Rob is what happens when we always get what we want. He is a young adult in the early-aughts who is so lonely and dissatisfied with his life because there is no human connections. His special power makes it so there can never truly be any honest relationships and interactions. He doesn't understand that other people are allowed to have a life that has nothing to do with him; that he can't make people love him. He doesn't understand why doing so would be wrong because he was never socialized to accept other people's wants and desires.
This is a pretty anxiety inducing dive into the mind of a kid who has never had to grow up. Never had to deal with disappointments until his 2 year stint in LA and that is where Rob finds out that he doesn't like when others have free will.

The concept of this book is really cool, along with the idea of teens with powers like the X-men, some with a guilty conscious and most with an identity crisis. That said, not much really happened here... until the end. They hung out, drank and smoke, went to concerts, swindled ordinarily people. I don’t know... I couldn’t really get attached or seem to care about the characters.

That said, I have not read The Infinite Noise, and I’m seeing that Robert/Damien is a character from the first book and this is his origin story. If that’s true, then it probably means more if you know this character already. I immediately found him to have no remorse at manipulating others, which didn’t sit well with me. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.

The writing is excellent, which is why I give it 3 stars. It probably deserves higher. The characters and plot just didn’t pull me in.

This was an interesting read in that I never felt so much dislike towards a character-- and that means it was wonderfully done! Over the course of the book, we are able to see Damien become the person he is!

Oh, Damien. The most complicated character of The Bright Sessions--so easy to hate, and yet you always want to give him just one more chance, no matter how badly he messes up. (At least, that's how it was for me? We love an antagonist with a tragic past who just wants to be loved.) With this book, Lauren Shippen has even more thoroughly fleshed out his character by expanding on his back story: what happened with his parents (something hinted at in the podcast but elaborated on more deeply here), how he found the Atypical community, and most importantly, why he is so dang bad at human connection. It doesn't try to paint him as a better person, because he isn't a good person, but it highlights his complexity. And you don't exactly feel bad for him, because he makes so many obviously bad choices (as anyone who has listened to The Bright Sessions can confirm, this does not change over time), but you do pity him and the difficult position his ability put him in from the beginning.

While The Infinite Noise is a love story with a plot that tracks the evolution of a relationship, A Neon Darkness is almost exclusively character-driven; it has some plot points, especially some major action at the end, but it meanders more in getting there, mostly following Damien's inability to learn from his mistakes (or, rather, how he often knows better but doesn't act better, if that makes sense). It also lacks the hopeful, warm-and-fuzzy optimism of its predecessor. It has all the trauma, maybe more, but without the healing. These distinctions are fitting, given the nature of Damien's character--in so many ways, he is the inverse of Caleb (The Infinite Noise's protagonist). I note this, though, because people who liked those elements of TIN will not find them here. They will, however, find plentiful queer representation, mental health discussion, and sarcastic narration, rendered with Shippen's signature conversational-yet-emotional style.

I need to emphasize this: If you haven't listened to The Bright Sessions, this might not be as impactful, and its narrative purpose might seem less clear. Held on its own, it's basically a story of a young man constantly self-sabotaging in his quest to find connection--just a lot of angst with an ambiguous endgame, not quite enough payoff, and no real growth. But if you're already familiar with the world of The Bright Sessions, if you know how Damien turns out a decade after the events of this narrative, this story hits hard--the lack of growth is kind of the point. I felt a visceral wrenching inside as I saw these layers of Damien's psyche unfold, because his past so strongly foreshadows his interactions with Joan, his fear of the AM, his feelings toward Mark, and his generally terrible life choices. You still won't forgive him for what he does, and this isn't a redemption arc by any means, but you'll understand how he got to where he is, and it will hurt. And you will love it.

Final notes: fans of the podcast will find Easter eggs in this book for The AM Archives and The College Tapes. I suggest reading this one after the original series, but you should DEFINITELY read it before The College Tapes. Whether you do it before, during, or after The AM Archives is up to you, but it gives some really important context for TCT.

Rep: bisexual male MC, Black bisexual female SC, Muslim sapphic SC [someone please correct me if I mislabeled Neon or Indah's sexualities; I'm writing this a while after reading the book], Asian male SC

TW/CW: suicidal ideation, mind control, parental abandonment, nonconsensual kiss, nonconsensual experimentation, kidnapping, mentions of drug abuse

Reviews forthcoming on my blog and Bookstagram!

