Leonard D. Hilley IICritiques

Wow! That's all I have to say. Wow! This book completely took me by surprise. A very pleasant surprise at that. I was captivated from the very first sentence, all the way to the very end. And of course it's left open for another book! I am so happy for that! It was really hard for me to put this book down. The book is very well thought out, so many twists and turns you don't have time to get bored. The way he goes into detail just blows my mind. Predators of Darkness played like a movie running through my head. I have so much to say about this book but it seems like everything is connected in one way or another, and I don't want to giveaway any details. This is a must read. I don't understand why more people don't know about this series! Go check it out, you can read the first chapter for free! This book is definitely one of my top 5 favorites!

From Goodreads: The desolate streets of downtown Pittsburgh in 2073 are a reminder of the missile attack that forever changed the lives of the surviving scientists and students hidden in the fallout shelter of Helmsby's Genetic Research Center. Believing themselves to be the only survivors, they station themselves inside the center until food supplies near depletion.

I'm kind of torn on how to review this book. I would probably give it more of a 3.5 review if they had that. To begin with, the action part of the story was great! The creatures that hide in the dark were definitely scary, and during the action and suspense parts of the book you were right on the edge of your seat waiting to find out what was going to happen. Those were the parts that had you turning the pages very quickly. On the flip side were the "relationship" parts of the book, and that's where I had trouble. They just didn't seem realistic at all. I don't think the author (who is a man, no offense to the men out there!) is very comfortable writing emotional, romantic scenes. The main male character was very adept at switching from one woman to another, that much was clear, but he went so quickly that it just didn't seem real. I don't want to get into it in detail, because I don't want to give anything away, but the emotion and the dialogue didn't ring true at all!

Another problem I had was that between the periods of action and adventure, were parts filled with tedious monotony. I honestly think at least 1/3 could have been cut out of this book without taking anything away from the story, and in fact, would probably have made the story a much better one. It was during these parts of the book that I found myself yawning and waiting expectantly for something -anything - to happen that would move the story along! I may even have given up on the book if the action parts hadn't been so good. They were really the redeeming quality of the book, and what kept me going to find out how the story would end.

In summary, I gave this book a 3.5/5 review. I, personally, found problems with this book, but the underlying story was enough to keep me reading. I definitely plan on reading the next book in the series, and I fervently hope the author has addressed some of these problems before then. Again, this is just my personal view, and I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who didn't have any problems with Predators. It is worth a read to find out where you stand :D

http://lilacwolfandstuff.blogspot.com/2011/08/revew-game-of-pawns.html

Look at that cover...yes this story uses chess references in the war of genetic research. I had a hard time keeping everyone straight in this one. There were 2 different companies with 3 different bad guys...of varying degrees of evil. They are all in a race to create super humans to be used as soldiers, assassins or prostitutes.

Morton the cat is back to help his friends...of which there's a lot going on in there as well. Lucian is helping Kat find the people responsible for the bad stuff in the previous book (almost gave that away!). And then Lucas is in Nevada with Lydia when she is kidnapped with the command of the worst bad guy. So while Kat is working with the FBI on the Pawn murders and Morton joins them, Daniel flies on to join Lucas and his friends in the hunt for Lydia. Being that it all has to do with genetic research paths will cross. Oh and you have to read just to find out what Kyle can now do.

This is the last book...so far. It was as different from the 1st two books as possible. The characters were the same, but the bad guys were different and the genetic creations were different and scarier. Also the central characters shifted, this was really mostly about Lucian and Kat.

I can't wait to see what he comes up with in the next one...there was a little hint left at the end. So now I just have to wait and wait and wait. Mr. Hilley - don't make me wait too long. :)

From: http://lilacwolfandstuff.blogspot.com/2011/08/review-beyond-darkness-book-ii.htm...

First let me say thank you to Leonard Hilley II for letting me review the 2nd book in the Darkness series. I really enjoyed first book Predators of Darkness.

So the big question - did it live up to expectations? Oh hell yeah!

It's 3 years after those who survived were rescued from Pittsburgh. The main characters are trying to live happily ever after, but each of them has their own emotional scars to deal with. Daniel feels it the heaviest, the guilt and the fear that it isn't really over. I really felt so bad when he was right.

The biggest conflict with a character I feel is Lucas' clone - he has his own name in this book - Lucian. I love it! He's not really a bad guy, but he's controlled by bad people. I truly can't wait to see what is done with him in the final book.

I think you would be better off reading Predators of Darkness first, but if you don't Mr. Hilley puts enough back-story in that you wouldn't be completely lost if you started here.

Another 5 star winner. And I'm off to read the final installment. :)

http://lilacwolfandstuff.blogspot.com

There is so much I want to tell you all, I want to talk about the amazing ride that this book was. So much excitement, sadness, fear, happiness...a real roller coaster!

Honestly I have to bite my tongue, I don't want to give anything away. As you read, the survivors are locked in a research center, and have been for 3 years. 2 men, considered the leaders are the only 2 to leave now because of the very real danger of the "shifters." These creations are so very hard to kill, they heal so fast that the only way to kill them to slice them fully in half.

Oh my stars, I want to go on but I can't. The characters are so realistic, the plot is heavy - but in a good way. The pacing is amazing. It's 233 pages long and I don't think it ever slowed down. Even the sexy scenes were intense!

The cover is spooky - I'm not sure about the spider web unless it's meant to signify the abandoned city of Pittsburgh. The red cats eyes...well you'll read about him in the book. This would make a kick-ass movie!

The e-book is only $2.99 - take a chance. :)

Review posted here: http://offbeatvagabond.blogspot.com/2011/07/indie-book-review-predators-of-darkn...

I didn’t know what to expect when I got this book from the author. Again, just wanted to read it, didn’t bother reading the summary. Well that wouldn’t have made a difference because the description isn’t enough to show how incredible this was. I don’t think I have come across a book with this many layers. You think you have things figured out until you are given a curveball out of nowhere. This was such an amazing experience; I can’t wait to start the next one.

Predators of Darkness: Aftermath is about a group of survivors in the city of Pittsburg. Pittsburg has been hit by a nuclear missile and thanks to a well prepared scientist on a school campus, he gathers as much people as he can. This group of people has been in hiding for three years. They are running low on supplies and have to be extra careful when leaving their sanctuary. You see, after the missile attack, strange creatures quickly roamed the streets. They are called shifters. They are quick and very difficult to kill. If they aren’t taken down, they eat you. If you are a woman, they rape you and then they eat you. This is why women aren’t allowed to leave. But it seems that makes no difference when they find out that there is a murderer amongst them and the one person that knew that did it, was attack by the seemingly impossible flying shifter.

But after a seemingly normal scavenger hunt, our lead Daniel comes back with nothing. His best friend Lucas, however, brings back plenty of supplies and a woman named Lydia who quickly takes an interest in Daniel. Their stories don’t make sense and they are all suspicious of them. Daniel has to figure out who the murderer is that is living amongst them, try to figure out if his best friend and the new woman are worth trusting and worse, he is slowly finding out his friend and scientist that saved all their lives has been holding very valuable information from them all. Information that can save all their lives.

I LOVED THIS!!! I honestly could not believe I have not heard of this before. Actually I can’t believe this isn’t a movie yet. There seems to be a lot going on, but it actually ties in together so beautifully it nearly brought a tear to my eye. There is so much suspense in this book it might kill you. You honestly will be surprised; every page will leave you with your mouth hanging wide open.

The plot of Predators of Darkness is deep and complex. I absolutely must compliment Hilley for a plot like this. So layered and insane. I am trying to be careful with what I say here because the plot is full of surprises and one wrong thing will give it away. But trust me; you won’t see half of things coming until they knock you over.

The characters are engaging. I loved Daniel. He was strong and cared for his friends. He always has his guard up and he is smart. My favorite character was actually Julia. She is in love with Daniel, but she is scared to tell him. She comes off so timid and shy, but she is a tough cookie. She does so many little things in this book to protect Daniel that he doesn’t know about. I love that she is always protecting him when he is making a big mistake.

Overall, read this book. Immediately! It is sci-fi, but it is incredibly realistic and scary. It is dark, well-paced, and suspenseful. Man I wish I can say more, but like I said, you won’t see the awesomeness until it hits you. I won’t spoil you, but I am close to doing so. I could talk about this forever. I promise you will have a hard time putting this down. Mr. Hilley, you are brilliant!

When I first saw that "Predators of Darkness: Aftermath" had a sequel, this book, I am not going to lie, I was a bit disappointed. I thought that "Predators of Darkness: Aftermath" had wrapped up very nicely and that any additional books wouldn't be as good as the original. Furthermore, I felt that the characters really deserved a break after all of the hell that they went through in "Predators of Darkness: Aftermath". However all of my worries will ill-founded and I am happy to say that this book was as good as, if not as better, than the first book.

Once again Leonard exhibits his ability to create seamlessly blend multiple story lines without ever overloading the reader, as well as creating extremely dynamic and multi-faceted characters. In fact, a number of characters that I only felt "meh" towards in "Predators of Darkness: Aftermath", like Johanna, Lydia, and Lucian, I completely fell head over heels for in this book because it was evident that they truly grew and learned from their past mistakes. Furthermore, I came to love my old favourites, Morton, Daniel, and Lucas, even more in this book.

All in all, I highly recommend this series to everyone! As I mentioned in my review of "Predators of Darkness: Aftermath" these books have such a wider audience than one would think (myself being an almost exclusive reader of YA PNR/UF would never have picked these books up in a million years based solely on the covers or the synopsis and for that I would have truly missed out on some amazing reads).

I think that if "Æon Flux", the "Resident Evil" films, and "Shade's Children" by Garth Nix were to have a child, this would book would be the result.

When I first started reading this book I found myself growing increasingly frustrated with it because it was so far removed from what I typically read (YA UF/ PNR) and I seriously considered not finishing it. However, I decided to press on (because I hate to not finish a book) and as I delved deeper into the book, I found myself enjoying the book more and more and I could only shake my head at my earlier ridiculousness. This is not only the best dystopian/ sci-fi-ish book that I have read before, but also one of the most original.

You would think that there would be too much going on this in book- from shifters to clones to a Gollum-like creature to corrupt military personnel- but there really isn't. There wasn't any point in this book that I thought to myself, "Gosh, he really did include the kitchen sink didn't he?" The world building in this book is impeccable, as is the character development, and after reading it and thinking about all of the different layers Leonard wrote, well, my mind is blown. Furthermore, because the book is so fast-paced you are truly kept on the edge of your seat while reading this book and you cannot help but want to consume it all in one sitting.

This book has totally made me a hardcore sci-fi convert and I find that to be so astounding because, as previously mentioned, I was previously a strict YA PNR/ UF reader. What this shows is that Leonard is a literary genius and that he is able to bridge the gap between countless genres.