A review by brennanlafaro
The Flashlighters: Nightmareland Volume Four by Daniel Barnett

4.0

There’s something different in the air this time around. By the time you pick up The Flashlighters, you’re approximately 400 pages into this post-apocalyptic adventure/nightmare. Nightventure? Nah.

The story feels as though it has two standalone acts. Before we meet the flashlighters and after. John Hawthorne is back with us now, and if you don’t know what that means, why are you reading a review for the fourth book in the series? The days of having a functional vehicle are numbered, and the trio (including Mariah and Marcos) tries to solve the issue only to find themselves set upon by a batch of nightmare creatures. If I gave you any more description than that, I’d be doing Barnett’s prose and ability to paint a vivid picture a serious disservice.

Here’s where the different air comes in, the “book four”-ness of it all. The shift from act one to act two is abrupt, and may not have worked had it come too early in the series. At this point, Barnett is asking us to trust him and stick with the change in direction and most readers, myself included, are going to be inclined to do just that. He’s earned it.

It pays off too. The introduction to the group who call themselves the Flashlighters is a game changer. Barnett excels here at allowing us to see glimpses of Father Ammon, Greg, and Sam. The reader feeds off the sense of mistrust our main characters feel automatically. By the time it’s all said and done, we realize this group is going to be with us a bit longer and we’ve started to form our opinions, though we suspect there’s still a lot to learn.

Volume four leaves us in a place we haven’t been before, not just anxiously awaiting what comes next, but anticipating how our core three will react to the potential communal aspects of what’s ahead. The finale leans heavy on the supernatural elements of this apocalyptic event, and is not at all afraid to bring the gore. It’s a satisfying 160 pages that introduces interesting elements and keeps the momentum going without fail. Four in, and my excitement for the series hasn’t waned in the slightest.

I received a copy from the author for review consideration.