Scan barcode
hectaizani's review
3.0
I received this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review. I guess I chose it without realizing that it was the third and final book in a trilogy. I have not read either of the previous two books which made it a little bit more of a challenge. The author jumps directly into the story. There is little to no recap. Not at all a bad thing, there are a few series that I can think of where most of the book is recap with very little new material. But this is where the challenge comes in, I was somewhat lost when I started reading because I had no idea who the characters were, what relation they had to each other, or why I was supposed to be concerned about their predicament. Nor did I know anything about their world. I would absolutely recommend reading the first two books before picking up this one.
The story line takes us into a world that is falling apart at the seams. The main character and his comrades are on a quest to rid the world of one evil and stop another one from invading. They embark on a grueling journey without knowing if they will ever see home again. Well, I just made it sound like Lord of the Rings. It isn't. This is more dystopian science fiction than high fantasy.
I found the ending a little vague, which I imagine leaves open the possibility of sequels.
Having said all of that, the story itself was well paced and the author's writing style was engaging. Even though I wasn't familiar with the characters there was enough detail to interest me and leave me wondering what was going to happen to them. I would pick up another book by this author.
The story line takes us into a world that is falling apart at the seams. The main character and his comrades are on a quest to rid the world of one evil and stop another one from invading. They embark on a grueling journey without knowing if they will ever see home again. Well, I just made it sound like Lord of the Rings. It isn't. This is more dystopian science fiction than high fantasy.
I found the ending a little vague, which I imagine leaves open the possibility of sequels.
Having said all of that, the story itself was well paced and the author's writing style was engaging. Even though I wasn't familiar with the characters there was enough detail to interest me and leave me wondering what was going to happen to them. I would pick up another book by this author.
kirkw1972's review
3.0
This is the third book of the Blackwater trilogy. I recently read and reviewed the second in the series 'Witch Lights' and commented that the trilogy reads as a serial. There's no recap it went straight into story and you have to just go along with it a try and figure out who anyone is. I was hoping the third book would change that but it doesn't. It doesn't change the enjoyment of the book but for anyone starting at the wrong end there's no character arcs to have.
Having read the previous one this time I did enjoy it more. It rattles along at a real speed I had it read in just over a day. The characters are all separated now: young William in a school for gifted children run by the evil Lily (the less talented ones 'go home' you can read the book to find out where 'home' actually is. Yup really evil and deserves everything she gets). Ray is trying to embrace his talents and find his son and girlfriend Helen along with wisecracking Mantu. I mentioned this in another review where there was a secondary character seemingly on the ASD spectrum that as a parent wiwth an ASD child I really like it when they appear and are portrayed in a positive manner. Well Vinod is one ass kicking mofo so thank you.
It's fast, it's furious, its ambiguous good guys against outright bad guys and the genuine good guys win. Sort of... even though it's the final book and it seems to be the end of it I had the feeling there could be more. There probably isn't but just a hunch I think the tale could go on so we'll see.
The quibble I had was with Ellen. She really didn't seem to play much of a part in this. I'm a bit surprised Ray and the others remembered her. I struggled to. I think she could have done more.
Overall I enjoyed it more than the second book. It's an enjoyable read. Thumbs up
Free arc from netgalley
Having read the previous one this time I did enjoy it more. It rattles along at a real speed I had it read in just over a day. The characters are all separated now: young William in a school for gifted children run by the evil Lily (the less talented ones 'go home' you can read the book to find out where 'home' actually is. Yup really evil and deserves everything she gets). Ray is trying to embrace his talents and find his son and girlfriend Helen along with wisecracking Mantu. I mentioned this in another review where there was a secondary character seemingly on the ASD spectrum that as a parent wiwth an ASD child I really like it when they appear and are portrayed in a positive manner. Well Vinod is one ass kicking mofo so thank you.
It's fast, it's furious, its ambiguous good guys against outright bad guys and the genuine good guys win. Sort of... even though it's the final book and it seems to be the end of it I had the feeling there could be more. There probably isn't but just a hunch I think the tale could go on so we'll see.
The quibble I had was with Ellen. She really didn't seem to play much of a part in this. I'm a bit surprised Ray and the others remembered her. I struggled to. I think she could have done more.
Overall I enjoyed it more than the second book. It's an enjoyable read. Thumbs up
Free arc from netgalley
chymerra's review
4.0
This is my first book that I have read from Michael M. Huges and I got to say, I really enjoyed reading Demon Lights. It struck the perfect balance between horror, science fiction, and action. I couldn’t put the book down and I think I read it within a couple of hours. Any book that engrosses me that much is a keeper. The fact that it is the 3rd book in the Blackwater Lights Trilogy didn’t dampen my enthusiasm for Demon Lights. If you have followed my blog for any length of time, you know how much I dislike picking up a book mid-series or even the end. Demon Lights could be read alone if needed to. While the past books were mentioned (and piqued my interest) but they did not overwhelm this one. Just enough background was given to understand the main characters and how they came into the situations that they were in. Then the book takes off.
