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13 Days of Midnight #1
13 Days of Midnight
When Luke Manchett’s estranged father dies unexpectedly, he leaves his son a dark inheritance: a Host of eight unique, powerful, and restless spirits. Unfortunately, Luke has no clue how to manage them, which the ghosts figure out pretty quickly. Armed with only his father’s indecipherable notes and a locked copy of The Book of Eight, Luke struggles to adapt to his new role as a necromancer. Meanwhile, the increasingly belligerent Host mutinies, possesses Luke’s mother, and forces him out of his own house.
Halloween, the night when ghosts reach the height of their power, is fast approaching, and Luke knows his Host is planning something far more trick than treat. With the help of school outcast Elza Moss, who knows a bit about ghosts herself, Luke has just thirteen days to uncover the closely guarded secrets of black magic and send his unquiet spirits to their eternal rest.
And if you thought it was going to be easy, you’d be dead wrong.
Halloween, the night when ghosts reach the height of their power, is fast approaching, and Luke knows his Host is planning something far more trick than treat. With the help of school outcast Elza Moss, who knows a bit about ghosts herself, Luke has just thirteen days to uncover the closely guarded secrets of black magic and send his unquiet spirits to their eternal rest.
And if you thought it was going to be easy, you’d be dead wrong.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published February 19, 2015
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October 22, 2024
When Luke Manchett’s TV exorcist father dies, he gains an inheritance more otherworldly than he could ever imagine.
As a horror fan, I enjoy tales of ghosts and black magic, and I found this one to be a stand-out among the teen-level fare. The characters behave realistically even in unreal situations, and the emotional core of the story was solid, whether it dealt with Luke’s relationships with his mother, his friends and Elza or with the lingering trauma left by his absentee father. The ghosts were creepy, the villain was nasty, the ending is well-resolved yet still left open (it’s a trilogy), and overall it was just a solid supernatural experience.
I look forward to continuing the series. -Hillary D.
As a horror fan, I enjoy tales of ghosts and black magic, and I found this one to be a stand-out among the teen-level fare. The characters behave realistically even in unreal situations, and the emotional core of the story was solid, whether it dealt with Luke’s relationships with his mother, his friends and Elza or with the lingering trauma left by his absentee father. The ghosts were creepy, the villain was nasty, the ending is well-resolved yet still left open (it’s a trilogy), and overall it was just a solid supernatural experience.
I look forward to continuing the series. -Hillary D.
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February 10, 2017Tradução terminada! Falta a revisão.
É um young adult... de terror! Escocês.
E o autor é uma figura. Se você gosta da ambientação de espíritos, pactos, livros com feitiços, é bem provável que você curta. Quando o livro for publicado aqui no Brasil, escrevo uma resenha digna.
É um young adult... de terror! Escocês.
E o autor é uma figura. Se você gosta da ambientação de espíritos, pactos, livros com feitiços, é bem provável que você curta. Quando o livro for publicado aqui no Brasil, escrevo uma resenha digna.
October 15, 2016
3.5
El argumento es interesante y está bien desarrollado, al igual que la voz de su protagonista, Luke. Aunque se echa en falta alguna subtrama que le de una vuelta de tuerca a la historia, [i]13 días a medianoche[/i] es una curiosa mezcla de terror e ironía a la que merece la pena dar una oportunidad.
El argumento es interesante y está bien desarrollado, al igual que la voz de su protagonista, Luke. Aunque se echa en falta alguna subtrama que le de una vuelta de tuerca a la historia, [i]13 días a medianoche[/i] es una curiosa mezcla de terror e ironía a la que merece la pena dar una oportunidad.
July 28, 2015
4.5/5
GUYS! 2ND BOOK is tentatively called EIGHT RIVERS OF SHADOW!
AWESOME STORY! I'M OUT OF WORDS RIGHT NOW.
FULL REVIEW COMING SOON.
GUYS! 2ND BOOK is tentatively called EIGHT RIVERS OF SHADOW!
AWESOME STORY! I'M OUT OF WORDS RIGHT NOW.
FULL REVIEW COMING SOON.
August 18, 2015
This review is also available here.
Luke Manchett, is an ordinary 16-yr old highschool guy whose only problem is to survive school without anyone finding out that he is a son of the popular ghost-buster weirdo guy in the TV.
The truth is he feels nothing at all with the los since he's been MIA most of his life. Nothing should really change now, except he worries about money. His mother doesn't really have a stable job that can support both of them, so he thinks that his father must still handle the money issue. So what happens now that his father is dead?
Turns out he doesn't need to worry anymore as he's the only sole beneficiary of his father that will inherit all of his properties. All he has to do is to sign some papers and alas! He can be a multi-millionaire in no time. He was a little suspicious at first when he needs to sign a letter written in Latin in a goatskin, but happily signed them in the end. I mean, that is literally the only thing that is hindering him from being a multi-millionaire, how much harm can it cause? Not really smart if you ask me.
Soon Luke learned that he had not just inherited properties and money that can make him a multimillionaire. He also inherited a host of eight vengeful ghosts from his dad.
The book got awesome and hilarious MC's and side characters that made me laugh out loud in the middle of the night. You see, I was expecting to get scared, to have a goose bumps while reading it, that's why I decided to read it on the middle of the night-to get more on the feels, instead I got a laugh and entertainment, which wasn't so bad really.
There's not much of a romance happen, but when you've just survive a scary shit ass hell nightmare with someone, there is a 75% chances that you'll appreciate the person more.. and eventually fall as a default.. or not? I don't know, at least there wasn't awkward the-world-around-us-is-in-danger-now-is-the-perfect-time-to-realize-our-mutual-attraction-and-make-out scenes here.
"I am an alpha male with testosterone leaking out of my sweat glands. Ham, my loyal and subservient pack member, is looking to me for guidance in this situation."Reading Thirteen Days of Midnight was a blast, pretty good for a debut novel! Last time I read about necromancer.. Well, let us just say that the experience wasn't so good that I'd rather not reminisce, but in this book I'm happy to say that I had a great reading experience.
Luke Manchett, is an ordinary 16-yr old highschool guy whose only problem is to survive school without anyone finding out that he is a son of the popular ghost-buster weirdo guy in the TV.
"To survive Dunbarrow High you want to be as normal as possible, and that means no ill mum, no ghost-hunter dad, just ordinary Luke Manchett who likes football and rugby and doesn't like schoolwork."Then everything changes when he received a letter delivering the news of the unexpected death of his father.
The truth is he feels nothing at all with the los since he's been MIA most of his life. Nothing should really change now, except he worries about money. His mother doesn't really have a stable job that can support both of them, so he thinks that his father must still handle the money issue. So what happens now that his father is dead?
Turns out he doesn't need to worry anymore as he's the only sole beneficiary of his father that will inherit all of his properties. All he has to do is to sign some papers and alas! He can be a multi-millionaire in no time. He was a little suspicious at first when he needs to sign a letter written in Latin in a goatskin, but happily signed them in the end. I mean, that is literally the only thing that is hindering him from being a multi-millionaire, how much harm can it cause? Not really smart if you ask me.
Soon Luke learned that he had not just inherited properties and money that can make him a multimillionaire. He also inherited a host of eight vengeful ghosts from his dad.
"You're dead?" I say. "You're telling me that you're both dead? I'm talking to dead people right now?"Unfortunately, a full Host of eight that he inherited can make him a powerful necromancer, only if he can stop those ghost from revolting- and killing him first, and he's got until the Halloween to stop the ghosts from breaking free of his control and turn on him.
"Well alright," says The Judge,"Touchy subject,that. No need to rub it in"
The book got awesome and hilarious MC's and side characters that made me laugh out loud in the middle of the night. You see, I was expecting to get scared, to have a goose bumps while reading it, that's why I decided to read it on the middle of the night-to get more on the feels, instead I got a laugh and entertainment, which wasn't so bad really.
There's not much of a romance happen, but when you've just survive a scary shit ass hell nightmare with someone, there is a 75% chances that you'll appreciate the person more.. and eventually fall as a default.. or not? I don't know, at least there wasn't awkward the-world-around-us-is-in-danger-now-is-the-perfect-time-to-realize-our-mutual-attraction-and-make-out scenes here.
"I take a moment to appreciate the Elza-ness of Elza, whole and alive; appreciate the sharpness of her gaze, the dark curve of her brow."This might be a series, but really, Thirteen Days of Midnight can do well as a standalone novel. Overall, this was an awesome book.
June 28, 2015
This review and others can be found on my blog: Book Blog Bird
The title of this book should really be, Why You Should Never Sign Things Without Reading The Fine Print...
Luke Manchett lives just outside a small town in the north of England. He plays on the school rugby team, has a mum who believes in healing crystals and he harbours a huge crush on one of the girls at his school. When he receives a letter one day to tell him that his absentee father has sadly passed away, he is sad but not devastated.
