The Dark One

Roswell High #9

by Melinda Metz

True love never dies.
Isabel has run away from home, and Max knows her life is in danger. He has to find her and save her, but time is ticking away.
Alex is back on Earth, and he's a changed man. He looks better, feels better, and is ready to live life to the fullest -- without Isabel Evans. Little does he know he's the only person that can help the ailing Isabel. Will Alex be able to put aside his pride and save the life of his former love?

Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Aliens, Fiction, Teen, Fantasy, Supernatural

170 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 1, 2000

About the author

Melinda Metz grew up in San Jose, California. People sometimes ask if she knows the way there. She kinda does, but she has an off-kilter sense of direction, so to be confident of arriving, it's better to consult some kind of navigational device.

Her mother tried to teach her to read in kindergarten, but Melinda had no interest. She also had no interest in learning to write her name. (FYI, when Melinda was in kindergarten it was all about finger-painting, play time, and naps.) Eventually, she mastered both and even majored in English at San Jose State University.

After college, Melinda moved to Manhattan to seek her fortune, which involved learning to identify fruits and vegetables while working at a grocery store,
making $2.73 working backstage for an off-off Broadway play (her part of the box-office profits), and editing books.

Melinda and the lovely and talented Laura J. Burns pretty much became unofficial writing partners when they were editors at the same company. They teamed up to brainstorm story ideas, and at some point their brains fused in some key places. Later they worked on the Roswell High book series, Laura developing and editing the series, Melinda writing.

That series led to Melinda and Laura, now an official writing team, writing two TV pilots, moving to L.A. to work on the Roswell TV show, and briefly living in Toronto while on the writing staff of 1-800-Missing. They both continue to write books, together and separately.

Laura and Melinda's new book, Sanctuary Bay, a YA thriller, is coming out in January 2016. It's set at an ultra-exclusive private school on an island. Once a student is accepted to the school, they must stay until graduation. No visits home, no contact with the outside world at all. Find out why in January!

The first four books in Melinda's new middle-grade mystery series,S.M.A.R.T.S., are out now. The books involve a group of kids in a makerspace club and they all have lots of science info. For all the cool geeks out there!

Melinda lives in Concord, NC with her dog, Scully (yes, she loves the woo-woo so much she named her dog after a kickass X-Files character). She has never regretted learning to read and write her name.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Dark One is the penultimate book in the Roswell High series of ten books, upon which the television series was based (a quarter of a century ago!) The television iteration didn't stick as closely to the plotline after the first book, so it can be seen as an interesting alternate history story. I thought it was commendable that the books that appeared after the debut of the show didn't go the retcon route. The book series was targeted for adolescent girls, and the main focus is on the angst of teen romance, but the science-fiction twist adds a bit of a fun twist. This volume focuses more on character developments than on alien adventures, with big parts played by Adam, Alex, and Isabel. Max is working on alien stuff, as always, and Liz is spending time with Adam... the never-ending Liz (who's Ortecho in the books, not Parker)-Max drama continues, the Michael-Maria situation still spins a bit, and they all seem to hold hands a lot, and, oh yeah, there's interplanetary stuff going on, too. It ends on more of a shocking surprise than a cliffhanger... (Yeah, he'd dead all right, he's all messed up...) When the television series became popular Pocket reprinted the earlier books with photographs of the cast on the covers, so the characters didn't look much like they were described, but this one was published after the show had been on for a while so this one came out with the actors' photographs with little physical description on the pages.

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book, Isabel starts to go through an alien time of change, and she worries that she will end up like Max did when he went through his alien change. She turns to Michael to help her, and they have to avoid Max. Alex is undergoing a change of his own, in his social status at school. Suddenly he is popular and has more dates than he knows what to do with. Maria worries that his new popularity will change who he is and separate him from his old friends.

This book explores more of the relationships between people in the group. We get to see how their loyalty is tested in the middle of difficult circumstances. I really liked this exploration of the group dynamic, and how individual characters grow.

