Warning: if you only like lovely, gentle, sweet books, read this at your peril! This is painful, often uncomfortable, yet utterly fascinating… this is quite simply a novel to bury yourself in. Mara finds herself in a frightening new world, with the Messenger of Fear acting as her mentor she struggles to understand her role and the terrors that surround her. Mara has lessons to learn, memories to grasp and truth to recognise. The writing allows you to start to absorb and possibly begin to comprehend Mara’s story before she herself does, the impact of the ending though will still completely bombard your senses. This is not a story about an answer, this is a story about a totally gripping and compelling journey.
I remembered my name - Mara. But, standing in that ghostly place, faced with the solemn young man in the black coat with silver skulls for buttons, I could recall nothing else about myself. And then the games began. Think you know the meaning of suspense? Think again...The Messenger sees the darkness in young hearts, and the damage it inflicts upon the world. If they go unpunished, he offers the wicked a game. Win, and they can go free. Lose, and they will live out their greatest fear. But what does any of this have to do with Mara? She is about to find out...
Michael Grant is the co-creator and coauthor of the series of books and publishing phenomenon Animorphs and the Everworld series. Michael has spent much of his life on the move. Raised in a military family, he attended ten schools in five states, as well as three schools in France. Even as an adult he kept moving, and in fact he became a writer in part because it was one of the few jobs that wouldn't tie him down. His fondest dream is to spend a year circumnavigating the globe and visiting every continent, including Antarctica. He lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with his wife, Katherine Applegate, and their two children, (Jake and Julia), and far too many pets.
