I finally read more Brandon Sanderson, after saying I was going to do that for… well, an embarrassingly long amount of time! (And yes, this is only a short audiobook and a graphic novel, but still!)

So in Dark One: Forgotten, the audiobook by Brandon Sanderson and Dan Wells, we follow Christina Walsh, a music major who starts a true crime podcast after she discovers a forgotten violinist’s music. This violinist, Leona McPherson, piques her interest because she was murdered… and then, seemingly overnight, no one remembered she existed. Even her own mother. So Christina, fascinated and baffled, sets out to uncover what really happened to Leona, why she was killed, and by whom. But the more she investigates, the more she starts to wonder if she’s investigating something otherworldly.

Then, mere hours after finishing this audiobook, I read the Dark One graphic novel, which is the first in a series. This follows Paul Tanasin, a young man in New York who is plagued by strange visions of a different world filled with magic and danger. Then, when a being from that other land crashes into his life, Paul finds himself swept away… only to face a fate he never dreamed of.

I was chatting with a friend (one of my go-to sources for Sanderson info) about this series, and he and I agreed that I probably read these two things in the correct order for maximum enjoyment. While reading Forgotten, I got to learn about the lore of Mirandus at the same rate that Christina was, which made the mystery incredibly compelling. I don’t think it would have held the same amount of intrigue if I’d read the graphic novel first. And on the flip side, when I did read the graphic novel, I felt like I was able to start connecting dots and recognize references to things that I would have missed without having experienced the audiobook already.

Anyway, both of these were pretty good! I have yet to get into podcasts (not sure why, since they’re not entirely different from audiobooks), but after listening to Forgotten, I can kind of understand the morbid appeal of the true crime subgenre. It was creepily cool to witness Christina’s investigation, to hear her interviews, to try to piece this together with her over time. I also loved that this audiobook featured a full cast and music, just as a real podcast would. The attention to detail in the production is fantastic!

I was also really rooting for Christina to succeed. She makes for a sympathetic protagonist, whose own personal backstory explains her motivations and interest in this murder case from nearly thirty years ago. I also liked some of the other characters like Lamar and Detective “Funshine.”

However, I found Sophie, Christina’s roommate who ends up helping her with the investigation, to be SO annoying. I got the sense that Sanderson and Wells were going for a “goofy but loyal best friend” sort of angle, but I think they far overshot the mark. She was just too much, all the time. She had no filter, which was funny for maybe half a scene, and then nothing but irritating. Imagine Katy from the Shang-Chi movie without the softer moments to round out her personality. So when she was momentarily in danger later in the story, I didn’t care. I mean, part of me knew she’d be fine, but the other part just shrugged because I hadn’t developed any fondness toward her.

That said, the actual world-building and lore was cool. The idea of memory-erasing magic is certainly interesting, and there are a couple of great twists related to that. Christina gets to explore the possibilities and limitations of this magic, and sometimes it reminds me of Addie LaRue in a way. Obviously, these two stories are very different, but I stand by the comparison.

As for the graphic novel, I still sometimes struggle with following this format of storytelling. But I still quite enjoyed this, particularly on the heels of the audiobook in the same universe. I don’t know how much I cared about Paul, as he seems mostly a typical reluctant teen, chosen for a fate without any knowledge of the world he finds himself in. I did, however, quite like Feotora and want to see where her character arc takes her.

Furthermore, seeing Mirandus and learning a bit about its hierarchy and history was amazing. The art was excellent, though the plot kind of left me slightly confused (again, probably just user error). However, it also left me wanting more! I’d love to see where the further installments take us, and how much more there is to know about Mirandus (probably, knowing Sanderson, tons).

In the end, both of these works, audiobook and graphic novel, were entertaining. The audiobook was a fun yet chilling experience, one that was full of mystery and fascinating magic. I just wish the characters (well, mostly one in particular) had been easier to like. And the graphic novel worked well as a follow-up, filling in some gaps in the lore while also introducing new concepts and settings and characters (none of whom, luckily, drove me up the wall like Sophie did). I’ll definitely follow this series as further installments come out!