Stranger Things: Darkness on the Edge of Town is not exactly as the tv series. So, if you are going to compare it then you will be disappointed.

The book itself is well written and entertaining. The characters were well-crafted and made me feel as if I knew them.

Overall, the book was one I would recommend.

Adam Christopher's DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN is the second in the STRANGER THINGS novels series, and definitely worth reading. Focusing on Chief Hopper and Eleven, this is a wild ride of psychological terrorism and the mechanisms of belief, riffing on Vietnam and certain covert CIA experimentation conducted in the jungles while American troops fought in a failing war. Just as the first in the series, SUSPICIOUS MINDS, riffs on an extension of the documented in history CIA Project MK-ULTRA, so does DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN explore consequences of the CIA experimentation on soldiers in Vietnam, creating in this case, a monster. What doesn't kill you, makes you monstrous. Indeed.

One of my favorite threads in both the original series and in the novels is the playing on the CIA experimentation, Science gone to extremes, government conspiracy, and the attempts to expand the boundaries of human consciousness [which all sounds very 1960's].

I love the show so much, but this book did not capture Jim Hopper as well as I had hoped. I'll stick with the show.

I am a huge fan of Stranger Things on Netflix, so I was looking forward to this deep-dive into Hopper's past. Unfortunately, the story itself fell flat for me and I found the writing to be too simplistic.

This was a nice filler between seasons, while also giving us a glimpse into Hopper's life before the events of Stranger Things. I like that this story used the true events of the Son of Sam killer of New York to set the scene for this fictional tellings of the events of this killer's reign of terror. I also feel as though the author really did capture the essence of who Hopper is as not only a cop but also a father/father figure.

While there isn't much of this beyond the characters of Hopper and Eleven that connect it to the Netflix series, it was an enjoyable side story featuring one of the show's most beloved characters.

My family and I are huge fans of Stranger Things and I was super excited to see Hopper get the next book. His story was definitely one of heartbreak so I was nervous to read it, but I did it and I'm happy I did. He's probably my most favorite ST character and I'm glad we got to see more from him.

I was provided an e-arc from netgalley to read and review

I unfortunately missed the opportunity to read

It was nice to get some backstory on Hopper, but the story on its own wasn't very strong. If it wasn't about a random cop and not an already beloved character it would easily ignored. Unless your a huge Hopper fan and can't get enough of him, skip this.

Hopper is one of my favorite characters from Stranger Things so this tie-in novel set before the show was a must-read for me. I loved the insight into his relationship with Elle too--something that I really loved in the new season and wish we had more of. An auto-buy for any Stranger Things fan!

I included it in the Young Folks list, "Book Buying Recommendations for Mood Readers." https://www.theyoungfolks.com/review/140005/book-buying-recommendations-for-mood-readers/

I'm a huge fan of the series and Hop is a huge favorite (yes my heart is still mending after Season 3's ending) so going into this book I was beyond excited. I needed more Stranger Things and these stand-alone reads by Adam Christopher seem to be exacty what I need.

For hard core fans, I think this book was great. It gives a lot of back story for Hopper and that insight feels good. I personally loved getting to see a different side of Hopper because it made him more fleshed out and rounded. You understand more his instinctual reactions and thought process, especially when it comes to family and El.

The murder-mystery was also really well written. I'm not huge into the details of murder and killers but that being said, the story captivated me and kept me on the edge of my seat.

I know now everything is colored with the supernatural brush but I wish this would have had a bit more of that element. I haven't read Suspicous Minds but that is next on my TBR. I'm excited for that one because it has more of that fringe science feel too it.

If you're looking to explore a bit more of the Stranger Things world, Hops story is a good one to read.

Excellent storie(s) I really enjoy Adam Christopher unique writing style. This book was a total pleasure to read. I also really like his cover artwork, it's reminiscent of The Gunslinger series.

Okay, I guess? I usually really enjoy Adam Christopher's writing (especially the Ray Electromatic Mysteries) but this read as stilted and pretty uninspired - almost like a half-baked story idea re-purposed for a Stranger Things tie-in. Perhaps this is a worthwhile read for the die hard fan (and it's pretty short so you're not going to invest weeks reading this) but I wouldn't recommend as an introduction to Mr. Christopher's writing.

This was okay. I think it would have worked better a standalone mystery novel instead of connected to Stranger Things. The scenes with Hooper and El was cute but I would have liked to see some of the other characters.

These Stranger Things books are like candy to me. I love reading them and they get me through my intense cravings for more of the show! I love Hopper and this was the perfect thing to read after watching Season 3.

