Blue Noon

Summary: The Midnighters have enough to deal with keeping safe from the ancient and powerful creatures, the Darklings, that stalk the one hour of secret time that happens every night at stroke of midnight. However, when the frozen midnight time happens one day during the mid-morning, they're unsure what to think. Something is clearly changing; just as the structure of the midnight hour seems to be weakening, so too is the barrier between Rex's human side and the lingering remnants of darkling that are left after his terrifying encounter at the end of Touching Darkness. While the Midnighters know that things are going wrong, they're not sure what to do about it, but they're going to have to figure something out, or else risk the world show more being stuck in the midnight time permanently.

Review: One of the things I loved best about the first book in this series was how clever and internally consistent it was. My favorite fantasy/sci-fi books are ones in which the worldbuilding makes logical sense - the magical system of allomancy in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series, or the religious system of Lois McMaster Bujold's Chalion books, for example. However, with the Midnighters series, I feel like while it started off strong, as the series has progressed, the worldbuilding has gotten somewhat more arbitrary - not less clear, or less inventive, but less able to extrapolate the details from the fundamental principles, which is a little bit sad.

I still really enjoyed (read: totally devoured) this book, don't get me wrong. They're fast and compelling reading, and while none of the characters are particularly wonderful people, they all feel very real, and I was always fascinated to see what would happen to them next. I particularly enjoyed Rex's storyline in this book, and watching him deal with his (very literal) inner monsters provided some of the most creepy scenes of the entire series.

For the most part, the end was a satisfactory conclusion to the series, nicely bringing in some elements from the first book that I hadn't realized were foreshadowing at the time. I was a little disconcerted by a few of the issues raised by the ending - issues that Westerfeld has one of his characters actually point out - that are just left completely unresolved, and even mostly unrecognized. On the whole, though, I enjoyed it quite a lot, and even got a little bit teary-eyed in parts... in between being thoroughly creeped out. Good stuff. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: The series as a whole is great; I even liked it better than the Uglies series. (We'll see how the rest of the Leviathan series goes before I declare Midnighters to be my absolute favorite.) It would be great for a creepy fall read for anyone who likes YA fantasy/sci-fi/horror. show less

Scott Westerfeld brought this series to a close with another well written book that tapped the emotions. Rex is the focus of this book. After his encounter with the Darklings in the last book, he fears that he has become more animal than human, and we are meant to wonder throughout this book if that is true. After a close encounter saving a human child, Rex's new hunger is put to the test. Will his human side or animal side prevail? The Midnighters must also deal with the ever growing rip in the blue time that threatens to swallow up Bixby and the surrounding area. Westerfeld is known for series ending stories that don't fit into the pattern of happily ever after, and this one is no exception to that. A very satisfying final story, show more though, to this exciting series. show less

Though some have denounced this ending as "unsatisfying" and "just plain annoying," I liked it. It's better than what could have happened, but not as good as a death. Maybe I'm just morbid, wanting someone to die. Anyways. The mysteries are revealed further (not totally) in this last installment, and the end of the world rapidly approaches. Even more complicated by Rex Greene's change into something half-daemon, half-human, the Midnighters struggle to find reason behind the sudden appearance of midnight... at noon.

Now here is a man who knows how to end a series with a bang, quite literally. While some of the incessant recapping gets to be incredibly annoying, the plot is moved along really well. You know the characters now, so the things they do make more sense, although Rex & Melissa, v. 2.0's characters are still gradually being advanced. Much like Breaking Dawn, I love how the focus is on logic vs. 'let's go kill things!' Things are thought out, plans are made, and it all involves actually thought and regard for history instead of running into battle, killing things left and right with no clear cut plans whatsoever. Those books just annoy me. Way to bring thinkers into your books, Westerfeld! Loose ends are tied up, and the story is brought to show more a bittersweet, open-ended close, bringing things full circle. I found myself thinking multiple times of the series as a whole. What if it had been five books, one per character, instead of just the trilogy? Will we ever get a short story or another book even for what happens afterward? My only complaint, in the end, is that we never got to learn much about Jonathan's life, why he thinks the way he thinks, what his home life is like. Not much at all. Nevertheless, it is a mostly satisfying conclusion that I think everyone was happy with.

Rating: 5/5 show less

This series is so great. I finished the last book this month and loved everything about reading it. Like the most exciting, unique books always do, it got in my head and I thought it over all the time. When I was reading other books, I thought about Midnighters. I had mindcasting dreams, and dreams with darklings. I wished for a prequel. (Pair of tiny children fighting monsters, winning.)I think this is mostly because my favorite kind of super-natural stories are the kind that just barely slip outside realism, that have a setting that can be found in the world. It rewards you in a special way when you recognize characters as real people, and then they do amazing things.These books balance action and headspace really well. The kids feel show more really real, or at least the connections between them do. Every fight scared me to death, and some were beautiful. A couple characters and devices were undercooked or out of tune, but no harm done. I liked the language, the place, the rules. Will definitely reread one day.(Also this is not really important? But I HATE this new edition. The paper is thin and the binding hates everything about being read. The first paperback editions are VASTLY SUPERIOR. Let it be known.) show less

I picked up Blue Noon immediately, as I had absolutely loved the first two books. The final book in the trilogy was a delight to read, and I enjoyed it just as much as I had the other two. I loved that Westerfeld added a new dimension to the Midnighters' world by making blue time come at all different hours of the day - not just midnight! It added to the complexity of the story, and I was so eager to find out what was happening!

The complexities of the blue time that the characters are in a rush to discover fascinated me. When the Midnighters figure out what they have to do, my heart leaped into my throat and I was so excited to read what would happen! I was ultimately...surprised at the direction that the author went with the ending. show more Although one part of me is really happy that the ending was so unexpected, I don't know that I liked it.

If you have read the first two books, you definitely have to pick up this one to finish them off. If you have read the first two - get to it! You can't read this one without them! Although I'm undecided about the ending, I am happy with another great book from Scott Westerfeld! show less

This was good, almost as good as the first two in the series. I gave it only 3 stars instead of 4 because I don't know how I like the ending. It makes sense, but I don't have to like it. :)