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The Light (Morpheus Road #1)

3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 · rating details · 1,307 ratings · 252 reviews

Marshall Seaver is being haunted. In the first installment of this chillingly compelling trilogy, sixteen-year-old Marshall discovers that something beyond our world is after him. The eerie clues pile up quickly, and when people start dying, it’s clear whatever this isit’s huge.

Marshall has no idea what’s happening to him, but he’s soon convinced that it has something to d...more

Hardcover, 352 pages

Published April 20th 2010 by Aladdin (first published April 1st 2010)

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Dec 22, 2011 Rae rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobooks, paranormal, so-fail-it-s-just-fail, why-did-i-read-this, why-was-this-on-my-to-read-shelf-ag

Several years ago I read the Pendragon series by D.J. McHale and rather enjoyed them, so when I saw that he had a new series out I certainly wanted to read it. Honestly, getting this book was just a waste of a good Audible.com credit. Spoilers coming up…if you still want to read this book, that is…

I really, really wanted to like this book, and kept on figuring that it was going to get better in a couple of chapters…it never did. Let’s start off with the main character shall we? Marshall Ciever...more Several years ago I read the Pendragon series by D.J. McHale and rather enjoyed them, so when I saw that he had a new series out I certainly wanted to read it. Honestly, getting this book was just a waste of a good Audible.com credit. Spoilers coming up…if you still want to read this book, that is…

I really, really wanted to like this book, and kept on figuring that it was going to get better in a couple of chapters…it never did. Let’s start off with the main character shall we? Marshall Ciever is an art geek. He draws all the time. He practically lives in the art room….oh wait, no, that’s me. I can’t say how excited I was when I read that bit, thinking for once, a protagonist that’s an artist!!! At least that’s what his character says in the first few chapters. However, this part of his character is mentioned early on to establish that he created a character of his own named Gravedigger (who’s basically the grim reaper…really creative, right?) and then that part of his personality is never really shown again. I mean, there could have been so many opportunities for him to utilize his talents in his adventure, but instead Marshall turns into a stupid, poorly characterized stump of writing.

Now onto the horribly trope-tastic best friend. Cooper Foaly is the cool, popular, athletic buddy of Marsh’s who goes missing early on in the story. Everyone in the book is always commenting on how strange it is that the two of them work as best friends, because after all, the art geek can’t possibly have a hip best friend! Ugh, stereotypes like this absolutely drive me up the wall!!!

I can’t mention Cooper Foaly without going into his ~~bratty~~ older sister Sydney. She’s the foil to Cooper – where he’s relaxed, she’s tense; where he’s a slacker, she’s ivy league potential; on and on and on. From the first mention of her, I knew that she was going to end up being the romantic interest by halfway through the book. So called it. The whole “omg how do you two work out since she’s awesome and you’re a art geek?!” thing is repeated with Sydney…but worse.

Earlier, I mentioned that I’d liked the Pendragon books (also penned by D.J. McHale. In those books two of the main characters are unlikely friends. Mark is the smart dork, and Courtney is the athletic popular girl in that series, but unlike in “Morpheus Road: The Light,” Mark and Courtney actually work as characters. They are dynamic, fun, and actually seem like more then poorly cut out pieces of cardboard. In “The Light,” it seemed like McHale was trying to clone Mark and Courtney and instead a horrible disfigured creature crawled out of the dark.

Oh, and did I mention that it takes place in the exact same city as the Pendragon books? Marshall apparently also works at the same place that Mark does…so did ANY of the adventures from the other book series happen? Continuity dude, continuity.

With it’s poor story, lazy character-building, and overall feeling of awkward writing, I would not recommend this book to pretty much anyone.
(less)

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May 05, 2010 ~Tina~ rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal, young-adult, own, read-2010

Meet 16 year old Marshall Seaver. Marsh is a semi-geek who likes his graphic novels, comic books, art and has a hard time letting go and growing up, unlike his best friend Cooper, who likes to live life large and push it to the limits, frequently.
So what happens when Cooper gets himself into a sticky mess more then usual and gets sent away to his family lake house, destroying there summer plans in the process? Or a better question is, what's happening to Marsh as he seems to be haunted or/and hu...more Meet 16 year old Marshall Seaver. Marsh is a semi-geek who likes his graphic novels, comic books, art and has a hard time letting go and growing up, unlike his best friend Cooper, who likes to live life large and push it to the limits, frequently.
So what happens when Cooper gets himself into a sticky mess more then usual and gets sent away to his family lake house, destroying there summer plans in the process? Or a better question is, what's happening to Marsh as he seems to be haunted or/and hunted by a demonic paranormal being that crazy enough Marsh created with his very own imagination come to life?
Strange and unusually things doesn't seem to cover what's going on and the mystery seems to be thickening up when Marsh finds out that his best friend, Cooper, is missing...

Okay! This one freaked me the hell out!
The Light is one of those books that puts a good spin on creepy and doesn't let up. It's not stalker-physio-killer creepy, or well not human anyways, this ones a twisted up unique paranorm that would rival any stalker killer, but it's not about that kind of creepy that did me in, it was more the mind game of sounds or lack there of; that made my imagination whack out before I hit the next line creepy, this had quite the effective edge to get me going and I got to tell ya, I had an absolute blast with this book!!!

I've never read anything from this author before, but I like the way he writes, it's very strong writing, really putting you smack in the middle of the picture getting you worked up enough to get a great feel for the story. I loved the way he blended tension with humor to keep readers relaxed enough to at least continue on.
It's smooth and perfectly paced.

