Darkness Saga: Filii Noctis by author Benjamin Richard Long begins with two frat guys setting out to kill vampires. The pair are drunken idiots armed with spray bottles filled with Holy Water, wooden stakes, and a stolen cross. They make their way up a winding road to the graveyard. It is cold and snowing as they stand in the silence of the night. Four figures attack the two idiots, draining their blood. So begins this tale of horror. The scene quickly moves to a church where Reverend Michael Flowers, a famous TV evangelist, holds audience with two vampires. He is not pleased with their recent actions and takes his evil wrath out on one of them and drinks his blood. Is this the latest advancement in human evolution? However, there is hope for the human race, for there are those who are trained in hunting vampires. Is this the end of life or is it the new beginning.

Darkness Saga: Filii Noctis is not your typical vampire or end of the world tale; it will bring fear to the most courageous. I purposely only gave a slight introduction to this tale because to do more would give away too much that the reader should discover for him/herself. Darkness Saga moves along at a nice pace and is brimming over with twists and turns. Benjamin Richard Long cleverly introduces evil where you least expect it. He describes a world in which the evolutionary process is advancing at a fast rate. The characters all have flaws and weaknesses, yes, even the good guys, the heroes. As Benjamin Richard Long, the author states “Life begins and eventually it dies.”

Darkness Saga: Filii Noctis by Benjamin Richard Long has a supernatural theme. The underlying apocalyptic message of the book is that everything that has a beginning must have an end. Ragnarok breaks the bonds of reality and the world is torn apart. The chronology of the sequence of events mark the key points of Ragnarok.

This is a supernatural tale that swings from intrigue to mystery and symbolism. It is also a horror fantasy story where the element of horror is created by the villains and the heroes of the story try to escape it. The book is classified under the sections: Genesis, Evolution, Apocalypse, and Rebirth. The story is graphic and violent and some readers might not enjoy it. The section under Genesis speaks about a man who thinks that the world is not going to end. There are a lot of discussions about supernatural events before the world ends, which is an interesting take by the author. Evolution speaks of the coming and going of Apocalypse. Each title has significant chapters related to it which are very well written.

The villain of the story, Kross, is an interesting character, and is portrayed well by the author. The other characters in the story will also leave an impact on readers. The book is fast paced and informative. Though it is fiction, there are many things in the story which can be of interest to readers.

Set in a post apocalyptic world, one man’s relentless desire to achieve power, the rise of the undead that consume the living, and human perseverance shape the core of Darkness Saga: Filii Noctis, a fantasy horror mixed with supernatural elements by Benjamin Richard Long. The story breaks into four parts: Genesis, Evolution, Apocalypse, and Rebirth. I liked the noiresque art cover of the book that grabbed my attention right away. Coupled with vampires, the story has graphic violence and gore, which would satisfy the supernatural and horror enthusiasts alike. The way the senior vampires train and mentor a newbie, Tod, through a band named Filii Noctis is interesting.

I'm not sure how some readers would perceive the strong religious undertone though, a facet that Long projects in his writing. It particularly leans to paganism. I personally see it as a fitting and entertaining element of Darkness Saga: Filii Noctis, but some religiously sensitive readers might be slightly annoyed. On the other hand, characterization is well-crafted. For this reading, my focus shifted to the villains. Michael Flowers is one of the most well-developed villains I have read so far, a character very akin to a deadly snake with a great desire to achieve divinity. That being said, Kross is Flowers’ rival as a charismatic villain who is annoyingly lucky when it comes to escaping death.

On the whole, this is a worthwhile read with a unique premise and well-structured plot. I am confident that it will gain a wide range of readers.