When he’s called to the offices of his dad’s solicitor and discovers he’s inherited millions of pounds, all he can think of is the flashy sports car he’s going to buy to impress the girl he fancies. He happily signs the documents the solicitor flashes in front of him (even though one of them is made from goat-skin vellum, which, frankly, should have sounded some alarm bells). Soon Luke discovers he’s inherited more than money from his dad: he’s also inherited a Host of eight vengeful ghosts. Now he has just thirteen days to solve the riddle of his dad’s necromancy notes to keep the spirits from revolting.
I thought this book was awesome and has the triumvirate of a five-star book: great characters, great plot, great writing.
Luke and Elza were superb MCs and sparked off each other nicely. Mr Berkley is sly and slippery and exactly how you’d expect him to be. Horatio is weaselly and snivelling and the Host are great - well rounded, spooky, but you can still see their human aspects coming through. The only character I didn’t connect with hugely was Holiday. She was okay, but really she was just the object of Luke’s crush, one of the markers of his previous life as a normal kid. Having said that, it would have been really easy to cast her as the Pretty Mean Girl as a foil for Elza and the author avoided this, so I was glad about that.
The writing is hugely enjoyable and the author strikes a good balance between dry wit and spookiness. There are some genuinely tense, prickles-on-the-back-of-the-neck moments and the last quarter of the book where the action really ramps up had my heart thudding. I did that thing where you try to read slowly to spin the book out, but you can’t help reading really quickly because you’ve just got to see what happens next.
The plot rockets along at a fair old pace and left me quite breathless at times. It slowed down a bit in the middle where Luke and Elza basically spend a lot of time clutching each other, going, ‘What are we going to DO?’, but even this part was still a lot more interesting than a whole bunch of other books I’ve read this year.
Thirteen Days of Midnight would work just fine as a standalone, but it’s also been left wide open for a series. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out!
I received a copy of Thirteen Days of Midnight in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to Hachette and Netgalley.
The title of this book should really be, Why You Should Never Sign Things Without Reading The Fine Print...
Luke Manchett lives just outside a small town in the north of England. He plays on the school rugby team, has a mum who believes in healing crystals and he harbours a huge crush on one of the girls at his school. When he receives a letter one day to tell him that his absentee father has sadly passed away, he is sad but not devastated.
When he’s called to the offices of his dad’s solicitor and discovers he’s inherited millions of pounds, all he can think of is the flashy sports car he’s going to buy to impress the girl he fancies. He happily signs the documents the solicitor flashes in front of him (even though one of them is made from goat-skin vellum, which, frankly, should have sounded some alarm bells). Soon Luke discovers he’s inherited more than money from his dad: he’s also inherited a Host of eight vengeful ghosts. Now he has just thirteen days to solve the riddle of his dad’s necromancy notes to keep the spirits from revolting.
I thought this book was awesome and has the triumvirate of a five-star book: great characters, great plot, great writing.
Luke and Elza were superb MCs and sparked off each other nicely. Mr Berkley is sly and slippery and exactly how you’d expect him to be. Horatio is weaselly and snivelling and the Host are great - well rounded, spooky, but you can still see their human aspects coming through. The only character I didn’t connect with hugely was Holiday. She was okay, but really she was just the object of Luke’s crush, one of the markers of his previous life as a normal kid. Having said that, it would have been really easy to cast her as the Pretty Mean Girl as a foil for Elza and the author avoided this, so I was glad about that.
The writing is hugely enjoyable and the author strikes a good balance between dry wit and spookiness. There are some genuinely tense, prickles-on-the-back-of-the-neck moments and the last quarter of the book where the action really ramps up had my heart thudding. I did that thing where you try to read slowly to spin the book out, but you can’t help reading really quickly because you’ve just got to see what happens next.
The plot rockets along at a fair old pace and left me quite breathless at times. It slowed down a bit in the middle where Luke and Elza basically spend a lot of time clutching each other, going, ‘What are we going to DO?’, but even this part was still a lot more interesting than a whole bunch of other books I’ve read this year.
Thirteen Days of Midnight would work just fine as a standalone, but it’s also been left wide open for a series. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out!
I received a copy of Thirteen Days of Midnight in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to Hachette and Netgalley.
August 4, 2017
Trigger warnings: death of a parent, parent with an illness, animal cruelty.
A colleague recommended this to me as the start to a really enjoyable paranormal trilogy. And maybe I've read more paranormal trilogies than her, but oof.
This was just...boring, to be honest. And it shouldn't have been. Like, it's about a sixteen year old boy who inherits a shit ton of money and eight ghosts from his newly dead estranged father. That should be a sure-fire hit. Instead, it took Luke about half the book to actually accept that he was seeing ghosts - WHEN HIS FATHER HAD A FREAKING I-SEE-GHOSTS REALITY SHOW!! - and then he spent the rest of the book basically being the dumbest kid on the face of the earth.
Honestly? The MVP player here for me was Luke's dog, Ham.
A colleague recommended this to me as the start to a really enjoyable paranormal trilogy. And maybe I've read more paranormal trilogies than her, but oof.
This was just...boring, to be honest. And it shouldn't have been. Like, it's about a sixteen year old boy who inherits a shit ton of money and eight ghosts from his newly dead estranged father. That should be a sure-fire hit. Instead, it took Luke about half the book to actually accept that he was seeing ghosts - WHEN HIS FATHER HAD A FREAKING I-SEE-GHOSTS REALITY SHOW!! - and then he spent the rest of the book basically being the dumbest kid on the face of the earth.
Honestly? The MVP player here for me was Luke's dog, Ham.
September 10, 2015
Luke Manchett's father left him and his mother. Luke hasn't even spoken to him in years. However, he has just received news of his father's death - and a rather large inheritance. Tempted by the money, Luke doesn't pay too much attention to the papers he's signing. But then the ghosts start showing up.
I thoroughly enjoyed 13 DAYS OF MIDNIGHT. There's a nice balance of horror and humor. I found Luke sometimes frustrating, since he takes a ridiculous amount of time to clue into the danger he's in. He might not have intended to inherit a host of ghosts and dark necromantic powers, but he had plenty of opportunity to notice everyone warning him that things could go horribly awry. Luckily he finds help with Elza, the school weirdo who just happens to have second sight and be a low-level witch. With her, Luke isn't completely hopeless.
I did like that the reader figures out what is going on and how the necromancy works along with Luke and Elza. All is revealed at the end, but it takes time since the reader is thrown into the deep end with Luke. I love books that let you put together the pieces on your own. I also liked that the adventure in 13 DAYS OF MIDNIGHT wrapped up neatly while still leaving a wicked hook for sequels. I hope there are more books coming, because it looks like Luke has more terrifying things lurking in his future.
While 13 DAYS OF MIDNIGHT is a horror story, it's not a scary story. It's a ghost story, and a creepy one, with some macabre imagery and heroes forced to use awful measures to prevent worse things from happening. It's a kind of horror that I enjoy very much.
13 DAYS OF MIDNIGHT is a book that will remind you to always read the fine print before making a deal with a lawyer.
I thoroughly enjoyed 13 DAYS OF MIDNIGHT. There's a nice balance of horror and humor. I found Luke sometimes frustrating, since he takes a ridiculous amount of time to clue into the danger he's in. He might not have intended to inherit a host of ghosts and dark necromantic powers, but he had plenty of opportunity to notice everyone warning him that things could go horribly awry. Luckily he finds help with Elza, the school weirdo who just happens to have second sight and be a low-level witch. With her, Luke isn't completely hopeless.
I did like that the reader figures out what is going on and how the necromancy works along with Luke and Elza. All is revealed at the end, but it takes time since the reader is thrown into the deep end with Luke. I love books that let you put together the pieces on your own. I also liked that the adventure in 13 DAYS OF MIDNIGHT wrapped up neatly while still leaving a wicked hook for sequels. I hope there are more books coming, because it looks like Luke has more terrifying things lurking in his future.
While 13 DAYS OF MIDNIGHT is a horror story, it's not a scary story. It's a ghost story, and a creepy one, with some macabre imagery and heroes forced to use awful measures to prevent worse things from happening. It's a kind of horror that I enjoy very much.
13 DAYS OF MIDNIGHT is a book that will remind you to always read the fine print before making a deal with a lawyer.
June 28, 2015
[I received a copy through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]
3.5 stars. Entertaining and somewhat funny at times, while still conveying a sense of danger—alright, maybe not terribly frightening per se for me, as I don't frighten easily when reading books, but I think it has the right potential nonetheless. Half the Host at least was creepy in more ways than one, from the Shepherd with his glasses to the Prisoner with his shears... and even the Innocent, for the questions he raised (who would leash a *baby* as their pet ghost, really?!). The Host wasn't a bunch of good guys, apart from a couple, and even those remained on the fence and never said the whole truth, only intervening at a "right" moment that could've been just a tad bit sooner for good measure.