I loved the Roswell TV show when I was a teenager, and it was so fun to rediscover this story through the books! I don't think I would have enjoyed the books now as an adult if I didn't already have the nostalgia of the TV show.

I like that the books are different than the TV show and have different plot lines. It keeps it interesting for me, and it's fun to see how the books differ from the show. The character's personalities are a little different too. Michael is way more funny and less brooding. Isabel is more haughty and proud. Alex is more confident. Max is way less calm than in the TV show. It's weird to see these different sides to their personalities.

The writing is really dorky like you would expect from a 90s teen novel. But I don't care! I love it anyway! Most people would probably roll their eyes at the teen angst, but it just makes me laugh because I already adore the characters.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second-to-last book in the series, and different plot threads are all coming together. The stakes felt super high in this book, and I've become very invested in how all the different character arcs/relationships are going to end. I can't wait to read the last book!

[Khione · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What an incredible book! I loved the conflict with Trevor over his sense of loyalty to the cause to free his kind from the consciousness and his family Michael. It's fascinating to witness that not only was Trevor on the right side but to witness the brutality of his leader of the rebellion. It's challenging for someone to decide between their morals and the cause they fought for. It's almost an analogy for soldiers in war.
It was interesting to witness a different reaction and response to the akino that had been forced upon many of their kindred and to see Isobel refuse to connect. It was really sad to see Max completely lose himself to this consciousness that treated him like a puppet just to recapture the essences of planet earth and its many unique pleasures it offers.
I felt for the characters there. Melinda did a fantastic job of emphasising the danger of connecting with the consciousness.
It does make me wonder how was it originally formed? How did it come to be? I can't recall from the earlier books so maybe I'll go back to it and refresh my memory. It was more interesting of the twist that they don't die if they don't connect. It's more of a torture and strength of character which only goes to show that isobel is the strongest when it comes to connecting with the akino of recent. Apart from Trevor ofc.
It makes me wonder about Ray. Did he lose himself with his own experience with the consciousness or does it only occur to certain people like Max?
It was sad to see Adam killed. He was a sweet character but clearly an obstacle for the stupid Max, Liz triangle which a part of me is relieved.
I am relieved that this is the second last book because as much as I adore Roswell, I am ready to move on. I have high hopes that the last book will be as epic as this one was. The cliffhangers as usual have always been top notch and I can't wait to explore how they destroy the consciousness and conclude our favourite Roswellian characters stories for good.
I do recommend this book.

[Charisma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why did you have to do it?

Great continuation of he story. I just don't really know why the author had to do, what she did at the end of the book. Don't wanna tell, cause it's gonna be a spoiler, but still... WHY?!

[Jaime K · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars because it's so far the best out of all of the others. Well, mostly. Except that really gross and really awful end. But as far as characterization, it works. Except for Michael's tears. That just rips my heart.

Kyle Valenti threatens to expose Max, Michael, and Isabel and starts getting a little crazy over it. I don't blame the guy--he found out his father died because of an alien and his classmates are covering it up.

Isabel is about to go through her akino but will do all she can, including die, to avoid the consciousness. The more the consciousness takes control of Max, the more the others distrust it, though the y want Isabel to live.

Trevor almost instantly realizes just how zealous DuPris is. That man is awful.

Liz flirts a lot with Adam and seems to lead him on. It bothers me a bit less here because she and Max did break up, and she tones back the flirting when she realizes just how far she's going with it. She's also a teenager, who are stupid with hormones (and to be fair, so are some adults).

This book brings the core six back together in different ways, even when keeping them apart. It's beautiful even in the light of some awful events.

[Sammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

First compliment I will pay this book is I loved the twist in the characters alliances. To go through 2, maybe 3, books believing one thing to have it turned on its head has always been a make or break moment for me. In this it was a brilliant tool used to continue the story to allow the author to write at least 1 more book before it felt drawn out. It is obvious that we are now looking at how the characters will turn out and who will be where when this story concludes. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I'm well on the way to reading the finale of this series.

