Book Review: Messenger of Fear by Michael Grant

Messenger of Fear

by Michael Grant

Series: Messenger of Fear #1

Genre: YA, urban fantasy, paranormal

Published September 1st 2014 by Hardie Grant Egmont

Source: Publisher

Purchase: Amazon * Book Depository

Local purchase/order: Fullybooked * National Bookstore

Blurb (Goodreads):

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.

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 . . .

My Thoughts:

Weird was the first thing that came to my mind when I finished reading Messenger of Fear. This is my first novel from Michael Grant and I suppose I'm not used to his writing style or  this genre/theme or whatsoever that made me feel quite unattached to this book.

Mara woke up without any memories about her past or of herself. The only thing she knew was her name and a yellow mist is surrounding her, followed by the appearance of a mysterious young man clothed in all black and skulls who's called Messenger of Fear. The next thing that follows confused Mara more and saw things she hoped was only a nightmare. This book, together with the characters, is mysterious and creepy.  It has a unique storyline that kept me wanting to learn more and to uncover the mystery of the Messenger of Fear.

Unfortunately, there's a lot of downside in this book that I can't help but notice and change my overall impression. The identity of Mara was a mystery here. But even before Messenger shared bits of her memories, I already know who she really is. I was just on page 31 that time. Most of the time, I don't know what's happening on the story, what it's all about and I even question the purpose of the Messenger of Fear and other creepy characters. Just like Mara does on the story. I'm also not sure if it has a slow pace or the book just wanted to remain mysterious all the way. There were no answers until the ending and those weren't enough as well.

Despite the downsides, I'm still looking forward on reading the sequel. I guess. I might get what this series was about and learn more about the characters. I would recommend this book to Michael Grant fans and readers who's interested in a intriguing, mysterious, creepy, paranormal stuff.

*Thanks to Hardie Grant Egmont for the review copy in exchange of an honest review!

Rating:

.5