Dead Light March

Shadowshaper Cypher #1.6

by Daniel José Older, Anika Noni Rose (Narrator)

Mina Satorius, a classmate of Sierra and her crew, is being drawn deeper into the light of the Sorrows' world. Sierra's brother, Juan, isn't quite sure what to do with his band's latest song―it has an actual melody!―but maybe it'll impress his brand-new, out-of-the-blue super-secret crush. And Sierra herself is grappling with the new powers that have made her head of the shadowshapers...and what that means for her life and those around her. The stories of all three collide at the West Indian Day parade as new threats and old foes thread their way towards the shadowshapers in this electric novella set on the eve of Shadowhouse Fall.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Fiction, Novella, Short Stories, Magic

Audio CD

First published June 6, 2017

About the author

Daniel José Older is the New York Times bestselling author of the Young Adult series the Shadowshaper Cypher (Scholastic), the Bone Street Rumba urban fantasy series (Penguin), and the upcoming Middle Grade sci-fi adventure Flood City (Scholastic). He won the International Latino Book Award and has been nominated for the Kirkus Prize, the Mythopoeic Award, the Locus Award, the Andre Norton Award, and yes, the World Fantasy Award. Shadowshaper was named one of Esquire’s 80 Books Every Person Should Read. You can find his thoughts on writing, read dispatches from his decade-long career as an NYC paramedic and hear his music at http://danieljoseolder.net/, on youtube and @djolder on twitter.

Reviews

[Linda ~ they got the mustard out! ~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is how you write a villain POV - write it just like any other POV. Mustache twirling not required. Because guess what? Villains never think they're villains! So don't write them that way. And Older doesn't.

We get a glimpse at the organization of the Sorrows through Mina, who is being groomed by them, and this made me very interested to see more of it. It's not at all what I thought it'd be, and Mina is given real, tangible, and most importantly relatable reasons for being inclined towards the Sorrows. We even get to see how one of their ranks sees and describes Sierra and her friends - the protags - and you can almost see his point until he murders a dog. So it makes sense how Mina can be both pulled toward this life but also conflicted about it.

On a lighter note, Juan gets sprung. His sudden yet undeniable crush on Bennie was very sweet, and while it's hard to "hear" music no matter how well it's described, Older does a great job of expressing Juan's feelings for Bennie through his new song.

Whereas the previous short story felt more like a gap-filler, and therefore skippable, this one really feels like a setup for the next novel and should probably be read before Shadowhouse Fall.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a shocking turn of events, Daniel José Older has written another story crammed with smart, singular, realistic characters who -- gasp -- live in a deeply diverse world and -- double gasp -- aren't a bunch of white people! Long may he reign.

[Chessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't love this as much as Ghost Girl in the Corner (my fave of the series) but it did get me excited to read Shadowhouse Fall next month! Ghost Girl was very much its own story - this one feels like a teaser for the next book. Not a bad thing, but don't expect any kind of resolution. This is just to whet your appetite.

[Kristenelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this...which is surprising considering how I picked it up not realizing that it is part of a series and isn't the first one. Lol, I finished it being like, "I don't feel like I totally understood what was going on or who the characters were.." Then I saw that there are books that come before it. Welp, now I'm going to go pick those books up.

This story was written with really vibrant, fun characters. Even when I didn't understand who or what was going on, but really enjoyed just being in the world. The writing style really works for me. I listened to the audio which was performed fantastically.

[Lekeisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

So ready to read Shadowhouse Fall. This is a must read for the series because, I'm guessing, everything will be resolved in SF. And in order to even start SF, again, this is a must-read. So much deceit going on! The Sorrows haven't given up their plans to destroy Shadowhouse. Lord, I beg you, please don't let any of my favorite characters die in the next installment.

[Chinook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ghost Girl in the Corner was a story in and of itself. This is more a cliffhanger of a teaser to the next full length novel. Mina is going to be a big player and romance is starting to boil between Juan and Bennie. I love how the novel captures the dialogue - it feels authentic, for whatever that means coming from a middle-aged white lady from the suburbs.

[Zen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a prequel when I started it, not a latter book in the series, so I didnt have the history before this one. Even with that being said, I really enjoyed this novella.