Marsh is an awesome character, I wasn't sure if I wanted to hug him or send him to a mental ward, where I'm sure he'd accept enough meds to knock him out for years...willingly!
I loved the way he tried to grasp out rationalized logical explanations to the strange unknown phenomenons that very much is his reality and not his overactive imagination gone over the deep end one too many times, it was both spooky and amusing at the same time.
Sydney was a hard character to like at first, she's rude and obnoxious and I wanted to kick that pedestal down a few notches, but like most characters, Sydney is complicated and she grew on me later on.
Gravedigger is Wicked and Cool, but that's all I'm going to say about that;)

The plot is absolutely crazy fun, fast paced freaky and a highly entertaining world of one twisted fantasy. I could definitely see this as a movie but I'm content enough knowing that we're getting two more books from this world.
Bottom line, I loved it! I had a lot of fun getting freaked out and the mystery really kept me guessing! Awesome, Awesome book!!
For anyone looking for a book that will make your imagination go wild, this one goes out to you!

A Must Read!(less)

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Nov 15, 2012 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: trt-gold-star-award-winner, trt-posted-reviews

Reviewed by Joan Stradling for TeensReadToo.com

Marshall Seaver is looking forward to spending the summer with his best friend, Cooper, but an incident with some phony tickets has changed all that. Cooper's family whisks him away to their lake house where he disappears. Cooper's family thinks he's just run off again, but Marshall is convinced something is wrong, especially when he starts hearing strange noises and seeing strange things.

Strangest of all is the appearance of "Gravedigger," who shou...more

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Apr 28, 2013 Andrew rated it 5 of 5 stars

Dang love this book, It was very interesting, I think it's weird for a older girl to kiss a younger guy. The book did scared me for two days. And so yea this book it's great, you will find the answers to your question in the next book The Black.

Summary: (spoiler alert?)

Okay so This geek name Marshall Seaver who is sixteen i guess? has a best friend name Cooper(they are both 16) who is all cool and stuff, and has a father. His father was at a trip to Vegas. He is then haunted by this creature h...more

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Jan 25, 2013 Austin Lockart rated it 5 of 5 stars

Have you ever had someone trying to kill you? What about if that person was from the dead? Also what if another person from the dead was trying to help you at the same time? Well that is the story about the morpheus road. The author constantly keeps you interested by having heart racing action. It makes you never want to put the book down. Going through the story the character learns that if you keep your heart set to something, you can make it happen. Even if it's not what you wanted to find o...more Have you ever had someone trying to kill you? What about if that person was from the dead? Also what if another person from the dead was trying to help you at the same time? Well that is the story about the morpheus road. The author constantly keeps you interested by having heart racing action. It makes you never want to put the book down. Going through the story the character learns that if you keep your heart set to something, you can make it happen. Even if it's not what you wanted to find out.
The setting of this story definatly adds the the effect of what is happening. The setting most of the time is in a lake town. Most of the things that happen to the character could not happen anywhere else or would not be as common as happening. Some of the times that he goes into town also add to the eerie affect such as going into town on a monday when everything is closed and there is no one there at all. It makes the story seem all the more eerie having in that town also because there are a lot of forest around that play a part in the story.
This book really shows that if you keep your mind to something no matter how hard it is you can do it. all the odds were against him when he was trying to find out his friend. But no matter what happened to him he would continue on with his journey. It also shows that no matter what you are going through, that you will do just about anything for your best friend. He was in danger and almost killed several times but that never stopped him; because he was dedicated to finding his friend.
This book really makes you look at the positive points in life. Before all of this had even started to happen he lost his mother, but that didn't stop him from doing anything. He just focused on the future and not on the past. i would recommend this book to anyone who wants a fast paced thriller. The way that the author writes keeps you on the edge of your seat always wanting to get to the next page. You almost never want to put the book down.(less)

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Oct 11, 2012 Leslie Preddy rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: grades 7-12

Book One of D.H. McHale’s trilogy grabs the reader immediately with the opening line of a captivating prologue and never lets go. Marshall is an unassuming all-around nice guy who lives vicariously through his adventurous best friend, Cooper. During the school year, he kept drawing a character he called Gravedigger, which he thought was an imaginary character. In the summer after their 10th grade year, Cooper is taken away after getting into too much trouble and Marshall thinks this has just rui...more

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Jul 10, 2012 Claudia contreras rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

ok i usually don't write reviews, like ever, but this one deserves it. this is the first scary (or mysterious)book i have ever read that actually made scared of my own freaking room at night. especially in a new house. i was in mom's room, watching an interesting movie at 11:00 at night. the movie was tooootttaly epic, anyway when i was going to my room i swear the dude from the cover was in the middle of the room.
this is the first thing i did when this happen: i yelled "bloody murder"(not re...more

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Apr 16, 2012 Donna rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Any teen who likes killer suspense

Recommended to Donna by: Found it in B&N, looked interesting

MacHale sucked me in like a thin malt up a fat straw, and judging from the way MR books keep going missing in the middle school library, I'm not the only one succumbing to the suspense. The trilogy involves a threefold world--the Light of the living, the Black of the newly dead but not irredeemable (Purgatory by another name?), and the Blood, where the next-to-lowest of the low go to spend eternity. It's all connected by a spiritual interstate called the Morpheus Road. There must be other destin...more

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Aug 18, 2011 Erica rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Light is an interesting new series filled with wonderful characters. It's suspenseful, and will keep you on the edge of your chair.

The Light is filled with an abundance of well rounded characters. All the characters felt so real, and were unique in their own ways. I loved the development all the characters had throughout the book, particularly Sydney and Marsh. They started as basic characters, and by the end were these layered, complex characters.

