The Light

Morpheus Road Trilogy, Book 1

By: D. J. MacHale

Narrated by: Nick Podehl

Marshall Seaver is being haunted. In the first installment of this chillingly compelling trilogy, 16-year-old Marshall discovers that something beyond our world is after him. The eerie clues pile up quickly, and when people start dying, it's clear that whatever this is - it's huge.

Marshall has no idea what's happening to him, but he's soon convinced that it has something to do with his best friend, Cooper, who's been missing for over a week. Together with Coop's sister, Marsh searches for the truth about what happened to his friend, ultimately uncovering something bigger than he could ever have imagined.

©2010 D. J. MacHale (P)2010 Brilliance Audio

Why doesn't Kvothe just use sympathy already?

Referencing the Kingkiller Chronicle as Podehl's other work. He did a good job narrating. He has a good voice for male coming of age novels. 'Nuff said.

Probably my fault for not studying up MacHale's other work, but there was nothing about it in the description. For those not generally familiar with his work, this is definitely young adult fiction. I didn't know this so not long into it I found myself thinking, "what's with all the horror movie and awkward teenager cliches?"

After I realized that the book is for the young and I forgave all the trite stuff it actually turns out to be a pretty good story. There are some very enjoyable set pieces where the "monster" attacks. These are cinematically described and quite vivid. MacHale's words and Podehl's cadence during the mysterious revelation scenes is also quite engaging.

Unfortunately, one tool the author beats to death is Marsh's uncanny inability to predict his scene. I'm sure MacHale does this so the reader's surprise matches the character's, but it is so consistent that it's distracting. If he thinks something will go well, it becomes a catastrophe; if he thinks he's in trouble, he is saved; if he thinks she hates him, he gets a kiss. It is more predictable than gravity. Usually, there is very little contextual reason that Marsh should have his misconception. MacHale simply describes the misconception then "surprises" you with the opposite, over and over.

My hangup on the cliches and that particular device aside, I think I would recommend this book to a teenager looking to read a little light horror. The action is good; the mystery is good; and the story moves along at a steady pace.

Couldn’t put it down

This is an amazing book for those looking for something new and interesting. I am not into horror but I absolutely loved this book.

my heart was pumping

I love this book, it kept me up at night and got even paranoid lol

Childhood

I remember picking this up years ago at my local library and remember getting scared whenever the big baddie showed up. While that’s no longer there i definitely enjoyed revisiting this story and picking up on things I missed back then. While supernatural isn’t my favorite genre, this for sure made me forget that.

Edge of my seat ride

Kept me waiting for what's next, great listen...
Highly recommend for anyone who needs to keep awake for the next twist