[Sps · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh man oh man oh man oh man! I did not see that coming, but then also it makes sense, but then holy crap what does it mean for the next book? Referring here to *both* Mina and the Children of Light and Juan's feelings for Benny.

Also I totally want to talk nonfiction with Benny.

[Patricia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m the wrong audience for this book.

[Sherron Wahrheit · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well written but it’s a pointless, bloody novel. I loved his sister’s sf books so when his name caught my eye I wanted to test out her brother’s chops. The guy has been vetted by some respectable publishing houses and has won prestigious awards for his writing, so don’t dismiss the guy just because I didn’t like this fantasy novella. Fantasy is a hard sell for me.

I listened to the audiobook. The voice actor is no slouch and gave it her all.

[Shelley Pearson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another quick little glimpse into the the world of Shadowshaping. I'm glad this novella focused back on Sierra. I liked learning about Tee and Izzy in the last one, but I missed Sierra! And I liked all the Juan stuff, even though there was a lot of explanation about how he writes music, which I didn't understand at all. I felt better that Bennie and Sierra didn't understand it, either. I really like how the novellas let you see inside different characters' brains.

It will be interesting to see how the author includes this info in Shadowhouse Fall, because this story seemed to set stuff up for the next book, but is he going to assume that everyone read this, or is he just going to have to explain this stuff all over again?

A couple of spoilers:
Although I was thinking that Bennie was maybe queer, I'm kind of into this whole Juan thing. I like how he turns stupid when she's around now, and she's just like "what a goober." LOL. Also, I'm very interested to see how the Sorrows vs the Shadowshapers move forward. It was weird how the Sorrows told Mina that they were the good guys, when I didn't think they were. Also, their name is the Sorrows, which doesn't sound like a good guy name, but I guess Shadows don't necessarily sound like good guys either. Maybe it's not black-and-white??? I'm excited to find out!

[Julia O'Connell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was so much fun to read right before my first time experiencing the annual West Indian Day parade in Brooklyn! For those of you not in the know, every year during Labor Day weekend, the Caribbean immigrants of Crown Heights participate in a giant celebration of their heritage, including a huge parade that features music, MCs, and elaborate feathered costumes, with tons of food on the sidelines. The story in "Dead Light March" happens over the course of Labor Day weekend and includes many references to the neighborhood traditions.

Mina Sartoris was introduced in the previous novella "Ghost Girl in the Corner." In this story, we learn a little bit more about her connection to the mysterious golden trio called the Sorrows. Meanwhile Sierra is trying to balance her new responsibility of being leader of the Shadowshapers with regular teenage girl problems--like a sudden crush on her brother's best friend.

This one definitely sets things up for the next book, but I didn't wind up reading it until after I finished Shadowhouse Fall because I didn't realize it existed. So, you can don't need it to understand Shadowhouse Fall, but it will definitely help fill in the gaps.

[E. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This takes place the night before the beginning of the second full novel so I feel like my opinion of this is not going to be fully formed until I have read at least the second novel or maybe the full series. As of now with it by itself it's three stars. It really is like a little bit of a prequel, which is cool, and I also really appreciate that this and the other novella made it onto audio because it made it a lot easier for me to finish. I also absolutely adore the narrator for this series. So it would almost get a whole star just for that but the jury is out a little bit because I need to get deeper back into the main plot of the books before I really have a full opinion. I had taken a break from this series mostly because I had some of the extra books in a side account away from the rest of my audiobooks but in the time I was taking away from this series The novellas were made into audiobooks so now I feel like I had good timing. I have everything out from the library right now so the goal is finishing the series in the next two weeks

[Ellis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The more I read of this series, the more of a favourite it’s becoming. Dead Light March intertwines several story lines and perspectives, and one of the things I love most about it are the friendships. You can just tell these are characters that have known each other almost their entire lives and have their own personal friendship dynamics, with small rituals and habits, by now. Bennie in particular was fantastic in this novella, and her and Juan: into it. As always, there were moments where I burst out laughing, because these characters have zero chill. I also really like what Older is doing with light/dark symbolism and imagery, and he explores this further in Shadowhouse Fall.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love these Shadowshaper stories. Sierra and her friends are fun and interesting to listen to, occasionally sad, of course, but so is life from time to time. This story is particularly intriguing. It leaves me eager for the next full-length installment of this series.