The plot had a bit too much going on at time...more

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Apr 27, 2011 Iris rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've had this book for a year now. I don't know why it's taken me so long to get to it. I bought it at last year's LA Times Book Festival where D.J. MacHale signed it for me. And now that this year's Book Festival is right around the corner, and D.J. MacHale will be there again, I thought, "Oh, #@$%!$, I didn't even read that first book!" Seriously, I felt guilty. Which is silly. I don't think this man would be mortally offended that I took so long to get to his book, but I still felt kind of ba...more

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Apr 01, 2011 Kish rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Truthfully, I wasn't expecting much from this book, so when I finally picked it up and read it (I'd had it since Christmas), it gave me a pleasant surprise. The main character, Marshall Seaver, is a refreshing protagonist who's into graphic novels, building rockets, and science fiction, even though his best friend Cooper has moved on to chasing girls and occasional criminal activity. Basically, Marshall is a geek and I love it. He's a ball of typically teenage insecurity, as opposed to those her...more Truthfully, I wasn't expecting much from this book, so when I finally picked it up and read it (I'd had it since Christmas), it gave me a pleasant surprise. The main character, Marshall Seaver, is a refreshing protagonist who's into graphic novels, building rockets, and science fiction, even though his best friend Cooper has moved on to chasing girls and occasional criminal activity. Basically, Marshall is a geek and I love it. He's a ball of typically teenage insecurity, as opposed to those heroes who remarkably (unrealistically) always know what they're doing.

Marshall's characterization made the book for me. His friendship with Cooper made a lot of sense, too - don't we all have that friend who seems better than us at everything?

I also enjoyed the supernatural elements of this story, although for me they took a backseat to Marshall's character and back story. The scenes with Marshall alone in his house gave me chills. Some of the later illusions thrown at Marshall by the big baddie seemed a little over the top - think, say, the end of Stephen King's IT, (SPOILER) where the clown is suddenly a giant spider and not nearly as weirdly terrifying (/SPOILER) - but on the whole, the author handled the horror elements well.

One other nitpick: Sydney, Cooper's sister, could have been as great a character as Marshall. Instead she alternated periods of extreme awesome with random bouts of idiocy. In some scenes she seemed a bit dull and unnecessary to the plot, especially toward the end of the book, when she'd stopped antagonizing Marshall completely. By the end of the book she reminded me of, for instance, Megan Fox in Transformers: added in just to be the gorgeous girl at the hero's side. If I'd edited this novel, I would have advised the author to stick to writing guys, which seems to be his forte. If not that, then he should at least have cut out the forced romance between Marshall and Sydney. That relationship only serves to reinforce the idea that men and women cannot possibly be platonic friends, and I was dreading it from the moment I saw it coming.

Anyway, overall this book entertained me. Read it if you want some strong character relationships (Marshall's mostly offscreen friendship with Cooper being my favorite), a few good scares and a protagonist most boys and some girls will readily identify with.(less)

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Feb 11, 2011 Cristina rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Those who love a suspenseful read.

Shelves: my-favorites

It begins with mysterious sounds, a fleeting face outside a window–all things that can be explained away. That is, until he comes face-to-face with a character who only exists on the pages of a sketchbook–a character Marshall himself created.

Marshall is quickly convinced these strange incidents have something to do with his best friend, Cooper, who has gone missing. Together with Cooper’s beautiful but aloof sister, Sydney, Marshall searches for the truth about his friend while ultimately unco...more

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Dec 29, 2010 Karissa rated it 3 of 5 stars

I got this book through Traveling ARC Tours; thanks to them for letting me be on the tour. This is the first book I have read by Hale, and though I am not normally a horror read, the premise sounded interesting and I loved the cover. This is the first book in the Morpheus trilogy.

Marshall Seaver is looking forward to a great summer, but then things start to go wrong. His dad has to go out of town to Las Vegas and his best friend is being shipped off to the family cabin. Then Seaver, in a fit of...more I got this book through Traveling ARC Tours; thanks to them for letting me be on the tour. This is the first book I have read by Hale, and though I am not normally a horror read, the premise sounded interesting and I loved the cover. This is the first book in the Morpheus trilogy.

Marshall Seaver is looking forward to a great summer, but then things start to go wrong. His dad has to go out of town to Las Vegas and his best friend is being shipped off to the family cabin. Then Seaver, in a fit of anger, breaks a golden ball that is a memento from his deceased mother and things start to get creepy. Marshall is being haunted and he keeps running into the image of Gravedigger, a graphic novel character that he created. He needs to figure out what is going on before people start dying.

This book is definitely more of a creepy psychological thriller than a gore fest. I am a person who is easily scared and I found many parts of this book to be incredibly scary. I know it is aimed at young adults, but if you have an active imagination I would read it when there are other people around and it is light outside. Really it did freak me out. There are some mystery elements to the story as well, Marshall's spends a lot of time trying to piece together various pieces of evidence as he searches for his best friend. There are also some gross parts; the characters drowning in a boat shed full of blood comes to mind. The book in general is very reminiscent of your typical teenage horror film.

The book takes a while to get going, it plods slowly ahead with a couple creepy scenes here and there. Then in the last third of the book things really pick up. When all was said and done I wish that Hale had gotten through the beginning of the story quicker and spent more time dealing with all the supernatural strangeness surrounding Gravedigger and the Morpheus Road.

I didn't like any of the characters all that much. Marshall is okay, but I didn't find him particularly engaging. Sydney is an ice-queen and, though her character thaws a bit as the novel progresses, I still never liked her all that much.

The supernatural surrounding this story is never really all that well defined. You can't tell if Gravedigger is an anomaly or part of a more world-wide problem. The story itself is summed up completely, but there are some story threads introduced at the end that promise to be interesting in future books.