As I'm a sucker for necromancy in general, of course I couldn't help but look for the questions it raised. And there were several. The baby I mentioned, for starters. Why Luke's father turned to such a type of magic, and why he bound such a large Host, when nothing at first indicated he even needed one (this is explained later in the book). Whether Luke would accept this part of his inheritance and be lured towards a desire for power, or try to remain who he was and have a normal life. Choices to make, and forgiveness. This wasn't just about getting rid of a bunch of ghosts, but also choosing to protect or to condemn other people.
I liked the dynamics between Luke and Elza—there's a smidge of a budding romance in there, one that doesn't detract from the plot, and develops slowly: good! Luke realised he couldn't clutch forever to his little life as one of the "popular" crowd, in the face of something much biger and dangerous. Elza was resourceful, and overall a nice person, trying to help people who had been treating her like an outcast just because she didn't want to fit their mould. Holiday, too, was a bit of an ambiguous person: picking her friends among the popular ones and discarding the others, but not to the extent of becoming a mean girl. She was barely more than a crush, yet at least she was a believable one. As for the lawyer, well... Even though you don't get to see him much, he was perfectly cast in his role.
Oh, and Ham. Ham the deerhound. A very short part of the novel is actually from his point of view, and that was quite funny. It would've been annoying if it had been longer; kept to a few paragraphs, it wasn't, and definitely made me smile.
Other characters were less defined, unfortunately: Mark, Kirk, even Luke's mother, who remains ill/asleep for most of the novel. That last one was a bit of a letdown, as in turn, it was difficult to properly get to know her and to share Luke's worries for her for any other reason than "she's his mom".
Sometimes Luke's reactions made me cringe, as he seemed to switch from one to the other real quick. It didn't happen that often, and it could be explained by panic and worry; only it made me wonder why he'd get such reactions. (For instance, when it's been made clear that you're haunted by ghosts and that those have put a certain person in a coma, dragging that person to a hospital won't be very useful, especially not considering all the people who die in a hospital.) A couple of times, too, I picked some absolutely obvious clues that totally eluded the characters (re: the familiar); on the other hand, all things considered, maybe that's a case of being too genre-savvy on my part, so I can't very well hold it against characters who were either totally new to the supernatural, or barely fledglings (Elza admitted herself she was self-taught).
There was a slight lull in the middle while the characters were powerless and trying to figure out what to do—not that Luke's father had been very helpful to begin with. They came up with an interesting idea in the end, so I forgave them.
The writing was OK, nothing exceptional, nothing blatantly annoying either. It should flow nicely enough for the intended audience. (Also, my Kindle copy was a bit oddly formatted; however, this is an ARC, so likely to change.)
Conclusion: 3.5 stars rounded to 4, because in spite of the points I mentioned, I pretty much enjoyed it. The story is also self-contained, yet open-ended enough to leave room for a sequel (someone's bound to come back and collect their dues here, not to mention what may or may not happen between Luke and Elza, and how their fellow pupils would react to it).
3.5 stars. Entertaining and somewhat funny at times, while still conveying a sense of danger—alright, maybe not terribly frightening per se for me, as I don't frighten easily when reading books, but I think it has the right potential nonetheless. Half the Host at least was creepy in more ways than one, from the Shepherd with his glasses to the Prisoner with his shears... and even the Innocent, for the questions he raised (who would leash a *baby* as their pet ghost, really?!). The Host wasn't a bunch of good guys, apart from a couple, and even those remained on the fence and never said the whole truth, only intervening at a "right" moment that could've been just a tad bit sooner for good measure.
As I'm a sucker for necromancy in general, of course I couldn't help but look for the questions it raised. And there were several. The baby I mentioned, for starters. Why Luke's father turned to such a type of magic, and why he bound such a large Host, when nothing at first indicated he even needed one (this is explained later in the book). Whether Luke would accept this part of his inheritance and be lured towards a desire for power, or try to remain who he was and have a normal life. Choices to make, and forgiveness. This wasn't just about getting rid of a bunch of ghosts, but also choosing to protect or to condemn other people.
I liked the dynamics between Luke and Elza—there's a smidge of a budding romance in there, one that doesn't detract from the plot, and develops slowly: good! Luke realised he couldn't clutch forever to his little life as one of the "popular" crowd, in the face of something much biger and dangerous. Elza was resourceful, and overall a nice person, trying to help people who had been treating her like an outcast just because she didn't want to fit their mould. Holiday, too, was a bit of an ambiguous person: picking her friends among the popular ones and discarding the others, but not to the extent of becoming a mean girl. She was barely more than a crush, yet at least she was a believable one. As for the lawyer, well... Even though you don't get to see him much, he was perfectly cast in his role.
Oh, and Ham. Ham the deerhound. A very short part of the novel is actually from his point of view, and that was quite funny. It would've been annoying if it had been longer; kept to a few paragraphs, it wasn't, and definitely made me smile.
Other characters were less defined, unfortunately: Mark, Kirk, even Luke's mother, who remains ill/asleep for most of the novel. That last one was a bit of a letdown, as in turn, it was difficult to properly get to know her and to share Luke's worries for her for any other reason than "she's his mom".
Sometimes Luke's reactions made me cringe, as he seemed to switch from one to the other real quick. It didn't happen that often, and it could be explained by panic and worry; only it made me wonder why he'd get such reactions. (For instance, when it's been made clear that you're haunted by ghosts and that those have put a certain person in a coma, dragging that person to a hospital won't be very useful, especially not considering all the people who die in a hospital.) A couple of times, too, I picked some absolutely obvious clues that totally eluded the characters (re: the familiar); on the other hand, all things considered, maybe that's a case of being too genre-savvy on my part, so I can't very well hold it against characters who were either totally new to the supernatural, or barely fledglings (Elza admitted herself she was self-taught).
There was a slight lull in the middle while the characters were powerless and trying to figure out what to do—not that Luke's father had been very helpful to begin with. They came up with an interesting idea in the end, so I forgave them.
The writing was OK, nothing exceptional, nothing blatantly annoying either. It should flow nicely enough for the intended audience. (Also, my Kindle copy was a bit oddly formatted; however, this is an ARC, so likely to change.)
Conclusion: 3.5 stars rounded to 4, because in spite of the points I mentioned, I pretty much enjoyed it. The story is also self-contained, yet open-ended enough to leave room for a sequel (someone's bound to come back and collect their dues here, not to mention what may or may not happen between Luke and Elza, and how their fellow pupils would react to it).
September 14, 2015
I received a free copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads. FTC guidelines: check!
13 Days of Midnight is an enjoyable thrill ride through the world of Luke Manchett, a boy who is about to become a necromancer even though he didn't know that those existed. It is classified as a young adult novel and it has enough teen angst and non-graphic violence for that to be true, but I enjoyed it on its own merits, which is something that not all YA books have going for them.
The best part about Hunt's book is that the reader gets to discover the world and its magical rules along with Luke. You don't know what the spirits are capable of or what the necromancer's book is going to reveal- it's exciting! I kept coming back to the story because I just had to know what was going to happen next.
The only issue that I had with 13 Days of Midnight was the premise that Luke's father didn't teach his son the magical methods to protect Luke from what went down after his father's death. The story cleared up that question for me towards the very end, but I spent most of the book not buying into it. There's something primal in the parent/child bond that would never allow such a thing to happen. At least, there is for me.
If you enjoyed this book, I'd recommend Shutter by Courtney Alameda (YA horror) or The Engelsfors Trilogy by Mats Strandberg (group of teens discover that they have magical powers and have to save the world).
13 Days of Midnight is an enjoyable thrill ride through the world of Luke Manchett, a boy who is about to become a necromancer even though he didn't know that those existed. It is classified as a young adult novel and it has enough teen angst and non-graphic violence for that to be true, but I enjoyed it on its own merits, which is something that not all YA books have going for them.
The best part about Hunt's book is that the reader gets to discover the world and its magical rules along with Luke. You don't know what the spirits are capable of or what the necromancer's book is going to reveal- it's exciting! I kept coming back to the story because I just had to know what was going to happen next.
The only issue that I had with 13 Days of Midnight was the premise that Luke's father didn't teach his son the magical methods to protect Luke from what went down after his father's death. The story cleared up that question for me towards the very end, but I spent most of the book not buying into it. There's something primal in the parent/child bond that would never allow such a thing to happen. At least, there is for me.
If you enjoyed this book, I'd recommend Shutter by Courtney Alameda (YA horror) or The Engelsfors Trilogy by Mats Strandberg (group of teens discover that they have magical powers and have to save the world).