[Adric Rangel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sigo sorprendida con cada libro que he leído de esta serie. Y aunque muy diferente a la que vi en T.V, también es muy buena. En este libro quedé en suspenso, al saber que las cosas entre Max y Liz aun no se solucionan. Me dolió mucho saber que lastimaron a Adam. Respiré de tranquilidad al saber que Trevor no es tan malo como se pensó que era. Y que los problemas que Liz había tenido con sus padres se hayan solucionado.

[Steven Betge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, teen life is stressful. You have school assignments, parents to please, and you have to fight evil aliens with power stones. But it's not too much for this group of friends 😄.

I'm joking, and I'm serious. These poor teens have been through so much in a matter of months. I'm really excited to see how the 10th book ends.

I know other authors continue the story, but I would truly like closure from Metz.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars!

[May · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ugh ! Why did he had to die . He was such a sweetheart .

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sad! Ready for the final installment...

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

These bloody cliffhangers, man!

[光彩 · Rating 2 out of 5]

alex has undergone his magical girl transformation and is now popular and attractive and worth the effort for isabel, which really drives home the message that appearance is everything to that bitch

[Kimberley Perkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoy this book. A lot happening in such a short amount of time. Concise, sci-fi but also romantic and enjoyable but with a bit of danger.

A light fun read whatever you're feeling.

[Lexi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Lucie ⋆ ☾ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 stars

What do you mean I am almost done with this book series ????? The books are short but there are 10 of them
So it literally took me a year to read all of them

I don’t like Michael’s “brother”

Liz kissed Adam ?
Oh well now he is dead

[Felicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Relationships
Alex is insanely cocky in this book. Since returning from the alien’s home planet all the girls at school are into him, and it’s so not his character. At all. Isabel, of course, is super jealous.

Liz and Adam… I was not for this. Not even a little bit. I was team Max/Liz (Miz? Lax? I don’t know..) Somehow in this book though their proposed relationship really grew on me. That dream they had together=So freaking adorable!



Afterwards it was kind of like, “Max who?”

Recap
The Dark One begins right where The Rebel ended with Kyle wanting answers about his father. While in the process, Dupris decides to make an appearance. (Seriously, that materialization business is w.e.i.r.d.) Dupris and Trevor talk about how the consciousness is evil, and aliens don’t have to connect to it to survive the akino. Trevor decides to join forces with Dupris and they teleport out. The gang tells Kyle the truth about everything and how Dupris was the one who killed his father. Later on he tries to blackmail them to learn where Dupris is to get revenge for his father’s death. The plan backfires and he gets sent away for being disturbed.

The gang bands together to try to decide what to do about Dupris and Trevor. (Alex has checked out from the group after his ordeal.)

One thing that I think was new in this installment is we get some of Dupris and Trevor’s POV. We get to see them interact and talk about reenergizing the second stone that Kyle deactivated in the last book. We also hear Dupris side of the story. Dupris claims that the consciousness is evil and only wants to use the person for their own needs. He says that Trevor and Michael’s parents were actually part of the rebellion. (Which DOES make sense. They were about to have a second child which was against their planet’s laws, so that would be a very good reason for them to be part of the rebellion.)

During this time Isabel is beginning to go through her akino. She has seen what it has done to Max and is refusing to go through it herself. She decides she would rather die than join the consciousness. So she and Michael run because they know Max will force her to connect with the crystals. When it becomes too much for Isabel to bare she has Michael find Trevor and Dupris. Around the same time they have gotten Alex back into the fold and he goes to his father for help on the alien locating device he has.

They are able to find Michael and Isabel with Trevor and Dupris.
When everyone gets there, Isabel is close to dying like Max was when he was going through his akino. Dupris is telling them again how the consciousness is evil and is only interested in what they can gain. He says that they will easily dispose of anyone if they need to. As an example, he kills Adam.
He.killed.Adam.



