Title: Messenger of Fear
Series: Messenger of Fear #1
Author: Michael Grant [ Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr | Website]
Series: Messenger of Fear #1
Author: Michael Grant [ Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr | Website]
Publisher: HarperCollins
Genre: Young Adult Fiction - Fantasy, Horror
Release Date: September 23, 2014
Source: Review copy provided by the publisher, opinions are honest and my own. – review policy here.
And then the games began.
The Messenger sees the darkness in young hearts, and the damage it inflicts upon the world. If they go unpunished, he offers the wicked a game. Win, and they can go free. Lose, and they will live out their greatest fear.
But what does any of this have to do with Mara? She is about to find out . . . - via Goodreads
Well this is interesting...
Mara only remembers what the Messenger of Fear wants her to remember as she floats in some sort of between world doling out fear tests in exchange for justice. This is unlike anything I've ever read!
The Messenger is perfectly broody and haunted by his sentence to his duty. While taking Mara in to train as the next Messenger he introduces her to two worlds. The world of being the Messenger and the Heptarchy, a group of seven gods whom all the messengers serve. The novel is relatively short with lots of plot driven action but I hoping for more world building in book two along with the vixen Oriax.
There's some spooky, grossness...
As a part of Mara's training the Messenger leads her on some jobs. The tests are a bit scary and even kind of gross. Most of all I just think about how real the scenarios are and that there's no justice like the Messenger to right all the wrongs of the world. This opened my eyes so much!
The various storylines keep it interesting and the plot dynamic. It has a Christmas Carol sort of feel to it alternating between the past and present.
On a 1 – 10 scale of spooks, I'd rate it around 5 or 6. Its actually milder than most Grant books but once again what scared me was the realism because you KNOW these things happen. O_O
As a part of Mara's training the Messenger leads her on some jobs. The tests are a bit scary and even kind of gross. Most of all I just think about how real the scenarios are and that there's no justice like the Messenger to right all the wrongs of the world. This opened my eyes so much!
The various storylines keep it interesting and the plot dynamic. It has a Christmas Carol sort of feel to it alternating between the past and present.
On a 1 – 10 scale of spooks, I'd rate it around 5 or 6. Its actually milder than most Grant books but once again what scared me was the realism because you KNOW these things happen. O_O
Ugh, mean girls...
One of the main characters Mara and the Messenger observe is the suicide of Samantha after being terrorized by mean girl Kayla. This plotline becomes the one that Mara has little trouble with when it comes to how Kayla should be judged/tested. This is a 360 in comparison to the moral qualms Mara has when it comes to her training with other individuals who are visited by the Messenger of Fear. I would've liked to see her display the same doubts for this storyline too, versus the bullying outweighing all other wrongdoings. What's wrong is wrong.
But what the heck does all this mean...
As I stated earlier the world building and rules take the backseat to the action. It can be confusing at times but I'm holding out hope that this gets filled in during book two. Especially all of the gods and messenger business. It's almost random info dumps and I'm not sure I would tolerate it if the book was a standalone.
Why I'll be reading book two...
I really loved the idea of the world, gods, messengers and Mara's conversion into becoming the next Messenger of Fear. The scenes were all spooky and totally drew me in. I want more because there's nothing else like this right now!!
4 Stars - Be good kids, be good.
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