A Neon Darkness (The Bright Sessions Book 2)

Product Information

A serene landscape transforms into a magical underworld by moonlight. City streets can take on an uncanny or cinematic quality.

In what I’ll generously call a bold choice, A Neon Darkness does not have a story arc. What I mean is that, while there is some tension built towards a climax, there is really no rising or falling action. If you look at it from a plot perspective, the status quo is maintained and then the novel ends. Bafflingly, nearly nothing happens; it is, at best, a character study. A neon darkness is the second Bright Session novel and, since I loved The infinite noise so much, I was over the moon when my request got accepted.

Storyteller, director, writer, and fantastic playlist maker Lauren Shippen’s second YA novel release is just around the corner. A Neon Darkness is a character-driven story that will focus on Damien, one of the more troubled characters. Nerds and Beyond was fortunate enough to get an advanced reader copy through NetGalley to review. A lot of imagery can be brought up by thinking about light. Pretty sure you have your own experiences where light has been the central theme. Emotional and inventive, Lauren Shippen has written a queer love story for anyone who’s ever felt like an outsider. The Infinite Noise managed to make me swoon even as it broke my heart. A thoughtful and tender exploration of mental health, it will make you want to go to therapy, whether you have superpowers or not.” —Britta Lundin, Riverdale screenwriter and author of Ship It A Neon Darkness is about the formation of an identity; Damien – The Making Of is the supervillain origin story I have been terribly curious about (even though he’s mediocre by supervillain standards, let’s be real). In The Bright Sessions I couldn’t really figure out his motives when we first met him as a kinda weird annoying guy; then he makes grand mistake after grand mistake that ultimately ends with him becoming that unforgivable person he is at the end of season 4. I was always blown away by his morals and justifications for his actions (when we got to hear those), though in season 4 (specifically episode 48) where he has it all out with Mark, we get the final peek behind the veil as he says I shrug, maybe a little too big, because I catch Indah trying to stifle a laugh before she restarts her interrogation.

There's also found family trope in this book and the theme of this book relies heavily on that. The loneliness, the longing to be accepted by somebody, the joy of having people who can understand you, who can love you and whom you can call as home... Those really strikes me right in the gut. Lauren Shippen is really good at making us feeling what the characters feel. So much emotions, especially when the book ends.. I feel raw and really sad reading this. I always love a book that invokes so much emotions in me. I had read the first book and kinda see how Damien would ends, so I already know the happiness in this book will not last. But the ending still hit me with devastating feelings.... Imposing his want on other people. He is considered a high-risk patient by Dr. Bright, earning him a Class E-3. Joan is Damien's therapist, by his insistence. She is the only character who can (partially) resist Damien's influence of her own free will, rather than due to an atypical ability or a scientific intervention. In season 2, the two characters appear to have a close (if somewhat antagonistic) relationship. Damien stalks Joan and compels her to tell him secrets about herself and her other patients, resisting her attempts to provide proper therapy. Damien repeatedly teases Joan about being her closest companion, all while ignoring the fact that the reverse also seems to be true. He grows jealous of Agent Green and becomes angry when Joan is forced to tell the AM about Damien. However, he agrees to help Joan rescue Mark on the condition she finds someone like Damien. The two even spend a significant amount of time strengthening Damien's control. Throughtout ages, all the prophets of all the religions have been saying the same things. Earlier it was kings then society, now its screens. Which leads me into my next issue: nothing really happens in this book, besides that same argument. The villain is very bland, and there isn’t really any resolution or point to his story (though I am not sure if this is another element that would be solved by having prior exposure to the Dark Sessions). Even the final confrontation with him in the book seems inconsequential. I was left going wait, that was it? That’s what the entire story was building to?Y'all I still have no idea how to feel about this book! A Neon Darkness focuses on Damien's story. But before he was Damien, he was Robert Gorham running from his past and a power he doesn't quite understand. But in LA, Robert meets a group of Unusuals like him and he wants to be accepted into their group, so he is. But as the friends get to know each other, how much of it is real friendship and how much of it is Robert's will to belong. I think where I struggled with the book was with the titular character of Neon. I don't think she's badly written - she, too, is very human and flawed, hypocritical and judgemental and yet also vibrant and charming. But it's difficult to understand how the reader is supposed to view her. I didn't find her very likeable, and this may absolutely be intentional, but when all the other characters think she's amazing, it's hard to know what the author intends. This could 100% be my own problem, however, and nothing at all in the author. I adored the other characters, though, and in general found them all to be very multi-dimensional. If you are not familiar with Shippen’s work, pull up a chair. She created and wrote the popular audio drama The Bright Sessions, which had four seasons from 2015 to 2018. The podcast was carried on in The AM Archives, which she executive produced, and soon The College Tapes following Caleb and Adam. She co-produced the award-winning Passenger List and wrote the audio adaptation of the popular comic MARVELS. In 2019, she released her first YA novel, The Infinite Noise, and has a third book on the horizon, which will focus on a dream walker named Rose. Shippen is certainly busy! I really enjoyed reading about the group of 'unusuals' Damien met. Each of them had an interesting story and had very different views on their own powers. I loved the way they interacted with each other.

A neon darkness focus on Robert Gorham (Damien, who was introduced briefly in the first novel) and his power and life. Robert has the power of persuasion. He can get anything he wants, people have to do anything he desires and he lived, apparently, a blessed life, not having to pay for anything, getting luxorious cars, living in wonderful mansions, eating expensive food. While I loved the concept of A Neon Darkness, as well as the themes of control and friendship, I felt a little frustrated with Robert/Damien. I think a degree of that is natural, because he makes it pretty easy to do so. Because of his power, he learned early on that he can get pretty much anyone to do whatever he wants. If you had that power as a teen, what would you use it for? And, just what you might expect, it has some pretty disastrous consequences not only for the people he uses his powers on, but also himself. When a tall figure, immune to their powers, discovers them, the first family that Robert has ever wanted is at risk of being destroyed. The only way to keep them all together is to get his powers under control. A Neon Darkness is Shippen’s second novel based on The Bright Sessions podcast world. Where The Infinite Noise focused on Caleb Michaels and Adam Hayes’ story, this time, it goes to a more complicated and darker route. We get a glimpse and origin story into the complex character of Robert Gorham and how he becomes and embraces the name Damien. She introduces us to LGBTQ+ characters and diverse characters that defy typical stereotypes. They have conversations about sexuality, religion, emotions, trauma, and life in general. If you have not listened to The Bright Sessions podcast, no worries, you will not be lost. These books are meant to be standalone stories. The beautiful cover art of the book was once again done by talented artist Victo Ngai. She huffs a laugh as she puts down the vodka bottle and starts wiping down the bar, not meeting my eyes.

Some Faraway Place

As a character, Robert’s arc is genuinely emotional. He sees himself as the protagonist of his story, but what he is really doing is transforming into Damien and becoming the antagonist. He wants to be a good person, but his actions are selfish and manipulative, wanting to be the group’s main focus. The more obsessive he becomes in wanting them all to stay and be together, the more Damien’s moral compass points to becoming the villain. I do love that Shippen doesn’t justify his actions or put reason to them in her writing. He is a character that is not presented as likable. But part of you still feels for him, especially when he does seek out therapy. He shows moments of wanting to change but takes no ownership of any of his actions. He just doesn’t change for the better. He gets darker. One thing is for sure as he leaves Los Angeles in the rear-view mirror, Robert is gone and buried. Damien is here to stay. What Alex didn’t realize, what he didn’t see in his pacing, was that the tall figure was already in the shadows. He loomed there, waiting. Waiting for Alex to pace past him. Waiting for his moment. Waiting to set off an explosion. There’s a group of guys around one of the café tables, vodka shots in each of their hands, egging each other on. I already got too much of the frat house vibe in Vegas. No thanks.

The power of night bestows many types of photography with hints of mischief, magic, and possibility… I read The Infinite Noise before I discovered the Bright Sessions podcast, and right out the gate, Damien was my favorite. Charlie Ian's drawling sneer had me in four words. I had to fight not to buy this book right away. To anyone like me, coming in already hooked, be aware that this is a prequel. The Damien of the Bright Sessions is ten years away. Instead, we are introduced to Robert, an eighteen-year-old boy who has spent most of his life using a gift for persuasion to get what he wants. But getting what you want all the time, by force, has an undeniable cost... Robert Gorham is 18-going-on-19 when he arrives in L.A. for reasons unclear to the reader until much later. His power makes him able to effortlessly manipulate people into doing what he wants, and he’s used that power liberally to get where he is. When he falls in with a group of other atypicals, he starts to have to take a long hard look at the morality of his choices. He appears to be unable to influence telepaths like Chloe due to the complementary nature of their abilities. I did enjoy reading this after listening to the podcast episodes, especially after the college tapes and seeing Marley as a professor. I do still wish this book had more development and that we either get an epilogue of the friend group or of Damien after the fact. Preferably of the friend group since we do get more Damian content in the podcast and in Caleb's book.I’m not solely responsible. I can’t be. Because if I am — if I actually took ownership over the things I’ve done — I’m not sure I could live with the person I am. But I have to live with him. So, it has to be everybody else’s fault.” E-ARC provided by the publisher (Tor Teen) through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All quotations are not final. Thank you so much! A Neon Darkness is the second book in The Bright Sessions series by Lauren Shippen. It's a queer YA fantasy about teens with abilities they can't control and a whole lot of baggage that they really need to work through. Radio dramas for the podcast age often veer towards either solid writing or engrossing performances. Rare is the show that satisfies on both fronts like The Bright Sessions.... Shippen never loses sight of the impressive character work that drives the show.” — IndieWire Having gotten into the world of Bright Sessions after reading The Infinite Noise, this was a book I instantly anticipated once I found out about its release. Thanks to NetGalley and Lauren Shippen, I got to read it five months before its official release and I’ve got a lot to say about it. You can read it as a standalone but you probably won’t see the full scale of the development (or sort of reversed development) of Damien if you are not familiar with him already and you won’t feel the impact of finding out his origin story.