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roshk99's review against another edition
3.0
Decent, fast-paced book, it was a bit too psychological and unreal, it was not potentially believable, the ending was somewhat disappointing.
adrienneambo's review against another edition
4.0
First in planned triology. Story of Marshall who is plagued by evil spirits, trying to solve the murder of his friend Cooper. Good audio, suitable for middle school.
eserafina42's review against another edition
4.0
I'd give this 4-1/2 stars if they had half-star ratings here. It's well-written, I found the characters believable if not always likable (like real people), and MacHale didn't shrink from letting some really bad stuff happen to them, just like in real life. I look forward to the next one.
xiii's review
4.0
DISCLAIMER: It has been a little while since I have read this.
I read this after reading most of the Pendragon books because it was gifted me from someone who knew I enjoyed DJ Machale's books. The writing holds up. He even has Easter Eggs of characters from the Pendragon series in this book.
The horror elements in this book were a pleasant surprise. I knew of D.J.'s excelent and laid back writing in his fantasy books. But seeing it applies just as good in the start of this trilogy Just sells me on it that much more. It was easy to read, as is typical for D.J., and it kept me turning pages.
I read this after reading most of the Pendragon books because it was gifted me from someone who knew I enjoyed DJ Machale's books. The writing holds up. He even has Easter Eggs of characters from the Pendragon series in this book.
The horror elements in this book were a pleasant surprise. I knew of D.J.'s excelent and laid back writing in his fantasy books. But seeing it applies just as good in the start of this trilogy Just sells me on it that much more. It was easy to read, as is typical for D.J., and it kept me turning pages.
librariann's review against another edition
3.0
Ages 10+ (Horror, action and death. The language is ABC Family but the sustained fright level goes beyond Goosebumps)
This was slow going (I read two other books between picking this up and finishing it) and it was no Higson's The Enemy, horror-wise. The plot left questions strewn about haphazardly, and the 'answers' brought by the conclusion just set up the sequel. Still, it will appeal to fans of the Percy Jackson series who like high stakes adventure, peril, and who are looking to cut their teeth on something a little darker than that series.
This was slow going (I read two other books between picking this up and finishing it) and it was no Higson's The Enemy, horror-wise. The plot left questions strewn about haphazardly, and the 'answers' brought by the conclusion just set up the sequel. Still, it will appeal to fans of the Percy Jackson series who like high stakes adventure, peril, and who are looking to cut their teeth on something a little darker than that series.
shalenaimathews's review
5.0
The Light is a great suspenseful mystery full of terror and action to keep you at the edge and begging for more.
adunnells's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
anniemariek's review against another edition
4.0
Forgot to post full review. Here it is now.
First Look: I don’t know why I haven’t picked this up before now. What was I waiting for? I mean, it’s D. J. MacHale, who wrote the amazing-beyond-amazing Pendragon series. I’m now convinced that MacHale is genius in carbon form.*
Setting: Stony Brook! I loved how the story took place in the same town as the Pendragon series started out in. The town itself isn’t anything special, it’s just a smallish town. But I like how MacHale used the same places (school, restaurant, etc.) from Pendragon.
Characters: I liked Marsh because he reminded me of myself, in that he’s very introverted and doesn’t mind it one bit. He’s not really an outcast, but he’s not popular, either. But he wasn’t the cliché loner-friendless-kid, either, which I liked. He seemed very realistic.
I really felt for him. I felt his emotions when he remembered his mom, when he thought of his missing best friends. He went through quite a bit, and he reacted to this in ways that a real person would react.
Plot: I’ve never been a huge fan of straight-up ghost stories (probably because most fail to creep me out as promised), but I liked this one. The storyline had plenty of mystery and suspense, enough to keep me interested all the way through. I liked how this book blended paranormal and reality. There was the whole creepy supernatural ghost thing going on. At the same time, Marsh also had real-life problems, like his missing best friend. I liked how they remained separate at first, but then became intertwined.
Uniqueness: ***** It’s a paranormal story, but it’s unique. It's what I call "real paranormal". It stands out from the pile of YA novels that deal with ghosts and other similar things.
Writing: D. J. MacHale can write. Yes, that’s all I can say.
Okay, fine. I’ll elaborate. Starting this, I was a bit afraid that the awesome voice from Pendragon wouldn’t carry through to this series. I soon found out that it wouldn’t be a problem. MacHale is the only author I know of that can write his action scenes in fairly large block paragraphs and still have them work. If most other writers tried this, it’d be boring and hard to read. But somehow, MacHale pulls it off.
Likes: MARK DIMOND!!!! A wild Mark Dimond appears! For those of you who don’t know, Mark was a major character in the Pendragon series. Through all ten books, he was one of my absolute favorites. And he was mentioned in this book. This made me extremely happy. Yay.
Also, here's a did-you-know?: Morpheus is the Greek god of dreams. I'm curious to see is this comes into play later in the series, or if it was just used for the cool name.
Not-so-great: "Find the poleaxe, Marshall. Bring me the poleaxe!" It seems to me like Marsh has a cell phone and iPod, but no Google. He keeps being told to get the poleaxe, but he keeps desperately insisting he has no idea what a poleaxe is. Why don't you look it up, genius? Or here, let me Google that for you.