My Thoughts:
Stranger Things is one of my favorite tv shows. I'm obsessed with it. In fact, I binge watched the whole third season the day it came out because I couldn't get enough of it. Therefore, when I found out there was a book based on the show, I knew I had to read it. I picked up Darkness on the Edge of Town as soon as I could get my hands on it. I thought it was an enjoyable book, even if it had a few flaws.

At first, I was a little hesitant going into Darkness on the Edge of Town. Hopper is without a doubt my favorite character on the show. I wasn't sure if Adam Christopher was do his character justice. However, I had nothing to worry about. He wrote the character and the plot so well that when I was reading the book, I could see it playing out in my head, almost like it was an actual episode of Stranger Things. I loved hearing Hopper's backstory, and seeing him thrive in a different setting than what the viewers of the show are used to.

There is one major thing that I didn't enjoy about the book. Towards the middle of the book, Hopper gets caught up in a situation. I won't go into details about that situation in this review because I don't want to spoil it for those that haven't read it. However, after that certain part happens, I thought that the story became boring. It seems like when he was in that situation, it took forever for anything to happen. It felt like the story dragged on and on until about the last 30 pages or so. After that, it picked up again and became interesting.

Despite the pacing issues, I found myself really enjoying Darkness on the Edge of Town. I thought it was an interesting look into Hopper's life before Stranger Things begins. I enjoyed it so much that I want more. I would love a prequel show about Hopper's time as a detective in NYC, and more cases that he had. I also really want to see more of Delgado. I loved her character is this, and think it would translate well on a Netflix show.

I give Darkness on the Edge of Town: 3.5/5.

Darkness on the Edge of Town is the second tie-in novel for the Stranger Things series. Released 28th May by Penguin Random House on their Del Rey imprint, it's 432 pages and available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats.

I don't watch a lot of TV. I actually watch very very little TV (most people would say 'none', though that's not factually accurate, it's not far off). This is why, despite coming highly recommended from my friends, I've not yet actually seen Stranger Things. I am going to get around to binge watching it at some point, but in the meantime, I thought picking up the tie-in novel would be an interesting exercise and give me some background and introduction.

Author Adam Christopher is a prolific and capable author with several extant original series as well as tie-ins for a number of movie and comics franchises. He's quite a competent writer and his command of dialogue and character driven narrative is impressive. I had no problems following the story and in fact, feel a growing desire to turn on the TV and watch the series after having read the book.

This is a background novel giving some character back-story for Chief Hopper from 1977 as he's re-telling the stories to his adopted daughter, El. Not having actually seen the series, I am sure I missed out on a lot of nuanced content, but despite this, I felt that the story itself was easy to follow and well written. I remember the summer of 1977 (and I lived in the northeast Atlantic seaboard, not all that far from NYC), and the sense of time and place conveyed in the narrative is striking, especially considering the author himself was born in 1978.

Well written, readable, enjoyable even without being a (current) fan of the TV series.

Four stars.

This book gives you a peek into Jim Hopper's life before moving to Hawkins. It shows what a dynamic police detective he was in New York and also explains why he became a cop in the first place. The only reason I gave this story four stars was that I felt there should have been more interaction between Hopper and Eleven besides the brief comments between the two. The chemistry between Hopper and Delgado was amazing. They truly had each others backs and I loved that. By the second half of the book I was finally drawn in and captivated by this new enemy.

If you are a passionate fan of the show Stranger Things, this book is for you. If you're not, it's not worth reading. I enjoyed this story on Hopper's background during his time in New York. It was a cleverly done tale set against the 1970 New York blackout. It shows how people who gone through the same events aka the Vietnam War can come out and become different people. Hopper and the main bad guy both served in the war and afterwards took different paths. It also showed what women in the detective work place had to do put up with during that time peiod where there wasn't many female detectives. I enjoyed the story. But if you're looking for hints for any of the seasons of Stranger Things, don't bother to read. It's starts on the ending of Season Two but El's voice seems to be Season One. But overall it was a good read.

I am a huge fan of Stranger things and when I saw "Darkness on the edge of town", I couldn't pass this title!

The book is told from different POV and dual timeline - I personally enjoyed the dual timeline because it gave the plot more mystery. Although knowing that this novel would focus on Hopper's early life, I wanted to know more about his personal life (family) and certainly his interaction with El.

The writing flowed well and it was easy to follow. Nevertheless, I found the plot quite flat in some parts and the story took a different direction from what I was expecting, which left me a bit disappointed. While the characters were overall likable, I wish there was a better development of the characters. Having said that, the chapters dedicated to El and Hopper were engaging.

"Stranger Things: Darkness on the Edge of Town" is another fun installment in the Stranger Things series. I liked this one more than the first.