Overall I thought the story was okay. I am not a big horror fan though so it was a bit too scary for me. The idea behind the Morpheus Road is intriguing but not very well detailed in this story. The characters were so-so and the story starts out slow. I am interested to see what the second book in the series brings, but I will probably wait to see what other people say about it before I commit to reading it.(less)

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Sep 04, 2010 Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Morpheus Road was filled with creepy ghouls, mysterious occurrences, teen-aged boy antics and even a cute girl to tag along on the adventure. I can certainly see why this book would appeal to boys. It isn’t entirely unappealing to girls either, I imagine, but they’d have to be a bit more into the supernatural to really enjoy it. It does, however showcase a sassy heroine who’s strong with a touch of vulnerability. So that could draw some girls in as well.

Sadly, the story dragged a bit as the stor...more Morpheus Road was filled with creepy ghouls, mysterious occurrences, teen-aged boy antics and even a cute girl to tag along on the adventure. I can certainly see why this book would appeal to boys. It isn’t entirely unappealing to girls either, I imagine, but they’d have to be a bit more into the supernatural to really enjoy it. It does, however showcase a sassy heroine who’s strong with a touch of vulnerability. So that could draw some girls in as well.

Sadly, the story dragged a bit as the story built in some character history and set the plot up. Even so, I found myself wanting a bit more explanation and backstory as to why it was that the entity haunting Marshall took the form of The Gravedigger. Relative to this there was quite a bit of repetition in the initial haunting of Marshall. The point was well made by the time we got to the middle of the story and saw some real progression. As part of this build up and haunting, there were some predictable moments and a several that felt pretty contrived. Of course, I look at these events through different eyes than the target audience so they aren’t something that should keep anyone away. None of it destroyed the overall story for me just made it longer than I liked.

The characters are enjoyable. Particularly the hero Marshall who was endearingly dorky. I greatly appreciated that MacHale chose to write him with genuine fear of the situation, he was cautious and nervous and flustered. I’ll add that Marshall also made great progress and found strength and courage as the mystery unfolded. Sydney, interestingly enough, went the opposite direction. She was all sass and snark early on, fearless and without concern for what was to come. However, as they twosome were further drawn into The Gravedigger’s plot she became increasingly vulnerable, showed reservation and ultimately fear.

I have to say, I was on the fence about this book early on, I didn’t love it (didn’t hate it either). I was glad that it picked up about half way through and finally got to the meat of the story and action. There were answers presented to some questions (though not all) and some excellently plotted revelations and steps forward. But what really won me over was the end. At the end (which I won’t spoil) I found out something HUGE that changed how I looked at the whole story. It almost makes me want to go back and re-read to pick out any subtle clues that alluded to the revelation that I’d missed.

It’s this circumstance that definitely has me interested to read book two.(less)

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Aug 29, 2010 Laurie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Marshall Seaver is 16 and has big plans for the summer, all involving his best friend since childhood, Cooper Foley. But Coop has other plans- he wants to hang out with girls more than build rockets. Then he gets in trouble for selling counterfeit tickets and gets exiled to his parent’s lake house for the summer. This really throws a wrench into the plans they both have, but they have no idea how much worse their summer will get.

When Marsh throws and breaks a metal egg in a fit of anger, strang...more

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Apr 29, 2010 Dark Faerie Tales rated it 4 of 5 stars

Quick & Dirty: A highly entertaining read that is sure to give you nightmares.

Opening Sentence: I believe in ghosts.

The Review:

The story is narrated by Marshall Seaver, an average teenage boy and amateur comic book artist. He's a bit immature and clings to all of the things that define him. He loves comics, video games, building model rockets, and spending time with his one and only friend - his best friend, Cooper. Where Marshall is a total geek and lacks skills with the ladies, Cooper i...more Quick & Dirty: A highly entertaining read that is sure to give you nightmares.

Opening Sentence: I believe in ghosts.

The Review:

The story is narrated by Marshall Seaver, an average teenage boy and amateur comic book artist. He's a bit immature and clings to all of the things that define him. He loves comics, video games, building model rockets, and spending time with his one and only friend - his best friend, Cooper. Where Marshall is a total geek and lacks skills with the ladies, Cooper is a ladies man and is always looking for trouble. Marshall is really looking forward to spending the summer with his best friend, but Cooper's parents decides that he needs to get away from his troubles so Cooper goes to his family's cottage.

Marshall creates his own comic book character, the Gravedigger. He begins to have hallucinations and starts to question what's real. He starts to see the character that he created - Gravedigger and believes that Gravedigger is stalking him. To make matters worse, Marshall discovers that Cooper has gone missing, so he teams up with Cooper's sister, Sydney, to help get to the bottom of the mystery.

Morpheus Road: The Light is an interesting story that deals with many themes, such as identity and growing up. This engaging tale certainly has its share of creepy and scary moments. Mr. MacHale is an excellent writer. He does an amazing job building tension. The secondary characters and villains are well crafted, interesting, and unique. The plot is surprisingly complex, with numerous subplots, but this in no way detracts from my enjoyment of the novel. Mr. MacHale disdains cliches and creates multidimensional characters in both Marshall and Sydney, who grow over the course of his book.

Overall, Morpheus Road: The Light is a good read. Mr. MacHale delivers some great twists and lots of suspense. Readers will be chomping at the bit to see what happens in the next installment.

Notable Scene:

I heard more than saw what happened behind me. The heavy stack of glass hit the floor and exploded. Bits of glass flew everywhere, filling the air with a storm of sharp, shiny fragments. I glanced back in time to see a wave of broken glass headed my way. I ducked quickly and covered my face before I got sliced. I felt the sting through my clothes as I was pelted by the glass, but I didn't dare budge. After a couple of seconds I cautiously peeked over my arm to see the carnage. The four climbing ropes were hanging straight down, swinging gently, no longer animated.