May 9, 2016
Luke is 16 years old and has to care for his mom who is very ill with his dog Ham. When his father passes away and he inherits money as well as a Host of malevolent ghouls, Luke doesn't know what to do. Can he learn to control his father's ghoulish Host before the leader of the ghouls known as the Shepard helps them to break free of their service from him and cause chaos on Halloween night? Read on and find out for yourself.
This was a pretty good read for Leo Hunt's first ever book that I discovered at Barnes and Noble a while back and finally got a chance to read it. I enjoyed checking it out and I thought it was cool that the author was inspired by Stephen King and H.P. Lovecraft when writing this novel so if you enjoy horror stories and ghost stories, definitely check this book out. It is available wherever books are sold and see if it is at your local library too.
This was a pretty good read for Leo Hunt's first ever book that I discovered at Barnes and Noble a while back and finally got a chance to read it. I enjoyed checking it out and I thought it was cool that the author was inspired by Stephen King and H.P. Lovecraft when writing this novel so if you enjoy horror stories and ghost stories, definitely check this book out. It is available wherever books are sold and see if it is at your local library too.
November 17, 2016
3.5 más bien.
El principio se me hizo lento, pero luego coge mucho ritmo y es adictivo.
Elza y Luke son OTP.
Nada más que añadir, pronto reseña en mi blog e.e
El principio se me hizo lento, pero luego coge mucho ritmo y es adictivo.
Elza y Luke son OTP.
Nada más que añadir, pronto reseña en mi blog e.e
June 28, 2016
3.5 stars would be more like it, but this wasn't what I expected.
The novel begins quite slowly. Luke Manchett discovers his father-a television star famous for his necromancy skills-has died. He will inherit his father's fortune if certain conditions are met. Unfortunately, Luke signs his acceptance of these conditions without reading the finer details and ends up with a lot more than he bargained for.
Luke's gradual realisation that his father has handed over control of eight ghosts determined to get revenge was humorously dealt with. As Luke struggles to work out how to master this group of spirits, he has to rely on the friendship of Ezra-someone he's barely spoken to.
What follows has elements of horror, but it never really strays into horrifying (unless you think too carefully about some of the things we're told Luke experiences). I felt this was because Luke doesn't have a clue what he's doing a lot of the time, and when it comes down to it he resists the final temptation.
Part of me wanted to see him act selfishly...
The novel begins quite slowly. Luke Manchett discovers his father-a television star famous for his necromancy skills-has died. He will inherit his father's fortune if certain conditions are met. Unfortunately, Luke signs his acceptance of these conditions without reading the finer details and ends up with a lot more than he bargained for.
Luke's gradual realisation that his father has handed over control of eight ghosts determined to get revenge was humorously dealt with. As Luke struggles to work out how to master this group of spirits, he has to rely on the friendship of Ezra-someone he's barely spoken to.
What follows has elements of horror, but it never really strays into horrifying (unless you think too carefully about some of the things we're told Luke experiences). I felt this was because Luke doesn't have a clue what he's doing a lot of the time, and when it comes down to it he resists the final temptation.
Part of me wanted to see him act selfishly...
December 3, 2015
THIS WAS NOT SCARY AT ALL. What the hell. How do you have a story about suddenly having eight pissed-off ghosts tethered to your existence, and have it be completely not at all scary ??!??!? And one of them is a flaming skeleton! Who burns for all eternity and endlessly recites the Lord's Prayer in Latin! How ??
There was just no scary in this book whatsoever!
I don't get it!
I'm not sure why I still felt compelled to know what happens.
I mean, other than the complete and total absence of scariness, it was a reasonably good story, and well-written. But it's just kinda like, why. I came here for the ghosts to scare the shit out of me. What is this??
There was just no scary in this book whatsoever!
I don't get it!
I'm not sure why I still felt compelled to know what happens.
I mean, other than the complete and total absence of scariness, it was a reasonably good story, and well-written. But it's just kinda like, why. I came here for the ghosts to scare the shit out of me. What is this??
June 2, 2015
Been reading it for four days and nope, can't do it. DNF'ing at 80%
October 6, 2015
I enjoyed this book a lot. I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I turned out to. Different to books I've read before and I look forward to seeing where the story goes in the sequel!
March 4, 2016
Actual rating, 3.5 stars. A slow start, then it became very fast-paced, but when it reached the end, it became slow again.
Anyhow, quite decent read for me.
Anyhow, quite decent read for me.
September 14, 2019
Luke gets a lousy inheritance after his father dies who Luke was barely close with, he gets his father’s old things like this mysterious book and several rings, later does Luke find out that he gets his father’s 8 ghost 👻 but not all of them are friendly. The first half of this book 📚 was good then towards the ending way like 80% of the book it fell flat for me really wanted to like it but I ended up DFN’ it at #270 pages into it.
November 7, 2016
Siempre me han gustado las historias de miedo lo que hace que a estas alturas cueste encontrar algo que me asuste, estoy bastante inmunizada a lo que vampiros y seres sobrenaturales se refiere, por lo que 13 días a Medianoche ha tenido un reto conmigo. Acabado el libro, no puedo decir que me haya asustado especialmente pero si que debo reconocer que la ambientación del autor me ha encantado y la historia ha acabado siendo bastante original, pese a tener algunos factores que me han resultado poco creíbles.
http://perdidaenunmundodelibros.blogs...
http://perdidaenunmundodelibros.blogs...
October 29, 2016
13 días a medianoche es una novela de fantasía paranormal juvenil que desborda originalidad y entretenimiento que me ha convertido automáticamente en un fan de Leo Hunt.
Reseña completa en THE BEST READ YET BLOG
Reseña completa en THE BEST READ YET BLOG
April 25, 2022
I found this book again and couldn't resist reading it for a second time. Definitely one of my favourites. Just found out there are sequels, I hope the sequels are as good as this one.
August 17, 2015
I’ve bemoaned a lot of about my trouble finding a good, proper YA horror novel in the last few years. I’ve read my fair share of creepy paranormal thrillers in YA, but nothing approaching real horror. I don’t know how much of it is my nostalgia for the horror that I grew up reading (like R.L. Stine or Christoper Pike), but when I read more recent YA horror novels, I don’t get that sense of creeping, inescapable terror. The three creepiest scenes in YA that I’ve read in the last three years have been the opening sequences to The Diviners and The Coldest Girl in Coldtown and the first entrance into the eponymous Coldtown in the latter book. Most of the YA horror that I’ve read recently has been overly reliant on “Ooo something creepy! It’s so creepy that we can’t describe it! So spooky! Booooo!”
The latest disappointing entry in my fruitless quest is one of the last ARCs I snapped up before leaving my bookstore job, 13 Days of Midnight. And the fact that the paranormal aspect is one of the least disappointing things in a book that is incredibly underwhelming isn’t exactly high praise, either. Because it is the aforementioned overly reliant “Ohhh, look how scary this is! The ghost has whited-out eyes! And a rusty knife! SO SCARY!” That’s all great, but there’s no atmosphere to it—the ghosts are plunked into a sleepy Northern England town and spooky scary things happen. (Actually, now that I think about it, it kind of reminds me of one of the more recent episodes of the Beyond Belief segment of The Thrilling Adventure Hour podcast, wherein the medium main characters sit around and snark ad nauseum at serial killer tropes. “IT’S TIME TO RIDE THE PONY!”)
And this isn’t what disappointed me the most about this book. 13 Days of Midnight is a very thin plot stretched out over three hundred pages. We’re introduced to the main character, Luke, and told immediately that his father’s died and left him wealth and some mysterious possessions. Then ghosts show up, claiming that they’re now bonded to Luke but they want out, and Luke accidentally frees them from said servitude, allowing the very “dangerous” ghosts to go threaten the town while Luke flails around for a hundred pages. It doesn’t seem like this plot could drag on, but it does. I can understand it when a character is suddenly thrown into a situation where they don’t have every single resource at their disposal and need to figure out how to solve the problem as the stakes are massively raised. (See Maureen Johnson’s Shades of London series.) But the way Luke flails around for the bulk of the book got boring and frustrating at times. Luke has no idea how to control his inherited ghosts, and every time he does try to sit down and ask them questions, he gets sidetracked by some trivial point that’s been brought up. Or the Vessel would just keep giving Luke a cryptic answer along the lines of “Oh no, it is you who must unlock your true power.” (Yes, ghosts, spirits, and other supernatural entities are notoriously vague and unhelpful, but this is a bad way of doing it.)
The plot is also oddly paced—Hunt is reliant on the characters conveniently blacking out and days have passed in order to raise the stakes, but there’s never any mounting tension resulting from it.
