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Nightwalker
Generations ago, brave colonists settled Milabel, unaware of the malicious Spirits lurking in the shadows, waiting to possess the bodies and minds of any who venture out after dark. Desperate to eradicate the evil in their midst, the church founded the Guardians of Virtue, a religious police force who burn innocents along with the possessed.
When Alec plays an ancient flute from a haunted canyon, his easy life as the governor's son is upended. Unpredictable seizures paralyze his body and fill his mind with the screams of tormented Spirits. Betrayed by his father and pursued across Milabel by the ruthless Chief Guardian Vade, Alec searches for a way to liberate Milabel from the evil Spirits. But his curse is getting worse, and the voices in his head are calling for Nightwalker.
Maren thought the most dangerous thing she would ever do was help Alec escape from the Guardians. But when she hears ghostly voices after nightfall, it's her turn to run. A Spirit named Anaru begs her to read his record, claiming his plan can save Milabel. But if Maren agrees, will she save Alec--or doom him?
When Alec plays an ancient flute from a haunted canyon, his easy life as the governor's son is upended. Unpredictable seizures paralyze his body and fill his mind with the screams of tormented Spirits. Betrayed by his father and pursued across Milabel by the ruthless Chief Guardian Vade, Alec searches for a way to liberate Milabel from the evil Spirits. But his curse is getting worse, and the voices in his head are calling for Nightwalker.
Maren thought the most dangerous thing she would ever do was help Alec escape from the Guardians. But when she hears ghostly voices after nightfall, it's her turn to run. A Spirit named Anaru begs her to read his record, claiming his plan can save Milabel. But if Maren agrees, will she save Alec--or doom him?
268 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 11, 2021
18 people are currently reading
54 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 12, 2021
My wife's just-published debut novel. As a totally disinterested observer, I can confirm that it is great. You should buy hundreds of copies and give them to everyone you know.
November 12, 2021
Nightwalker is a creative and important read
I loved reading this page turner and have already begun telling my friends about the thrilling story. The author managed to suck me into the pages and genuinely care for each of the characters. Nightwalker was filled with adrenaline and just enough humor for comic relief. The characters were real and flawed and became my friends instantly. The author tackled religion, politics, love, and sacrifice beautifully. This book is deep and rings through with eternal truths. I loved it.
I loved reading this page turner and have already begun telling my friends about the thrilling story. The author managed to suck me into the pages and genuinely care for each of the characters. Nightwalker was filled with adrenaline and just enough humor for comic relief. The characters were real and flawed and became my friends instantly. The author tackled religion, politics, love, and sacrifice beautifully. This book is deep and rings through with eternal truths. I loved it.
January 30, 2023
Interesting Premise
Nightwalker was a very interesting story.
Young enough for teens to enjoy and yet not so young as to be limiting for adults.
Great cast of characters with good development.
Nightwalker was a very interesting story.
Young enough for teens to enjoy and yet not so young as to be limiting for adults.
Great cast of characters with good development.
January 13, 2022
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The Value of a Star: Ratings Explained
Nightwalker
By: Elissa C. Nysetvold
My Rating: Three out of five stars
Best for: 14 and up
Who's up for a paranormal mystery?
I'm always on the look out for new authors who do great work and deserve to get their books out there, so I was happy to take a look at Nightwalker by Elissa Nysetvold.
Innocent settlers. Malevolent spirits. Puritanical religionist enforcers. There's a mystery to solve, and a small group of teens might be the only ones who can see through the twisted religious interpretations to find the truth of why their communities are being haunted and their families possessed. Can they uncover the secrets and save the day before they're captured by the zealots or loose themselves to the evil spirits?
For a debut novel, there is a lot to enjoy in Nightwalker. I was genuinely creeped out by the bad-guy ghosts AND the heartless duty-before-mercy religious Guardians. The plot was intriguing, and I was interested from early on to know how the story was going to end. And when I did finally get to there, I wasn't disappointed.
I especially appreciated the teen-friendly content in Nightwalker, and I hope Elissa Nysetvold will keep on writing and improving her art!
Best for 14 and up.
Happy Reading!
