Voices in the Dark

The Last Descendants #2

by Catherine Banner

Asking for the truth can be as painful as telling it. . . .

Anselm Andros has clearly defined roles in his family and they are roles he plays very well—he is confidante to his mother, Maria. He is the confessor to his stepfather, Leo, a man haunted by the secrets of his past. And Anselm is also the patient, caring brother to his precocious sister, Jasmine. When the political landscape of Malonia starts to shift, this unassuming family begins to unravel. Even though they’ve spent the past fifteen years leading a quiet life, Maria and Leo’s actions are forever linked to the turbulent history of Malonia and its parallel world, modern-day England. With so much uncertainty at home and in his world, it is more important than ever for Anselm to put all the pieces of the past together. He must listen to his own voice and acknowledge his fears and desires—whatever the cost.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Adult, Adventure, Mystery, Magic, Action

464 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

​Catherine Banner was born in Cambridge, UK, in 1989 and began writing at the age of fourteen. She studied English at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, before moving to County Durham where she worked as a secondary school teacher. She has published a trilogy of young adult novels, The Last Descendants.

Her debut adult novel, The House at the Edge of Night, tells the story of the 2008 financial crisis and 95 years of European history through one family and their bar on a tiny Mediterranean island.

Her work is translated into 21 languages. She lives in Turin, Italy, with her husband and young son. She is currently working on her next novel, The Lit and Unlit World, which follows the women of a vine-growing family in the mountains of north Italy.

Reviews

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Voices in the Dark is a bit of a hard one to review. There isn't really a traditional plot, per se, but it's still engaging enough to entertain.

Our main character, Anselm, has no end goal. He's a writer traveling in a carriage and telling an old man the story leading up to that point. However, this story goes nowhere. There isn't a driving force behind his actions, just things happening to him a lot. In my opinion, this is the only downfall of the novel. The writing is of good quality. The characters are memorable and unique. The backdrop of war and political intrigue presents many opportunities for drama. If there had only been a story goal, this would have been a great book.

Imagine The Lord of the Rings without the drive to destroy the ring, just random bad things happening to Frodo as he reacts to them. Imagine Harry Potter without Voldemort, just going to school and angsting. Anselm doesn't want anything on an overarching scale. There is no traditional beginning, rising to the climax, where you're on the edge of your seat. Will he succeed?! No, because there was nothing to fail. Nothing to achieve.

Some excellent plots could have been: finding Michael, bringing Leo back, unraveling the mysteries of Aldebaran's death, bringing down the Imperial Order, saving the shop, hunting and solving clues to figure out who his real father was, etc.

As is, Anselm is handed almost everything without trying. There is a very weird "climax" type part where all these extra bad random things happen all at once to Anselm and he reacts to them. Ie. Alcyrian's attack during King's speech, mother has to go to hospital, and they lose all of their belongings to an out-of-nowhere fire that destroys their entire home.

And the ending also makes no sense. He acts as though he has a great burden and must continue his grand journey, leaving his family behind for now while he nobly goes on alone. Besides not really being all that logical (why not just visit your family first?), this is where the story should have STARTED. He's finally going on a quest: to find Michael and discover his father's grave. Perfect.

So, why'd I give it three stars and an "I liked it"? Truth be told, it's still pretty interesting to read about the random pitfalls and hardships of Anselm's life in this alternate country. It's like reading the journal of a teenage boy who lives in a magical place during dangerous times. Though I'm not sure it's what the author intended, that's okay too. It just could have been so much better.

[Sabrina Wannet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its a intrestant book but sometimes it is hard to read because it goed from one storie to the other the another.

[Luca Falleri · Rating 3 out of 5]

E' stata dura, ma ce l'ho fatta, dopo un mese, a finirlo!!!

[Branchsuper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second in trilogy.

[Biggy Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book #2 is ever as good as #1. I love Banner's parallel universe. Her description of places and people is believable.

[Paschalis]

elibrary

[Victor Hofman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Er gebeurt niet zo veel. Goed geschreven. Toch benieuwd naar deel 3.

[Madeline · Rating 5 out of 5]

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[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Kira M for TeensReadToo.com

Anselm Adams is a confidant to his mother, a confessor to his stepfather, a caring brother to his sister. Things in his life seemed fairly normal with magic, until he discovers that his past and parentage aren't exactly what they seem.

With the Imperialist Order and their thugs taking over the capital city and their order targeting anyone who has magical abilities, Anselm is forced to flee his home.

Soon, he is going to have to make a choice: his life or his magic.

A suspense-filled, action-packed adventure. The characters are memorable, the plot is unique. Readers who have not read the first book in the series, however, will be lost reading this book. Those who like fantasy and have read THE EYES OF A KING, though, will enjoy reading VOICES IN THE DARK.

[The Sassy Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed this one much more then the first one! The pacing seemed to pick up, the plot is more flushed out and not so distracting and it is less character driven then the first book. Told through Anselm's perspective and set to a backdrop of political instability, this book kept my attention from beginning to end. This was a huge improvement over the first in the series and I can't wait to see what book #3 has in store!

[Vickey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Melonia is in chaos as the weak King Cassius II tries to hold back invasion and revolution. Anselm was a baby in the first book and is the main character in this one. All the characters are trying to discover secrets that were exposed in the first book--which makes things kind of boring. This is written much better than the previous one at least! I think the most interesting part of this book was seeing how much effect an editor has!!

[Ellen Voets · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved reading this book. There was a little more tension than in the first one. What I really love about these books is that there is not a lot of action, but still it captures your attention. You just need to know how it will end

[Morgan]

correction, im trying to read it, but i cant seem to make it through. dont get me wrong its a good book but from some reason i made it half way through and sort of forgot about it :(

[Bri · Rating 5 out of 5]

=D

[Khadija · Rating 3 out of 5]

awesome book ...... , full of emotions ........ great writing style ..........