Level 26: Dark Origins

by Duane Swierczynski and Anthony E. Zuiker

Book Overview

The Dark Origins series centers around a rogue serial-killer hunter. Steve Dark is head of a highly secret and incredibly skilled black ops element within the U.S. government, which is tasked with... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0525951253
• ISBN13: 9780525951254
• Release Date: September 2009
• Publisher: Dutton Books
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 1.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.4" x 9.1"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Impressed

I was looking for creepy stories to help develop our haunted house and saw Level26 in the store. The cover picture screamed at me and it became mine. I read it non-stop but was so creeped out by Sqweegel that I couldn't force myself to view the internet movie clips at night - by myself. I watched all the clips and reread the book. Integrating great novels with the internet is the best idea ever and really helps activate the imagination (as if I needed that). I am thrilled with this book and the ideas it opens up.

The man in the Murder Suit

7hippiechick The Man in the White Suit Dark Origins, an extraordinary first "digi-novel", will touch your deepest emotions and make you realize no matter how things seem to appear-Sqweegel will always be near! Take a glimpse into the future with Level 26, enjoy the experience with the worlds own CSI expert, Anthony Zuiker. A futuristic story where you can watch cyber-bridges. The patterns of law enforcement personnel and victims, along with a serial killer are unaware that the patterns of their lives will be changed forever. Agent Dark, , ashamed of his past sorrows and mistakes, yet eager to move forward, has been assigned to catch the alias whose methods are unlimited. Zuiker brings this setting to life, describing a world of torture,investigation, and death. Disease screams through Sqweegels body attempting to get the truth out! With his intoxicating rituals, the book will keep you reading eagerly, awaiting the next move of the creature, and craving for the next answer. No one can guess the sly power behind Sqweegels manuvers. Profilers have no one to compare to this killer, and this thing has no one to compete with except for himself. There never was..There never will be? Joy, anger, and rebirth are all experimented in this entangled novel! Everything has meaning from an organized, perfectionist insane crime that seeks a gratification that only Sqweegel understands, yet he cannot please himself by his own image. As you unlock a new level of fear, it will enrich the lives of all who share in the journey as a Level 26er. Run4fun & start your experience! This book will bite you & excite you. It will transmute an alias poisen into you. An experience that will not soon be forgotten. Taste it, Smell it, Endulge it, Feel it, See it, Hear it, & Experience it. A True one of a kind Estacy

The Digi-Novel Idea is BRILLIANT!

I will begin by saying that I consume Audiobooks like potato chips, "reading" 4-6 of them each week. So I have gone through just about everything that iTunes and Audible have to offer looking for good thrillers. The Silence of the Lambs series was one of my absolute favorites. Dr Hannibal Lecter is one of the most memorable characters ever created. When someone mentions Dr Lecter what mental image do you get? Anthony Hopkins of course! It really makes a story more real if you know what the characters look like.....and that is exactly what the videos do for Level 26...they add to the experience in a big way. My compliments to Anthony Zuiker for inventing this revolutionary new way to experience a book! I really enjoyed this book. Was it a literary breakthrough? No...but it was suspenseful and kept my interest from beginning to end. Sqweegel is truly a wierd guy and I will never again see a stick of butter without thinking about him! If you like serial killer stories, you ought to like Level 26.

A blast!

Reading the book along with going to the weblinks or "bridges" was a blast. So much fun I read the entire book in one sitting! I stayed up to 4 in the morning. I can't wait for the next book to follow. I will say it is not for the squemish and borders on the erotic at times.

Bridget's Review

Currently there are 25 levels to categorize serial killers. One is someone who just stumbles into killing. Twenty-Five would describe the sadistic psychopaths who find pleasure in suffering. Now imagine that one person has become even more evil than the serial killers you've heard about in the past? Imagine someone who has absolutely no compassion, no feeling, not even a soul. A person lacking all these characteristics is out there and because he doesn't seem to show any of the "normal" traits of a killer it impossible to catch him. This psycho has a name. It's Sqweegel. The one person who has the ability to catch this criminal is Steve Dark. In a state of mourning, thanks to the psycho, Dark is through with law enforcement and wants no part of the chase. But when the lives of his friends at the department are threatened, Dark decides to step in again. Will he be able to stop this madman before several other murders take place? Or will the world live in fear of Sqweegel until the day they die? To sum up this book in one word, is impossible. But for some reason, I'm the type of person that loves the impossible and do everything I can to try and make it possible. So as you've probably guessed, I've been doing some hardcore thinking (I know what your thinking, and yes it caused a massive headache, LOL) so as I pondered and looked through the dictionary (no I didn't really look in the dictionary but shhh, it's our secret) and the word that jumped out at me was: WOAH! Yes, all caps and an exclamation point. This is really difficult to review. Not only is there a book to read but at about every twenty pages, you can log onto [...] and enter a password & watch a clip that will tie in with that section of the book. If you're a CSI fan, this book is probably shouting at you through your monitor, right now, saying "BUY ME, READ ME, LOVE ME". The author Anthony E. Zucker is the award-winning creator, producer, and writer of CSI, CSI: Miami, and CSI: NY. So, to be completely honest, this book scared the crap out of me!