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jazzc1231's review against another edition
dark
informative
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Murder, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Torture, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual assault, Child death, Islamophobia, Death, Rape, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Trafficking, Animal death, Incest, Violence, and Sexual violence
abbuelita's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Though everything written here is true, this reads like a thriller. I was immediately sucked into the story of Silk Road and how the entire operation was brought down. The author is an excellent storyteller and does a great job of weaving a narrative. The last section regarding the darkest parts of the dark web is extremely hard to read and I would potentially advise people to skip it entirely and just read the first two parts. The author herself describes how this part was incredibly difficult to write and she almost abandoned it. Overall this was an incredibly compelling peek behind the curtain into dark web activities.
hitbooksnotgirlz's review against another edition
3.0
I was disappointed to find that most of the information regarding Besa Mafia had also been used & recycled from one of Eileen’s more recent novels: Murder On The Dark Web. There is almost no reason to read both novels. I had to skip through some pages as the same passages were in the newer novel that I had already read. I presume I’ll run into the same problem when I read her novel Silk Road. While Eileen’s previous novels included just the right amount of information to keep you hooked, this one simply had too much and felt like it dragged on a bit. What I did enjoy about this one was reading the interactions between Yura of Besa Mafia and Eileen. Yura was kind of fucking hilarious. What an idiot.
The only aspect of this novel that was truly new to me was the third part. Not the dark or the darker, but the darkest. Snuff films, red rooms and hurtcore. At first, I was bummed to see that this portion of the book was just a tiny sliver. But of course, I read on, and I discovered I probably wouldn’t have been able to read much more. I now understand why it was so short. It was largely about child pornography and exploitation, and it was horrifying.
The only aspect of this novel that was truly new to me was the third part. Not the dark or the darker, but the darkest. Snuff films, red rooms and hurtcore. At first, I was bummed to see that this portion of the book was just a tiny sliver. But of course, I read on, and I discovered I probably wouldn’t have been able to read much more. I now understand why it was so short. It was largely about child pornography and exploitation, and it was horrifying.
jendn's review against another edition
4.0
This book turns the Dark Web into a page-turner and complex, sordid issues involving many players into a focused narrative you can easily follow. The chapter on Silk Road and the corruption of its founder is fascinating, the hitman chapter is expertly researched and focused, but I will admit to skimming through the grottier parts of the darkest section. Otherwise well worth reading.
_wastelandbaby's review against another edition
5.0
The author is my personal hero. The amount of research that went into this book (not only from darknet but also Amy's story) is unbelievable. The darkest part was very hard to read so I can only imagine how hard was writing it. I rarely read non-fiction books but this one will stay with me for a long time.
thriller_chick's review against another edition
1.0
Not quite sure what I expected, but that wasn’t it.