So now Isabel is half dying, Liz is distraught over Adam, and Michael and Trevor have decided to join up to take care of Dupris.
"Let’s do this thing.”



They all work together to get the stone from Dupris and finally kill him. Isabel fully recovers from the akino without having to join the consciousness. Everyone begins to agree that the consciousness has to be taken care of. When Max also agrees as well, the consciousness takes over his body, and we’re left with one hell of a cliffhanger.


I really enjoyed this installment. For being such a short book, so much was going on. Definitely one of my favorites of the series!

[Sal Niner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Preliminary thoughts *SPOILERS*:

The Dark One, at one point or another, was Max, the collective consciousness, and Elsevan DuPris.

We see the disintegration of the group in this story and their struggle to reunite.

Isabel Evans is going through her akino, but refuses to use the communication crystals. She does not want to connect to the consciousness because she feels she will be a prisoner to them.

Kyle Valenti ends up going to what appears to be a mental institution, in order to deal with the death of his father the Sheriff. He does this after an attempt to hold the group hostage by kidnapping Maria's brother Kevin, and demanding the group tell him all they know about his father.

Trevor betrays his brother Michael by joining DuPris in his belief that DuPris will save them from the consciousness. Once allied with DuPris, Trevor starts to doubt him; one of the first instances is when DuPris shows him images of those he has killed. (Not sure if I mentioned this in any previous reviews, but the group for the rebellion against the consciousness is called the Kindred.) By the end of the story, however, Trevor ends up siding with Michael and the group and kills DuPris using the stone.

Adam is killed by DuPris because DuPris wanted to illustrate to the group how the consciousness does not care about the individual. This was one of the most unexpected events to me in this series so far, mainly because Liz (and I) seemed so sure that we were going to see Adam grow up and do things/visit places outside of Roswell. Perhaps the latter would have given away the fact that Adam was not going to have a future, but it was written in such a way that it convinced me Adam would indeed survive.

Max is tortured by the consciousness after it realizes that he wont help it connect Isabel to it, and this makes him realize that it intends to do them harm if they do not connect to it. So we are beginning to understand that the consciousness is the bad guy here. Trevor wants the Stone of Midnight to heal Isabel (and Max, if possible) from the effects of the akino; while the consciousness wants to keep the Stone away from them since its use would mean that if the akino effects are gone so will the chance to connect to it. In desperation, the consciousness tries to absorb Max into it by trapping him and he calls out to his friends to help him out.

I reserve the right to edit, including add more to, this review in the future.

[Linda Jaejoong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Band 9 war zwar gut, aber nicht so gut wie die Vorgänger. Max verliert dich immer mehr in den Wesen und vergisst alles um sich herum. Adam und Liz kommen sich näher, aber sie kann Max einfach nicht vergessen. Michael und Maria haben keine bedeutenden Szenen im Buch und ihre Beziehung zueinander ist praktisch nicht vorhanden. Auch Isabel und Alex sind nicht mehr im Einklang miteinander. Trevor ist zu DuPris übergelaufen und ist dabei seine Freunde zu verraten.

Das Buch war einfach nicht meins. Es gab keinen packenden Moment zwischen Michael und Maria und auch bei Liz und Max herrscht flaute. Michael war zu sehr mit Isabel beschäftigt und hatte außerdem noch mit dem Verrat von Trevor zu kämpfen. Max ist nur noch mit sich beschäftigt und merkt gar nicht das er immer mehr die Kontrolle verliert, er kann einem richtig leid tun.

Adam tut mir auch so leid. Liz benutzt ihn nur als Trostpflaster und das hat er nicht verdient. Er ist so lieb und nett. Er hat das was passiert ist einfach nicht verdient. Alex hat seine neu erworbene Aufmerksamkeit verdient. Endlich drehen sich alle Mädchen nach ihm um. Isabel hat ihn so schlecht behandelt und er brauch auch endlich mal jemanden der ihn liebt.

