Talk us through it
Melissa Greeley has been skimming the edge of the dark world, mainly due to her friend Nathan who is a Shade (a sort of Ghost). She considers herself to be totally human and normal, which is unfortunate given the rise of a new evil in the form of a mad ancient Shade named Isis who has resurrection dreams going down, and who also views Melissa as a threat. With the help of Cassandra, another Shade, and Nathan, Melissa must try to thwart Isis's mad scheming and defeat an even bigger menace than previously encountered. Can Melissa find her inner super woman and can she work out what "Ancient Light" is. Compounding Melissa's problems is a stranger who has his own agenda. Ready to step into the light?
Review"There was no one here. Maybe I was having a nightmare. Shouting in my sleep" - Melissa Ancient Light pretty much kicks in right after the destructive winds destroyed the township of Nimjala in Night Beast. Robert Hood continues the tradition of the series by having the narrative come from the point of view of a different character, surprisingly this time the human Melissa Greeley. Yes once again the structure of the book is from the first person, and once again Mr Hood keeps us on our toes by changing focus and motivations. Surprisingly the Author is as strong with the viewpoint of his female characters as he is with his male ones. Even Stephen King has been regularly attacked for lack of believable female characters, no problems here in Ancient Light central narrator Melissa is a real person transplanted to the page. There had been rumblings in the previous Shades books but Robert Hood is pretty up front in Ancient Light, the dark realm of Tenebra is under assault and moves are afoot to relocate to somewhere more viable. That somewhere would be Nimjala for starters. Yes Rob Hood is allowing his young adult readers to grow with the books, not everything is as it seems in Ancient Light, in a sort of wheels within wheels fashion. Toss in a descendant of the Knights Templar and you have adult readers covered as well. Did I mention the shade with a few Roos loose in the top paddock, Isis, may be the one from Egyptian mythology? You can't fault the Author's imagination in Ancient Light there's a fair number of disparate elements adding up to a pretty good read. Mr Hood once again keeps hie readers, regardless of age, spellbound with his prose. While acknowledging Ancient Light is clearly aimed at a young adult audience, and no Robert Hood doesn't talk down to his audience, I should point out the Author has gone slightly darked with his concepts and images this time round. Page 32, "It had no head. And there was a lot of blood". If Clive Barker, circa Books of Blood, had of been writing for a younger audience he would have been definitely wadding into similar waters to those Robert Hood has the reader crossing in Ancient Light. This isn't to say the younger readers under your care are going to be drowning in rivers of blood, it's just to point out that Mr Hood has his horror on and pulls at least one grotesque image out of his top hat. It's been my experience that if you want to get the pre and early teens reading then toss something from the horror pile at them, Robert Hood's Shades series certainly fits the bill. In a return to the style of the first book in the series, Shadow Dance, Robert Hood presents Ancient Light very much in the realms of the fantasy novel. Our central character, Melissa Greeley, while viewing herself as perfectly normal does have an inner power that will aid her in the quest to defeat the powers of darkness. More over Melissa must find out what the "ancient light" is and learn to wield it's power. In keeping with the lore of the fantasy genre, a seemingly ordinary character is the one who will rise to the occasion. From humble beginnings and all that. What I'm finding interesting in the Shades series is that at no time does Robert Hood go for the easy way out and throw a bridging book at us. Each of the three books I have read thus far have stood on their own, held firm to the mythos developed, but have not required the Reader to dial into each book in the series sequentially. You will certainly get a lot more out of the series if you read through the four books in order, but it's not a requirement. Any Reader can pick up Ancient Light without having read the two previous books and have a cracking good time with the plot, you are not being short changed here. One of the interesting elements Ancient Light presents us with is more people are aware of the Shades' existence than was initially supposed in the opening book of the series. Previously we had the pseudo scientific organisation that was seeking to utilise the Shade's power through confinement, and in Ancient Light we have one deranged individual who views the Shades as being the embodiment of evil. However there's another character who is aware of at least Nathan's existence and who views the Shades in more benign fashion. Where this might progress in the next novel, or what it could mean for the character Melissa is certainly something I'm keen on discovering. I thought it was a nice touch by the Author to have even fundamental rules not quite so rigid as I had supposed. If one minor character is aware of the Shades then are there others? We can exclude Nathan's Dad here, a heavy case of denial going down there. At the very least I'm ready to rock on with the fourth book in the series to see where Robert Hood may take us with this development. I really shouldn't have to say it, but just to cover all bases, Robert Hood continues to write in a naturalistic easy to read fashion that will appeal to Readers of all ages. The book simply flows from the opening paragraph and you will find the pages melting away with page last comes up far faster than you might have expected. Warning, do not start reading any of the books in this series late at night, the first time you look up you'll find it's early morning next day. For those following the love triangle between Cassandra, Melissa, and Nathan, yes Robert Hood does continue to develop the plot arc but it doesn't overly intrude into the narrative of the current book. Young female readers are definitely being catered for with female narrators and a dash of the girly romance angle, but never fear make readers wont be left holding a sparkling vampire in the midday sun. Ancient Light along with the other three books in the series is available from amazon.com or the Australian Online Bookshop. Check both places, you are going to get a good price. Don't take too long over the decision however as stocks of the Shades series are extremely limited and you don't want to miss out on adding all four books to your library. As ever the order form is at your disposal if finding it hard to locate any of the books, and the usual disclaimer, I can not guarantee being able to help you but will try my best.
ScaryMinds Rates this read as ... Outstanding Young Adult tale that covers all bases without talking down to the Readership. Robert
Hood nails another one, I'm waiting on the television series!
|
