excellentNovember 23, 2008 Terri Blackstock really captures the essence of human nature while creating a superb suspense story. She makes you think about your relationship with God and how you would react in the event of a unexplained disaster. Absolutely page turning, don't stop reading until the end book.
The End of the World...October 18, 2008 3 out of 3 found this review helpful
...or maybe just the beginning.
Last Light landed in my lap via a recommendation from my mother. Strictly based on her word that I should read the book, I picked it up unsure of what might lie beneath the jacket. As I started reading, I soon found myself swept into the story within. The idea of losing it all played heavily on my dreams that night. When I woke the next morning, I half expected the lights to not work. Of course they came on without hitch. However, I wonder if that was such a good thing. What would the world be like if all the technology we so heavily relied on let us down? Would it be so horrible to spend time with humanity and get to know each again? Maybe not but would we be ready to handle the unintended consequences on our lives? The questions continue to flow through my mind. If you want to challenge yourself to reflect on what is truly important in your life, I invite you to pick up a copy of Last Light and prepare for a quick ride. I promise it will just the begging because you will be wanting more. Thankfully I already have a copy of Night Light in my possession. You do not have to be a Christian to enjoy this book, you just have to be open-minded to the possibilities that human beings cannot control everything in the world around us.
PATRICK RALEY is the author of the mystery, detective novel entitled "Precedent of Justice". Find out why Publisher's Weekly calls him "the next John Grisham."
Pretty Good ReadSeptember 2, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I originally purchased this book for my dad, but ended up finding something else to give him as a gift and kept it for myself. I didn't read the summary of the book, just saw it at the local Christian book store and thought that he would enjoy a series by a "#1 suspense author."
I brought it with me on vacation and finished the book in a matter of a couple days. It was a very good book, but there were parts about it that bothered me.
The premise of the book is unique, in my opinion. I've never thought about not only losing power, but everything mechanical. I have no idea what my family would do to survive, so it was a very interesting idea for a book.
I didn't mind the murder aspect of the book - it was how the murderer was portrayed. I won't go into detail, but there are some aspects of his character that just weren't believable for me. They had me rolling my eyes at how dramatic he was making that situation out to be.
Overall, I thought it was a good book and am excited that the other three books of the series have higher ratings than this one. I'm definitely looking forward to getting home to read the next one.
And maybe I'll even let my dad borrow them...
EngossingAugust 4, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
By the end of the Last Light I was hooked and had to devour the rest the series. I have to say that the first book gave me uncomfortable dreams -- but that's me. I found myself dreaming about where I was going to get water. [smile] I found the books engrossing, provacative and convicting. It shows you that difficulty and hardship can either bring out the best or the worst in people.
Read SM Stirling InsteadApril 24, 2008 2 out of 4 found this review helpful
Ms. Blackstock certainly focused on the christian writer aspect of this story, forgoing any real knowledge of the rest of her topic. Her ignorance on a lot of the topics she chose to write about is readily obvious. The book was filled with inaccuracies that would have been readily fixed with little effort if Ms. Blackstock had made any effort at all to check with someone who is knowledgeable on the various topics.
-Bicycling. Her characters buy 10-speed bikes? Not at any store since about 1990. Furthermore, out-of-condition stockbrokers aren't going to ride a bike for days at a time, regardless of the person's motivation, not without months of training.
-Electronics. Sure, EMP will destroy silicon chips. And it would take about 15 minutes for anyone reasonably handy to fashion a wind-powered generator using the alternator from a car, for instance.
-Electronics. Old fashioned telephones require no silicon to operate.
-Electronics. Old fashioned radios require no silicon to operate. Ham radio operators would pull out their old equipment and be operating 30 minutes after the failure.
-Gasoline Engines. Cars would fail due to the electronics failure. So would large airliners. Lawn mowers would operate just fine, as would old tractors and any other device that doesn't require electronic ignition. Old cars would continue to run, so there would have been a lot of folks pulling out their antiques.
-All airliners would be in trouble, but very very few small airplanes would crash except if bad weather was also a factor or incredibly poor pilots dealing with incredibly bad luck. Contrary to popular belief, small airplanes glide just fine even if their electronic-ignition systems fail. And the majority of very small aircraft would continue to run, as they still run off magnetos, which should continue to operate.
Ms. Blackstock even admits some of this (such as old cars would likely still run) but the entire story is written as if she were going to ignore this anyway.
If you want good writing about what could happen if all electronics failed, read SM Stirling instead. I recommend Ms. Blackstock only if you want a good dose of Christian propaganda.
