Skip to main content

Reviews - The Secret hour and Touching Darkness - Scott Westerfeld

The Secret Hour

Nobody is safe in the secret hour. Strange things happen at midnight in the town of Bixby, Oklahoma.
Time freezes. Nobody moves. For one secret hour each night, the town belongs to the dark creatures that haunt the shadows. Only a small group of people know about the secret hour -- only they are free to move about the midnight time. These people call themselves Midnighters. Each one has a different power that is strongest at midnight: Seer, Mindcaster, Acrobat, Polymath. For years the Midnighters and the dark creatures have shared the secret hour, uneasily avoiding one another. All that changes when the new girl with an unmistakable midnight aura appears at Bixby High School. Jessica Day is not an outsider like the other Midnighters. She acts perfectly normal in every way. But it soon becomes clear that the dark creatures sense a hidden power in Jessica . . . and they're determined to stop her before she can use it. A story of courage, shadowy perils, and unexpected destiny, the secret hour is the first volume of the mesmerizing Midnighters trilogy by acclaimed author Scott Westerfeld.

***
I really enjoyed this book.

The whole story was set up around a group of midnighters - people born at the stroke of midnight who get to experience the 25th hour of the day. I loved idea from the outset. The focus of this book is the discovery of a new midnighter - the new girl in school. This book was fast paced and action packed. Whilst reading it you got brief overviews of each of the characters involved and the whole world built up around them It was really creepy in a lot of places when the group were coming up against the creatures that lived in the midnight hour which played on people's nightmares and could can form. I loved the different relationships between the characters and would like to see how they develop. All the characters themselves were interesting by my favourite by far was Dess and her weird and wacky ways.

To have given the book 5 stars I would have liked a little more background on the characters and whole midnighters world as I already have lots of unanswered questions. Let's hope they are answered over the course of the series.

Fast paced, action packed and leaves you wanting for more
_______
 
Touching Darkness


The Midnighters of Bixby, Oklahoma, know that their town is full of secrets. These five teenagers are the only ones who know about the mysterious hour at midnight when the world freezes, except for them and the creatures that inhabit the darkness.
But they do not know why earlier generations of Midnighters all disappeared, or why they are now the only Midnighters in town. As they learn more about the secret hour's twists and turns, they uncover terrifying mysteries woven into the very fabric of Bixby's history, and a conspiracy that touches both the midnight hour and the world of daylight.
At the same time, the Midnighters' own secrets start to emerge, including some that were never meant to come to light, changing the fragile dynamics among the five.
This time Jessica Day is not the only Midnighter in mortal danger, and if the group can't find a way to come together, they could lose one of their own — forever.
A tale of betrayal, horrifying revelations, and powerful alliances, touching darkness is the second volume of the riveting Midnighters trilogy by acclaimed author Scott Westerfeld.

***

I really enjoyed this book, an awesome follow up to the first book in the series. It picks up pretty much where the first book left off. What I enjoyed about it most is the book is finally giving the story a bit of background looking in more depth to the whole notion of midnighters. You are introduced to a new character who opens an awful lot of the story up and the main plot is superfast, gripping and suspenseful.



Looking forward to reading the final book in the series.


Comments

Dwayne said…
Wonderful review, looking forward now to starting the series :)
I am reading the 3rd book Blue Noon at the mo :D Funny how we read the same books at the same time. Lovely review :D