FTC Advisory: Big Honcho Media provided me with a copy of Morpheus Road: The Light. No goody bags, sponsorships, "material connections," or bribes were exchanged for my review. In addition, I don't receive affiliate fees for anything purchased via links from my site.(less)

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Apr 26, 2010 Kate rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2010

The Light is an intense and down right creepy beginning to an exciting new series. From the get go, I knew this book was going to creep me out. Just look at the cover. This character screams "I am uber creepy. You better fear me." So it was no surprise to me when the first real scary / suspenseful scene occurred early on in the novel and that I was on the edge of my seat the whole time... with every little twist and suspenseful bump making me want to hide under the covers. From that scene alone,...more The Light is an intense and down right creepy beginning to an exciting new series. From the get go, I knew this book was going to creep me out. Just look at the cover. This character screams "I am uber creepy. You better fear me." So it was no surprise to me when the first real scary / suspenseful scene occurred early on in the novel and that I was on the edge of my seat the whole time... with every little twist and suspenseful bump making me want to hide under the covers. From that scene alone, I knew this was going to be one of those novels that I had to either read in the daylight or at least a few hours before sleep. Now before you get thinking that this book is going to be way too scary for you, I must admit that 1.) I scare pretty easily and 2.) The novel's two scariest scenes (in my opinion) are in the beginning of the novel. The rest of the novel is more suspenseful and mystery based with a few creepy scenes mixed in.

Despite the creepy and scary factor involved, I really enjoyed the novel. The Light is an action packed read that kept me on the edge of my seat. It seemed like the pages flew by as I tried to say one step ahead of Marshall and his mystery. The characters in the novel were quite interesting to me. Marshall reacts in a manner very similar to how I think I would, so his character was very easy to relate to. And while Marshall's character did not have as much character growth as I was hoping for, I realize that this is the first novel in a series so it is possible that readers will see the needed growth in one of the next novels. The secondary characters of Sydney and Cooper were a lot of fun to read about. Sydney is a tough on the outside character. She is sassy, and at times, hilarious. Her character was a wonderful foil to Marshall, and the two of them together made this book an exciting read.

The Light, thankfully, has enough scary / creepy moments to satisfy the horror fans, but not too much to turn off other readers like myself who tend to get scared really easily. The creepiness that MacHale has created sets the mood in the novel perfectly. The Light is a suspenseful gem by giving the reader plenty of little twists. And while every question is not answered or at least mostly explored by the end of the novel, the ending will definitely have readers craving more.(less)

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Apr 21, 2010 Kaila rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Light by DJ McHale Is The First Book In The Morpheus Road Trilogy. This Book Is An Awesome Read! I Was Hooked By Chapter 2. The Main Charater Is Marsh. The Book Begins With Marsh Speaking About The Prior Week And What's Happening Now. His Father Goes On A Business Trip And His Best Friend Goes Missing. The Story Begins Rather Slow But Picks Up Really Quickly In a Mind-Boggling Race. I'm Still Trying To Find Out What Morpheus Road Is, Although That Information Will Probably Be Revealed When T...more

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Aug 26, 2011 Dustin rated it 3 of 5 stars

In spite of a few flaws in character development and overall writing structure, I found The Light to be a very captivating tale with a fresh spin on a good old-fashioned haunting. I didn't realize or remember until talking to the friend that recommended this author and series that the author created the TV series Are You Afraid of the Dark?, which aired on Nickelodeon in the 1990s. I found that reading this novel was almost like watching an episode of that series, but I'm not saying that's neces...more In spite of a few flaws in character development and overall writing structure, I found The Light to be a very captivating tale with a fresh spin on a good old-fashioned haunting. I didn't realize or remember until talking to the friend that recommended this author and series that the author created the TV series Are You Afraid of the Dark?, which aired on Nickelodeon in the 1990s. I found that reading this novel was almost like watching an episode of that series, but I'm not saying that's necessarily a bad thing. Some of the scares were predictable, not to mention a choppy inner monologue for the main protagonist, Marshall Seaver (Marshall asks himself so many questions in EVERY chapter that it's almost like the author made those paragraphs chock-full deliberately because he doesn't trust his readers to be smart enough to ask those questions themselves).

Those things aside, the book did several things well. The first element that stood out to me was a good, sturdy establishment of the kind of relationship Marshall shares with his best friend, Cooper. Although Cooper is only around briefly in the early chapters of the book, MacHale crafts his part of the story alongside Marshall's to really establish a sort of "unspoken" connection between the two. You really get the idea that these guys know everything about each other and are the best of friends without really having to reiterate the point. I also was able to really connect with Marshall's character. It's rare that I connect that well with a main protagonist, as I usually find some supporting character that I'm more drawn to. But, in Marshall's case, I found what I like to call a literary brother. I felt his pain – the pain of worrying about a best friend, having a huge crush on the best friend's sister and, oh yeah, that little thing where he's haunted by his own creepy drawings.

I felt a little let down by the "big bad" of the story, who revealed himself in the last two or three chapters. I felt that the lead-in to his revelation was all for naught. The build-up and suspense were incredible...and then when you get to the main antagonist, it doesn't seem to fit with what's been established in terms of the fear and gripping suspense that have been employed in the story. In a way, I guess this may be good looking forward to the sequel, because the story sort of evolved from your typical horror tale into something a little different...something that rides the tight line between horror and action thriller stories.

I am anxious to pick up The Black and continue the story, which I understand is a re-telling from Cooper Foley's point of view. His is a character I am looking forward to seeing developed. Stay tuned for a review on that one as well...and for now, pick this one up if you are looking for a classic scare with an interesting twist at the end that will leave you in more of a wondering state than a guessing one...(less)

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Mar 19, 2012 Shoshana rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, unexpectedly-didn-t-suck

I'm not going to lie, I went into this book with really low expectations. Which, in all likelihood, helped my reading experience.

(Also, I'd like to get this out of the way: Marshall is a stupid name for an adventure/suspense/thriller story, particularly because the nickname - Marsh - evokes gross sludge. Add to the fact that this is set at a like - poor choice.)

I did feel the writing for the first quarter-to-third of the book was pretty clumsy; if I hadn't been reading it for work, I probably...more I'm not going to lie, I went into this book with really low expectations. Which, in all likelihood, helped my reading experience.

(Also, I'd like to get this out of the way: Marshall is a stupid name for an adventure/suspense/thriller story, particularly because the nickname - Marsh - evokes gross sludge. Add to the fact that this is set at a like - poor choice.)

I did feel the writing for the first quarter-to-third of the book was pretty clumsy; if I hadn't been reading it for work, I probably would have dropped it. I'm glad I didn't. As the pace picked up, the writing got a lot smoother (or, at least, I got used to it), and the voice a lot less "simpleton teenaged boy." Toward the end of the book he acknowledges that he is no longer the sheltered geek king from the beginning and while I don't agree with how he puts it (he's still a huge geek and not fundamentally any "cooler") I agree he's smartened up and matured a lot. And I appreciate it.

Sydney, the female lead, also undergoes some polishing throughout the novel - though it gets a bit overdone. Certainly, she's almost unrealistically nasty and blunt at the beginning and it's a great relief when she mellows out, starts treating Marshall as a human being, and works with him. She becomes a much more realistic character - feels like an actual person. However, I kind of want to kick MacHale in the teeth for how he writes her toward the end, and particularly at the climax. Everything she says is "whined," and she freezes up constantly. Marshall has to grow a pair twice over to compensate, and it all smacks of some underlying message that in times of crises Men are Men and women kinda crumble.

Lame.

That said! I really enjoyed the plot and the pacing: not too much setup and I caught myself holding my breath at tense points (and, it bears repeating, this is typically NOT my genre). And while so far I kind of thing the plot itself is dumb and poorly explained (yes, I know it's supposed to be *mysterious,* but even the bad guys don't seem to really know what they're vaguely referencing), I had enough fun that I'll probably read the next one.(less)

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Sep 30, 2011 Katrina-Marie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Wow, I loved this book!

I've let Morpheus Road The Light sit on my shelf for months because the back description didn't sound too fantastic. I started reading it because I saw that a few of my Goodreads friends gave it a good review, so I figured I would give it a try, and I am so happy that I did! This book was so good!

It has been a while since I've read a truly creepy book, and I definitely enjoyed the creepiness of this one! I also loved the storyline, which included things like of the power o...more

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May 08, 2010 Teen Department Homewood Library rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of horror & suspense!

Marsh Seaver is being haunted. Or hunted. Or both, really. It started with little sounds, like creaks and drips. Then darkness where there should have been light. Then hallucinations. Finally a creature from Marsh's own imagination, the Gravedigger, appeared and tried to kill him. All of this started the day his best friend, Cooper, disappeared. Now Marsh must team up with Cooper's sister, Sydney, to find out exactly what happened to his friend and how, or why, it's tied in with the sinister Gra...more

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May 08, 2010 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen

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Sep 30, 2012 Autumn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 4-star-books

This just barely made it to a four star book. The ending was able to change it from a three. The reason I was a little iffy on this book was mostly because of the main character. He was so irritating! All he does is whine and snivel about his illusions, and he is incredibly weak and stupid. He reminded me quite a lot of Ash from Pokemon, or Sora from Kingdom Hearts (not to geek out too much here :P). I just detest characters like this, with no backbone. Thankfully, he got a little better by the...more

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Apr 30, 2010 Sandi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, young-adult, 2010, ghost-stories

This past Saturday, my daughter and I went to the LA Times Festival of Books at UCLA. Our first stop was the Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore booth to get the lay of the land. Last year, we stumbled upon Connie Willis at their booth and had a nice chat with her, so we were hoping for some equal luck this year. We started talking to this really nice, intelligent author named D.J. MacHale. There wasn't anyone waiting to get books signed, so we kind of monopolized his time for a bit. I noticed that he h...more This past Saturday, my daughter and I went to the LA Times Festival of Books at UCLA. Our first stop was the Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore booth to get the lay of the land. Last year, we stumbled upon Connie Willis at their booth and had a nice chat with her, so we were hoping for some equal luck this year. We started talking to this really nice, intelligent author named D.J. MacHale. There wasn't anyone waiting to get books signed, so we kind of monopolized his time for a bit. I noticed that he had written the Pendragon series. I had heard of it and told him that I'd only heard good things about it, but I wasn't going to get sucked in to reaading a series of ten YA novels. He and I talked a bit about books and series and popularity vs. quality. His latest book, The Light is the first installment of what he promises is only a trilogy. I loved the cover and the synopsis sounded interesting. I bought a copy and he signed it with a reference to our conversation about The Da Vinci Code. Needless to say, I felt obligated to move this book up to the top of my reading pile.

When I was a kid, I loved ghost stories and tales of the supernatural. I read all those Strange but True paperbacks and my friends and I would tell ghost stories in the dark. (Remember Mary White? You'd say her name three times and she'd appear in your mirror?) Once, my best friend and I were playing with a Ouija board under a card table with a quilt over it and it scared the crap out of us by spelling out "I...W...I...L...L...K...I...." We didn't even let it finish spelling and ran out from under that table screaming. My friend, who owned the Ouija board, wrapped practically a whole roll of masking tape around it and shoved it in the back corner of her closet shelf. I think I was eleven and she was twelve at the time. I also remember my 6th grade teacher reading Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart to us and setting me on a path to read everything Poe. I'm dredging up all those childhood memories because The Light brought all of that back to me.

