Advance Review of Michael Grant's Messenger of Fear: The Tattooed Heart
Release Date: September 22nd, 2015
Synopsis as found on GoodReads.com:
The games continue in New York Times bestselling author Michael Grant’s sequel to Messenger of Fear: a haunting tale for fans of Stephen King that combines fantasy with real-world horror stories.
Mara has learned to punish the wicked as the Messenger’s apprentice. Those who act out of selfishness and greed, and others who become violent because of prejudice and hate, pay the ultimate price. But Mara is constantly reminded that Messengers are serving their own kind of punishment—for every person who is offered justice, they wear a tattoo that symbolizes the heart of the crime. As Mara delves deeper into her harsh reality, she will discover that in spite of all the terror she and Messenger inflict, caring in this world is the hardest part of all.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I found the first book in this series, Messenger of Fear, a darkly intense and interesting read. I have never read a book that was similar, so it is a little difficult to categorize it. It's sequel, The Tattooed Heart, picks up where we left off in book 1. We already know the truth behind who Mara is and why she was chosen to apprentice with Messenger, so we are not trying to solve a great mystery in this story.
This book is all about getting down to the job at hand. Finding people who have wronged someone in a truly cruel way and having them be judged and sentenced... with a dark and sinister twist of course. Those found guilty are made to compete for their lives. If they win, they walk away free. If they lose, their worst fears are inflicted on them. Messenger and Mara search through a person's life by speeding through time to watch the exact turning point that made them go down the wrong path. They find out who helped them down that path and those that hurt them the most are the ones they sentence.
While The Tattooed Heart follows the characters in their lives, it also gives us the much needed back story for Messenger that I have been craving for since I picked up book 1. We find out who he was and how he became this emotionless, unfeeling character, as well as who Ariadne was... his long lost love.
After finishing the book, I was sad, because it seems as if the story has ended. While researching on GoodReads for my review, I found that there is going to be a book 3... how will Grant continue it from here? I guess I'll have to wait until 2016 to find out.
No comments:
Post a Comment