It’s not just the ending that reeks of laziness. The characters are all just there—Luke is essentially a bland teenage boy who is the hero because reasons. Elza is Hermione Granger by way of Lydia Deetz (bossy, know-it-all, sensible loner but because she herself is “strange and unusual”) until she needs to fret over Luke’s well-being because she’s a giiiiirl. (Side note, I asked about the effectiveness of Elza’s ghost-deflecting hazel charms. “You’re kidding me, right?” Also the constant insistence that her hagstone—incorrectly and consistently referred to as a “wyrdstone”—can also ward off ghosts. Uh, no, hagstones are used to see through fae enchantments. Read Coraline.) The Host themselves aren’t very frightening, either—the Shepherd, the Prisoner, and the Heretic exist to be creepy for sake of being creepy, but they don’t do much outside of looking scary. Seriously, the Heretic is basically “What’s scary? Oh, a skeleton! No, a skeleton ON FIRE! And he keeps CHANTING IN LATIN! SO SCARY!” (Good for you, you know the Lord’s Prayer in Latin. That’s a level of creepy just below small children singing nursery rhymes in a minor key. Which is to say, not creepy anymore.)
The thing is that this still feels like a very early draft of a book that could be halfway decent. There’s even a decent conflict in here, with the Host being pissed off that Luke’s father used them to fake exorcisms for his TV show. (Which is the only thing that I actually liked in the entire book.) But coupled with the infodump that constitutes as an ending, it just feels like the stakes shave to be higher, and we need this to sound epic (so we can potentially score a series deal!) when it really doesn’t need to be. Plus the lack of any real atmosphere or tension in the plot, and thinly conceived characters who are terrible people is why I didn’t like this at all. So much of the plot is cluttered and rushed that it reads like a hastily written draft of a final product, and the ending explanation, again, is completely lazy that I had to fight off the compulsion to chuck my copy into the ocean.
I will, one day, find a good YA horror novel. But for now, I will continue on in my quest, as this has been another disappointing read in that area.
The latest disappointing entry in my fruitless quest is one of the last ARCs I snapped up before leaving my bookstore job, 13 Days of Midnight. And the fact that the paranormal aspect is one of the least disappointing things in a book that is incredibly underwhelming isn’t exactly high praise, either. Because it is the aforementioned overly reliant “Ohhh, look how scary this is! The ghost has whited-out eyes! And a rusty knife! SO SCARY!” That’s all great, but there’s no atmosphere to it—the ghosts are plunked into a sleepy Northern England town and spooky scary things happen. (Actually, now that I think about it, it kind of reminds me of one of the more recent episodes of the Beyond Belief segment of The Thrilling Adventure Hour podcast, wherein the medium main characters sit around and snark ad nauseum at serial killer tropes. “IT’S TIME TO RIDE THE PONY!”)
And this isn’t what disappointed me the most about this book. 13 Days of Midnight is a very thin plot stretched out over three hundred pages. We’re introduced to the main character, Luke, and told immediately that his father’s died and left him wealth and some mysterious possessions. Then ghosts show up, claiming that they’re now bonded to Luke but they want out, and Luke accidentally frees them from said servitude, allowing the very “dangerous” ghosts to go threaten the town while Luke flails around for a hundred pages. It doesn’t seem like this plot could drag on, but it does. I can understand it when a character is suddenly thrown into a situation where they don’t have every single resource at their disposal and need to figure out how to solve the problem as the stakes are massively raised. (See Maureen Johnson’s Shades of London series.) But the way Luke flails around for the bulk of the book got boring and frustrating at times. Luke has no idea how to control his inherited ghosts, and every time he does try to sit down and ask them questions, he gets sidetracked by some trivial point that’s been brought up. Or the Vessel would just keep giving Luke a cryptic answer along the lines of “Oh no, it is you who must unlock your true power.” (Yes, ghosts, spirits, and other supernatural entities are notoriously vague and unhelpful, but this is a bad way of doing it.)
The plot is also oddly paced—Hunt is reliant on the characters conveniently blacking out and days have passed in order to raise the stakes, but there’s never any mounting tension resulting from it.
It’s not just the ending that reeks of laziness. The characters are all just there—Luke is essentially a bland teenage boy who is the hero because reasons. Elza is Hermione Granger by way of Lydia Deetz (bossy, know-it-all, sensible loner but because she herself is “strange and unusual”) until she needs to fret over Luke’s well-being because she’s a giiiiirl. (Side note, I asked about the effectiveness of Elza’s ghost-deflecting hazel charms. “You’re kidding me, right?” Also the constant insistence that her hagstone—incorrectly and consistently referred to as a “wyrdstone”—can also ward off ghosts. Uh, no, hagstones are used to see through fae enchantments. Read Coraline.) The Host themselves aren’t very frightening, either—the Shepherd, the Prisoner, and the Heretic exist to be creepy for sake of being creepy, but they don’t do much outside of looking scary. Seriously, the Heretic is basically “What’s scary? Oh, a skeleton! No, a skeleton ON FIRE! And he keeps CHANTING IN LATIN! SO SCARY!” (Good for you, you know the Lord’s Prayer in Latin. That’s a level of creepy just below small children singing nursery rhymes in a minor key. Which is to say, not creepy anymore.)
The thing is that this still feels like a very early draft of a book that could be halfway decent. There’s even a decent conflict in here, with the Host being pissed off that Luke’s father used them to fake exorcisms for his TV show. (Which is the only thing that I actually liked in the entire book.) But coupled with the infodump that constitutes as an ending, it just feels like the stakes shave to be higher, and we need this to sound epic (so we can potentially score a series deal!) when it really doesn’t need to be. Plus the lack of any real atmosphere or tension in the plot, and thinly conceived characters who are terrible people is why I didn’t like this at all. So much of the plot is cluttered and rushed that it reads like a hastily written draft of a final product, and the ending explanation, again, is completely lazy that I had to fight off the compulsion to chuck my copy into the ocean.
I will, one day, find a good YA horror novel. But for now, I will continue on in my quest, as this has been another disappointing read in that area.
Read
September 28, 2018My thoughts about 13 days of midnight are that the author leo hunt is a very good writer and is good at creating tension, but i dislike how much he put in there it is a very drawn out book yes it kept me reading it, only because i had to find out what happend. i wish there was just a little bit more info about Luke's dad not just that he left Luke's mom just to work on a tv show about ghost. I do like how they wrote very well about Luke's everyday life, but i wish he wrote more about luke's mother all he tells about her is that she works, lives in a small two story house, and gets bad headaches. luke finds out that his father had past away he doesn't know at first but finds out later in the book, luke gets 6 million dollars from his dad his mom doesnt know that yet but luke plans on telling her. later on luke has weird things happen to him throughout the week like there was mysterious breakfast made, he didn't eat it because he thought it was poisoned. luke was ridin the bus to go see his friends and these creepy/weird guys r sitting on the bus the one big guy gets close to luke but just smiles and winks at him. luke later on finds out is dad is trapped and he has to save him.
November 15, 2022
Although I am not done reading this book I would rate this book a solid 3 out of 5 stars. I give this book a 3 out of 5 because this overall story has been very confusing to follow and stay on track unless you read major chunks at a time. The story of this haunted young man named Luke and his main friend Elza is not for the "bored" readers due to the fact this book takes some time to get the grasp of. I would offer this book to people who tend to like horror or scary reads a little bit better considering this book is revolved around the dead and consequences of messing with necromancing. It wasn't an amazing read so far but also hasn't been an awful book that I put down. Hunt is able to open your mind with exact detail that creates endless pictures in the readers mind without being boring. I wouldn't recommend this book to an open audience except a smaller portion of more gothic or horror fans. All in all the book isn't awful but definitely not for everyone.
December 13, 2021
The tale of 13 Days of Midnight revolves around a young kid named Luke Manchett, whose father died abruptly and left him with eight spirits, which the ghost took advantage of because Luke didn't know how to control them. When his mother learns about the Host mutinies, she kicks him out of the house. And Halloween, the night when the eight spirits will achieve their full power, is fast coming, and Luke knows the Hosts are up to something enormous. And he has Elza Moss, a classmate who knows a thing or two about ghosts. Luke has only 13 days to unearth the dark, well kept secrets of black magic and put his restless spirits to their ultimate rest.
After my reading of the book 13 days of midnight I thought it was an interesting book and I suggest you read this book if you are interested in the mystery type books.
After my reading of the book 13 days of midnight I thought it was an interesting book and I suggest you read this book if you are interested in the mystery type books.
October 23, 2019
3.5 👻🌟
This series starter was pretty promising, if only there were some helpful backstories, I might have like this even more. I just felt that like Luke, so much info had been thrust our way but were never really explained or properly establish and sometimes I was lost in the unfamiliarity. Nevertheless, I was pretty excited for the next one to see how Luke's character would develop and embraced his fate.
