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The Darkdeep #3
The Torchbearers
The blockbuster middle-grade series by New York Times bestselling authors Ally Condie and Brendan continues in this edge-of-your-seat adventure that's Stranger Things meets The Goonies.
After the events of Dark Halloween, the town of Timbers is in a full-blown monster panic, making life for the Torchbearers – Opal, Nico, Tyler, Emma, and Logan – extremely difficult. Nico is investigating the Rift and the strange natural phenomena that continue to occur, all while worrying about his dad's potential work transfer. Opal has her hands full researching the founding Torchbearer, Yvette Dumont, and deciphering clues from another realm sent by the mysterious Thing In a Jar. Emma's wildly popular YouTube show has brought her new-found fame, but also earned her some enemies. Logan is trying to unlock secrets in his own family history that might shed light on how the Torchbearer Order began, while Tyler, as the self-proclaimed Beastmaster, strives to commune with – and not be eaten by – the mercurial and deadly alien sea creature living in Still Cove.
But that's not all. Something cryptic has surfaced from within the Darkdeep. Questions arise, and the five friends find themselves suddenly at odds. The stakes climb even higher when an enigmatic new girl comes to town, with an agenda of her own. As the Torchbearers discover shocking secrets about their houseboat hangout, the Rift, and the Darkdeep itself, signs point to new realms beyond the ones they know, putting their friendships to the test as never before...
Told from alternating POVs, this thrilling next book from bestselling duo Ally Condie and Brendan Reichs will once again have readers sleeping with the lights on.
After the events of Dark Halloween, the town of Timbers is in a full-blown monster panic, making life for the Torchbearers – Opal, Nico, Tyler, Emma, and Logan – extremely difficult. Nico is investigating the Rift and the strange natural phenomena that continue to occur, all while worrying about his dad's potential work transfer. Opal has her hands full researching the founding Torchbearer, Yvette Dumont, and deciphering clues from another realm sent by the mysterious Thing In a Jar. Emma's wildly popular YouTube show has brought her new-found fame, but also earned her some enemies. Logan is trying to unlock secrets in his own family history that might shed light on how the Torchbearer Order began, while Tyler, as the self-proclaimed Beastmaster, strives to commune with – and not be eaten by – the mercurial and deadly alien sea creature living in Still Cove.
But that's not all. Something cryptic has surfaced from within the Darkdeep. Questions arise, and the five friends find themselves suddenly at odds. The stakes climb even higher when an enigmatic new girl comes to town, with an agenda of her own. As the Torchbearers discover shocking secrets about their houseboat hangout, the Rift, and the Darkdeep itself, signs point to new realms beyond the ones they know, putting their friendships to the test as never before...
Told from alternating POVs, this thrilling next book from bestselling duo Ally Condie and Brendan Reichs will once again have readers sleeping with the lights on.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published October 27, 2020
8 people are currently reading
640 people want to read
About the author
Ally Condie
31 books14.9k followersAlly Condie is a former high school English teacher who lives with her husband, three sons and one daughter outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. She loves reading, running, eating, and listening to her husband play guitar.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
October 29, 2021
This is my last horror / scary read for the month. I've loved this series from its inception, so it's kind of sad to read the end.
The first Darkdeep did that rarest of rare things in middle grade horror -- made us laugh out loud while getting our hearts racing! The second was set on Halloween, my favorite holiday, and played with reality TV and plausible deniability. (See my reviews of both)
The third one is more about revealing the Rift's backstory, developing the characters, Opal, Nico, Tyler, Emma and Logan and showing how they live up to being descendants of the original Torchbearer Order, and delivering the long-promised final show-down with the big bad creature from the Rift that's threatening Earth.
It starts the kids noticing a variety of things following and stalking them. But these are not like the things that usually come out of the Darkdeep well in the bottom of the boat, the fantastical creatures of Logan or Nico or Tyler's rampant imaginations. These things are much darker, deadlier, and can't be dispelled with the Torchbearer knives.
