“My certainty is lost, replaced with biting despair at the realisation that my future will be as motherless as my past. I have failed.”
The Dark Chorus by Ashley Meggitt is one of those books that will take you on a ride from start to finish. You follow The Boy as he looks to save his mothers lost soul, helping his friends he meets along the way. However, do not think this a cute YA book about a boy making friends and learning to find his place in the world, The Dark Chorus quickly shows its hands as a gruesome horror that takes you on a trip through other worlds, ritual killings and child abuse.
The Boy (name unknown) can see another world, one he refers to as The Dark Chorus, it is through this sight that he can see people’s souls and discover whether they are redeemable in the eyes of The Angel. Not only can he see living people’s souls, but he can see all those left behind, trying to find their way to peace in the afterlife. Upon capturing his mother’s lost soul, he knows he needs to find a way to bring her peace, this simple decision taking him on an adventure unlike any other.
Whilst on his journey, The Boy finds unlikely companionship of his quest with Macca, a boy with no filter when it comes to violence, and Vee, a girl who has been through some terrible trauma but finds a way to keep going. In fact, they are united in their crusades, surely on the way to saving The Boy’s mothers soul they could kill Vee and Macca’s dads? Right?
However, the three are not alone, as they are closely followed by the police, and police liaison Dr Rhodes who finds she has her own part to play in The Boy’s holy quest. When the police discover the children are inadvertently hunting down a paedophile ring, they question whether the ritual killings are all that bad.
What Ashley Meggitt does extremely well is write some wonderfully loveable characters who go out into the world and carry out some seriously dark stuff. Despite it all, you can’t help but root for them and their cause. The world of The Dark Chorus is truly interesting, and as a debut, this bodes well for Ashley’s future as a horror author.
The Dark Chorus could be a fantastic contender for a NA (New Adult) range, due to its young protagonists, but adult content. There are multiple trigger warnings that should be brought to light before you consider picking this up, including: Child abuse, child pornography, discussions/attempts of rape, murder, torture, violence, ritualistic killings, racist language. The Dark Chorus is not for the faint-hearted but had a strong emotional story at its core.
I read this book as part of the Blackthorn book tour for The Dark Chorus, as such I was given a free copy, but my thoughts and review is entirely my own.
4 Stars
To pick up your own copy: Buy here*
*This is an affliate link. If you buy through this link, you pay the same,
but I may receive a small percentage of the sale
talislibrary.com 
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