This series starter was pretty promising, if only there were some helpful backstories, I might have like this even more. I just felt that like Luke, so much info had been thrust our way but were never really explained or properly establish and sometimes I was lost in the unfamiliarity. Nevertheless, I was pretty excited for the next one to see how Luke's character would develop and embraced his fate.
December 5, 2018
i didnt finsh it
October 9, 2025
Here, there be spoilers below. But honestly I really wouldn't recommend this book unless you wanted to just be angry for roughly 300 pages.
What's worse than a book that's outright bad is a book that's just completely disappointing. The idea that YA should be held to a different standard "because it's for a younger demographic" is a ridiculous one. There are plenty of YA novels from the past 30 years that have been absolutely incredible and I won't lower my standards simply because they're not considered adult novels. The author can write just fine, though I will say improvements in dialogue were desperately needed in some areas. That being said, what seemed like an extremely promising and compelling plot was executed so poorly that I almost DNF'd this book a little over halfway. My biggest issue arguably lies with our protagonist:
Luke has got to be one of the most unlikable, moronic, stubborn, and flat main characters I've had the displeasure of following in awhile. I understand how teenagers can be; I've read plenty of YA novels with completely flawed protagonists who still manage to be likeable and you actively root for them in spite of their shortcomings, and it's a treat to see them develop as characters. I was actually hoping Luke was going to lose because of how much I despised him.
Luke is not depicted as an accurate portrayal of a teenager; he's yet another frustrating trope of what so many authors are guilty of doing; handing us what media seems to think teenagers are like but misses the mark on so many levels. He really only cares about his self image and his school crush (even after he's made aware as to the kind of danger he's in) and that's pretty much it-which it's just insulting to act like teenagers are incapable of emotional depth or complexity at all. The story is written in the first person yet we barely glean any insight on the inner thoughts and feelings of Luke; he's basically just a sounding board for the world he's living in.
I'm not sure if it's a cultural thing in the UK but the book pushes this notion that teenagers strive to be as boring/normal and mainstream as possible, which is so wildly inaccurate. The book takes place in what I assume is 2015, and the 2010's were full of alternative hipsters, goths, emo kids, scene kids, etc so I have a hard time buying that all these kids are as compelling as toast, save for Elza (and we'll get to her). From the get go I disliked his character for how he treated his dog, how he felt about his mom, and how shallow he was as a character; the guy really only thinks and cares about himself for roughly the first 70% of the book and he basically has no personality.
He has no real interests, hobbies, or anything that fleshes him out or makes him interesting. There's no incentive for you to care about this miserable little scrub or root for him. The book doesn't bother to really explore how his father's abandonment affected him in any meaningful way or how his father's death affected him (plenty of people whose estranged parents have passed have left people very emotionally conflicted but Luke is just wholly unbothered, and it's not even in a teenage denial kind of way). I also find it very strange that having been raised in a household with parents both equally interested in the supernatural that he has zero interest in the subject matter whatsoever. It would have made complete sense if he rejected anything supernatural because it reminded him of his father but no, he's just doesn't. Probably because this books feeds into the ever prevailing stereotype that teens who have hobbies that are considered "eccentric" are socially ostracized. Dude, I went to high school with kids who wore full cosplays and they still had plenty of friends. He also doesn't want anyone knowing who is father is, but seemingly more out of embarrassment than wanting unwanted attention. I'm surprised this loser leaves his house and doesn't fear his hair getting messed up against the wind-I wouldn't be surprised if he had a full crash out if he got mud on his precious new trainers.
And speaking of tropes....this book is absolutely rife with them. And let me be frank: I have nothing against tropes; they exist for a reason and can be spun a thousand different ways to create variety and a fun story. The issue is when they aren't used effectively. So what are we working with?
-The extremely idiotic protagonist who has the intellect, critical thought, and IQ of a popsicle stick with zero legitimate skills of his own. Seriously, the guy has absolutely nothing going for him. The abhorrent "bumbling protagonist who's learning alongside the audience", yet his actions don't drive the story; he's just constantly reacting to everything. Arguably one of the worst tropes to exist and is used far too often, particularly in horror-centric stories. Characters who are learning alongside the audience are fine, but that's the thing; they actually have to learn. If Luke was resourceful and intelligent it'd make for a far more enjoyable read, but every time sh*t hits the fan it's dues ex machina to the rescue instead of the protagonist problem solving his way out of conflict and constantly relying on others to solve his problems for him. His skills don't grow or develop throughout the story.
-The weirdo outcast character who only exists to serve as an exposition/lore expert for the protagonist. They're "different" for the sake of it, a smartass, and basically a rebel without a cause. Their friendship is rushed and comes out of nowhere because the plot demands it. The protagonist, despite his extremely dire predicament, cares more about being seen with said outcast than solving said predicament.
-Background friends who serve no real purpose and turn on the protagonist immediately when things become too inconvenient, and this only really serves to prove that the outcast was right in saying all of the protagonists friends are terrible people (when really, only one of them is and she isn't even a friend of the protagonist).
-The popular mean girls and the forced love triangle, though frankly the other love interest is never depicted as anything other than friendly so it's not convincing.
-Absentee parents that make this book possible.
-The protagonist being absolutely wrong about 99% of the time but he's treated as if he's in the right, not because he actually is but because the book demands we believe he is.
-The protagonist who is incredibly slow on the uptake and takes forever to understand what's going on, so much so that it comes off unrealistic that anyone could be this unbelievably moronic. He doesn't take anything seriously and actually goes to a party and drinks even though he's told it's a trap, yet he stubbornly refuses to listen to reason and the book expects us to believe he's some noble, selfless individual for this. None of us are buying it.
-The protagonist who spends roughly 80% of the book bumbling around and not doing anything proactive or effective, yet cracks the code at the last minute and literally solves everything even though he's learned absolutely nothing and it's incredibly unsatisfying and nonsensical.
-The protagonist's maturity/development is a complete cop-out and is forced because the plot demands it; he's a static character until the plot forces him to mature in a manner of paragraphs as opposed to a gradual, organic shift.
-The plot is less of a cohesive flow and consists more of things happening to the characters that forces them to react, and relies heavily on deus ex machina pushing the plot along.
Now that we're past tropes, other criticisms.
The world building is borderline nonexistent and any information that is conveyed is done so through our local lore expert, Elza. I despise these types of characters, though I will say Elza is at least somewhat likable and her motivations for helping Luke do make sense because she, unlike Luke, isn't an idiot and understands the severity of what's going on. Some things I did like though, was the fact that her interest in the paranormal was driven by the fact that she had second sight as opposed to just liking it because it's different. I also appreciated the reference to online forums and the jargon used amongst people with second sight because that felt quite authentic and made me smile. However, her knowledge on the subject matter varied wildly and didn't make a lot of sense. Some things she had answers for, like obscure knowledge that she probably shouldn't have (how on earth could she have known about the Book of Eight when it was locked in a tomb and discovered by his father on an archeologist expedition? His dad even emphasizes the secrecy in which necromancers operate, so how anyone would have been privy to this information is confusing at best) and more general knowledge you think she would know she was clueless on. It felt very inconsistent and strictly for plot convenience.
That being said, her desperation to be alternative because....well, just because had me rolling my eyes, as did the typical smart-alec behavior she exhibited because it's so overdone and just annoying with these character archetypes. Why are they always written to be unattractive goths? I'll never get it. A fun subversion of this would have been if she was a seemingly normal character and an existing friend of Luke's. Imagine if he confided in her because he was so overwhelmed and she revealed her own secrets, taking all of us by surprise. But we didn't get that unfortunately.
Eliza exhibits the tiresome "I pretend like I don't care"((but I absolutely do)) attitude and throwing in "funny" one-liners at a time when no one would, like a cringe Marvel character. I do appreciate her selflessness and self-sacrificing behavior, even if it seemed inexplicable at times.
As far as the story and everything else went: The beginning and ending acts were the most enjoyable by far. The pacing was good, and the the writing was on point for the most part.
The middle act was by far the worst part of the book and consisted of very little and dragged for far too long. It didn't flow well and was really all over the place.
The Host, despite the book beating over our heads how seemingly intelligent and dangerous they were, make countless idiotic errors and were somehow outsmarted by a teenager with all the worldly knowledge of a rock. And I get it; their lack of hubris, hatred, and anger were ultimately their downfall, but the fact that Luke got all the credit for ultimately doing very little was so frustrating. There were so many repeated arguments between Elza and Luke that basically went like:
"You have to learn how to read the book."
"I can't sit by and do nothing!"
"But we can't do anything until you master the book."
"But I don't know how! We have to do something!"
"The answers are in the book!"
"Well that plan isn't working so we're gonna do it MY way!" (this ends poorly)
And repeat. Luke learns how to read the Book of Eight at the literal last minute basically out of nowhere because once again, it's deus ex machina to the rescue. And after doing so and being in a trance for 3 days, he's suddenly worldly and mature and the book expects us to be impressed. I'm not. I still hate you, Luke.
The ending was extremely rushed, though I did enjoy how the Devil was depicted, and I do like that the book doesn't try and make his dad into a hero; instead, it emphasizes on what a terrible person he was. The man is absolute trash. I wasn't surprised that Luke opted to forgive his father because he's never depicted as being a vengeful or angry person throughout the story. But that's another extremely frustrating aspect of this book: his dad, like Elza, only serves as an exposition dump for the lore and world-building. This author struggles immensely with show, don't tell. There's a lot of fascinating information that his father conveys that would have been so interesting to have been depicted throughout the story, but we never see it and it's only ever told to us.
This could have served as a stand alone as it wraps up pretty well, but there are novels following this one. I don't think I'll be reading unless it involves Luke getting dragged to the Deadside, never to be seen again.
What's worse than a book that's outright bad is a book that's just completely disappointing. The idea that YA should be held to a different standard "because it's for a younger demographic" is a ridiculous one. There are plenty of YA novels from the past 30 years that have been absolutely incredible and I won't lower my standards simply because they're not considered adult novels. The author can write just fine, though I will say improvements in dialogue were desperately needed in some areas. That being said, what seemed like an extremely promising and compelling plot was executed so poorly that I almost DNF'd this book a little over halfway. My biggest issue arguably lies with our protagonist:
Luke has got to be one of the most unlikable, moronic, stubborn, and flat main characters I've had the displeasure of following in awhile. I understand how teenagers can be; I've read plenty of YA novels with completely flawed protagonists who still manage to be likeable and you actively root for them in spite of their shortcomings, and it's a treat to see them develop as characters. I was actually hoping Luke was going to lose because of how much I despised him.
Luke is not depicted as an accurate portrayal of a teenager; he's yet another frustrating trope of what so many authors are guilty of doing; handing us what media seems to think teenagers are like but misses the mark on so many levels. He really only cares about his self image and his school crush (even after he's made aware as to the kind of danger he's in) and that's pretty much it-which it's just insulting to act like teenagers are incapable of emotional depth or complexity at all. The story is written in the first person yet we barely glean any insight on the inner thoughts and feelings of Luke; he's basically just a sounding board for the world he's living in.
I'm not sure if it's a cultural thing in the UK but the book pushes this notion that teenagers strive to be as boring/normal and mainstream as possible, which is so wildly inaccurate. The book takes place in what I assume is 2015, and the 2010's were full of alternative hipsters, goths, emo kids, scene kids, etc so I have a hard time buying that all these kids are as compelling as toast, save for Elza (and we'll get to her). From the get go I disliked his character for how he treated his dog, how he felt about his mom, and how shallow he was as a character; the guy really only thinks and cares about himself for roughly the first 70% of the book and he basically has no personality.
He has no real interests, hobbies, or anything that fleshes him out or makes him interesting. There's no incentive for you to care about this miserable little scrub or root for him. The book doesn't bother to really explore how his father's abandonment affected him in any meaningful way or how his father's death affected him (plenty of people whose estranged parents have passed have left people very emotionally conflicted but Luke is just wholly unbothered, and it's not even in a teenage denial kind of way). I also find it very strange that having been raised in a household with parents both equally interested in the supernatural that he has zero interest in the subject matter whatsoever. It would have made complete sense if he rejected anything supernatural because it reminded him of his father but no, he's just doesn't. Probably because this books feeds into the ever prevailing stereotype that teens who have hobbies that are considered "eccentric" are socially ostracized. Dude, I went to high school with kids who wore full cosplays and they still had plenty of friends. He also doesn't want anyone knowing who is father is, but seemingly more out of embarrassment than wanting unwanted attention. I'm surprised this loser leaves his house and doesn't fear his hair getting messed up against the wind-I wouldn't be surprised if he had a full crash out if he got mud on his precious new trainers.
And speaking of tropes....this book is absolutely rife with them. And let me be frank: I have nothing against tropes; they exist for a reason and can be spun a thousand different ways to create variety and a fun story. The issue is when they aren't used effectively. So what are we working with?
-The extremely idiotic protagonist who has the intellect, critical thought, and IQ of a popsicle stick with zero legitimate skills of his own. Seriously, the guy has absolutely nothing going for him. The abhorrent "bumbling protagonist who's learning alongside the audience", yet his actions don't drive the story; he's just constantly reacting to everything. Arguably one of the worst tropes to exist and is used far too often, particularly in horror-centric stories. Characters who are learning alongside the audience are fine, but that's the thing; they actually have to learn. If Luke was resourceful and intelligent it'd make for a far more enjoyable read, but every time sh*t hits the fan it's dues ex machina to the rescue instead of the protagonist problem solving his way out of conflict and constantly relying on others to solve his problems for him. His skills don't grow or develop throughout the story.
-The weirdo outcast character who only exists to serve as an exposition/lore expert for the protagonist. They're "different" for the sake of it, a smartass, and basically a rebel without a cause. Their friendship is rushed and comes out of nowhere because the plot demands it. The protagonist, despite his extremely dire predicament, cares more about being seen with said outcast than solving said predicament.
-Background friends who serve no real purpose and turn on the protagonist immediately when things become too inconvenient, and this only really serves to prove that the outcast was right in saying all of the protagonists friends are terrible people (when really, only one of them is and she isn't even a friend of the protagonist).
-The popular mean girls and the forced love triangle, though frankly the other love interest is never depicted as anything other than friendly so it's not convincing.
-Absentee parents that make this book possible.
-The protagonist being absolutely wrong about 99% of the time but he's treated as if he's in the right, not because he actually is but because the book demands we believe he is.
-The protagonist who is incredibly slow on the uptake and takes forever to understand what's going on, so much so that it comes off unrealistic that anyone could be this unbelievably moronic. He doesn't take anything seriously and actually goes to a party and drinks even though he's told it's a trap, yet he stubbornly refuses to listen to reason and the book expects us to believe he's some noble, selfless individual for this. None of us are buying it.
-The protagonist who spends roughly 80% of the book bumbling around and not doing anything proactive or effective, yet cracks the code at the last minute and literally solves everything even though he's learned absolutely nothing and it's incredibly unsatisfying and nonsensical.
-The protagonist's maturity/development is a complete cop-out and is forced because the plot demands it; he's a static character until the plot forces him to mature in a manner of paragraphs as opposed to a gradual, organic shift.
-The plot is less of a cohesive flow and consists more of things happening to the characters that forces them to react, and relies heavily on deus ex machina pushing the plot along.
Now that we're past tropes, other criticisms.
The world building is borderline nonexistent and any information that is conveyed is done so through our local lore expert, Elza. I despise these types of characters, though I will say Elza is at least somewhat likable and her motivations for helping Luke do make sense because she, unlike Luke, isn't an idiot and understands the severity of what's going on. Some things I did like though, was the fact that her interest in the paranormal was driven by the fact that she had second sight as opposed to just liking it because it's different. I also appreciated the reference to online forums and the jargon used amongst people with second sight because that felt quite authentic and made me smile. However, her knowledge on the subject matter varied wildly and didn't make a lot of sense. Some things she had answers for, like obscure knowledge that she probably shouldn't have (how on earth could she have known about the Book of Eight when it was locked in a tomb and discovered by his father on an archeologist expedition? His dad even emphasizes the secrecy in which necromancers operate, so how anyone would have been privy to this information is confusing at best) and more general knowledge you think she would know she was clueless on. It felt very inconsistent and strictly for plot convenience.
That being said, her desperation to be alternative because....well, just because had me rolling my eyes, as did the typical smart-alec behavior she exhibited because it's so overdone and just annoying with these character archetypes. Why are they always written to be unattractive goths? I'll never get it. A fun subversion of this would have been if she was a seemingly normal character and an existing friend of Luke's. Imagine if he confided in her because he was so overwhelmed and she revealed her own secrets, taking all of us by surprise. But we didn't get that unfortunately.
Eliza exhibits the tiresome "I pretend like I don't care"((but I absolutely do)) attitude and throwing in "funny" one-liners at a time when no one would, like a cringe Marvel character. I do appreciate her selflessness and self-sacrificing behavior, even if it seemed inexplicable at times.
As far as the story and everything else went: The beginning and ending acts were the most enjoyable by far. The pacing was good, and the the writing was on point for the most part.
The middle act was by far the worst part of the book and consisted of very little and dragged for far too long. It didn't flow well and was really all over the place.
