’ meets King’s ‘The Shining’ with all of the bloody goodness I expect when opening a Janz novel.

I’m having a hard time keeping my focus while reading/writing right now. So I’m going to keep this short and sweet.

I’m glad to report that I’ve managed to finish this one, and it was such a FUN ride!

“Ten writers are selected for a summer-long writing retreat with the most celebrated and reclusive author in the world. Their host is the legendary Roderick Wells. Handsome, enigmatic, and fiendishly talented, Wells promises to teach his pupils about writing, about magic, about the untapped potential that each of them possesses. Most of all, he plans to teach them about the darkness in their hearts.”

Great setting, interesting characters, and flawless execution from Janz.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for the ARC.

3 Stars



Jonathan Janz first came on my radar a couple years ago and I was instantly caught up with his brand of horror that often runs close to the extreme. I have read many of his books since them and have always found them to be scary and fun reads. I hoped that The Dark Game would be another such read when I opened the book up looking for a violent and dark read.



It was the chance of a lifetime. Every year, only ten writers were selected to be part of the group of ten who would receive personal lessons in writing from the legendary Roderick Wells. Of the ten, one would be the big winner and go on to fame and fortune. It was not just an opportunity to learn. The winner would go on to literary greatness. What the participants did not know, however, is that Roderick Wells was quite mad and they would soon be at his mercy.



The writers thought they would be competing with each other in an attempt to win the contract at the end of the retreat. They thought it would be intense. What they did not plan on was just how violent the game would become. Roderick Wells is an evil genius who no longer is satisfied with bringing his demented view of humanity to the written word. He has moved on to bigger and more demented things. His newest creation is a story written in blood with those who seek his approval. It is a game in which the ultimate prize is not just fame and fortune but the right to live and enjoy the treasures earned. If the winner could live with their conscience, that is.



There is little original bout the setup for this story. This plot has been used numerous times in the past and I was hoping Janz would be able to pump new life into it. For the most part, he succeeds. I do not think there are a lot of surprises in this story as to how it unfolds or much that is going to particularly shock the reader, especially those who have been reading horror fiction for a long time. In fact, this is kind of an odd story in that it really is not horror in most aspects. It is more of a thriller than a horror novel although there are some twists and sequences that put it firmly in the realm of horror. I was just a bit surprised as I was expecting a more traditional horror novel from Janz after reading his previous work.



While I enjoyed The Dark Game, it did not provide the same punch that I had expected based on Janz’s other books. I thought it was a bit too formulaic to rise above the level of entertainment to something more enjoyable. It is well worth the time to read and provides an entertaining diversion for a couple hours, but was not overall as good as Janz’s other novels. Janz does remain a force to be reckoned with in the horror genre and, along with Flame Tree Press, is sure to be a strong presence in the genre for years to come. The Dark Game provides a couple of hours of solid, dark entertainment but left me looking for a little bit more than it was able to deliver. The book is a solid read for fans of the genre as well as Janz and is recommended for them but I am not sure how many new fans he will win with this novel.



I would like to thank Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for this review copy. The Dark Game is available now.

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2020 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2020/01/2020-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

I have started The Dark Game by Jonathan Janz many times but I think it's time I've dnfed it. I've set it down many times and it keeps putting me into a reading slump and it's taking me so long to get as far as I am which Is less then 30%. Which is the furthest I have gotten.

The Dark Game by Jonathan Janz is about the famous writer and Patreon of several best-selling authors: Roderick Wells who hosts an American Icon/ Survivor writing retreat. Only one writer can win. But little did the guests know, losing could be deadly.

The Dark Game has a great creepy premise. I enjoyed the overall plot. It was a quick page-turner with action from the start to the end. I appreciated the fast pace of the prose. However, I did feel like the book gave away too much at the beginning. I would have liked more mystery and build up.

Along with being action-packed, the novel was fulled of creepy scenes and horrifying visuals. There were good atmospheric elements as the setting was “ out in nowhere wilderness.”.

All the characters had interesting backgrounds. However, some were more fleshed out than others. In particular, the one Black retreat goer, Sherilyn felt othered. Janz falls into the too-common trap of white writers, where they describe the race of the POC but not the white characters. For instance, Sherilyn’s race is announced as “ a Black woman.” However, none of the other POV characters' race was specified. Therefore, the reader is expected to assume that the other writers are white (implying whiteness as a default).

Also, Sherilyn’s character development feels lacking to me. If she had more development and a better storyline, I wouldn’t have got the sense that she was just the token Black horror story character.

In general, I think the novel could have been improved by lessening the number of POVs. In that way, the storylines of the main characters could have been fleshed out more. I was completely invested in the characters and the love story angle because they weren’t fleshed out enough. Plus, the romance had a too instant love feel.

For the most part, this was an easy read but there were some awkward word choices throughout the book. Some word choices felt like writing big words just for the sake of it even if the word didn’t fit well.

What I liked the most was the reflections on being a writer, getting published and staying successful. I find reading about even fictional writers and their creative process to be inspiring and relatable to me as an aspiring novelist.

I gave Dark Game 3.5 stars out of 5 stars as I thought it was a fun yet horrifying thriller. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an atmospheric, creepy, page-turner, and others who like a book featuring #writerslife.

This is my third read by Jonathan Janz this year and it may be the best one, though The Siren and The Specter is hard to beat (and it gets a shout-out in this book). In The Dark Game, a reclusive author invites 10 writers to a writers' retreat, but unbeknownst to them, their host has a more sinister plan. He intends to pit them against each other as they face their demons in a competition that could cost them their lives or their sanity.

Yes, it's a familiar setup, but that only made me want to read it more. I love it when authors read someone's novel or watch a movie and think, "I can tell a better story than that." In The Dark Game, Janz accomplishes this trick. Its creepy, suspenseful and one of the fastest reads of the year for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for the book in exchange for an honest review.

I can honestly say that this book creeped me out big time. Ten writers hand picked for the opportunity of a lifetime, money and a very lucrative, high profile book contract. Whatever did happen to the other nine writers from the last retreat? Dark and twisted, this book will hold your attention until the very end!

I simply loved The Dark Game as this was my first Jonathan Janz read. I'm old school horror so this reminded of an old Hammer film Tales from the Crypt, actions or inactions have consequences. Highly recommended and I will seek more of his works.

Way too many characters to keep up with. It was an okay storyline if just a bit predictable. Still worth a read.

The book is darker than I expected and I loved it. It's not afraid to show the filth of human behaviour and the extremes of what people could do to each other. The characters aren't all likeable which makes watching them suffer pretty entertaining. The ways they are removed from the story are creative too. There are also snippets of the characters' writings and I wish there's more of that because that's where their differences are most obvious.

I do wish the dark side of Wells isn't revealed as early as it is because it would have built more dread if we don't know exactly who he is. I also thought the romance plot is too predictable. I would have loved if the book had done something different because it was doing well with subverting character tropes before that.

The last third of the book is full of action which is super engaging. The power of stories is a theme throughout. There's also a thread about putting your demons to rest and letting go of your fears. This is my first Jonathan Janz book but it will definitely not be my last.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley & author.

I wasn't prepared for the dark and twisted game that this was.

If you like horror.. this is for you. don't even think about it, just get the book.

and don' tread it at night.. haha!

While the title of the book, 'The Dark Game', already hints at some ominous dark story, the pages behind the cover lead us into the deepest human abysses, presenting something even more scary than expected.

Ten authors follow famous author Roderick Wells' invitation to a competition, where only one of them will survive (unknowingly, but literally) to win fame and fortune. As it turns out, each author has a skeleton in the closet, which was part of the reason they had been chosen. Now they are haunted by their dark secrets and soon, the body count starts to rise.

While at first I had trouble to keep all the characters apart, their different voices and mannerisms made it easy to draw a clear picture of each of them. While I didn't sympathize with any of the characters that well, I can easily name a few I absolutely loathed from the beginning.

Reading this book felt like reading both a novel and a collection of short stories. There are flashbacks into each author's past and glimpses into their works written for the competition. Enveloping this collection of all kinds of horror scenarios is the intricately woven main plot, which adds just another layer of creepiness. I loved the mix of subtle and more explicit horror and the twisted happy ending.

Over the years, I had been hearing the name of Jonathan Janz mentioned -repeatedly- in the horror novel community. Nothing but praise for his work. I was very excited to get my hands on his newest book, The Dark Game. After hearing so much about him, I was looking forward to finally reading something of his.

I was not disappointed at all. This book pretty much had everything you could possibly want. Creepy house, crazy villain, henchmen and women, victims you love, victims you hate, blood, death, psychos, heroes, and plenty of horror. I flew through this book, sitting on the edge of my seat the whole time. Once the story got on it’s way, I could not put it down.

At first, I was a little bit worried that the plot would have way too many characters for me to keep up with. I am terrible with names and sometimes when there are too many characters in a story my brain just does not want to play keep up. 10 writers, 1 recluse, plus 3 other people living in the house, not even counting all the side names mentioned as backstory characters. Oddly enough, I didn’t have any trouble remembering who was who, who had done what, or who was where. I was really surprised. 😮 I think my brain was just too bewitched by the story to forget anyone.

The over all story was super fun and scary. 10 authors all trying to win a once in a life time chance of fame and fortune in a writing contest by an infamous and legendary author. All of that right there is interesting on it’s own, but then you add in a bunch of demented, WTF supernatural elements on top of that and things get really intriguing real fast. There were a plethora of twists that left my jaw hitting the floor. Now add in a ton of juicy dark secrets just for good measure. Lots of layers to this book. The Dark Game left me with chills running up and down my spine. It’s no wonder I couldn’t put this book down!

I seriously had a great time reading this novel. I thought this was a delightful horror book and I would gladly recommend it others. I’m very happy I finally read something by this author and I will definitely look in to his other work.

I have never read anything by Jonathan Janz before, but the premise for this book really appealed. Ten very different writers are chosen to take part in a writing retreat/contest ran by the celebrated author, Roderick Wells. Upon arriving, it soon becomes apparent that all is not as it seems in this isolated mansion, with it's mysterious owner.
The story moves along quite briskly, with it's large cast of characters introduced in the first few chapters. Almost as soon as they arrive at the retreat they are confronted by nightmares of their past misdemeanors, and before too long things take a murderously supernatural twist, and the writers have to try and survive the contest for more than just money or publishing deals.
As I said, this was my first book by this author, and I'd definitely be interested to read more of his work. It was a quick, snappy read, with a well realized, creepy setting. I felt that perhaps there were a few too many characters so for a while I struggled to keep them all straight in my head, and although I found all the characters interesting I found that I wasn't really bothered who survived.

This is a fun read, and gets a solid 3/5 from me.

Thanks to Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review.