Darkly Audiobook By Marisha Pessl cover art

Darkly

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Darkly

By: Marisha Pessl
Narrated by: Imani Jade Powers
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About this listen

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A must-hear thriller that will keep you guessing from the New York Times bestselling author of Night Film.

There’s nothing special about Dia Gannon. So why was she chosen for an opportunity everyone would kill for?

“Pessl is gargantuan: wildly smart, extremely surprising, a wordsmith, a queen. Read her.” —E. Lockhart, #1
New York Times bestselling author of We Were Liars

Arcadia “Dia” Gannon has been obsessed with Louisiana Veda, the game designer whose obsessive creations and company, Darkly, have gained a cultlike following. Dia is shocked when she’s chosen for a highly-coveted internship, along with six other teenagers from around the world. Why her? Dia has never won anything in her life.

Darkly, once a game-making empire renowned for its ingenious and utterly terrifying toys and games, now lies dormant after Veda’s mysterious death. The remaining games are priced like rare works of art, with some fetching millions of dollars at auction.

As Dia and her fellow interns delve into the heart of Darkly, they discover hidden symbols, buried clues, and a web of intrigue. Who are these other teens, and what secrets do they keep? Why were any of them really chosen? The answers lie within the twisted labyrinth of Darkly—a chilling and addictive listen by Marisha Pessl.

This summer will be the most twisted Darkly game of all.

“Complex and captivating.” —Erin A. Craig, #1 New York Times bestselling author of House of Salt and Sorrows

©2024 Delacorte BFYR (P)2024 Listening Library
Contemporary Family Thrillers & Suspense Exciting Young Adult
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Critic reviews

"Creative and unique, this is a special treat for readers who wish Jennifer Lynn Barnes’s The Inheritance Games had been set in the world of Jumanji." —School Library Journal

★ "Like a Darkly game, the whole is mesmerizing, improbable, deeply compelling, and best enjoyed after dark....Roll the die, flip the card: We have a winner."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★ "Twists and connections are satisfying and surprising in this high-stakes thriller by Pessl, who takes familiar YA tropes and turns them on their head using confident prose."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

What listeners say about Darkly

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Darkly and the Darklate Factory

Boring, predictable, clichéd. Pessl is phoning it in for the YA crowd. Unworthy reworking of Night Film and Roald Dahl’s classic.

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Caught me at the first paragraph.

I was not expecting to like this book as much as I did. I love the story, the characters, the mystery that lies within a mystery. It’s like nothing else I’ve read in this category. I listened to this at 1.5x speed and it was amazing.

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Pessl fans will love this, despite YA category

If you liked Special Topics and Night Film, you will love this one. I was hesitant after Neverworld, as it was a bit too YA for me. But this is Pessl at her best. This book has the expert narration of Special Projects and the complex background development of Night Film.

My only complaint is the narrator’s accents for certain characters.

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Pessl’s best since Special Topics.

Pessl’s best since Special Topics. Exquisite, almost too-smart-for-its-own-good prose, and a tangle of mysteries so dense, untangling them feels as satisfying as unknotting a pair of wired earbuds. Also her trademark and pitch perfect dialogue, and a wonderfully canny and cunning narrator in Dia, make for an absolutely envigorating late-fall read. I was lucky enough to read it in a snow day, and it will satisfy every whodunnit craving you have. Read it with a glass of hot cider. And bring some tissues for the end.

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Love it!

A brilliant world created with extraordinary visual details and unexpected twists. I hope that this will become a series and that there will be more books.

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Twists and turns

This book!! Was soo good. And the reading with all the different voices and characters!! Truly a work of art

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intriguing

a bit predictable at parts, but I had a lot of fun listening to it. I did like how it all braided together though, it felt worth the wait.

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Fantastic read!

This was gripping and interesting- finally a unique story! While this may carry the YA genre in its tags, it’s absolutely suitable for adults. It’s well written, engaging, and there are PLENTY of plot twists to go around. 10/10!

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kill me

would you like to hear a pathetic author surrogate drool over a series of fantasy boys? this book may be for you

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Ugh/ I desperately wanted to love it

I listened to every single second. I have waited over a year with November 26th saved on my calendar. Anticipating the moment I would be alone with my new favorite book letting it devour me.
As it marched on I kept an open mind as disappointment had well crept in- and I held on to the last second.
Con-Narrators retainer was distracting and wished they had used a more mature voice.
Pro- Narrator has incredible talents using various accents and going back and forth to the different ones.
Con- The main character of the story, “paradise” rings all too similar to the main girls of NeverWorld and Chemistry. I already fell in love with the other 2/this felt like a copy not an original. All too smart yet wallflower girl who has one parent and favors old books, old music, old world/ hmmm..
Con- The story is chaotic and confusing/ parts of it. There’s not really a “who done it”. It’s a high wire circus. I suppose the story is more of a young adult fantasy- but even comparing to the vampire books- it fell flat.
Con- It is leaps and bounds and continents away from the depth, uniqueness and brilliance of Night Film/ Marissa please write another adult novel!!! Your teen ones are now sounding too similar.
Con- The bonds of the main kids was not really there. It was lacking- they don’t trust eachother so there is a gap between them throughout the book/ then when they all confess their truths/ is when Dia runs off on her OWN to solve the mystery so the book shoves the bonding into the last 30 minutes and it’s not believable.
Con- Summary: I’m a nerd but at the end I’m a millionaire who is still humble and the popular boy who is rich and favors all the beautiful girls suddenly is in love with me and wants to love me forever/ ummm.. ok.. it’s giving nerdy girl takes off glasses and everyone wants her/ it’s giving cheesy, unoriginal and major eye rolls followed by disappointment because I expected and anticipated so much more from this author.
Con- The book is missing the brilliance of the authors previous novels. I am gobsmacked anyone thinks it is as good or dare they type the words…better than Chemistry or NeverWorld!! No way.
Con- A girl goes to London to play a mysterious board game- does she know it will change her world forever- more like wallflower of a teen enters contest involving dangerous missions for a game but the game, that promised mystery and excitement, was solved much too soon/ so hold on let’s shove some DNA gathering, letter finding, ramble bamble into the last 15 mins- and with a whisper of wilting confidence hope it’s enough to measure up to the previous best selling genius- as it floods the worlds bookshelves.
Can you say you gave it your best? Is it disappointing because it’s for teens where cheesiness is still fun and warranted? I’m not sure but for me, I didn’t like this story or the main character- not only disappointment but an incredible sadness and let down.
Until the next one…

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