Thank you so much to net galley for sending me a copy of this book! I wasn’t really into this book unfortunately. I don’t think I would read more from this author mostly because I didn’t like the writing

I'll be completely honest, I had no idea that A NEON DARKNESS was based off the author's acclaimed podcast series until partway through the story.

However, that did not impact my enjoyment of the novel at all -- in fact, it made it all the more intriguing!

Shippen is a master of her craft, weaving whip-smart dialogue and whimsical descriptions throughout her prose. She has created such an immersive magical world, which is just as dark and gritty -- and yet still *hopeful* -- as one could ever dream.

Not to mention, I loved following a (quote-unquote) "Villain" as our protagonist -- I've always been a villain fan, and playing with themes of morality and the good/evil balance added an additional layer of brilliance to this story.

All in all, A NEON DARKNESS was phenomenal, and now that I know Damien's story, I cannot wait to go back and listen to her Bright Sessions podcast! Definitely recommend!

A Neon Darkness is an introspective prequel / origin story to one of the main antagonists of The Bright Sessions podcast. Shippen does a fantastic job at humanizing even the most morally questionable characters within her podcast, which is even more apparent within this novel as well. Shippen delves into many themes not often explored when diving into arcs of villains from consequence to humanity, among others. The plot does bring up new questions and delve into the TBS canon in an interesting way that long-time listeners of the podcast can appreciate. However, the actual storytelling can get a bit messy and feel a bit aimless or even wander at many points, but considering the author's craft in creating such distinct characters you can see how the narrative tones between each book feel vastly different. A Neon Darkness overall is a solid addition to the series better suited for long-time fans looking to get more background on characters from The Bright Sessions universe!

I want to start off by saying, this book wasn't bad. It wasn't poorly written or had plot holes. It just wasn't for me. This caught me on the idea of queer superheroes, and yes that is cool, but the writing style and language in the book didn't fit well for me.

Robert always gets what he wants because he makes those around him want it too. It’s an ability that should make his life easy and blissful, should give him anything and everything. And yet, arriving in Las Angeles soon before his 19th birthday, he brings nothing but a haunted past. But he meets people, people he thinks could be his friends, who might actually understand him. If only he’s willing to give up control.

A Neon Darkness is the second book in The Bright Sessions series based on an audio drama of the same name. It’s said to be able to be read as a standalone, and though I’m sure the audio drama would give me much more background on the characters and the world, it didn’t feel like I was missing any vital information without it. I have read the first book, but it’s very tangentially connected, and I don’t think it made much difference to my experience with this novel.

There is one piece of information I was missing going into this book, which is that it’s a villain origin story for one of the main antagonists in The Bright Sessions. I’m not considering this a spoiler because it’s hinted at by the tagline on the front of the book and, of course, obvious if you’re familiar with the web drama. For a lot of people it seems, this aspect made the story less than enjoyable, but I actually found it to be a pleasant surprise. Just don’t go in looking for a sympathetic character or a ton of positive character growth because you won’t be finding it.

Our main character, Robert aka Damien, is a whiny spoiled little asshole. He has his fair share of trauma, but his ability to make people do whatever he wants, and his willingness to use it indiscriminately, quickly outweigh any sympathy we might have for him. There was no shortage of instances when I wanted to punch him in the face, and if that sounds overly frustrating, this book may not be for you. It’s more of a character study than anything else, an exploration of what might happen if a relatively selfish person had an almost unlimited power to manipulate, and a glace into that person’s mind. At this I think it succeeds.

Contrary to Damien, the friend group that he meets are more than loveable, a tightly knit group of diverse individuals with interesting (though sometimes unwanted) powers of their own. Neon, Indah, Marley, and Alex all have problems and meaningful stories of their own, which I’d love to see explored more in the future.

As I’ve already hinted, there’s not a whole lot of plot to this novel. There is a shadowy nefarious figure after people with superpowers (who are called Unusuals) but it feels like more of a tie-in to the bigger universe than a means to actually accomplish or reveal anything. This didn't bother me beyond the typical annoyance at things being teased in a so-called "standalone" that will only be explained or resolved elsewhere.

If messed up, superpowered young adults trying to find their way in life (and being encouraged to actually go to therapy instead of trying to save the world) sounds interesting to you, maybe give The Bright Sessions a try. And if you’re a lover of villain stories or unlikable narrators, A Neon Darkness could be a good starting point.