Total Score: 4/5 I really liked this book. It was different from many things I read, which was a good thing. I liked Marsh as a character. The whole book was exciting, mysterious, and creepy. It takes quite a bit in a book to creep me out, but this was definitely getting there. And the ending leaves the story in a place where you just have to know more. Recommended for fans of ghost stories, or other “real paranormal” books (none of these vampires and angels and such). And D. J. MacHale fans, of course.
*It’s entirely possible that no one has ever before been called “genius in carbon form”. It’s like that game where you try to come up with a sentence that’s never been said or written before. Like “Plaid flannel-loving squirrels are not Facebook fans of Darren Criss, nor are they close relatives of Steve Jobs.”
First Look: I don’t know why I haven’t picked this up before now. What was I waiting for? I mean, it’s D. J. MacHale, who wrote the amazing-beyond-amazing Pendragon series. I’m now convinced that MacHale is genius in carbon form.*
Setting: Stony Brook! I loved how the story took place in the same town as the Pendragon series started out in. The town itself isn’t anything special, it’s just a smallish town. But I like how MacHale used the same places (school, restaurant, etc.) from Pendragon.
Characters: I liked Marsh because he reminded me of myself, in that he’s very introverted and doesn’t mind it one bit. He’s not really an outcast, but he’s not popular, either. But he wasn’t the cliché loner-friendless-kid, either, which I liked. He seemed very realistic.
I really felt for him. I felt his emotions when he remembered his mom, when he thought of his missing best friends. He went through quite a bit, and he reacted to this in ways that a real person would react.
Plot: I’ve never been a huge fan of straight-up ghost stories (probably because most fail to creep me out as promised), but I liked this one. The storyline had plenty of mystery and suspense, enough to keep me interested all the way through. I liked how this book blended paranormal and reality. There was the whole creepy supernatural ghost thing going on. At the same time, Marsh also had real-life problems, like his missing best friend. I liked how they remained separate at first, but then became intertwined.
Uniqueness: ***** It’s a paranormal story, but it’s unique. It's what I call "real paranormal". It stands out from the pile of YA novels that deal with ghosts and other similar things.
Writing: D. J. MacHale can write. Yes, that’s all I can say.
Okay, fine. I’ll elaborate. Starting this, I was a bit afraid that the awesome voice from Pendragon wouldn’t carry through to this series. I soon found out that it wouldn’t be a problem. MacHale is the only author I know of that can write his action scenes in fairly large block paragraphs and still have them work. If most other writers tried this, it’d be boring and hard to read. But somehow, MacHale pulls it off.
Likes: MARK DIMOND!!!! A wild Mark Dimond appears! For those of you who don’t know, Mark was a major character in the Pendragon series. Through all ten books, he was one of my absolute favorites. And he was mentioned in this book. This made me extremely happy. Yay.
Also, here's a did-you-know?: Morpheus is the Greek god of dreams. I'm curious to see is this comes into play later in the series, or if it was just used for the cool name.
Not-so-great: "Find the poleaxe, Marshall. Bring me the poleaxe!" It seems to me like Marsh has a cell phone and iPod, but no Google. He keeps being told to get the poleaxe, but he keeps desperately insisting he has no idea what a poleaxe is. Why don't you look it up, genius? Or here, let me Google that for you.
Total Score: 4/5 I really liked this book. It was different from many things I read, which was a good thing. I liked Marsh as a character. The whole book was exciting, mysterious, and creepy. It takes quite a bit in a book to creep me out, but this was definitely getting there. And the ending leaves the story in a place where you just have to know more. Recommended for fans of ghost stories, or other “real paranormal” books (none of these vampires and angels and such). And D. J. MacHale fans, of course.
*It’s entirely possible that no one has ever before been called “genius in carbon form”. It’s like that game where you try to come up with a sentence that’s never been said or written before. Like “Plaid flannel-loving squirrels are not Facebook fans of Darren Criss, nor are they close relatives of Steve Jobs.”
funsizelibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
Marsh Seaver is being haunted. Or hunted. Or both, really. It started with little sounds, like creaks and drips. Then darkness where there should have been light. Then hallucinations. Finally a creature from Marsh's own imagination, the Gravedigger, appeared and tried to kill him. All of this started the day his best friend, Cooper, disappeared. Now Marsh must team up with Cooper's sister, Sydney, to find out exactly what happened to his friend and how, or why, it's tied in with the sinister Gravedigger. Before it's too late...
D.J. MacHale is a well-known author of the 10-book Pendragon series. This new series, Morpheus Road, is horror/thriller instead of sci-fi, and should be exceptionally popular with his current fans. It reminded me a little of the original Nightmare on Elm Street movie, where the evil guy seemed to pop up everywhere and anywhere and the characters never seemed to be safe.
If you're a fan of horror movies, the good ones where the suspense builds on itself and puts you on the edge of your seat, then you will enjoy this book as much as I did.
D.J. MacHale is a well-known author of the 10-book Pendragon series. This new series, Morpheus Road, is horror/thriller instead of sci-fi, and should be exceptionally popular with his current fans. It reminded me a little of the original Nightmare on Elm Street movie, where the evil guy seemed to pop up everywhere and anywhere and the characters never seemed to be safe.
If you're a fan of horror movies, the good ones where the suspense builds on itself and puts you on the edge of your seat, then you will enjoy this book as much as I did.
acaciatree's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0