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The Darkest Path
The Darkest Path
The Darkest Path
Audiobook8 hours

The Darkest Path

Written by Jeff Hirsch

Narrated by Dan Bittner

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

About this audiobook

A civil war rages between the Glorious Path—a militant religion based on the teachings of a former US soldier—and what's left of the US government. Fifteen-year-old Callum Roe and his younger brother, James, were captured and forced to convert six years ago. Cal has been working in the Path's dog kennels, and is very close to becoming one of the Path's deadliest secret agents.

Then Cal befriends a stray dog named Bear and kills a commander who wants to train him to be a vicious attack dog. This sends Cal and Bear on the run, and sets in motion a series of incredible events that will test Cal's loyalties and end in a fierce battle that the fate of the entire country rests on.

USA Today bestselling author Jeff Hirsch once again creates a futuristic world with stunning, dramatic realism.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateJan 1, 2013
ISBN9780545600354
The Darkest Path
Author

Jeff Hirsch

Jeff Hirsch is the USA Today bestselling author of several YA novels, including The Eleventh Plague, The Darkest Path, and Black River Falls. He lives in Providence, Rhode Island. Visit him online at jeff-hirsch.com and on Twitter @Jeff_Hirsch.

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Reviews for The Darkest Path

Rating: 4.0588235294117645 out of 5 stars
4/5

85 ratings8 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The narrator did an excellent job! I enjoyed the story!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Couldn't stop listening. No real dull points. Enjoyed it immensely.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I didn't love it, I didn't hate it. Cal Roe is trying to get home to Ithaca where his parents and Grandma Betty are still living in Fed territory. He and his younger brother James have were taken by the Glorious Path six years ago and given the Choice, to follow the Path or not. If they chose not to they would have been killed as Cal finds out when he sets up a Fed encampment in California. Civil war has split the United States apart in the near future but the causes are unclear. The Glorious Path is a fanatical religious group but how they gained so much territory and followers is not explained. The violent and bloody action may attract reluctant readers but it also strains credulity with all of the pain inflicted on Cal.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    The Glorious Path wants complete control of the country. Those they capture are give the choice: Join or Be Killed.
    Fifteen-year-old Callum Roe and his younger brother, James, were captured by the Glorious Path -- a militant religion based on the teachings of a former U.S. soldier -- and forced to join six years ago. As a war rages between the Path and what's left of the U.S. government, Cal gets along by working in the Path's dog kennels. But soon Cal is presented with an opportunity to move up in the Path's ranks, putting him on the verge of becoming one of the Path's deadliest secret agents.Then Cal befriends a stray dog named Bear and kills a commander who wants to train Bear to be a vicious attack dog. This sends them both on the run, and sets in motion a series of incredible events that will test Cal's loyalties and end in a fierce battle that the fate of the entire country rests on.
    --From the book jacket

    This isn't a bad book, but it took me a very long time to read. Partly because it is a physical book, I think. At night I mostly read on my Kindle because it is more convenient. But I also think the plot just wasn't that compelling. The blurb on the book jacket (see above) sounds very exciting. But the story just didn't live up to the excitement. Maybe if I had read just this book all at once, it would have been more enjoyable.

    The bond between Cal and Bear really touched me. Once Bear trusted Cal, he was a faithful companion and would never leave Cal's side. But I just didn't get some of the actions Cal took when it came to Bear. Even though one time especially it was for Bear's own good, it really bothered me.

    Nathan Hill wasn't a very scary villain and we didn't get to know him enough to feel his motives or to hate him. I hated the organization (The Path) more than I hated Hill. I get why Cal and James agreed to join, they didn't want to die. But it seemed like others could have fought back and didn't. The book tells us that Hill was very persuasive and his followers practically worship him. I think that is how James becomes a believer. They are taken at a young age; Cal was 9 and James was younger but I don't remember exactly how much younger. And maybe Cal was able to resist Hill's teachings but James needed something to believe in.

