The Chosen: Rise of the Darkness by C.A. Milson

Last fall, we received a copy of CA Milson’s The Chosen and that was what was previously reviewed.  When we were given The Chosen: Rise of Darkness, we both thought that it was a sequel, not the same story, newly revised.  However, it came to our attention that the second story was an updated, newly edited copy, and since we do try to be fair, I sat down to re-read it.

From the time that the Darkness ruled the ancient tribes, The Elders prophesied of a time when a descendant of The Gods would arise. Tonight, in the town of Winmont, an Ancient Legion has been awoken to finish what they started many millennia ago. Now, the fate of humanity is in the hands of One, but can he overcome the forces that dare to challenge the bloodline of the Gods?

Alex Manning is The One. Born of a heritage that was once a powerful civilization before it was destroyed by the Giants that once walked among men. Now tonight, in a small town, after thousands of years of being bound in the Dark Realm, the Ancient Darkness has been unleashed, and they set about to finish what was begun. Only Alex can stop the Dark Forces from destroying this town, but will he fulfill his own tests and sacrifice his life for those would seek to betray him?”

Now, before I even start with this review, I want to tell you all that I really tried to be fair upon re-reading this book but I must admit it was hard. Since my first reading of CA Milson’s The Chosen: Rise of the Darkness was of an older version, many thought my review wasn’t good enough. So I cleared my schedule and started reading and taking notes.  Special note to readers and others, I am not redoing this review to be mean but because I was told that I didn’t have the intelligence to write about or compare Mr. Milson to other great works that most people find too much to read in a day. In actuality, I am a very intelligent person; I have a degree in Nuclear Mechanical Engineering and I am currently in school for my second degree.  And as far as I know, even English literarture students hated reading Crime and Punishment. So Anne if you liked it and loved it, then you are the first one I have ever encountered to admit that.

My review of this book was better than the first one but not by much. I felt it was a little shallow and didn’t really have much substance beyond that of the plot and the ending. The plot was thought out but the information that explains the why and the how was missing. There were times where I was confused as to who was the speaker or what person’s head we were suppose to be in. It’s a personal pet peeve of mine when authors jump around to too many heads in first person – it can make for a very difficult reading. The ending was not so bad, I think it dragged on a bit more than it had too, but I am sure there was a reason.

The reason I felt it was lacking substance was due to all the whining of the main character. Milson spent a lot of space building him up in the beginning, and throughout the book, to make you see Alex, the main character as a douche or a wimpy little man with no aspirations for anything in life. Then all of a sudden he is trying to be the hero. The One. Well I don’t buy it. There was not a catalyst for him to start standing up for himself to become the self confident person who needs to beat these creatures at their own game. He seems the kind of guy that would let someone else do it because it looked to hard and he was scared. Plus, when fighting daemons, it’s a given you’d be flipping scared; but did it have to be in every sentence whenever Alex thought about the demons?

And speaking of Alex being the One; what entity is responsible for the One? What are the Elders based on? What Ancient text are you talking about? What happened to the cop that left town? Where and why is all this happening? Which realm of religion are we talking about here and what do the demons do now, wait another 30 years? If Alex is supposed to be about 30 years old, why does he remember stuff that happened in the mid 1970’s?  Wouldn’t that make him older than he’s suppose to be? Plus, I was under the impression that the One does something or comes about ever thirty years. He’s giving this powers, and yet, they were never really explained. Where did they come from?  Why did he get them?  And one last thing, WTF is up with Karen? She was just in love with the one dude that is now dead, not 3 days before, and now she is supposed to be with the One. Umm no.

Sorry, I digressed, but don’t get me wrong there were some good parts in this book. I loved the way the semi-main bad guy gets his in the end. I felt really sad when the priest dies and I really felt bad when the two people that I thought were the main part of the story were no longer the main part of the story. It was a shitty thing to happen to them, and I think that it should have been a Mulligan, do over or catch-22 and they should have never went where they are now.

I have to say it sucks writing a review and trying really really hard not to put to many spoilers in it. I feel like I am talking like a mafia made man.

Anyways, I have to admit this book probably would not end up on my “must have shelf”, maybe my “bought-at-a-discount-lets-see-what-its-like” shelf, maybe.  I would recommend The Chosen: Rise of the Darkness only for those that like the gruesome death scenes and/or the softer scenes with his friends.  The whole plot is good, and while it seems like it has been done before (think Buffy, Charmed and Highlander all meshed together), it does add some differences that makes it stand out from others.  However, I can’t say that I will ever read this again though.

Also reviewed by:
Amberkatze Reviews
Dark Scribe Magazine
Bitten By Books
Alternative Read.com

About Rayna 7 Articles
I am a engineer and student with three children. I love to read so much that I had to open a book store to support my habit. I love all kinds of genres of books. I have recently been re-reading some older novels, classics, and have been on the hunt for new authors to become fans of.