The Host, despite the book beating over our heads how seemingly intelligent and dangerous they were, make countless idiotic errors and were somehow outsmarted by a teenager with all the worldly knowledge of a rock. And I get it; their lack of hubris, hatred, and anger were ultimately their downfall, but the fact that Luke got all the credit for ultimately doing very little was so frustrating. There were so many repeated arguments between Elza and Luke that basically went like:
"You have to learn how to read the book."
"I can't sit by and do nothing!"
"But we can't do anything until you master the book."
"But I don't know how! We have to do something!"
"The answers are in the book!"
"Well that plan isn't working so we're gonna do it MY way!" (this ends poorly)
And repeat. Luke learns how to read the Book of Eight at the literal last minute basically out of nowhere because once again, it's deus ex machina to the rescue. And after doing so and being in a trance for 3 days, he's suddenly worldly and mature and the book expects us to be impressed. I'm not. I still hate you, Luke.
The ending was extremely rushed, though I did enjoy how the Devil was depicted, and I do like that the book doesn't try and make his dad into a hero; instead, it emphasizes on what a terrible person he was. The man is absolute trash. I wasn't surprised that Luke opted to forgive his father because he's never depicted as being a vengeful or angry person throughout the story. But that's another extremely frustrating aspect of this book: his dad, like Elza, only serves as an exposition dump for the lore and world-building. This author struggles immensely with show, don't tell. There's a lot of fascinating information that his father conveys that would have been so interesting to have been depicted throughout the story, but we never see it and it's only ever told to us.
This could have served as a stand alone as it wraps up pretty well, but there are novels following this one. I don't think I'll be reading unless it involves Luke getting dragged to the Deadside, never to be seen again.
September 9, 2015
This review was originally published on:
http://wordsofwonders.com/2015/06/15/...
A fantastic debut from Leo Hunt filled with mystery, madness and the macabre!
Luke Manchett is your average teenager, well, as average as you can be with a non-existent father who dabbles in things he shouldn’t i.e the dead. Upon his father’s death, Luke discovers just how far his eager hands had delved into the macabre world of deadside and its inhabitants through his father’s lawyer – Mr Berkley.
A few inheritance papers – included one made of skin – later and Luke finds himself the new owner of an old book and his father’s collection of rings and his metaphorical pockets a few million dollars heavier… or so he’d hoped. Instead, he ends up with eight, very real and very haunting, ghosts known as The Manchett Host. Ghosts that his father had collected over years of ghost hunting, seances, exorcisms, oh and practicing necromancy.
This obviously doesn’t end well for Luke who clearly isn’t adept in dark magic. The Host take the opportunity to use their new owner’s lack of knowledge against him, in order to achieve their freedom. Elza, local goth and witch however, knows her fair share and is certainly in tune with Deadside. She can see ghosts and spirits so naturally once she sees the horrors of the Manchett Host lumbering around town, she is more than a little curious.
Luke and Elza team up to unravel the secrets of his Luke’s Father’s rings and decipher the Book of Eight so that they might stand a chance of standing up against the collected powers of The Host. And with Halloween looming, it’s only a matter of time before they grow stronger than anything Luke and Elza can throw at them.
I enjoyed this book immensely, not only because it was based in the Midlands, my home turf, but because Luke and his predicament is just so intriguing and exciting! Living in the suburbs, Luke is your typical teenager who tries to hide his unusual family life from the public eye. His Mother suffers from severe headaches which put her out of commission for days at a time and his Father, when alive, had his own TV show in the same vein as Most Haunted. Understandably he doesn’t brag it, reveling in mocking the show with his friends at his Father’s expense. Even though the circumstances following his Father’s death are far-fetched, the teenage lifestyle that Leo sets up perfectly captures that expected of teens today.
The ghosts are fantastic. Each of their personalities and differences constantly create conflicts and humour and help to guide the plot along hundreds of different pathways. I’m interesting in learning more about each ghost’s history, especially the full story behind The Shepherd! In fact, it could make for a fantastic series of Novellas!
Elza is a great supporting character adding her own layer of quirk with her protection spells and wards, I’m hoping that we see a lot more of this side of magic in the sequel because I think there’s a lot of potential there!
Ham, Luke’s dog is adorable and is inspired by a very real version owned by the author himself! To say I loved the scenes where Luke and Ham became intertwined is an understatement. Its both hilarious and extremely well done.
My only slight qualm with this book was the lack of responsibility where Luke’s mom was concerned. I understand most teenagers are selfish nowadays and would be like “Hey, Mom’s sick, oh well I’m still going out.” But when there’s estranged ghosts wandering around I feel like that line would be blurred somewhat, in hindsight, much of what happens could have been resolved before it happened had he not been so careless. That being said, if he was boring and behaved appropriately, we wouldn’t have such an exciting book!
A brilliantly British book that is perfect for fans of Skulduggery Pleasant, Goosebumps or Supernatural, who are looking for something that little bit different! I for one cannot wait for the sequel which will hopefully give us more of an insight into Deadside!
http://wordsofwonders.com/2015/06/15/...
A fantastic debut from Leo Hunt filled with mystery, madness and the macabre!
Luke Manchett is your average teenager, well, as average as you can be with a non-existent father who dabbles in things he shouldn’t i.e the dead. Upon his father’s death, Luke discovers just how far his eager hands had delved into the macabre world of deadside and its inhabitants through his father’s lawyer – Mr Berkley.
A few inheritance papers – included one made of skin – later and Luke finds himself the new owner of an old book and his father’s collection of rings and his metaphorical pockets a few million dollars heavier… or so he’d hoped. Instead, he ends up with eight, very real and very haunting, ghosts known as The Manchett Host. Ghosts that his father had collected over years of ghost hunting, seances, exorcisms, oh and practicing necromancy.
This obviously doesn’t end well for Luke who clearly isn’t adept in dark magic. The Host take the opportunity to use their new owner’s lack of knowledge against him, in order to achieve their freedom. Elza, local goth and witch however, knows her fair share and is certainly in tune with Deadside. She can see ghosts and spirits so naturally once she sees the horrors of the Manchett Host lumbering around town, she is more than a little curious.
Luke and Elza team up to unravel the secrets of his Luke’s Father’s rings and decipher the Book of Eight so that they might stand a chance of standing up against the collected powers of The Host. And with Halloween looming, it’s only a matter of time before they grow stronger than anything Luke and Elza can throw at them.
I enjoyed this book immensely, not only because it was based in the Midlands, my home turf, but because Luke and his predicament is just so intriguing and exciting! Living in the suburbs, Luke is your typical teenager who tries to hide his unusual family life from the public eye. His Mother suffers from severe headaches which put her out of commission for days at a time and his Father, when alive, had his own TV show in the same vein as Most Haunted. Understandably he doesn’t brag it, reveling in mocking the show with his friends at his Father’s expense. Even though the circumstances following his Father’s death are far-fetched, the teenage lifestyle that Leo sets up perfectly captures that expected of teens today.
The ghosts are fantastic. Each of their personalities and differences constantly create conflicts and humour and help to guide the plot along hundreds of different pathways. I’m interesting in learning more about each ghost’s history, especially the full story behind The Shepherd! In fact, it could make for a fantastic series of Novellas!
Elza is a great supporting character adding her own layer of quirk with her protection spells and wards, I’m hoping that we see a lot more of this side of magic in the sequel because I think there’s a lot of potential there!
Ham, Luke’s dog is adorable and is inspired by a very real version owned by the author himself! To say I loved the scenes where Luke and Ham became intertwined is an understatement. Its both hilarious and extremely well done.
My only slight qualm with this book was the lack of responsibility where Luke’s mom was concerned. I understand most teenagers are selfish nowadays and would be like “Hey, Mom’s sick, oh well I’m still going out.” But when there’s estranged ghosts wandering around I feel like that line would be blurred somewhat, in hindsight, much of what happens could have been resolved before it happened had he not been so careless. That being said, if he was boring and behaved appropriately, we wouldn’t have such an exciting book!
A brilliantly British book that is perfect for fans of Skulduggery Pleasant, Goosebumps or Supernatural, who are looking for something that little bit different! I for one cannot wait for the sequel which will hopefully give us more of an insight into Deadside!
March 9, 2017
I liked this book because it had magic and ghosts. There are 8 spirits that make up the Manchett host. The names of these spirits are the Vigil, the Prisoner, the Judge, the Shepherd, the Heretic, the Innocent, the Oracle and last but not least, the Fury, the most evil of them all. Luke and the odd witchlet, Erza, have exactly 13 days to release the Manchett host and save his mother. I like the part when Luke is kicked out of his body and has to possess his dog. Correction...his dumb, but cute, dog. That is hilarious! "Girl talk. Push at Ham. Do not want to go. Ham afraid. Unbeasts everywhere! Unpeople too! Very bad. House big and dark and bad. Girl hit Ham on bott. Hit bott very hard! Not happy. Want to shout, 'Am Luke! Am Luke!"
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