oyceter: Stack of books with text "mmm... books!" (mmm books)
Oyceter ([personal profile] oyceter) wrote2006-04-03 10:05 pm

Westerfeld, Scott - Midnighters: Blue Noon

Spoilers for Secret Hour and Touching Darkness

I didn't like this quite as much as Touching Darkness, largely because it didn't have the same world-building twist or the darkness that the second book did. Thankfully, Westerfeld doesn't shy away from the consequences of Rex's brief transformation into a halfling, but I wish there were more fallout from the second book, from Madeleine and Melissa's newfound control and the invasion of Dess' mind. Westerfeld does try to put them into the book, but I wanted more all around.

There was cool stuff in this book, particularly when it seemed like Westerfeld was going to pull out all stops. But I just couldn't get over the feeling that there was too much crammed into the book, so in the end, it didn't quite have the emotional impact that it could have.

Also, I wish Jonathan had more to do in the end -- I can't really put a finger on his personality except that he flies and hates daytime.

Gah, I feel bad for sounding so negative, but it's just that Bixby was getting very fascinating, particularly with the hints of Midnighters throughout the ages and their centuries of control over Bixby, hints of the things the Grayfoots had done, conspiracies and all that wonderful stuff. And I wanted more of Dess and Rex and Melissa (Jessica and Jonathan unfortunately don't interest me very much), but everything felt too short.

Links:
- [livejournal.com profile] minnow1212's review

[identity profile] jinian.livejournal.com 2006-04-04 04:27 pm (UTC)(link)
I agree. Touching Darkness was so very good that Blue Noon was a bit of a letdown. The ending was excellent because (1) it didn't solve all problems, not that I thought a Westerfeld book would do that, and (2) the lightning-chasing echoed the very beginning, yay. It definitely needed more Bixby-geekery throughout the book, though. I guess we may be an atypical audience in not liking the action bits best -- but actually I bet Westerfeld has lots of info-loving fans after Peeps.

FYI

[identity profile] jinian.livejournal.com 2006-04-05 06:09 am (UTC)(link)
When I read this I thought, "Heh heh heh. I like Oyce."

[identity profile] rachelmanija.livejournal.com 2006-04-04 04:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Touching Darkness was my favorite of the trilogy, but I loved the ending of Blue Noon.