I will admit that The Light is one darned scary book. It starts off slow and builds in creepiness. The ending was completely shocking and unexpected. I would have adored this book when I was a kid. It has a huge appeal to my inner 9-13 year old. I know a lot of people may think that it's too scary for kids that young, but it's exactly the kind of thing I was reading at those ages. I enjoyed the trip down memory lane and I hope Mr. MacHale and his publisher get the next two installments out really soon.(less)

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Nov 10, 2012 Rose rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, mystery, paranormal, fantasy, tbr-challenge, supernatural, young-adult, suspense, audiobooks

Initial reaction: Not that impressed, not even considering this book was well narrated by Nick Podehl, who's one of my favorite audiobook readers. That was probably the main reason I picked this up and it was my first read from D.J. MacHale (I do have the first book in the Pendragon series, but I haven't read it yet, and I'll likely remedy that as soon as I can do so).

This book began with a nice creepy feel, but the repetitiveness of the text and the tendency to overtell/dictate events ruined t...more Initial reaction: Not that impressed, not even considering this book was well narrated by Nick Podehl, who's one of my favorite audiobook readers. That was probably the main reason I picked this up and it was my first read from D.J. MacHale (I do have the first book in the Pendragon series, but I haven't read it yet, and I'll likely remedy that as soon as I can do so).

This book began with a nice creepy feel, but the repetitiveness of the text and the tendency to overtell/dictate events ruined the story for me. That's not to say that I didn't like the characters or scenario, but I'm weary of the style if it continues like this. I'll likely follow the series, but the introduction here left much to be desired.

Full review:

I definitely see sparks of intrigue in the first book in D.J. MacHale's "Morpheus Road" series, but there's much in "The Light" that doesn't measure up to sorts. For me, the biggest deterrent to this creepy, supernatural mystery wasn't the characters, whom I found charming and worth following through the odds and ends of the story. For the record, I really liked Marshall, Cooper, and Sydney. It was largely the way the story was told, which involved a LOT of telling of events as they happened and the narrator - Marshall Seaver - dictating some obvious plot points that shortchanged the surprise and intimacy that this story had to offer. Sure, I was fine with being in Marsh's head, but the narrative style reminded me of what bothered me about action books like Lore's "I Am Number Four". I almost wanted to say that the story shouldn't lay out all of Marshall's suspicions and just let him gradually discover things as they happen. There was also a part of me that felt that certain conclusions didn't automatically lead up to certain events, and it took a bit too long to recognize why Marsh was lead on all of these different loops and runarounds in Marsh's attempt to figure out what happened to Cooper and why Marsh kept seeing the character he'd drawn through his the horrifying visions.

The story revolves around Marsh trying to plan a perfect summer with his best friend Cooper, but when Cooper gets into certain trouble, it leaves Marsh devastated and left by his lonesome when Cooper travels with family to "getaway" in order to correct his behavior. But things are complicated when Cooper goes missing for a couple of days, and somewhat tied into Cooper's disappearance, strange things start happening around Marshall that have him running scared and thinking he's "crazy". I would've appreciated less focus on the "crazy" inclinations (because those I think were carried a bit too much and slowed the momentum of the story significantly), but when Sydney enters the picture and Marsh joins forces with her to try to figure out what happened to her brother, the story picks up in an interesting way. I'll admit I liked some of the dark imagery portrayed in this story, and almost felt like it could've been amped up a little as far as the tension was concerned. The tension was broken mostly on the part of Marshal telling details that could've been shown as the two of them start uncovering details. Ultimately, however, their discovery of details surrounding Cooper's disappearance have them making horrifying discoveries and going through a number of harrowing experiences that I appreciated following. Nick Podehl's narration in Marshal's voice is especially potent and kept me reading through until the end. I'm also concerned by the sparse worldbuilding and underdevelopment of the players in the conflict. There wasn't as much time to get to know them and really delve into the character experiences as much as there could've been, given the style of the prose and the overfocus on details that really could've stood by themselves in implied notations or simply for what they were worth on their own.

There were still many questions in this story that weren't answered as far as why Marsh is being targeted and by whom, but I suspect a lot of this will be developed as the series moves forward, and the book does end on an intriguing note with Cooper being a key player of events. I'll admit even with the telling style of this work, I'm curious to see what comes of these characters, and I'm invested in the journey. I am moving forward to see where this series goes, but I think the cons of this story really shortchanged this first book in this series by quite a bit.

Overall score: 2/5(less)

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Oct 08, 2011 Ival Crisp rated it 4 of 5 stars

D.J. MacHale has been one of my favorite authors ever since I feasted upon the Pendragon Series. His writing style is immensely captivating, keeping you on the edge of your seat throughout the entire book. This was the first horror I have read in a long time, and I must say MacHale seems to have a knack for the genre. I was surprisingly and utterly enthralled.

D.J. MacHale definitely incorporates his ingenuity in all literature he has a hand in. His most recent project, The Morpheus Road Trilogy,...more

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Dec 16, 2010 Stephanie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, paranormal, read-in-2010, horror, young-adult

This is a new series by D.J. MacHale, the author of the Pendragon series. I understand that Pendrgaon has quite a following but I have not yet read it. I thought I'd give this one a try and I am glad I did. It was scary but not so bad that I slept with the light on, lol!

