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A review by bookwormlukas
The Dead of the Night by John Marsden
5.0
This second instalment in the popular Australian YA series is everything a sequel should be. The characters more focused, the danger heightened, and the plot twists just as interesting. Like the first in the series, I read this in one sitting and can't wait to start book three, luckily which I have already bought.
This entry is very similar in plot to the first entry, with the kids sizing up and taking down a target within the invaders base, but this time we get to hear a little more about who these invaders actually are, although still not enough to feel like we have actually learnt anything. A more personal villan is introduced in the character of Major Harvey, who I couldn't help but associate as a similar character to Dolore Umbridge in the Harry Potter series. The story overall feels more focused than the first, and now that we know the characters, there is more action, and more of an adult theme, as the kids truly ask themselves can they kill in cold blood? and what the mental ramifications are when they do.
I've so far given the two instalments of this series 5 stars, which I don't often do unless I think a book has re-read value, which I believe this series will have (if it keeps up this level of quality through it's seven instalments). I thought I had read to at least book number four when I read this when I was younger, but it turns out I only read to the end of this one, which means everything that comes will be completely new to me.
I still don't know if I'm enjoying these as I enjoyed them when I was younger, or they are generally books that anyone could enjoy...but with the 'Hunger Games' being such a big presence now, I can't imagine anyone enjoying that and not liking this series.
This entry is very similar in plot to the first entry, with the kids sizing up and taking down a target within the invaders base, but this time we get to hear a little more about who these invaders actually are, although still not enough to feel like we have actually learnt anything. A more personal villan is introduced in the character of Major Harvey, who I couldn't help but associate as a similar character to Dolore Umbridge in the Harry Potter series. The story overall feels more focused than the first, and now that we know the characters, there is more action, and more of an adult theme, as the kids truly ask themselves can they kill in cold blood? and what the mental ramifications are when they do.
I've so far given the two instalments of this series 5 stars, which I don't often do unless I think a book has re-read value, which I believe this series will have (if it keeps up this level of quality through it's seven instalments). I thought I had read to at least book number four when I read this when I was younger, but it turns out I only read to the end of this one, which means everything that comes will be completely new to me.
I still don't know if I'm enjoying these as I enjoyed them when I was younger, or they are generally books that anyone could enjoy...but with the 'Hunger Games' being such a big presence now, I can't imagine anyone enjoying that and not liking this series.