Isabel weiß einfach nicht was sie will. Jetzt hat sie sich Trevor als neues Objekt ihrer Begierde ausgesucht, der arme. Sie ist mir so unsympathisch im Buch. Trevor mag ich sehr. Natürlich hat er Fehler gemacht, aber man kann seine Beweggründe verstehen. Er und Michael sind sich sehr ähnlich, das mag ich. Schade das er in der TV Serie nicht vorkam.

[Isabella ⸙ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Given how unsure I was about Trevor as a character in the previous book, I was surprised by how I much I enjoyed the perspective he had to offer. It gives the aliens more nuance than the extreme evil of DuPris and Max's dogged virtuousness.

Speaking of nuance, I also really loved how Alex's father was handled (especially that scene where Alex got the device from him!). It shows how not all government officials are automatically alien-killers, as well as how there are secrets that the characters (like us, the public) will never know the truth of.

This, in conjunction with the alien politics, really adds to the world-building without needing to bleed it dry. Sure, they could have stretched this series out for another ten books: infiltrating the US government, single-handedly restoring order to another planet, add another fifty characters as potential "love interests", but they didn't, and I appreciate that.

Overall, this book was fun and fast-paced, and I look forward to the last one!

(But that ending! I feel so sorry for poor Adam; he spent his whole life in a cage and never got a chance to fully live. His childlike awe of the world outside of the facility topped with the fact that he was killed so senselessly honestly made for such a heartbreaking ending. But hey, I guess that's one way to resolve a love-triangle!)

[Evie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not Adam! How could anyone hurt ADAM? I literally almost started crying! Poor him, poor everyone!
I'm so glad they finally took De Pruis (spelling?) down! Served the jerk-face right. Go Michael and Trevor. Soo glad Trevor wasnt truly bad for Michael's sake. I was about ready to smack Alex there for a bit. I was glad he was back and all but geez! Go Maria for straightening him out! I'm super worried about Liz and Max. I mean, the two of them actually breaking up? Never saw that one coming. And Max getting trapped by the consciousness? Not cool. Especially since him having to join them to go through his akino in the first place was just a sham! I've been wondering about Ray in that respect. Why did it effect Max soo much? Ray seemed pretty normal. Definitely didn't act as bizarre as Max. Wonder where the new sheriff is off to...I'm glad that Liz and her father finally got their issues out in the open. Go family bonding! And toast! Okay now im gonna start crying again.
Just as awesome as the others! I can't believe I'm moving onto the last book!

[Mpb]

Godreads Synopsis:

True love never dies. Isabel has run away from home, and Max knows her life is in danger. He has to find her and save her, but time is ticking away.

Alex is back on Earth, and he's a changed man. He looks better, feels better, and is ready to live life to the fullest -- without Isabel Evans. Little does he know he's the only person that can help the ailing Isabel. Will Alex be able to put aside his pride and save the life of his former love?

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I tracked this book down in Washington, D.C., when it first came out because I was desperate to read it (as like an eighth grader). It was where the series started to go off track a little, but it was still one of the reading highlights of my middle school years and I think I read all ten of them at least 10 times a piece.

[Katie Jauncey · Rating 5 out of 5]

These books are rated more for teens, and I read the Roswell series when I was about 15 ..... but I still really love reading them now. They're written in an easily worded way so that if you want something quick and easy to read, they're perfect ..... I love the whole series :)

[Dinjolina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh,I cried at the end.Great book.Great!

[Vampiress_demitri · Rating 3 out of 5]

good plot

[Paty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh por favor, toda la saga he estado esperando que Michael se de cuenta que ama a María! ¿Cuándo lo va a hacer?

[Justiina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why it's always the most innocent one who dies?

[Dalma · Rating 4 out of 5]

emotional rollercoaster