The Value of a Star: Ratings Explained
Nightwalker
By: Elissa C. Nysetvold
My Rating: Three out of five stars
Best for: 14 and up
Who's up for a paranormal mystery?
I'm always on the look out for new authors who do great work and deserve to get their books out there, so I was happy to take a look at Nightwalker by Elissa Nysetvold.
Innocent settlers. Malevolent spirits. Puritanical religionist enforcers. There's a mystery to solve, and a small group of teens might be the only ones who can see through the twisted religious interpretations to find the truth of why their communities are being haunted and their families possessed. Can they uncover the secrets and save the day before they're captured by the zealots or loose themselves to the evil spirits?
For a debut novel, there is a lot to enjoy in Nightwalker. I was genuinely creeped out by the bad-guy ghosts AND the heartless duty-before-mercy religious Guardians. The plot was intriguing, and I was interested from early on to know how the story was going to end. And when I did finally get to there, I wasn't disappointed.
I especially appreciated the teen-friendly content in Nightwalker, and I hope Elissa Nysetvold will keep on writing and improving her art!
Best for 14 and up.
Happy Reading!
November 12, 2021
Engaging story with great characters. Highly recommend!
February 6, 2022
Fun Read
Book engages me quickly and was a fun adventure that kindled my imagination. I like that the characters recognized that certain behaviors were intrinsically right or wrong and that it was their choice to follow right or wrong.
Book engages me quickly and was a fun adventure that kindled my imagination. I like that the characters recognized that certain behaviors were intrinsically right or wrong and that it was their choice to follow right or wrong.
May 22, 2022
A band of teenagers rebel against the church whose leaders are killing everyone they think is possessed by evil spirits - but who really is the evil element in this story?
Well written, with likeable characters, and quite a lot of unexpected twists and turns in the story, as well as some humour. Though I personally think it may be more directed towards a younger readership than someone in her sixties.
Well written, with likeable characters, and quite a lot of unexpected twists and turns in the story, as well as some humour. Though I personally think it may be more directed towards a younger readership than someone in her sixties.
Read
January 31, 2022So I'm not going to give a star rating because YA ghost fantasy is super not my genre of choice and also I have a personal connection to the author, so I don't know how to rectify those two facts into a seemingly "impartial scoring." But I will tell you about the book!
The premise: Maren, a 17 year old girl whose life had revolved around her grandfather, a small town inkeeper in a recently colonized land, is thrust into a band of teen misfits led by a charming (yet cursed) young man named Alec. The crew is tasked with solving the mysteries of the land and potentially saving all of it inhabitants from the invisible spirits who can possess people if they are found outside of a home during the night. This teen led, world saving mission is made more difficult by Guardians--a police like force employed by the Church to track down and kill people thought to be possessed by the Spirits--who are chasing our heroes, confusing their gifts with possessions.
Things I liked:
-the narration style is third person limited (my personal favorite) and switches pretty seamlessly between mostly three characters, though an additional side character or two may have gotten some paragraphs when our protagonists were incapacitated.
-I really enjoyed the social commentary on religious institutions causing harm to people, and that this harm is carried out by people who *think* they are doing God's work. But even seeing this truth, Maren is consistently confident that her *personal* faith in a Higher Being is in fact a good thing. As someone who has becoming increasingly more disillusioned with organized religious institutions but also feels a lot of convictions stemming from my own faith and confident that the Church can and should do collective good, this was a refreshing take on the topic.
-The world building was done in a way that wasn't over the top info dump at the start, nor were crucial details kept from you for too long to make the story confusing. It was mostly delivered through conversations where Maren was our stand in as a mostly confused but still invested character in the scenes.
-Alec and Maren have multiple examples of saving each other, which is refreshing in an adventure story which also features a central romance.
-the main guardian, Vade, had several of his own chapters, and I found his story and arc gripping.
Things that didn't work as much for me:
-I wasn't super invested in the love story between Maren and Alec. I never really understood why or how they fell in love so quickly and what specifically about each of them excited the other. I think I understood the romantic chemistry of two side characters more.