Marsh is all set to start another super-fun summer with his best friend Cooper when things start to go very wrong. First, he and Coop get into a fight and Cooper leaves for the lake with his folks without saying goodbye to Marsh....more

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Apr 20, 2010 Sarah BT rated it 3 of 5 stars

About the Book: Marshall Seaver is being haunted. It starts with strange noises and symbols appearing to him, but then things get stranger. Marshall starts to see Gravedigger, a comic character he created. When his best friend Cooper disappears, Marshall must work together with Sydney, Cooper's "ice queen" sister to figure out what is happening. The two discover that something bigger than they ever expected is after them-and no one is safe.
GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: I'll admit it-I'm a wimp-I can...more About the Book: Marshall Seaver is being haunted. It starts with strange noises and symbols appearing to him, but then things get stranger. Marshall starts to see Gravedigger, a comic character he created. When his best friend Cooper disappears, Marshall must work together with Sydney, Cooper's "ice queen" sister to figure out what is happening. The two discover that something bigger than they ever expected is after them-and no one is safe.
GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: I'll admit it-I'm a wimp-I can't do scary stories. But I have readers who love them, so I try to read some every once in awhile. Since D.J. MacHale's previous series, Pendragon, is very popular at my library, I was eager to give this one a try.
Morpheus Road: The Light had somewhat of a slow start for me. I like dialogue in my stories and this book starts off with a lot of description. But that does make for action at times, so I could see how readers who like suspense in their stories and description would enjoy that. The book does pick up eventually, but it took a long time to get there. When it does finally pick up it takes off running. (This might just be because I'm not a big description reader, but I felt like it took about half the book for it to really get going. But if you have fantasy fans who eat up those big wordy books, they would probably wouldn't think twice about the slower pace at the beginning.)

There may be some things that could scare some readers, but for the most part, I didn't see why older tweens couldn't pick this one up. The book lists ages 10+ and I think that works, especially if you have tweens who are watching big screen scary movies! I think this would be a good pick for readers who are ready for the next step up from Goosebumps. The author used to write for the TV show Are You Afraid of the Dark? (anyone else remember that show?) and I thought this book had the same feel. The plot jumped around a lot, which might have been another reason it took me awhile to get into it.
Readers looking for a good suspenseful read will enjoy Morpheus Road. This is the first in a planned trilogy, so while the story wraps up in some places, there are plenty of loose ends to give readers lots of questions. Give this one to readers who love scary ghost stories and are ready to move on from Goosebumps and Scary Stories to Tell In the Dark to something more. (less)

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Mar 29, 2012 Star (The Bibliophilic Book Blog) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

Marshall Seaver thinks he's going crazy. The drawing of a character he created – Gravedigger - has come alive to torment him. On top of that, his dad is on a business trip and his best friend has gone away with his parents. Marshall (Marsh) is just an average kid, an art geek, who lost his mom and is trying to figure out his life. Marsh finds out that Cooper’s gone missing and needs Sydney, Cooper’s sister, to help him solve the mystery.

There is so much going on in this story and you’ve got to r...more

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About D.J. MacHale

D.J. MacHale is a writer, director, executive producer and creator of several popular television series and movies.

He was raised in Greenwich, CT and graduated from Greenwich High School. While in school, he had several jobs including collecting eggs at a poultry farm, engraving sports trophies and washing dishes in a steakhouse...in between playing football and running track. D.J. then attended N...more D.J. MacHale is a writer, director, executive producer and creator of several popular television series and movies.

He was raised in Greenwich, CT and graduated from Greenwich High School. While in school, he had several jobs including collecting eggs at a poultry farm, engraving sports trophies and washing dishes in a steakhouse...in between playing football and running track. D.J. then attended New York University where he received a BFA in film production.

His filmmaking career began in New York where he worked as a freelance writer/director, making corporate videos and television commercials. He also taught photography and film production.

D.J. broke into the entertainment business by writing several ABC Afterschool Specials. After moving to Los Angeles, he made the fulltime switch from informational films, to entertainment. As co-creator of the popular Nickelodeon series: Are You Afraid of the Dark?, he produced all 91 episodes over 8 years. He wrote and directed many of the episodes including the CableAce nominated The Tale of Cutter's Treasure starring Charles S. Dutton. He was nominated for a Gemini award for directing The Tale of the Dangerous Soup starring Neve Campbell.

D.J. also wrote and directed the movie Tower of Terror for ABC's Wonderful World of Disney which starred Kirsten Dunst and Steve Guttenberg. The Showtime series Chris Cross was co-created, written and produced by D.J. It received the CableAce award for Best Youth Series.

D.J. co-created and produced the Discovery Kids series Flight 29 Down for which he writes all the episodes and directs several. His work on Flight 29 Down has earned him both Writers Guild of America and Directors Guild of America award nominations.

Other notable writing credits include the classic ABC Afterschool Special titled Seasonal Differences; the pilot for the long-running PBS/CBS series Ghostwriter; and the HBO series Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective for which he received a CableAce nomination for writing.

In print, D.J. has co-written the book The Tale of the Nightly Neighbors, based on his own teleplay and penned the poetic adaptation of the classic Norwegian folk tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon.

The book series: Pendragon - Journal of an Adventure through Time and Space marks D.J.'s first turn as a novelist. He plans for this series of Young Adult adventures to span a total of 10 books.

D.J. lives in Southern California with his wife Evangeline and daughter Keaton. They are avid backpackers, scuba divers and skiers. Rounding out the household are a Golden Retriever, Maggie; and a Kitten, Kaboodle. (less)

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Quotes from The Light

“I was disappointed in Coop. He hated being bored and so did I. He was always looking for different things to do and coming up with new adventures that kept us moving. That was his job. Trolling for girls at the beach was okay by me, but I didn't want it to be our sole focus. Besides, the girls I liked had more interesting things to do than spend every waking moment sitting around at the beach comparing tans.” — 6 people liked it

“I stood on the street, staring up at the most normal-looking house in the world. My house. I'd lived there my entire life. It was home. It was safe.
It was haunted.
The only other explanation was that I was demented. I couldn't say which I was rooting for.” — 3 people liked it

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The Light (Morpheus Road #1)

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