I really enjoyed the build up in Demon Lights. While the aliens were mentioned, they were not shown until the end of the book. Even then, it was a glimpse of what could be coming through the portals and it was deliciously creepy/scary. And I loved it!!
Ray was on a mission to free Ellen and William from Lily’s compound. But before he did that, he was basically forced to become a Brother of Eleusis, which was the counterpart to Lily’s cult. While I wouldn’t call it a cult outright (I really need to read the other books before forming that opinion) but it did have a cult feel to it. But they were willing to help him rescue Ellen and William…for a price. He needs to defeat Lily. Which is easier said than done.
I couldn’t even begin to imagine what Ellen was going through being held captive by Lily and not being able to see or talk to her son. It had to have been torture. Her escape attempt with her roommate was pretty awesome but it had severe repercussions when they were captured. I still don’t understand how she didn’t lose her mind permanently after seeing what she was seeing. I know I would have.
William was the one I was the most worried about in this book. He was in a school with other children who had paranormal abilities and he was in danger of failing. He was promised he could talk to his mother if he started doing better in class (which he did but only after a pep talk with a girl who told him what might happen to kids who fail). He was still scarred from what happened in the previous book and was afraid that would happen again. While he was confirming to what the school (and Lily) wanted, he still kept hope that he could see his mother again (or at least talk to her). But things went off on a tangent when all but 9 kids were **sent home** and the remaining children were put into advanced classes. What they learned and what they eventually did….well, read the book.
The end of the book was thrilling and not what I expected. While I expected some of the ending, the other part of the ending, I did not. With the way the book ended, I am hoping that there will be another book.
Demon Light’s Playlist
We Carry On – The Phantoms
I Trust You To Kill Me – Rocco DeLuca and The Burden
Be Not So Fearful – A.C. Newman
How Do You Love Me – Sango, Xavier Omar
Wasting My Young Years – London Grammar
Shout At The Devil – Motley Crue
Take Me To Church – Hozier
I Keep Ticking On – The Harmleighs
Lost Boy – Ruth B.
Kill Of The Night – Gin Wigmore
God of Wine – Third Eye Blind
Guess I’m Doing Fine – Beck
Beautiful Hell – Adna
Marked For Death – Emma Ruth Rundle
When You Break – Bear’s Den
Arsonist’s Lullabye – Hozier
Mama – My Chemical Romance
How many stars will I give Demon Lights: 4
Why: A great book with a great storyline that will suck you in and creep you out. Also memorable characters.
Will I reread: Yes
Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes
Age range: Adult
Why: Language and violence
**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**
I really enjoyed the build up in Demon Lights. While the aliens were mentioned, they were not shown until the end of the book. Even then, it was a glimpse of what could be coming through the portals and it was deliciously creepy/scary. And I loved it!!
Ray was on a mission to free Ellen and William from Lily’s compound. But before he did that, he was basically forced to become a Brother of Eleusis, which was the counterpart to Lily’s cult. While I wouldn’t call it a cult outright (I really need to read the other books before forming that opinion) but it did have a cult feel to it. But they were willing to help him rescue Ellen and William…for a price. He needs to defeat Lily. Which is easier said than done.
I couldn’t even begin to imagine what Ellen was going through being held captive by Lily and not being able to see or talk to her son. It had to have been torture. Her escape attempt with her roommate was pretty awesome but it had severe repercussions when they were captured. I still don’t understand how she didn’t lose her mind permanently after seeing what she was seeing. I know I would have.
William was the one I was the most worried about in this book. He was in a school with other children who had paranormal abilities and he was in danger of failing. He was promised he could talk to his mother if he started doing better in class (which he did but only after a pep talk with a girl who told him what might happen to kids who fail). He was still scarred from what happened in the previous book and was afraid that would happen again. While he was confirming to what the school (and Lily) wanted, he still kept hope that he could see his mother again (or at least talk to her). But things went off on a tangent when all but 9 kids were **sent home** and the remaining children were put into advanced classes. What they learned and what they eventually did….well, read the book.
The end of the book was thrilling and not what I expected. While I expected some of the ending, the other part of the ending, I did not. With the way the book ended, I am hoping that there will be another book.
Demon Light’s Playlist
We Carry On – The Phantoms
I Trust You To Kill Me – Rocco DeLuca and The Burden
Be Not So Fearful – A.C. Newman
How Do You Love Me – Sango, Xavier Omar
Wasting My Young Years – London Grammar
Shout At The Devil – Motley Crue
Take Me To Church – Hozier
I Keep Ticking On – The Harmleighs
Lost Boy – Ruth B.
Kill Of The Night – Gin Wigmore
God of Wine – Third Eye Blind
Guess I’m Doing Fine – Beck
Beautiful Hell – Adna
Marked For Death – Emma Ruth Rundle
When You Break – Bear’s Den
Arsonist’s Lullabye – Hozier
Mama – My Chemical Romance
How many stars will I give Demon Lights: 4
Why: A great book with a great storyline that will suck you in and creep you out. Also memorable characters.
Will I reread: Yes
Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes
Age range: Adult
Why: Language and violence
**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**
More...