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The Enigma of Twilight Falls #3
Waking Gods
In this ultimate chapter of the non-linear trilogy The Enigma of Twilight Falls we meet Adrian Foster, a young and reclusive Los Angeles man with an extraordinary gift that has informally brought him the nickname “The Human Master Key.”
When a new victim of a vicious serial killer turns up in the woods by Twilight Falls, California, Adrian reunites with eccentric detective Derek Adams in probing the occult lore surrounding the town — the town in which Adrian was born and raised, the town in which he left behind many a ghost, the town whose dark central spirit will force him on a harrowing journey through the rugged bottomlands of another’s psyche … as well as his own.
Waking Gods completes the terrifying and surreal panorama previously established by The Green-Eyed Monster and Negative Space.
When a new victim of a vicious serial killer turns up in the woods by Twilight Falls, California, Adrian reunites with eccentric detective Derek Adams in probing the occult lore surrounding the town — the town in which Adrian was born and raised, the town in which he left behind many a ghost, the town whose dark central spirit will force him on a harrowing journey through the rugged bottomlands of another’s psyche … as well as his own.
Waking Gods completes the terrifying and surreal panorama previously established by The Green-Eyed Monster and Negative Space.
- GenresMystery
263 pages, Paperback
First published January 11, 2016
297 people want to read
About the author
Mike Robinson
11 books69 followersAuthor of:
THE ENIGMA OF TWILIGHT FALLS TRILOGY:
"The Green-Eyed Monster"
"Negative Space"
"Waking Gods"
"Dreamshores: Monster Island"
"Skunk Ape Semester"
"The Atheist"
"The Prince of Earth"
"Too Much Dark Matter, Too Little Gray: A Collection of Weird Fiction"
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Screenwriter/Producer:
"Blood Corral" (feature)
"Chrysaline" (short)
THE ENIGMA OF TWILIGHT FALLS TRILOGY:
"The Green-Eyed Monster"
"Negative Space"
"Waking Gods"
"Dreamshores: Monster Island"
"Skunk Ape Semester"
"The Atheist"
"The Prince of Earth"
"Too Much Dark Matter, Too Little Gray: A Collection of Weird Fiction"
----------------------------------------------
Screenwriter/Producer:
"Blood Corral" (feature)
"Chrysaline" (short)
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 31, 2016
2.5 Stars
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
In my review of The Green-Eyed Monster I stated I would like to have some more closure on the whole Martin Smith and John Becker thing. I also wasn't completely sure what to expect of Waking Gods as the previous two books were quite different from each other. However, I wasn't expecting this.
I was a little bit disappointed really. I was completely prepared for something that was different, strange and chaotic, and while the story certainly had all that (I don't necessarily mean those things in a bad way though) I never got into the story. This might have been due to the extensive time-hopping, which made it at times unclear as to who we were following and where it fit together with the rest of the story.
Besides, I got really annoyed by all the references to the earlier stories. I mean, I understand it all takes place in the same town and universe, and I can believe some reference, but it was too much. There is not a single character who is not affected by Smith's and Becker's books, and a lot of other things, which I won't mention so I don't spoil everything, get a lot of attention as well, even if it doesn't always make sense. The story, at times, gets drowned in those references.
While this trilogy certainly is unlike anything really that I've read before, and some of the ideas and writings were truly great, I look back at the series with some mixed feelings. I haven't always enjoyed reading it, but I think in a while I will look back and be glad I did. If that makes any sense at all.
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
In my review of The Green-Eyed Monster I stated I would like to have some more closure on the whole Martin Smith and John Becker thing. I also wasn't completely sure what to expect of Waking Gods as the previous two books were quite different from each other. However, I wasn't expecting this.
I was a little bit disappointed really. I was completely prepared for something that was different, strange and chaotic, and while the story certainly had all that (I don't necessarily mean those things in a bad way though) I never got into the story. This might have been due to the extensive time-hopping, which made it at times unclear as to who we were following and where it fit together with the rest of the story.
Besides, I got really annoyed by all the references to the earlier stories. I mean, I understand it all takes place in the same town and universe, and I can believe some reference, but it was too much. There is not a single character who is not affected by Smith's and Becker's books, and a lot of other things, which I won't mention so I don't spoil everything, get a lot of attention as well, even if it doesn't always make sense. The story, at times, gets drowned in those references.
While this trilogy certainly is unlike anything really that I've read before, and some of the ideas and writings were truly great, I look back at the series with some mixed feelings. I haven't always enjoyed reading it, but I think in a while I will look back and be glad I did. If that makes any sense at all.
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
September 4, 2025
So I read the three in this trilogy, in order even though this was actually the first one written. This was my least liked of the three. I kept thinking it was going to get more interesting, sadly it did not.
March 27, 2016
Alright, like I said, I started on Waking Gods immediately after I finished Negative Space, and I'm done! This is the third in the series, and it is even stranger than the other two.
Waking Gods starts with a murder. There's a serial killer called The Surgeon on the loose, and apparently, only a guy called Adrian Foster can possibly stop him. The thing is, Adrian isn't normal. He's somehow attuned into some sort of network. And when The Surgeon strikes again, Adrian and the cop in charge of the case, Derek Adams, head to Twilight Falls to try and get some clues.
This is when the story just stops being a murder mystery and gets really weird. There are flashbacks back and forth, as the reader finds out more about Adrian's conception and more about Feldman, who was featured quite prominently in Negative Space. And things build to a crescendo as the Grandfather (you might remember him from the first book, Green Eyed Monster) and his enemy make their appearances.
After all the tension from the previous books, I was so glad that there was an ending! I finally found out what's going on in Twilight falls. But, I don't know if it's because my expectations were hyped, but when I found out, it was this huge, excited "OH SO THAT'S IT", but a more muted, "oh, so that's what's going on." I'm not saying it's bad, but it wasn't as dramatic as I expected. Even though, thinking about it, plenty of people died in grotesque ways in the end. I guess the actual nature of Grandfather and the Teacher was just less exciting for me (or I missed the point).
Oh, and now that I've mentioned the death, well, this book is definitely for mature audiences only. Not that I'm saying that the previous books are YA material, far from it, but there's a lot of disturbing stuff going on in here, especially towards the end where it seems everyone goes crazy. If you're sensitive about blood and gore, you might want to be careful.
Overall though, this was a creepy and compulsive series. Sure, you could technically read all three books as a standalone, but I think you should read at least two of these books in a row, and one of the books has to be the ending, to properly experience this world that the author has created.
Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book form the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for a free and honest review.
This review was first posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile
Waking Gods starts with a murder. There's a serial killer called The Surgeon on the loose, and apparently, only a guy called Adrian Foster can possibly stop him. The thing is, Adrian isn't normal. He's somehow attuned into some sort of network. And when The Surgeon strikes again, Adrian and the cop in charge of the case, Derek Adams, head to Twilight Falls to try and get some clues.
This is when the story just stops being a murder mystery and gets really weird. There are flashbacks back and forth, as the reader finds out more about Adrian's conception and more about Feldman, who was featured quite prominently in Negative Space. And things build to a crescendo as the Grandfather (you might remember him from the first book, Green Eyed Monster) and his enemy make their appearances.
After all the tension from the previous books, I was so glad that there was an ending! I finally found out what's going on in Twilight falls. But, I don't know if it's because my expectations were hyped, but when I found out, it was this huge, excited "OH SO THAT'S IT", but a more muted, "oh, so that's what's going on." I'm not saying it's bad, but it wasn't as dramatic as I expected. Even though, thinking about it, plenty of people died in grotesque ways in the end. I guess the actual nature of Grandfather and the Teacher was just less exciting for me (or I missed the point).
Oh, and now that I've mentioned the death, well, this book is definitely for mature audiences only. Not that I'm saying that the previous books are YA material, far from it, but there's a lot of disturbing stuff going on in here, especially towards the end where it seems everyone goes crazy. If you're sensitive about blood and gore, you might want to be careful.
Overall though, this was a creepy and compulsive series. Sure, you could technically read all three books as a standalone, but I think you should read at least two of these books in a row, and one of the books has to be the ending, to properly experience this world that the author has created.
Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book form the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for a free and honest review.
This review was first posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile
March 11, 2016
“What smell is your favorite color of the alphabet” -t-shirt seen at MarsCon 2016
It is like that. There is an internal sense to this book, and the other two in the semi-trilogy (semi, because the books have some things in common, but are in no way sequential – more like three books set in the same town/universe). It is not always easy to see that sense, however.
Let me say that this was one of the most confusing books I have ever come across, and I really didn’t get much of it. Or most of it. Possibly didn’t get any of it, to be honest. That is my weakness – I like a more linear and direct storyline. Not that I can’t hack confusing or twisty plots, just…not this way.
Waking Gods completes the unusual Enigma of Twilight Falls series, and thanks to publisher Curiosity Quills, I received the first two books as well, in order to do a better, more informed review.
Well, I am more informed. For what it is worth, the lynchpin of the series is the town of Twilight Falls, where, no spoiler this, the walls of reality are a mite thinner than they ought to be. This results in a lot of mystical weirdness happening in and around the town – from artists flocking there for the boost to creativity to possession and brutal homicides.
In this novel, the plot opens with a serial killer known as the Surgeon (see the cover…), and expands to include psychic Adrian Foster (he means well…) and Detective Derek Adams and their journey to, and around, Twilight Falls. And then it heads solidly into latter-season ‘Lost’ territory, with flashbacks, mindscapes that are not, strictly speaking, real, and so on. Frankly, there is a point where the book could be titled ‘WALKING Gods’, although not the gods one wants to encounter.
I think the murder is solved, by the way, but it seemed so unimportant that I just can’t recall. The entire series is somewhat like that – a murder or other crime is a transport vehicle to explore the weirdness, debate the nature of reality, and generally be highly metaphysical.
I did not, in case I am being unclear, dislike this book. Nor did I dislike the other two. They are not ones I would return to, and not my ‘thing’, but they are of fine craftsmanship, and are most surely interesting. Even if I didn’t get them fully, I did finish all three, and these days, that is saying something.
Have to go now, there is a customer at this Starbucks whose butterflies need freeing…
It is like that. There is an internal sense to this book, and the other two in the semi-trilogy (semi, because the books have some things in common, but are in no way sequential – more like three books set in the same town/universe). It is not always easy to see that sense, however.
Let me say that this was one of the most confusing books I have ever come across, and I really didn’t get much of it. Or most of it. Possibly didn’t get any of it, to be honest. That is my weakness – I like a more linear and direct storyline. Not that I can’t hack confusing or twisty plots, just…not this way.
Waking Gods completes the unusual Enigma of Twilight Falls series, and thanks to publisher Curiosity Quills, I received the first two books as well, in order to do a better, more informed review.
Well, I am more informed. For what it is worth, the lynchpin of the series is the town of Twilight Falls, where, no spoiler this, the walls of reality are a mite thinner than they ought to be. This results in a lot of mystical weirdness happening in and around the town – from artists flocking there for the boost to creativity to possession and brutal homicides.
In this novel, the plot opens with a serial killer known as the Surgeon (see the cover…), and expands to include psychic Adrian Foster (he means well…) and Detective Derek Adams and their journey to, and around, Twilight Falls. And then it heads solidly into latter-season ‘Lost’ territory, with flashbacks, mindscapes that are not, strictly speaking, real, and so on. Frankly, there is a point where the book could be titled ‘WALKING Gods’, although not the gods one wants to encounter.
I think the murder is solved, by the way, but it seemed so unimportant that I just can’t recall. The entire series is somewhat like that – a murder or other crime is a transport vehicle to explore the weirdness, debate the nature of reality, and generally be highly metaphysical.
I did not, in case I am being unclear, dislike this book. Nor did I dislike the other two. They are not ones I would return to, and not my ‘thing’, but they are of fine craftsmanship, and are most surely interesting. Even if I didn’t get them fully, I did finish all three, and these days, that is saying something.
