Dark City Essay, Research Paper

Dark City

I did my book report on Dark City by Frank Lauria. The main characters in the book were John Murdoch, Mr. Hand, and Mr. Book. Since Murdoch woke up in the icy bathtub in a strange room, he has been suspicious of everything. He is wanted for a series of brutal murders which he can t remember committing. He later finds out that he posses a power called tuning, which allows you to stop time and alter peoples perceptions. Sort of like brain manipulation. He soon finds out that he is being pursued by an alien race who call themselves the Strangers. They want him because he is immune to their brain manipulation, so he is a threat to their bizarre world order. John Murdoch is the protagonist in this book and he seeks to unravel the twisted puzzle of his past and identity. Mr. Hand is a smart character who also possesses the method of tuning. When he found out that Murdoch knew how to tune, Mr. Hand was injected with Murdoch s memories so he could think like Murdoch, and defeat him. Mr. Hand is a Stranger himself, he takes orders from Mr. Book. Mr. Book is the antagonist in the book. He is the leader of the Underworld ruled by the Strangers. He is very wise and thinks up the procedures for taking over the city. He assigns each one of the strangers to a sector in the city. When he got news that a man named John Murdoch was immune to their tunning, he knew he has to think up something fast. Mr. Book can also tune. Same with the other Strangers.

The secondary characters were Inspector Frank Bumstead, Dr. Daniel Poe Schreber, Emma Murdoch, Mr. Rain, Mr. Sleep, Mr. Quick, Mr. Wall, and all the rest of the Strangers that weren t named. Frank Bumstead plays the role of an inspector. Dr. Schreber is Murdoch s source. He helps him always stay one step ahead of the Strangers. He also works for them but secretly provides information to Murdoch. Emma is John Murdoch s wife. She played a part of triggering Murdochs suspiciousness when she told him she was his wife, and he didn t know. The rest of the Strangers such as Mr. Wall and the ones that weren t named work with Mr. Hand and Mr. Book, their leader. They are all assigned to a sector in the city to take over, and gather more hosts.

Dark City is about an alien race who developed the ability tune, and also move lots of matter around-just by thinking about it. The problem is that their dying off for non-specific reasons, and have searched throughout the galaxy for alternate means of survival. They encountered the Earth, or at least an Earth-like planet, and used it to conduct experiments. They think that human minds may offer the key to their species’ survival. A man named John Murdoch awakens alone in a strange hotel. He is wanted for a series of murders. The problem is he doesn t remember anything. He s not even sure if he killed anyone. Later on in the story he begins to wonder if he is going insane. He meets a woman named Emma and finds out she is his wife. Eventually he stumbles upon an underworld controlled by aliens called the Strangers. Their plan is to control all humans minds starting with the people in the city their in. Since Murdoch can also tune he is immune to the brainwashing of the Strangers. Thus becoming a problem to the Strangers. As he is being pursued he gets useful information from his source Dr. Schreber. This lets him stay one step ahead from the Strangers that want him dead. John Murdoch sets off in attempt to reclaim his memory from the Strangers as well as find all the answers to his questions he has pondered.

An interesting part of the story was when Dr. Schreber was mixing up a batch of memories, deep in the underworld, and Mr. Book confronted him. Mr. Book exclaimed, “You have been in contact with Murdoch” and then he lifted the doctor upside down in the air. The doctor said that he had seen Murdoch but not talked to him. Mr. Book spun around violently. “You think us fools, Schreber! Mr. Hand saw you! What one sees we all see.”

I liked this book because of the strong plot, and the fact that it made you think about it after each fascinating chapter. If you liked the movie the Matrix you ll definitely like this book. I recommend it to everyone who has an interest in Science Fiction or just likes something interesting to read.