The is what the Torchbearers are pitted against, and at least one of their parents -- Logan's dad -- knew it was coming and preferred to raise Logan in ignorance and denial. But exactly what he knows, he stubbornly won't share. Opal connects with the Thing from the jar to bring forward a French girl, a shipwreck survivor from antiquity and the Rift's first victim. She miraculously survived in the dystopic wasteland left behind when these darker creatures finished consuming that world.
And Tyler is obsessed with his new role as Beastmaster, which just may get him eaten. Emma's still a presence, but not like in the second book.
Then Nico finds out his father is about to be transferred to Yellowstone National Park, where a geyser is belching foul smelling gasses and yellow liquid. Nico finds a cavern with the Torchbearer Order markings, and it becomes painfully clear the Rift at the bottom of the boat is not the only one on Earth; there are multiple Rifts, each a possible entry point for these foul things.
I wont' spoil the ending, but like I said, I both loved it and was kinda sad to know there probably won't be another, but at least we got to learn the origin of the Rift and the Torchbearer Order.
Enjoy!
Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
The first Darkdeep did that rarest of rare things in middle grade horror -- made us laugh out loud while getting our hearts racing! The second was set on Halloween, my favorite holiday, and played with reality TV and plausible deniability. (See my reviews of both)
The third one is more about revealing the Rift's backstory, developing the characters, Opal, Nico, Tyler, Emma and Logan and showing how they live up to being descendants of the original Torchbearer Order, and delivering the long-promised final show-down with the big bad creature from the Rift that's threatening Earth.
It starts the kids noticing a variety of things following and stalking them. But these are not like the things that usually come out of the Darkdeep well in the bottom of the boat, the fantastical creatures of Logan or Nico or Tyler's rampant imaginations. These things are much darker, deadlier, and can't be dispelled with the Torchbearer knives.
The is what the Torchbearers are pitted against, and at least one of their parents -- Logan's dad -- knew it was coming and preferred to raise Logan in ignorance and denial. But exactly what he knows, he stubbornly won't share. Opal connects with the Thing from the jar to bring forward a French girl, a shipwreck survivor from antiquity and the Rift's first victim. She miraculously survived in the dystopic wasteland left behind when these darker creatures finished consuming that world.
And Tyler is obsessed with his new role as Beastmaster, which just may get him eaten. Emma's still a presence, but not like in the second book.
Then Nico finds out his father is about to be transferred to Yellowstone National Park, where a geyser is belching foul smelling gasses and yellow liquid. Nico finds a cavern with the Torchbearer Order markings, and it becomes painfully clear the Rift at the bottom of the boat is not the only one on Earth; there are multiple Rifts, each a possible entry point for these foul things.
I wont' spoil the ending, but like I said, I both loved it and was kinda sad to know there probably won't be another, but at least we got to learn the origin of the Rift and the Torchbearer Order.
Enjoy!
Looking for more book suggestions for your 7th/8th grade classroom and students?
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
November 9, 2021
I’ve really enjoyed this series. It truly reminds me of the kids in Stranger Things. It has the same kind of feel to the story which was why it is really easy to get into. It’s creepy, but intriguing. It’s almost like a supernatural mystery and adventure.
The kids are always working together to solve the problems with the rifts or figments so they are a tight knit group of friends. The kids also have quite a bit of character development and aren’t as flat as you would expect them to be, but that’s also been developed over time with three novels in the series. None of the characters are flawless, they all have personal flaws and it makes them more real and relatable.
Im wondering if there will be more books or not. This one seems to set the series up for more as the kids discover multiple portals (rifts) to other worlds. Which makes sense, if there is one rift, why wouldn’t there by more...right? But this is why I I thought for sure they would find a way to close the rifts for good and that really didn’t happen. I could easily see more books coming out where they learn to close the rifts once and for all, but Everyone seems to think this is the last book in the series.
