Darker Than the Sky

Darker Than the Sky by Matt Tracy
11/23/24; 296 pages
Chiloe Press/BooksGoSocial

Darker Than the Sky by Matt Tracy is a highly recommended adventure tale and the story of a man's life.

Van always ties plane crashes to bad things happening in his life, so when a plane crashes near his ranch in Northern California, he is conflicted. Before the pilot succumbs to his injuries, he tells Van to save the toolbox in the plane. The box is filled up with mostly undecipherable notes concerning searching for lost gold. The notes do bring new clues to an old treasure map Van owns. This leads to a gold seeking camping trip with his son Josh. 

Van and Josh pack their equipment, take horses, and head into the mountains to look for gold. During the trip Van takes to opportunity to bond with his son and shares his life story. They also meet Russ, another man out camping who Van knew when they were children. Russ tells great stories around the campfire while drinking whiskey, but there is a sense of danger around him too.

There is a Western vibe to the narrative, based mainly on the setting and action, but it is also a deep dive into Van's psyche, his life story, family, regrets, ambitions, and insights. The writing is slightly uneven. It is excellent in much of the story, especially in the descriptions of the land and wilderness, in action scenes, and as the two search for gold. It is engaging when Van is sharing his life story. It becomes less compelling when the narrative wades into his thoughts, feelings, regrets, musings, and emotional healing.

Van is a fully realized character considering there is so much written concerning his history, thoughts, memories, and struggles in the past and present. The association of airplane crashes with his personal fate is thoroughly explored. Josh is less explored as a character.

Enjoy Darker Than the Sky for the Northern California setting, the action/adventure story and the deep dive into a man's life. Thanks to BooksGoSocial for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.