Light by Michael Grant, and the end of a reading era.

So I just finished reading Light.

When I say I just finished it, I mean I finished it an hour ago, and have spent the time since then staring at the wall trying to absorb the fact that it’s all over, and contemplating everything that happened.

Cause of death…

First of all, some serious congratulations are in order for Mr Grant.

I’m sure he knew from the start, but to think up such a complicated plot, and then to end it so spectacularly, that basically everything was cleared up, that takes skill.  Plot wise, the book was pretty much perfect. I mean there really wasn’t a slow moment, and everything was made clear without overwhelming the reader.

The characters were quite something. The character deaths were something else. I knew there were going to be deaths, heck I even knew there were going to be main character deaths, but that didn’t mean I was prepared. All I’m saying is that if you’re yet to read Light, and you’re as invested as I am, have the Kleenex on stand-by. You’ll most likely need them.

But I’m not complaining. I understand that Light was never going to be a Breaking Dawn, where every single main character walked away at the end- Grant is far too good a writer for that. I understand that the deaths were necessary. I don’t have to like them, but the story is probably better because of it. So I can mourn the characters in my head, I can reread the previous instalments, and I’ll live.

As for the ending, I don’t think I can stress how perfect I found it. As I said before, pretty much everything was cleared up, and in a way that made sense too. Grant avoided pulling a Hunger Games on it, and he ended an amazing series with an epilogue that was actually good. Or aftermath, or whatever you want to call it. It could have been disastrous,  it could have been absolutely brilliant up to the end, and then fallen with a sub-par epilogue. But it didn’t. Personally, I think it ended in the best way it could.

As for the rest of my thoughts on the story, I really don’t think I can make them at all coherent, so I think I’m going to end this here.

Light was a spectacular ending to an exceptional series. It ticked all the boxes, and I genuinely don’t have a bad word to say about it.  There’s no doubt in my mind that Light deserves five stars, as does the Gone Series in general.

And I’d like to take another moment to thank Michael Grant, for writing such an incredible story.

Finishing the Gone series comes with the same feeling that finishing the Artemis Fowl books did. Or The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel. Even Harry Potter. The Gone books have been somewhat a constant in my life over the past few years, and now that the series is finished, I feel like there’s a small void within me that was previously filled with anticipation for the next part of the story. I have fond memories of the first time I read Gone – sitting in one place for most of Christmas day until I finished it, and going out the next day to get Hunger and Lies. I remember reading Plague on a long, cramped plane journey. I bought Fear the third time I went to see the Hunger Games, and devoured it the second I got home. Basically what I’m saying is, it may sound a little sad, but these books have been a part of my life over the past few years, and I’m really sad that they have to end.

But everything has to end sometime, right?

And Gone ended spectacularly.

Fear…

Fear, by Michael Grant

Oh.My.God.

Oh.My.God.

Oh.My.

Oh.

I bought the book yesterday, expecting it to be brilliant. It is.

It’s brilliant, it’s outstanding, it’s marvelous, it’s amazing, it’s… Wow.

The first line in the entire book, had me saying (in my head) “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!”

And the last line?

Well let’s just say, I’m in shock. I finished it about five minutes ago, and I’m in shock. I can’t believe it. I’m still taking it in.

First of all, it’s creepy. It’s really creepy. In fact, I’m not going to use the word creepy anymore, I’m going to use Penny instead. It’s really Penny. Really really Penny. For those who didn’t get what I did there, basically, Penny is insanely creepy. Insanely creepy, and creepily insane. (Spell check is telling me “creepily” is not a word, but I’m using it anyway)

The plot is brilliantly thought out, and full of suspense. Slight spoiler ahead, but it’s mentioned on the blurb, so I’m going to say it anyway.

The barrier, the dome , the whatever-you-want-to-call-it goes black. Black. As in “dark”. As in, there’s no light. As in, big problems. But I had a solution. They didn’t, but I did. I’m sure I couldn’t have been the only one wondering why Sam didn’t just make one big Sammy-sun and fire it into the sky, could I? I can’t be certain (obviously), but that makes sense to me.

Secondly, the little “glimpses” of Little Pete and the outside world are confusing, but they work. And they’re so teasing, You’re kept in suspense until literally the last five pages…

Drake is getting up to as much mischief as ever, but now he competition for the title of the most insane villain. That competition is called Penny, and as I’ve said before, she’s horrible. Everyone else has their vices and virtues, but Penny (and Drake) are just bad. Just plain bad.

Caine seems to be getting better, but from previous experience, this probably won’t last. Sam’s not nearly as smart as I’ve been giving him credit for, but he’s still all there. Sort of. You wouldn’t be able to pay me to switch places with him at the end.

Astrid is still as infuriating as ever. I had been assured that she get’s better, but I don’t think so. She’s less religious, but still extremely self-assured, and exasperatingly Astrid-like. However, my respect for Dekka has doubled. Personally, I didn’t think that was possible, but let’s just say, she goes through a lot.

Personally, I like to think, that if I could be one character from the FAYZ, I’d be Lana. She’s just so badass. (Sorry, but I can’t think of any other word) Though, to be honest, I’d probably end up either going crazy, or fading into the background of the unnamed characters.

Overall, I loved Fear. I’ve been a huge fan of the Gone series, ever since I got the first book for Christmas in 2010, from my dad. He had to smuggle it into the house, due to my overprotective mother, and several content warnings on the cover. I sat down on Christmas morning for four hours and refused to talk to anybody, or go anywhere until I had finished Gone. I went out the next day and bought Hunger and Lies. From that first day, I was hooked on the series, and so far, I’ve loved every installment. I was on a plane when I read Plague (the fourth book), and the person sitting beside me must have thought I was crazy, I gasped so much. But did I care? Not one bit!

Fear gets 4 eyebrows up out of five, because it’s absolutely brilliant! Michael Grant, I salute you!

Reading back over this post, I realise that I sound like a ten-year old writing a book report. Also, I think I’ve run out of superlatives. Ah well…

So until next time just remember:

Fear is amazing, and Jazz hands make everything better…