beaker's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.25
shrikekali's review against another edition
4.0
RISE THE DARK is the electrifying second novel in the Mark Novak series and it is even better than the first book, LAST WORDS!
In the previous novel I felt the slight supernatural elements should have even been more prominent or left out altogether. RISE THE DARK expands upon the use of otherworldly to great effect and makes me want even more. I hope the next chapter in the Mark Novak saga isn't too far off.
In the previous novel I felt the slight supernatural elements should have even been more prominent or left out altogether. RISE THE DARK expands upon the use of otherworldly to great effect and makes me want even more. I hope the next chapter in the Mark Novak saga isn't too far off.
bookhawk's review against another edition
3.0
Rise the Dark features a good basic story, a strong protagonist, great action scenes and an interesting splinter of paranormal. This was a high 3 star book but I couldn't quite get to 4 stars when I hadn't read the first book in what seems to be a continuing series . Koryta's writing continues to get better on the whole from his first book this most recent entry. I still rank The Ridge as his best work with The Prophet a strong second.
mmeier's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
destinedreads's review against another edition
2.0
I’m mad people gassing this book up. All that build up for nothing and bro you wrote the book in 2016 so I guess we can say there’s no part 3 coming… so many moving parts and things brought up just to not fully finish the story. Disappointing I thought the ending was going to be amazing but even this book could’ve done without the last 100 pages.
mrsboyko's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.75
ncrabb's review
4.0
There are a great many things about which we are concerned these days. I don't need to list them for you. One of them is the status and condition of our electrical grid. A colossal failure in one region of the country has the potential to bring massive power disruptions to conceivably the entire nation.
Mark Novak continues to feel the immense loss because of the death of his wife, Lauren. His determination to solve her case continues in this book in the series. He learns that her killer is somewhere in Wyoming or Montana. Naturally, he heads West to find the man. He abandoned his troubled childhood in Montana many years earlier, and he swore he would never go back. But when it became obvious that the man who killed his beloved wife was hiding in the community in which he grew up, he determined to break his promise.
The killer is hiding amidst a group of rabid environmentalists. They insist that Americans have failed miserably at respecting the land itself and its original inhabitants. Vowing to teach the nation a lesson, this tiny group of 14 radicals have found a way to destroy much of the Western Power grid. That kind of destruction could have impacts throughout the nation. They need someone who can climb the power poles and engage in the damage that will disrupt services. They find their man. To force him to participate, they kidnap his wife. They hold her in a dark, dingy place in handcuffs. The only way she lives is if he carries out their orders. To save her, he agrees. It's up to Mark Novak to find a way to stop the destruction of the grid if he can and destroy the man who murdered his wife. He gets help from a female Homeland Security agent, and you get the strong sense at the end of this book that there could be a third volume in the series. There seems to be a bit of a love-interest spark there between the two of them.
I wasn't quite as involved in this book as I was the first one in the series. As I pointed out last month, the first book had me feeling just a bit claustrophobic and a bit panicked. This one didn't impact me quite the same way, but it remains an excellent read and worthy of your time. The author has a magnificent way of creating situations that seem hopeless and then providing highly believable fixes at the last possible moment. It's one of those things where your fingers itch to get at the forward button on your player just so you can get past all that seeming hopelessness. But it makes for great reading, and this second book in the series is certainly no slouch in that department.
Mark Novak continues to feel the immense loss because of the death of his wife, Lauren. His determination to solve her case continues in this book in the series. He learns that her killer is somewhere in Wyoming or Montana. Naturally, he heads West to find the man. He abandoned his troubled childhood in Montana many years earlier, and he swore he would never go back. But when it became obvious that the man who killed his beloved wife was hiding in the community in which he grew up, he determined to break his promise.
The killer is hiding amidst a group of rabid environmentalists. They insist that Americans have failed miserably at respecting the land itself and its original inhabitants. Vowing to teach the nation a lesson, this tiny group of 14 radicals have found a way to destroy much of the Western Power grid. That kind of destruction could have impacts throughout the nation. They need someone who can climb the power poles and engage in the damage that will disrupt services. They find their man. To force him to participate, they kidnap his wife. They hold her in a dark, dingy place in handcuffs. The only way she lives is if he carries out their orders. To save her, he agrees. It's up to Mark Novak to find a way to stop the destruction of the grid if he can and destroy the man who murdered his wife. He gets help from a female Homeland Security agent, and you get the strong sense at the end of this book that there could be a third volume in the series. There seems to be a bit of a love-interest spark there between the two of them.
I wasn't quite as involved in this book as I was the first one in the series. As I pointed out last month, the first book had me feeling just a bit claustrophobic and a bit panicked. This one didn't impact me quite the same way, but it remains an excellent read and worthy of your time. The author has a magnificent way of creating situations that seem hopeless and then providing highly believable fixes at the last possible moment. It's one of those things where your fingers itch to get at the forward button on your player just so you can get past all that seeming hopelessness. But it makes for great reading, and this second book in the series is certainly no slouch in that department.
tennilles's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? No
3.75
jaimejustine's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
suzze's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this better than the first one, but I still didn't love it. Will I read a third.....maybe. There is something there that I'm waiting for.