For someone like me who doesn’t ever read science fiction, I’m very impressed with how this series pulled me in.
The kids are always working together to solve the problems with the rifts or figments so they are a tight knit group of friends. The kids also have quite a bit of character development and aren’t as flat as you would expect them to be, but that’s also been developed over time with three novels in the series. None of the characters are flawless, they all have personal flaws and it makes them more real and relatable.
Im wondering if there will be more books or not. This one seems to set the series up for more as the kids discover multiple portals (rifts) to other worlds. Which makes sense, if there is one rift, why wouldn’t there by more...right? But this is why I I thought for sure they would find a way to close the rifts for good and that really didn’t happen. I could easily see more books coming out where they learn to close the rifts once and for all, but Everyone seems to think this is the last book in the series.
For someone like me who doesn’t ever read science fiction, I’m very impressed with how this series pulled me in.
February 1, 2021
3.5 stars for the rushed ending. I will miss these charachters.
March 20, 2024
.More reviews like this one on my blog Snapdragon Alcove
I had to read and finish this book before returning it to the library.
The Darkdeep series has settled as in characters are well establish and the story full into a routine. Although not completely formulaic. There are so many layers of mystery going on and they’re not obvious to solve. A lot of kids and even adult books fall into this trap.
The second book establishes that in order for there to be balance, crossing between worlds there needs to be something to replace what has been taken out of the world you came out of. At the beginning of the book, the kids know that. By the end of the book, the concept was thrown out the window.
My guess is since Thing's world got to destroy it doesn't matter anymore.
All in all, I'm addicted to this series and will be nagging the librarian in making sure they get the next book in the series.
I had to read and finish this book before returning it to the library.
The Darkdeep series has settled as in characters are well establish and the story full into a routine. Although not completely formulaic. There are so many layers of mystery going on and they’re not obvious to solve. A lot of kids and even adult books fall into this trap.
The second book establishes that in order for there to be balance, crossing between worlds there needs to be something to replace what has been taken out of the world you came out of. At the beginning of the book, the kids know that. By the end of the book, the concept was thrown out the window.
My guess is since Thing's world got to destroy it doesn't matter anymore.
All in all, I'm addicted to this series and will be nagging the librarian in making sure they get the next book in the series.
Read
February 18, 2022I'm to excited!!! This is a trilogy?!? At thought this was a one and done deal but nope, TWO MORE BOOKS ARE COMING!!! Also super special because its the first book me and my grandpa ( I'm a book geek, he is not) are bonding over, so I can't wait!!!
January 19, 2021
3.5 - Pretty sure they'd planned to have a few more books in the series and then something changed and they had to wrap it up quickly. Action packed but could have easily been two books. Overall enjoyable!
November 4, 2020
This series gets better and better with every book. I love how the mystery unravels more and more with each book in such unique way.
November 11, 2020
Such a great ending to a terrific series. A good story for middle grade and above.
September 18, 2021
Satisfying conclusion
March 13, 2022
again its good and i love that theres a new character!
August 31, 2022
The Torchbearers are under a lot of pressure following Dark Halloween. It is really testing their personal relationships. They managed to save the world for now, but Thing's final words to them were not reassuring. They're all in various levels of trouble with their parents who were freaked out to different extents by what happened in Timber recently. But there's still an imbalance, and they are hearing strange things about Yellowstone. Could there be another rift in Yellowstone? How can they get there to check it out? And then they find out that there's a Torchbearer prophecy that the rift is going to bring about the end of the world. Can they stop this world-ending disaster?
This wasn't as much fun as book 2. Mostly because of the interpersonal tension, which was very believable. It was still a page turner, with lots of action and adventure, but also enough pauses for the kids to work on their friendships and resolving the issues that have come up between them. It was well done and a satisfying conclusion to this series. Hand this series to kids who like mysterious occurrences with scifi answers, mysteries to solve, monsters to battle, and the fate of the world in the hands of a few kids in the know.
