I had the privilege of reading the first chapter of DARK KNOWLEDGE years ago when the author entered it in the first Gather writing contest. At that time, I thought the first chapter one of the best I ever read. Not just in the contest, but best EVER. With DARK KNOWLDEGE now published, I finally got to read the novel in its entirety, and am pleased to discover it more than lived up to the expectations I developed based on that first incredible chapter.
Wesley is a mentally-challenged man whose mother institutionalized and abandoned eight years ago. Bobby--an aide at the institution--has worked closely with Wesley throughout the years, taking him from an uncommunicative, nearly-incapacitated teenager to a loving, special-needs man training for his first job. Proud of Wesley, and pleased with his part in Wesley's development, Bobby is dismayed to learn Wesley's mother has returned. He worries the mother--who left a chilling impression on Bobby when he met her all those years ago--will undo all the good Bobby has done on Wesley's behalf. He becomes even more concerned when Wesley starts having trance-like episodes. Only when Bobby is diagnosed with an inoperable tumor and knows he was somehow healed by Wesley does Bobby begin to understand Wesley's episodes are much more than a trance. He is living in two worlds: his mind world and the physical world. With the return of Wesley's mother, the two worlds begin to collide, and along with Wesley's miraculous gift of healing comes a dark evil that threatens Wesley's existence at the same time it advances his intelligence. Aware for the first time, Wesley must determine if a life with more promise is worth holding onto if it comes packaged with dark knowledge.
A very absorbing novel, I read DARK KNOWLEDGE in two sittings, rooting for Wesley all the way. Being in his world is a bit like stepping inside a macabre rainbow of good and evil with twisting and turning colorful arcs; but there’s joy in taking the leap and meeting this heart-warming, good-soul hero.
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