Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'
The Darkest Web: Drugs, Death and Destroyed Lives... The Inside Story of the Internet's Evil Twin by Eileen Ormsby
2 reviews
reading_rhi's review
dark
informative
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child death, Drug abuse, Violence, Torture, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, Incest, Death, Murder, and Gore
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent
This book is very heavy, but also very informative. Be conscious of your mental health when going into this book.roach's review
dark
informative
medium-paced
4.0
We will be streaming this astounding event via the TOR network with our high capacity servers at 1080p, which is the minimum screen resolution required to fully appreciate death and dying.
Eileen Ormsby is a crime journalist and dark web expert who has written about true crime for many years now. The Darkest Web introduces three prominent aspects of crime on the dark web and thoroughly chronicles some significant events in each of the three chapters.
The subject matter gets more harrowing with each of those chapters.
The book begins with the story of the infamous Silk Road born out of a novel goal to build a safe space for recreational drug use as an alternative to shady dealers in the park after midnight and the page's eventual downfall. The second chapter uncovers the rumors of murder-for-hire sites on the dark web and tells the story of the notorious scam project, the Besa Mafia, while not leaving out the terrible casualties caused on the sidelines.
Both of these chapters deliver very engaging twists and turns in these real-life cases full of interesting people, backstabbing left and right, skewed morals, and misguided ideals. Even better that the author herself has immediate interactions with many of the people involved and can deliver various in-depth points of view on the respective situations.
Some moments are even humorous when self-righteous criminals send hilariously pompous message board posts or a whole organization goes down the drain because of a ridiculous detail. But it never takes away from the bitterness of the real loss of life due to awful people doing awful things in the midst of all this cyber crime.
It's been an incredibly engaging read and I enjoyed every page of it.
Then there is the third and final chapter, the darkest of the book pointing at the most depraved part of true crime organized through the dark web. Fittingly, this chapter has the most down-to-earth and serious tone. While the other two chapters had moments of entertainment and spectacle, this chapter is a purely educational warning and it's not for the faint of heart. The text is graphic as it deals with "snuff films" and organized child abuse, to put it in the vaguest way possible.
Again, Ormsby picks a notorious case to educate about an infamous aspect of the dark web and chronicles it with clear structure and insight. It is undoubtedly hard to read but the book doesn't dwell on it more than it has to and manages to clear up some misconceptions as well as include the aftermath and conviction of these crimes.
If you are into cyber crime, I highly recommend the two first chapters of the book as they are very thorough and well-written accounts of two incredibly interesting and somewhat infamous stories on the dark web. Though I'd only recommend venturing into the final chapter if you are sure you want to or can handle the retelling of truly depraved crimes. (See content warnings.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, Torture, Trafficking, Child death, Pedophilia, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Addiction, Rape, Ableism, and Drug use
Minor: Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Suicide, and Racism
Most content warnings regard the final chapter of the book.
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