I did not enjoy the extended discussions of music, however. The music is critical to define certain of the characters, and it has its place in the story, and I can feel its importance, but it does nothing for me because I am not a musical person.

That's okay; I'm not the target audience. Mr. Older isn't writing these stories for old, complacent white ladies. It's probably a testament to his skill that I like his adolescent work at all. However, the music scenes usually make me fall asleep (yes, that is how old I am). That severely reduced the quality of the read for me.

[Carly O'Connell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mina, who we meet in Ghost Girl in the Corner as part of Tee's summer newspaper project, falls in with some ethereal spirits that seem to be enemies of Sierra and her crew, although Mina has no desire to hurt her classmates.
Juan takes his salsa metal band to a new level as he processes rising feelings for Sierra's friend Bennie.
This novella definitely seems to be all set up for the next book, but it has some very entertaining and satisfying moments between the characters, so I still recommend the read.

[Kenne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oooo! This seemed to be filled with so much foreshadowing! The anticipation and the further questioning of what would come next made me speed thought this novella so quickly!

I was hoping the open ending of the first novella would be hinted at here but it wasn't and instead we got to see things from a new character's pov as well as Sierra's brother. Which was nice. I like hearing from the side characters.

On to novel two!!

[Diane Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anika Noni Rose is a brilliant narrator!! The Shadowshaper Cypher is an amazing series!! I wish I had read the novellas in the proper order between the books, but it was still great to visit the world of the shadows. Could have used a little trigger warning about animal cruelty, but otherwise loved it. Wish there were more Shadowshaper books coming!! Must check out some of the author’s other books.

[Sumayyah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bad Moon Rising

The Shadowshaper crew has made contact with an enemy they didn't know they had for a reason they do not know. Sierra and her friends are up against their schoolmate Mina, who has become part of a crew with possibly malicious intent. Perfect interlude/side story for the Shadowshaper universe.

[Haley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was also great! Loved learning more about Juan (and Culebra!), and more about Bennie. And it was nice to be in Sierra's head part of the time, even if not much happened. Good introduction to Mina and further information about the Sorrows.

All in all, solid, enjoyable, and a wonderful intro into the second book.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this after I'd read Shadowshaper and Shadowhouse Fall, but before I read Ghost Girl in the Corner, so I am a little out of order. However, I liked coming back to this novella after a break from the series, to dip back into the world, reacquaint myself with the characters (especially Mina, Sierra, and Juan), and power through the the third and final book.

[Marissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is intriguing look at the other side from our friends in the Shadowhouse, the Sorrows and their House of Light. We see this coming through Mina, who has been gradually pulled into the House of Light, and is someone who is familiar to the shadowshapers. It certainly makes me curious to see what happens next.

[amma.keep.reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. I think it's the introduction of new characters that has me bothered. I'm not fan of the newbies AND I'm worried about the fate of some of the regulars in the next installment. Crossing my fingers for the next book.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review of the series

This was a good little story, that should be read before Shadowhouse Fall. I love this series for how it combines supernatural concerns with real teenage life : school, friends, racial and gender politics, and music.

[Eli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remarkable. Older crafts this novella so expertly that you might doubt, for just a fraction of a second, that Shadowshaper's protagonists really are "the good guys." Leaves me even more excited to dive into the rest of the series (and I was already super excited for that).

[Manda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like I need to reread the whole series now so I can better fit the novellas into complete narrative. This felt a little less able to stand on its own then The Ghost Girl in the Corner but I LOVED cameo of Carlos from Half-Resurrection Blues!!

[Robert Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this series!! For anyone new to the Shadowshaper world, DO NOT START WITH THIS BOOK!!!! It assumes that you have already read the first book, and serves as a setup to the second book, so the ending is intentionally unresolved.

[Brian Cubbage · Rating 4 out of 5]

A second little tale to bridge events between Shadowshaper and the upcoming Shadowhouse Fall. It leaves me curious to see what direction the magical conflict takes us in that upcoming book!

[Vanessa Ricci-Thode · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love all the little intersections with the Bone Street Rumba series. Maybe there'll be an epic team up at some point?

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to know more! Hopefully Shadowhouse Fall will continue with what happened here.