The Coming Dark

By: D.J. Molles

Narrated by: Scott Aiello

Trained from ten years old to deal violence to the violent, the Deathbringers take their oaths extremely seriously: Protect the weak, and foster the evolution of good.

All Liam Avione ever wanted was to be a Deathbringer. Almost twenty years old now, he’s approaching the last six months of the decade-long training program, hopeful for his future as a protector of the Universe.

One, slight problem: he’s got a genetic defect that he’s been keeping a secret. But as the training intensifies, so do his symptoms. Which are really hard to hide when they cause him to puke, pass out, and have a seizure in front of the training cadre.

Before he knows it, he is dismissed from the Deathbringers and sent back to live with the civilian “Lifebringers.” Struggling to fit in, or even find a job, Liam is relegated to working in a kitchen and repeatedly trying to convince himself, This is your life now. So when Liam gets a slim chance at redemption, he knows he has to take it, genetic defect be damned.

His second chance comes in the form of a Trial–an extremely rare occasion where Lifebringers are given an opportunity to test their mettle against Deathbringers in a seven-day contest. If Liam survives, he’ll get an opportunity to train as a Deathbringer again. The Trial is supposed to be non-lethal, but within hours of being dropped on an abandoned jungle planet, Liam and a handful of other volunteers start to find the terribly-mutilated bodies of their friends.

It becomes obvious that the Deathbringers aren’t the only things hunting them. An ancient evil is pushing its way through the fabric of space and time, intent on bringing death and destruction to the Universe. And the only thing standing in its way are some untrained Lifebringers, and a former almost-Deathbringer. And he’s feeling just a little bit pukey at the moment.

What could go wrong?

Everything. And it does.
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The Coming Dark is a fast-paced space marine sci-fi adventure of heroism, survival, and the fight to hold back a malevolent force invading reality.

©2025 D. J. Molles (P)2025 Audible, Inc.

Lots of action!

I Loved the action and not be able to figure out what was coming next.

Engaging!!

I loved the story, the performance, the characters! All of it!! Can’t wait to listen to the next book.

One of the most gripping, hardest to put down novels I’ve listened to in a while.

The pacing, characters, and descriptions were all fantastic. The story was compelling. The narrators performance was superb and added to the experience. All around a great read. Can’t wait to pick up the next installment.

Breaking News: Breaking Gods is back...

...Well, at least the realm, same Mythos.

This story is just as captivating as the first and holds your attention so much, I nearly crushed my hand while working.

My only criticism is that it's not from the voice of Christian Rummel. He personifies Whimsby in a way that is just unparalleled. I went back to the Breaking Gods series just for a brief respite. No offense to Aiello, but its like trying to replace Jordan.

All that said, this book is still a spectacular journey and I highly recommend taking it.

The main character is such a wimp

For a guy with 9.5 years of hard training, the main character liam is such a wimp. He is always second guessing himself. He is so wishy washy and weak mentally. His delays in actions pretty much what drives the story forward. If he had shot the wraith as it was being birthed, the book would have ended. Now I’ve got to listen to six more hours to find out what happens. Also, they send in space marines to kill the monster. 30 of them get killed. However, had they just do an orbital bombardment, they will have killed the monster. The elders are so stupid. The ai that is supposed to be all knowing is so stupid. Just let the cadets stumble in and not tell everyone what is really happening. It’s these kinds of scenes that don’t make any sense that makes it hard to read. The plot is so contrived to make liam the main character of the action, that it becomes annoying. The humans are supposed to be the best warriors in the universe. They are supposed to be able to fight other species. However, everyone acts so stupid and incompetent that it’s a wonder they are still alive. Earth is supposed to fight some mysterious enemies call the wraiths. They defeated them over a thousand years ago. However, with computerized records and an ai who was there at the time of the wraith war, nobody has any info on the wraiths. There is only scant accounts that liam can piece together. This is such an unlikely scenario that doesn’t make sense. It get worse. The ai is controlling a robot body that can kill the monster with a revolver and bullets whereas space marines with pulse rifles can’t. Completely improbable. I won’t read the next installment. I can’t believe there are so many positive reviews. This book is written for a fifth grader.