Dark Quirky Book List

Want to read something different but dark? Check out this book list....


1) "The Meat Market" by James Chalk
For Jonathan Harkon, living life in exile is never easy.
Forced into hiding his true identity and leaving the only home and family he's ever known, Jonathan finds himself halfway across the solar system, smuggling condoms for the religiously-oppressed citizens of an outer-system colony named Sanctity.
It isn't long before his cover as a bouncer for a local "bikini-bar" is questioned, and he is quickly embroiled in Sanctity's hardcore, underground, sex-slave trade.
With few friends by his side and only his ship, the HMS Mary Rose, to rely upon, Jonathan will need every ounce of the strength and skill that his heavily enhanced, genetically-engineered body can manage, if he means to survive and expose the terrible truth behind Sanctity's "Meat Market."



2) "Muse Unexpected" by V.C. Birlidis
"We're Muses. Not vampires, not fairies, not werewolves. We're Muses." Sophie was sure her mother had reached an epic level of crazy. 'Muses'? She thought Muses were lame, not to mention she found the idea ridiculous. However, Sophie couldn't explain away her physical transformation that made Anne Hathaway in The Princess Diaries look like a bad Walmart make-over, not to mention why her mood swings triggered an uncontrollable ability to shoot powerful bursts of energy out of her hands. Sophie soon realizes modern day Muses have evolved into powerful guardians of humankind, tasked with keeping mortals on the right path and the original Olympians locked away from the world. But old hatreds don't die easily, especially for immortal enemies that have an eternity to plot and gather their forces. Well aware of the Fates' foretelling of another Olympian war, and a young Muse that would rise up as a warrior and defeat them, the Olympians have vowed to either possess Sophie or destroy her. Either way, they will make sure everyone associated with their imprisonment will reap an eternal damnation in the Underworld, leaving the Olympians to restore Mount Olympus and force humankind into a future of never-ending servitude and misery.



3) "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
Though he may not speak of them, the memories still dwell inside Jacob Jankowski's ninety-something-year-old mind. Memories of himself as a young man, tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Memories of a world filled with freaks and clowns, with wonder and pain and anger and passion; a world with its own narrow, irrational rules, its own way of life, and its own way of death. The world of the circus: to Jacob it was both salvation and a living hell.
Jacob was there because his luck had run out—orphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on this locomotive "ship of fools." It was the early part of the Great Depression, and everyone in this third-rate circus was lucky to have any job at all. Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, was there because she fell in love with the wrong man, a handsome circus boss with a wide mean streak. And Rosie the elephant was there because she was the great gray hope, the new act that was going to be the salvation of the circus; the only problem was, Rosie didn't have an act—in fact, she couldn't even follow instructions. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.



4) "Geek Love" by Katherine Dunn
Geek Love is the story of the Binewskis, a carny family whose mater- and paterfamilias set out–with the help of amphetamine, arsenic, and radioisotopes–to breed their own exhibit of human oddities. There’s Arturo the Aquaboy, who has flippers for limbs and a megalomaniac ambition worthy of Genghis Khan . . . Iphy and Elly, the lissome Siamese twins . . . albino hunchback Oly, and the outwardly normal Chick, whose mysterious gifts make him the family’s most precious–and dangerous–asset.
As the Binewskis take their act across the backwaters of the U.S., inspiring fanatical devotion and murderous revulsion; as its members conduct their own Machiavellian version of sibling rivalry, Geek Love throws its sulfurous light on our notions of the freakish and the normal, the beautiful and the ugly, the holy and the obscene. Family values will never be the same.



5) "The Road to London" by Adriana Bulla
A light...
A birth...
A journey...
An escape—not just from the whispering noise of expectations but from the growing awareness of a different life, a different path, a different quest.
The greatest love letters are written in prose but bring forth the poet’s heart, awakening in the receiver an equal passion—or so the writer hopes.
This love letter tells the story of how I reach London, how I reach you, My Dear, how I come to love so deeply, so truly and completely.
The journey was not easy, beloved. I faced many ugly trials on this narrow path—but also tests that were... Fun, naughty, spicy and the stuff of memories which will make me smile into my old age, whether you are with me or not.
I have no regrets, My Dear, except one... Just one...
It took me too long to find you...



6) "The Plague of Angels" by John Patrick Kennedy
Nyx is Queen of Hell and ruler of the Angels who were banished there – the Descended. And when the rest of the Angels are called home, Nyx finds herself stuck on the Earth with the Son of God. To her surprise, she learns that he is no happier than she. God's son thought he was sent down to judge humanity. Instead, he becomes a sacrifice for a cause he does not believe in – their redemption. After his mortal body dies, the Son of God makes Nyx an offer: a new paradise on Earth if she will help him destroy humanity. With two of her fellow Angels by her side, Nyx launches a thousand-year campaign of violence, sex, betrayal and intrigue to bring down God's people and have them worship her instead. From the back streets of Jerusalem to the palaces of Rome, from the temples of Egypt to the Pope's bedchamber, Nyx and her companions work to destroy the worshippers of God. But not all is as it seems. And the Son of God has bigger plans than any of them imagine...