Notes on content: No language issues. No sexual content. There's some very serious world-ending situations threatened and very powerful alien/monster bad guys that need to be stopped. It gets serious and dangerous but no serious injuries incurred on page.
This wasn't as much fun as book 2. Mostly because of the interpersonal tension, which was very believable. It was still a page turner, with lots of action and adventure, but also enough pauses for the kids to work on their friendships and resolving the issues that have come up between them. It was well done and a satisfying conclusion to this series. Hand this series to kids who like mysterious occurrences with scifi answers, mysteries to solve, monsters to battle, and the fate of the world in the hands of a few kids in the know.
Notes on content: No language issues. No sexual content. There's some very serious world-ending situations threatened and very powerful alien/monster bad guys that need to be stopped. It gets serious and dangerous but no serious injuries incurred on page.
January 24, 2024
2
I'm happy to finally be done with this series. I read the first two awhile ago and never had any motivation to pick this one up. Its lighthearted and easy to get through, but the cast felt way too big to feel like we get to know any of them well. Also, there were a lot of times where I couldn't believe how unkind some of their remarks to each other were. I get that they were fighting a lot in this book about what to do concerning their situation, but at some points it didn't even feel like they were friends. There was no true 'making-up' scene either. This didn't blow me away, but I didn't think it would when I picked it up. Also, I am definitely not the target audience for this book at all, so it makes sense that I had trouble relating to the main cast.
I'm happy to finally be done with this series. I read the first two awhile ago and never had any motivation to pick this one up. Its lighthearted and easy to get through, but the cast felt way too big to feel like we get to know any of them well. Also, there were a lot of times where I couldn't believe how unkind some of their remarks to each other were. I get that they were fighting a lot in this book about what to do concerning their situation, but at some points it didn't even feel like they were friends. There was no true 'making-up' scene either. This didn't blow me away, but I didn't think it would when I picked it up. Also, I am definitely not the target audience for this book at all, so it makes sense that I had trouble relating to the main cast.
November 1, 2022
This is the conclusion to the Torchbearer series. New people are in town after Dark Halloween. The kids are seeing new signs which seem to be leading to the end of the world. Nico and Opal are scared about the new path that is forming. The kids are fighting and need to find their way back to each other. This was a strong conclusion to the series. It allowed the characters to grow and find a way back to their friendships. I’m glad I read this series.
January 18, 2021
This feels like realistic Sci-fi for kids. However, I couldn't get a sense of where the kids were as far as the setting was concerned. It is too complicated for me to explain. My head just couldn't wrap around all the different worlds/places that I couldn't see. This is possibly a long graphic novel without pictures.
January 25, 2024
More Exciting
I didn't think this trilogy couldn't get anymore exciting!, I was definitely wrong. This last book is a must read to end this trilogy and find out what happens to the characters. Read on faithful readers, read on.
I didn't think this trilogy couldn't get anymore exciting!, I was definitely wrong. This last book is a must read to end this trilogy and find out what happens to the characters. Read on faithful readers, read on.
May 17, 2022
Good ending to the series!
June 1, 2022
This was an entertaining series. My first experience with "scary" books. Think I prefer to read them rather than watch them. It kept my interest the entire book and then ending was good
March 13, 2023
I liked the first two books better. About halfway through I was getting tired of the story but stuck to it. Turned out okay. Could see another story added to this series someday.
November 14, 2023
A satisfying conclusion to the darkdeep series. Reminiscent of famous five and the secret seven, quite an adventure and serious responsibility for this band of friends.
April 5, 2024
I love it, it's so adventurous and exiting.
September 21, 2024
Better than expected
I am always pleased when I find juvenile and young adult lit that does'n insult adult minds. This series was a pleasure to share with my family. Thanks.
I am always pleased when I find juvenile and young adult lit that does'n insult adult minds. This series was a pleasure to share with my family. Thanks.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews