The final part of this series in which I cover chapters fourteen through seventeen of The Long and Dark.
Please note that there are serious end-of-story SPOILERS below, so read at your own risk. If you just want to see the artwork, head over to the Gallery.
Previous entries in this series: Part one - Part two - Part three - Part four
Chapter Fourteen
Much like Chapters Seven, Nine and Eleven, the artwork for Chapter Fourteen is based on the ever-present series of obelisks located throughout Dineothan. At this point in the story, this is the last one Gareth comes across.
From the book:
No more than a few yards into the graveyard proper, Gareth came across a fountain that had long ago dried out. At the center of the dulled marble structure was another of the familiar obelisks. The bas relief, a gravedigger in a suit and hat with a shovel in one hand standing over a grave, was similar to the one in the Chorazin sanctuary.
— Chapter Fourteen, The Long and Dark
Chapter Fifteen
The artwork for Chapter Fifteen provided a rare opportunity. Unlike many of the others which were locations or objects found within the story, this piece was about an important moment in the story. I mean, they ARE still objects in the story, but this specific arrangement is an artistic representation of a crucial moment in the narrative.
As such, I focused on Naze’s armaments. If you’ve read this far, you know why they’re important at this point.
From the book:
From the other was holstered a sawed-off, double-barreled shotgun. It was a smart weapon for defensive purposes; if one of the monsters got a bit too close for comfort, she could fire the wide spray of pellets.
— Chapter Five, The Long and Dark
Chapter Sixteen
Maybe, at first glance, this piece comes across as strange and maybe a little indecipherable. Once you read the chapter, though, you understand the purpose for focusing on these strange formations.
From the book:
The cavern eventually became covered in violet-hued chunks of crystal. Many of the multi-faceted slabs were bigger than a man and attached to the partitions at seemingly-random points with a black, tar-like substance. Upon closer inspection, Gareth could see some evidence of energies roiling within the larger chunks.
— Chapter Sixteen, The Long and Dark
Chapter Seventeen
SPOILER WARNING
The final chapter brings Gareth’s story to a close. In it, the reader is presented with a classic image of his family’s still-burning hearth. It’s the only the second image not directly taken from something or somewhere within the boundaries of Dineothan.
From the book:
He’d fallen asleep in one of the hide-coated, padded chairs, next to the fireplace. A small flame still flickered with life. If not tended, it would soon die out.
— Chapter Seventeen, The Long and Dark
Be sure to check out the Gallery for additional artwork.
