"Your mind tells you not to do this but your soul screams out to be true to who you are."
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Into the Dark Abyss by Lillith Pandora Trafford Publishing
book review by Mihir Shah
Powerful diction and imagery add flavor to the author's unique writing style. Into the Dark Abyss is an eruption of darkness; it provides an insight into a world that many refuse or are afraid to recognize.
In the poetry compilation, a strong theme of breaking free, or freedom is prevalent. The speaker of each poem builds up the intensity and tension of the dark thoughts using ideas that the audience can relate to. In "Fear," the prose is laced with visions of monsters under the bed, while a child cowers under the blanket—one of the most prominent, and referenced childhood horror stories.
Outside of the connection readers can feel to the nightmares enclosed within the sixty pages of poetry, they will genuinely enjoy the author’s use of figurative language and literary devices to create the dark, ominous tone. In "Blood Tears," the author uses rhythm and repetition throughout the poem to build a pace and structure that allows images to be seared into the audience's imagination. Moreover, many poems have a distinctly narrative feel, where the speaker enters into a stream-of-consciousness mode. These pages are filled with intense energy combined with profound philosophical ideas and the speaker’s desire to break free from the mold. Consider "Trying to Save Me," a piece that entirely revolves around the speakers' utter disregard for society, or as the speaker puts it, her desire not "to become a drone of society."
"Bloodliness of the Reapers," "Angels of War," "End of Days," and "The 4 Horsemen," are all examples of a shift to biblical content as the collection wind down. Other poems that are must reads include, but are not limited to, "As Blood Flows," "Black Rose Garden of Souls," Cemetery Walk," "Broken Wings," and "Shadows Within" for veracity and power.
Overall, Into the Dark Abyss will entertain and perhaps even force you to stop a second and think about the surrounding darkness that sometimes lurks without being seen or acknowledged.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review