    The end was predictable to a point. But I was really disappointed by part of it.
    [spoiler]
    When James shot Nathan Hill to protect his brother, I thought he knew who he was shooting and I was glad he chose his brother over the leader of the Path. But, when James admitted that he didn't know who it was, he just wanted to save his brother, well, I realized that he was still brainwashed. And that was disappointing.
    [/spoiler]

    I do like that the final ending of the book wasn't cut and dried. You don't know exactly what happens to Cal, James & Bear, but you have hope that they will be okay.

    Recommended to:
    Fans of young adult dystopian fiction or fans of the author Jeff Hirsch.


  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    For a YA book, the writing style was really juvenile. I also thought there was a lot of missing exposition. How did the brothers get involved with the Path? I could understand if they lived in a "border" state they would have been captured and then drafted but they lived in central New York.Most of the book is about Cal's escape from the Path but it becomes a long game of hide and seek. The Path would somehow back him into a corner and he would cause or use a diversion to get away. Very repetitive. The constant abandonment of Bear became tiresome. Good for middle-grade readers but doesn't hold any weight as a YA read.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    In a futuristic United States, a group of religious zealots following The Path are at war against the rest of the United States. After being kidnapped by the path, the main character seeks to gain freedom while still trying to protect his younger brother who has become a true believer.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    *This is from an ARC copy that I won through goodreads first reads.*Six years after fifteen year old Callum Roe and his younger brother, James, were abducted by soldiers of The Glorious Path escape becomes a necessary option. When Cal is sent out to retrieve a stray dog to be trained for The Path; he finds in the dog an unlikely friend and ally. Cal learns quickly he would kill his superiors to keep his new friend safe. While on the run from The Glorious Path Callum learns more about the war between what is left of the US government and the extremist religion created by an ex US Soldier and how it’s affecting every region of the country. He will also learn about what someone will do for their family and friends, what loyalty really means, and how to survive in the midst of war.Apocalyptic stories that have a twinge of reality are creepier than others. This is one of those that I could envision being ripped from the headlines so bring on the goose pimples. As an animal lover I had a real appreciation for the author in the fact that he wrote realistic dog behavior as well; dogs bark and whimper at inopportune times. Being a military spouse I am also happy when military equipment is written well. This novel has everything right for me in technical areas, but for me the characters (besides Bear) were lacking. I just didn’t find myself invested in them until the very end. Overall, I really liked the novel. I think this is one that a lot of people can enjoy and I will feel good about recommending.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Darkest Path is a mix of boy on the run, teenage compound, war, and really, really big cult all wrapped into one book. As I began reading I started to compare it to other books I have read recently about religion and cults, like Gated (Doomsday Cult) and The Outside (Amish community), but it really had many point that stuck out from those books.The Path is both military and a religious entity and they are stopping at nothing to change the entire US into a Path following bunch. The government is forced to deal with this gigantic threat and whole states have been taken by the Path and are left for goners.The Glorious Path was supposedly developed by a military man and hero and has become a force to be reckoned with. Upon being given the choice you must become Path or die… so there really isn’t a choice at all.Cal is the main character in The Darkest Path and he is on the run. Taken from his parents six years ago, he has lived with the Path and become a member, but mostly for self-preservation and now he must continue that preservation, which means getting out.Cal’s journey is not an easy one and he deals with a lot of emotional obstacles as well as physical ones. There is killing and death, and the loss of family and friends and so as a main character he is strong willed, determined, but also real enough to relate to a reader.I had a hard time with the cult aspects, this bug militant force that happened to take over most of the country. I can only hope it would never get to that point in real life, but who knows? Hirsch paints an eerie realistic picture of what this type of war might be like through the eyes of a runner and someone experiencing both sides of the mayhem.The Darkest Path was an interesting and unnerving book to read but if you have interest in dystopian societies this is definitely one of them and the characters are strong and relatable for the most part (minus the killing…).This book happily surprised me, as I did not really enjoy Magisterium (by the same author). I think realistic/ futuristic/ war times are more his niche than the fantastical universe of Magisterium.