A review by mitzee
Rainbow in the Dark by Sean McGinty

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

What an adventure. Dark, sometimes hopeful, and sometimes confusing, I really enjoy how this story unfolded. There were some parts that I had to go over again because some of it was so surreal I needed a second listen to picture it in my mind. 

Would recommend to anyone who likes exploratory video games, surrealism, emotional exploration of oneself.

Summary for my own reference:
This is a story about a young teenager who is depressed (perhaps also suicidal) mysteriously finds herself in a “magical” realm. It’s magical in that rules of the real world don’t necessarily apply here but parts of it still feel real. Gravity and some of those basics exist but so do classes, levels, XP and spellcasting. She ends up being paired with another “player” who has much more experience and is looking for a portal home. The more time you spend in this realm, and the more XP you gain, the less you remember about her precious life. 

Cut in between her questing with Chad001, Lark, and Awlsey are chapters that represent those memories. Sometimes those memories tie into encounters that the party has and they seem to be specific to Rainbow’s experiences. They go through some scary and emotionally scarring shit together and end up getting pretty close. Meanwhile the chapters about her memories reveal snippets of what happened to have led her here. She was having a bad time after her parents divorce,  it was coming through in her school work and her teachers didn’t know how to cope with that. Her brother ran over a cat she inherited from a neighbor and she got pissed at him and ran away. 

As we get closer to the end, we, and she, realize that she had walked off a cliff and fell into the ocean. It’s unclear when or how the magical realm stuff fits into that episode - did it all happen as she was unconscious from hitting the water? Did she make it up afterwards? All that is unknown but the magical journey is a dip into surreality and the memory chapters keep it grounded. 
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