Dark One: Forgotten

It's an interesting concept - more of a performance piece or radio play than a traditional book/short story. It is good to see authors playing with the format.

The main theme of the story is also novel and works well with the audible/podcast format. I thought the dialogue was a bit too hammy in places - that's pretty subjective. I also thought the ending was a bit rushed. It wasn't quite the ‘gotcha' that it seemed to be building up to.

Overall, worth the 6 hour listen but not something on the scale of “War of the Worlds” or “Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy”.

Mystery told as episodes of amateur true-crime podcast. I didn't like the mystery part that much, but the premise is intriguing: what if there's a way to selectively delete a person from everyone's memory.

This was such such interesting book, and they nailed the narration. I love how this was told via podcast form, it really fit the story.

I didn't I really like the friend but I was hooked on the story. There were moments that surprised me and moments were I felt fear for the characters

Overall an interesting and good read!

Great story but an unsatisfying ending.

I listened to the audiobook and I recommend you do the same. This book is the true crime rip-off podcast of a college student trying to catch a serial killer. Since it is a podcast it is enjoyed the best if listened to like a podcast.

The story got me hooked from the beginning, the mysterious case presented and all those unanswered questions made me power through in order to get more clues. I basically listened to the whole book in two sessions.
I really like the participation of Dan Wells in this project, he really knows how to tell a great story about serial killers and how to juggle comedy and horror. I'm looking forward to more collaborations in the cosmere.

I have no problem with the story, I think it is excellent. My problem comes with the conclusion. I had the feeling it was a little bit rushed and left many unanswered questions... Who is the emerald wizard? What are his goals? Why does he want the music bow if the Hollywood killer has several artifacts with the same effect? Why can't he be seen or described? What is the Hollywood killer? Where is he from? Why does he insist on the end to be killed? I believe this is the case because it is a prequel or a setup for future novels, so no big deal.

What annoys me the most is the scene in the car right before the final face-off. Our two main characters are affected by the curse which means that nobody can remember them, but they can remember each other (assuming the emerald wizard wasn't lying about that too, but it could have been checked very easily... they've been resetting the whole day) and they decide to smash the music box making the curse permanent. Later we figure out that the smashing of the music box broke the curse (kinda lame ngl).
Now let's assume the smashing of the box wouldn't break the curse or that instead of smashing it the friend queeps it. Then the plan would have to turn out the same because when the main character is dragged inside the house since the friend is also cursed she would have remembered and the swats would have broken in, or the police would have remembered because the main character would not have the box (that's at the end of the day the one debility of the Hollywood killer). And the epilogue would be how the two main characters are happy because they are fucked, but at least together.
I don't know if this hypothetical ending would have been any better, but the smashing of the box reversing the curse feels like a cheap conclusion. It is true that our only source of information on the magic system is an influenced informer with his own motivations. But I still don't understand why the Emerald Wizard wanted the curse to remain but he also wanted to stop the Hollywood killer.

In conclusion, I still have a lot of questions that I want to answer, I will check the dark one novel once it comes out, until then I will continue conspiring for possible explanations.

Good 1st person story told through a “podcast”. Had a nice blend of supernatural, mystery, and was a bit creepy at times.

I'm the person that prefers the traditional audiobook format to audio drama, but this audiobook was chef's kiss. A prequel story that'll eventually bring a novel into the Dark One universe.

I don't particular hate audio dramas, but the idea of a movie in your head seems to put me off and I can't really place a finger on it, although I completely understand why people enjoy them. I started Dark One: Forgotten simply for the fact that Sanderson and Wells co-wrote it. Im still new to Dan Wells, but I've been wanting to jump in his work and I'm incredibly glad I did here. Not only is Wells a new favorite, but I think Dark One: Forgotten might be one of my favorite audiobooks, and it's an audio drama! I think it works insanely well in this format, not just because it works off the podcast trope (one of the reasons I decided to listen), but the narrators [Rachel Jacobs absolutely kicked ass] we're believable enough for me to keep forgetting I was not listening to an legitimate true crime podcast.

I understand fictionalized true crime podcasts aren't necessarily new in this sort of format, but there always seemed to be something that breaks the immersion in these stories for me, at least for some of the few I've listened too. The whole cast in Forgotten were surprisingly intriguing and kept the story worthwhile.

I wasn't really on board with the Dark One story when it released as a graphic novel, even with it having the Sanderson brand, but I'm looking forward to Dan and Brandon working together on more Dark One material.

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Audio read by: full cast, including - Rachel Jacobs and Sophie Oda