The Bright Sessions has been one of my favorite podcasts for years. When these companion novels were announced I was beyond excited—especially A Neon Darkness because it's the origin story of my favorite character, Damien.

This book was everything I wanted: insight into why Damien is the way he is, how he got the name Damien, and just how broken of a human he is. Struggling to control his power of persuasion, he doesn’t always know what’s real when it comes to other people. Do they genuinely like him or do they only like him because he wants them to like him? This book focuses on the present while giving little glimpses of the past and what led Robert (Damien) to LA in the first place, the loss of Them. There are also little snippets from the perspective of the other characters prevalent to the story that help push the story along. I don’t always like little interjections like that, but I think the author used them sparingly and in a way that helped the overall story instead of taking away. Because of what Damien can do and what was going on it was nice to have a little peek into the other character’s minds at times. This was especially true knowing that the book doesn’t start out from Damien’s POV (which was a little confusing at first, but was soon cleared up as to why this was the case).

While the whole story isn’t happy (much of what we know about Damien from the podcast isn’t happy, so I don’t know why I expected this story to be happy), it definitely explains a lot about everyone’s favorite (or not so favorite) villain from The Bright Sessions. It breaks my heart knowing what he's gone through and how he can't really trust anyone or himself because of what he can do. Overall I am extremely happy knowing more about Damien and what led him to the events of the podcast. It’s an origin story more than anything and I hope you’ll pick it up. You don’t have to know anything about the podcast to enjoy it, but you’ll definitely get a lot more out of the story if you do. This is another excellent book by Lauren Shippen.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really tried wit this one because the plot was interesting, but I couldn’t finish it.
I didn’t like it and I guess it wasn’t my cup of tea

I had listened to The Bright Sessions, so was very intrigued by Damien's backstory. It was really interesting to root for a character while already knowing the outcome of their personality. I really loved the new cast and hope to see them appear in other books.

I did not finish this book.

While the book is labeled as a stand-alone, it felt like I was missing something from not reading the first book or listening to the podcasts. IT truly was one of the main reasons I didn't enjoy it, I felt left out.
The book is also labeled as without a hero or villain, so I assumed it was the development of the main character... Well we didn't get that. Overall I didn't enjoy it and did not finish it.

A Neon Darkness is a part of the Infinite Noise books - the bright sessions- and the dark sessions podcast. This is suppose to be a standalone but since I haven’t read or listened to either I found myself feeling that I was missing something. Infinite Noise is on my list since it has gotten fantastic reviews so I might need to backtrack in order to appreciate this book more. I liked the representation in this book but wasn’t a fan of the main character. I just feel like he wasn’t a Luke able character but loved the rest of the squad he found.

i definitely think you have to read the first book before diving into this, even though this is marketed as a standalone. there is little to no character development, and a lot of the characters are hateable, and I don't think that what the author intended.

I've been a fan of The Bright Sessions podcast for a while. Damien was easily one of the most compelling characters in the podcast, so going into this knowing I'd get some of his backstory was absolutely exciting. One of the most compelling stories an author or creator can tell is a villain's backstory and Robert's evolution into Damien is no different. While you don't necessarily need to have listened to the Bright Sessions podcast to appreciate this story - it definitely gives you a much more nuanced portrayal of what is to come from Robert/Damien.

Fans of ' The Bright Sessions' will enjoy this novel that dives into Damien's mysterious past. The world Shippen has established in her podcast carries well to book form - an excellent story for old and new fans alike (even if you didn't listen to the podcast!).

This was marketed to me as a standalone and honestly I felt very confused and actually ended up going back to read the other book they wrote and listen to the podcast. That helped a lot because when I first started reading this book it jumps you into the world right away, which I usually actually enjoy but not the way this book does it. This book heavily relies on you listening to the podcasts/reading the other book to understand how this world functions.

Also I had a really hard time connecting with the characters. This was kind of marketed as an "origin story" yet there is almost no character development. The characters are a bit bland and nothing out of the ordinary. Also along with not really having character development there also not much for plot in this book. The one positive light of this book was the representation of the LGBTQA+

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book had an amazing plot, but I felt the characters were a bit hard to connect to.

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

A great science fiction escape. I totally loved this book and getting to examine Damien’s past! The story is very well written and the characters are so great that I finished the book in one sitting. I loved this book. I highly recommend it.