-While Maren's personal faith relationship was compelling to me, I didn't love how it was so intimately linked to Alec's faith journey--from near atheism back to devotion. Perhaps this is because I think young people should most figure out their faith formation on their own without influencing each other. But it is hard to not have personal theologies impact the reading of this story where the subject of faith is so central to the characters and story.
-The side characters, while often fun, didn't really feel like teenagers to me--at least not much like the teenagers I see everyday. That being said, I've never met teenagers living in a seaside colony, being chased by mystical beings and religions government officials alike, so who am I to judge?
TL;DR: if you have a young person in your life who really liked the Lord of the Rings movies but was maybe turned off by Tolkein's writing style, they may find this fellowship adventure set in a fantasy world more accessible. Or if your young person wants a paranormal romance adventure, like if Hunger Games somehow had ghosts involved, and you want to make sure the story is G rated, this could be the perfect read for them.
The premise: Maren, a 17 year old girl whose life had revolved around her grandfather, a small town inkeeper in a recently colonized land, is thrust into a band of teen misfits led by a charming (yet cursed) young man named Alec. The crew is tasked with solving the mysteries of the land and potentially saving all of it inhabitants from the invisible spirits who can possess people if they are found outside of a home during the night. This teen led, world saving mission is made more difficult by Guardians--a police like force employed by the Church to track down and kill people thought to be possessed by the Spirits--who are chasing our heroes, confusing their gifts with possessions.
Things I liked:
-the narration style is third person limited (my personal favorite) and switches pretty seamlessly between mostly three characters, though an additional side character or two may have gotten some paragraphs when our protagonists were incapacitated.
-I really enjoyed the social commentary on religious institutions causing harm to people, and that this harm is carried out by people who *think* they are doing God's work. But even seeing this truth, Maren is consistently confident that her *personal* faith in a Higher Being is in fact a good thing. As someone who has becoming increasingly more disillusioned with organized religious institutions but also feels a lot of convictions stemming from my own faith and confident that the Church can and should do collective good, this was a refreshing take on the topic.
-The world building was done in a way that wasn't over the top info dump at the start, nor were crucial details kept from you for too long to make the story confusing. It was mostly delivered through conversations where Maren was our stand in as a mostly confused but still invested character in the scenes.
-Alec and Maren have multiple examples of saving each other, which is refreshing in an adventure story which also features a central romance.
-the main guardian, Vade, had several of his own chapters, and I found his story and arc gripping.
Things that didn't work as much for me:
-I wasn't super invested in the love story between Maren and Alec. I never really understood why or how they fell in love so quickly and what specifically about each of them excited the other. I think I understood the romantic chemistry of two side characters more.
-While Maren's personal faith relationship was compelling to me, I didn't love how it was so intimately linked to Alec's faith journey--from near atheism back to devotion. Perhaps this is because I think young people should most figure out their faith formation on their own without influencing each other. But it is hard to not have personal theologies impact the reading of this story where the subject of faith is so central to the characters and story.
-The side characters, while often fun, didn't really feel like teenagers to me--at least not much like the teenagers I see everyday. That being said, I've never met teenagers living in a seaside colony, being chased by mystical beings and religions government officials alike, so who am I to judge?
TL;DR: if you have a young person in your life who really liked the Lord of the Rings movies but was maybe turned off by Tolkein's writing style, they may find this fellowship adventure set in a fantasy world more accessible. Or if your young person wants a paranormal romance adventure, like if Hunger Games somehow had ghosts involved, and you want to make sure the story is G rated, this could be the perfect read for them.
January 21, 2022
Loved this book! I had the privilege of being a beta reader for the first few chapters and was so excited to finish it! I loved the fresh and light take on demons and possession and the question around what was happening to Alec strung me along right to the end. Great book!
November 23, 2024
For a debut novel, this story is unique and well thought out. The idea of spirits possessing people and a corrupt religious government chasing the good guys was very intriguing. I really liked the diversity of character personalities and abilities. I do wish there was more content on everyone's past and how they got to where they are when the book starts. The beginning was great and captured my attention. I just want to know more about the characters' relationships with their parents, I feel it would have made me more invested. But like I said before, great debut novel with a satisfying ending.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews