Editorial Review: Kaleidoscopic Shades: Within Black Eternity by David A. Neuman

Joshua Triplow is just an average kid living in Corona, California, but like the rest of the children in the area, he is plagued by a recurring nightmare of a man in black. As the kids continue to suffer the effects of these nightmares, some adults are desperate to find a cure, while others believe it is just imagination. 

Kaleidoscopic Shades: Within Black Eternity throws readers straight into the thick of things with the supposition that time does not exist on a single plane, but is multi-layered. It also makes it very clear that Earth is being guided towards its annihilation, just as multiple Earths before it. At first Joshua Triplow, is unaware of any of this, and if it wasn’t for the recurring nightmare of a man in black, his life would have been pretty great. He has a loving family and a group of friends who enjoy skateboarding with him. Unfortunately, the nightmares have caused tiredness that Joshua can only describe as a heavy stuffing filling his head and running through his veins.  

As things begin to escalate in Corona, California, and children begin disappearing, Joshua’s father, Bob Triplow, realizes that he might be more familiar with what is going on than he thought. Twelve years prior, Bob was in Adelaide, South Australia, when the technological age was rendered useless in a heartbeat, and life ground to a halt. Officially, the event was attributed to solar flares, and when normality returned, everyone was glad to put it behind them. However, Bob knew better as he found himself in another dimension, which he was glad to escape with his sanity intact. After a visit from a mysterious stranger, Bob learns that he will have to return to Adelaide, along with his son, and face the past that he has been trying to run away from.   

Kaleidoscopic Shades is told from the viewpoint of Joshua,  his father Bob, his mother Susan, as well as various other people who find themselves caught up in the madness. It is a harrowing tale filled with murderous balloons, sinister bells, and creepy lullabies. The author also doesn’t shy away from letting readers know exactly how evil and depraved the villains plotting the destruction of Earth are. Kaleidoscopic Shades combines elements of the supernatural, horror, and science fiction in a way that is both deeply unsettling and utterly riveting. David A. Neuman has a way with words that can make even the mundane feel disturbing and there’s a thick sense of menace and unease that permeates every chapter. 

Kaleidoscopic Shades is not a story for readers in search of cheap scares and cheesy B-movie monsters. However, readers who can appreciate a rich and unnerving tale where you feel like waking up from a fever dream every time you stop reading it will love the book. It combines all the elements of classics such as Twin Peaks, The Twilight Zone, and Silent Hill in a way that doesn’t feel derivative. Kaleidoscopic Shades is definitely not for the faint of heart, though, as it has plenty of vivid descriptions of stomach-churning stuff. Nevertheless, for those who can handle it, this book is sure to provide lots of thought-provoking musings on what is real and what is not.