Have to go now, there is a customer at this Starbucks whose butterflies need freeing…
January 24, 2016
It is pretty nearly impossible to classify this novel; it fits no category neatly. The first book I read of Robinson's, The Green-Eyed Monster, was "slipstream" and I think that's what this one is as well. The Twilight Falls "nonlinear" trilogy has a lot of overlapping themes, psychological trips, and even a few characters but the stories themselves are far more individualized.
In Waking Gods, we meet Adrian Foster, a young man who began his life in a coma and who uses his unique ability to walk inside other people's bodies for his own profit. (Hey, if I could astral project into another person's body to experience what he or she does and feels, I sure as heck would try to make some money from it too.) At the same time, there is a serial killer in the strange town of TwiFalls, a town which draws an eclectic group of cultists, artists, and other creative types whose open minds make them both vulnerable and dangerous. A local detective wonders if and what might be the link between the two.
That is insanely simplistic! There is so much more happening in this book. I find Robinson's prose enigmatic and strangely haunting. Whenever I would take a break from reading, I would feel echoes of his writing affect my mood. Crazy, right? Yeah, this book is crazy and you just have to let the words flow over you. Don't think too much or analyze too much. Let it happen and enjoy the places it takes you.
In Waking Gods, we meet Adrian Foster, a young man who began his life in a coma and who uses his unique ability to walk inside other people's bodies for his own profit. (Hey, if I could astral project into another person's body to experience what he or she does and feels, I sure as heck would try to make some money from it too.) At the same time, there is a serial killer in the strange town of TwiFalls, a town which draws an eclectic group of cultists, artists, and other creative types whose open minds make them both vulnerable and dangerous. A local detective wonders if and what might be the link between the two.
That is insanely simplistic! There is so much more happening in this book. I find Robinson's prose enigmatic and strangely haunting. Whenever I would take a break from reading, I would feel echoes of his writing affect my mood. Crazy, right? Yeah, this book is crazy and you just have to let the words flow over you. Don't think too much or analyze too much. Let it happen and enjoy the places it takes you.
January 30, 2016
"The human being was a visionary yet lonesome creature. Fundamentally, it wanted to make and to connect. To lose itself in what it once was, whatever that might have been. Tunnel deep into anyone, Adrian thought, and you would run into those two yearnings."
Lines like this are frequent in this book and it was so poetically written that I often found myself entirely lost in the language. Sometimes when I found myself consciously reading I became lost due to this, which is why I knocked a star off. Sometimes it was difficult to read, or confusing only because the words were so flowery [in a good way,] and so beautiful it distracts you from the strangeness that is this story.
I don't know how to pin point this story or even sum it up properly, because there were so many layers, aspects and background stories going on that it was at times difficult to follow it.
Why do I give it four stars then? Because the quality is there and it is beautifully written. There is an eerie story wrapped in this eloquently written book and all I can say is... If you want to learn about this book then I suggest you read it.
I found if I put it down and picked it back up that it would take me a moment to get back into the mindset I needed to be, so my suggestion is - pick it up and don't put it down!
Have patience, enjoy the poetic quality, consume this book.
Lines like this are frequent in this book and it was so poetically written that I often found myself entirely lost in the language. Sometimes when I found myself consciously reading I became lost due to this, which is why I knocked a star off. Sometimes it was difficult to read, or confusing only because the words were so flowery [in a good way,] and so beautiful it distracts you from the strangeness that is this story.
I don't know how to pin point this story or even sum it up properly, because there were so many layers, aspects and background stories going on that it was at times difficult to follow it.
Why do I give it four stars then? Because the quality is there and it is beautifully written. There is an eerie story wrapped in this eloquently written book and all I can say is... If you want to learn about this book then I suggest you read it.
I found if I put it down and picked it back up that it would take me a moment to get back into the mindset I needed to be, so my suggestion is - pick it up and don't put it down!
Have patience, enjoy the poetic quality, consume this book.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews