The Lonely Dark Paperback – 3 Dec. 2014

This is serious everyone, read this book. If you don't like sci-fi it really doesn't matter (although the world is perfect for those of you who do), if you are a human or experience human emotions then read. If you love beautiful writing that is both raw and refined then read this.I had to read many sections over and over again, not because I didn't understand or found it difficult or it didn't sink in but because I needed to experience them over again.I'm not going to go through any of the story, you can easily see that in other reviews. I'm not going to compare Ren Warom to other writers because it doesn't matter. Ok so this isn't a review it is a recommendation but it's all I can give you. I'll be reading this a lot more and following this writer from now on.

I’ve followed Ren Warom on writerlot.net for years and have been waiting for her to publish more. Ripping The Lonely Dark from the parcel, I headed for the sofa. I read the story twice before putting it down. I got exactly what I expected. Vivid intensity and beautiful prose. Ren Warom has a stunning imagination and she’s not held back anything for this story. You’ll read it; it will haunt you; you’ll read it again.

Devoured it from start to finish and barely breathed while doing so. Exquisitely written and perfect in its brevity, The Lonely Dark is a must read - you'll be able to tell people that you read Ren Warom way back when, "before". If there's any justice in this world, she's going places.

Great book from a great writer.

Personally, I found the present tense with multiple flashbacks a confusing read at times. But this is a book that should be read slowly and carefully for every word.No hyperbole here, this was one of the most f'd up stories I've ever read. Deeply unsettling, claustrophobic, hopeless, terrifying are only some of the words I can use to describe this book, even with recounts of past traumas as well as the present threat. This is not for the faint hearted.As a whole, the book is not perfect, but it will be a long long time before I ever forget it.

I don't read SF. I don't really like SF. But that doesn't matter – this may be a SF story, but it's also one of the most original and inventive stories I've ever read. Put aside any pre-suppositions and take a chance on this – you won't regret it.

Ren Warom’s The Lonely Dark belong to a sub-genre of science fiction (which I might have made up) called 'head-**** science fiction'. Other examples include the end of 2001, pretty much anything by Phillip K Dick, and Keith Brooke’s The Accord (I first used the phrase recommending this book). Anyway, The Lonely Dark: it’s a story about two ‘Cerenauts’ whose consciousness is uploaded into an interstellar spaceship, to control its workings and look after the rest of the crew, who are all frozen for the voyage.Warom sets herself a challenge here, writing about two minds who are divorced from their physical bodies – the ship is now their shared ‘body’. It’s a testament to the clarity of the prose that these sections of the story don’t fall flat with so little that is recognisably ‘human’ to describe. Warom fleshes out (pun intended) the tale with flashbacks of Ingmar and Yuri’s lives prior to their interstellar journey…Some of these flashbacks relate to the reason human consciousness is being used to pilot the spacecraft in the first place: because a previous attempt at intergalactic travel using an Artificial Intelligence known as Danai ended in disaster, with all the hibernated crew ejected into space and the AI itself screaming into the void… (see what I meant about 'head****'?). The causes of the disaster are unknown, and as Ingmar's journey continues it becomes apparent that what was waiting in the darkness for Danai might be waiting for her… and that the darkness it waits in might be as much inner as outer.An original and compelling horror sci-fi meditation on isolation and consciousness, The Lonely Dark is full of memorable and creepy moments. The novella length is perfect for its experimental and unconventional approach. Definitely recommended.