Westerfeld, Scott - Midnighters: Touching Darkness

[oyceter]

Second in a trilogy (I think) that involves five teenagers all born precisely at midnight. I read the first book a while back and didn't hate it, but also wasn't too impressed either.

This book thankfully isn't bogged down with necessary explanations of what everyone's powers and limitations are and why only they have said powers; nor is it as Jessica-centric as the first book. This made me happy, because Jessica and Jonathan were actually the two characters that bored me the most. I also liked it better because it started getting into midnighter backstory and past history, which lent a sense of overhanging tragedy. I am a total sucker for backstory, especially tragically ending backstory that must be righted by the current characters.

Dess and Melissa and Rex thankfully have more to do in this book. The first book was a little too standard-YA-teens-with-power for me, in which the kid who could be cool had she not Sekrit Powers gets sucked into a secret superhero team consisting largely of the outcasts of the school. The problem I still have is that I get a sense that Westerfeld doesn't like Melissa and Rex as much as the other characters because they're not as typically "cool." Rex also has the standard fearless leader characteristics that make most of the other people on the team take him less seriously.

But I really liked Dess' role and the combination of math and weaponry. I like her brain very much, and I like that she doesn't fall into the standard stereotype of strong but not too smart warrior. I also continue to like Melissa just because she's prickly and no one else likes her, and I'm glad she gets more to do as well. I even liked Rex better, thanks to a few revelations about him and what he has to go through in the book.

I'm more impressed with the series now, and would like to see where it's going.

Links:
- rilina's review

Comments

[jinian.livejournal.com]

Westerfeld mentioned on his blog (regarding a fan comic, even) that Dess was his favorite, so I don't think he's totally ruled by teen cool. I was glad to get less Jessica-and-Jonathan too, and the new directions are definitely more promsing and original than the first book's standard setup. Need third book now!

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Dess is my favorite too, and Melissa and Rex are my second favorites. I think Jonathan ought to be more interesting than he is, given how he likes midnight better than regular life, and Jessica is just overshadowed by the more troubled or odd other kids. However, some very cool stuff goes down with Jessica (and also with Rex) in the third book.

[literaticat.livejournal.com]

March 8, Scott & Justine are coming to my store, and Midnighters 3 will be out.

[justinelavaworm.livejournal.com]

Scott loves Melissa and Rex! His least favourites are Jessica and Jonathan. Though he still likes them, he likes all his characters. Me, I dislike Jessica and think Jonathan's okay (I spose) and love the rest of them, even Beth the little sister.

[oyceter]

Oo yes, I very much like the new direction. Also, so totally suckered in by past history of Bixby.

[oyceter]

Gaaaah you have already read the third book? I seethe with jealousy.

[oyceter]

Ooo yeah, I saw that on your blog! Still trying to figure out if I can go up on a weekday, and won't let myself get the third book because of book-buying moratorium and budget being very unhappy with me.

[oyceter]

Oh yay, my favorite characters! I always seem to revert to high school and "picking favorites" when it comes to the YA-teens-with-special-powers genre (subgenre?) and immediately latched onto Melissa and Rex because they were so seemingly disliked by everyone. Ergo some nascent dislike for Jessica as well.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

I wrote Scott a Mafia-like letter pointing out that since I had given him a galley of Fishes, he owed me a copy of Blue Noon.

I'd loan it to you if you were in town, along with the three Temeraire galleys.

[jinian.livejournal.com]

Ha, he totally did that on purpose:

SW: Really, I prefer series. I especially enjoy writing second books, in which the world is already set up, and yet you still have room to subvert the reader's assumptions about how everything works. I enjoy pulling back more and more curtains, revealing new sides to everything they thought they understood.

(Interview here (http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/2006/02/scbwi-bologna-2006-author-interview.html).)

[oyceter]

This is really just a way to bribe me to visit you, isn't it? ;)

[oyceter]

Wow! It's so weird getting all this authorial feedback right away on LJ!