Welcome, welcome, please take your jackets off and proceed
to the sitting area *gestures to a plush red couch* Have a seat and read
today’s post!
It’s all about Roswell High Book Nine, The Dark One today.
And wow, I can’t believe the series is almost over. I might even get teary
eyed. Anyway, let’s jump right on in.
This book, wow.
This book centers around mostly Isabel. As we know, from the
last book she’s started her Akino. Which, as we’ve also learned isn’t so good.
I feel terrible for her, I mean, the kind of pain that’s described is hard,
even to read, because over the course of the books I’ve really begun to feel
for these characters. And, they’re almost not just characters. You know how
that is, right? When you’ve become so engrossed that the characters from a book
are almost like friends. You laugh with them, you cry with them, well, in this
book I felt the pain, not only through Isabel’s POV’s but through everyone
else’s too. The connection of the group is so strong, that we see how everyone
deal’s with this. We see some reactions more than others, like Michaels.
We’ve always known he’s had a special bond with Isabel, but
this book really shows that. He’s willing to do just about everything for her.
He promises to keep her away from The Stones of Midnight, he promises to keep her
away from Max—who still thinks the Collective C is all that and a bag of chips,
and he also promises to protect her. I must say, more than once I got teary
eyed. Michael is one complex guy with a lot of feelings. Max was always my
favourite, but you know, in this book, for me, it was all Michael. We also see how Michael is starting to realize that he needs Maria, even if he’s not fully ready to admit it out loud. There’s a great scene towards the end of the book, where things... are almost at the worst and Michael realizes that Maria is more than just a friend. That in the particular situation he’s in, just having her around can make the difference. He’s able to concentrate, working as though Maria is by his side and accomplishes what he needs to, and I hope he won’t soon forget how important Maria really is too him and say, in the next book, things start to finally happen for them.
Max is... Well, he’s all about the Collective C. He still
doesn’t see what it’s doing to him and doesn’t understand why everyone around
him thinks it’s all bad. There are some particularly funny scenes with him and
the Collective C. Ms. Metz describes these scenes, and it’s... hilarious. I can
close my eyes and imagine Max doing things like licking things he shouldn’t,
him sticking his head in the freezer because they want to know how it feels. He’s
completely under the control of them.
But we really see Max slipping away from us. In the last book the
destruction of his relationship with Liz and in this book, he almost loses
everyone else. When things are going down, Max just isn’t there. It’s hard to
see a character that is usually so level headed, take charge and caring—not be.
But then there is Alex, who is, in his own way, almost
losing himself as well. Though it’s not because of the Collective C, it’s because
he’s become a total hottie. This sort of reminds me (and I might have mentioned
this last post) of the episodes after his return from his little “vacation” in
the TV Show. He comes back with this air about him... it makes everyone swoon.
Though in the show he doesn’t quite use it to his advantage, he sure does in
the book. It’s great to see another side of Alex. Though, like Max, a lot of
the severity of the situation happening around him is lost on him because he
just doesn’t have his head in the alien game. But of course, when it comes down to it, everyone is able to come together and get things done.
We get to see Trevor again, and I’m still not over his
betrayal of the group, however he does the right thing in the end of this
novel. And we see him struggle throughout the novel, which is good, it gives
Trevor a few redeeming qualities so we as readers don’t outright hate him.
Adam and Liz’s relationship, or well, friendship, heats up a
bit. I’m happy for the both of them, really. Adam is a great character and his
devotion to Liz comes at the right time. He doesn’t just think about himself,
but he also sees Liz hurting, needing to be a friend when she needs it, and
well, taking Liz’s let down with grace. We sort of knew things with them
wouldn’t amount to much. I’m glad Liz understands that she can’t be with him,
the way he wants because she’s still in love with Max. I know it hurt Adam, and
he was understanding, but I think it shows she’s got the right sense not to use
Adam as a rebound, and that his friendship is more important than a
relationship, that wouldn’t be fair to either of them. The ending to this novel was explosive. And I mean that literally. We see the destruction of the bad guy—DuPris, the realization that the Collective C needs to be stopped, Isabel comes back from the brink of death, but, there were casualties.
I don’t want to ruin the ending, like I said, it’s pretty
good. I don’t even want to hint any further because it definitely gives us a
hint as to what will happen in the final book in the installment. So, I will
leave this post here. I’d rather leave things unsaid, stopping short than
giving anything more away and ruining it.
I cannot wait to dive into Book Ten (the Final book in the
series) The Salvation. It all sort of comes down to this. I’ve got a few hopes.
One, of course being Liz and Max getting back together. Two, the destruction of
the Collective C. Three. I honestly wanted the aliens to go home, as I sort of
did in the show, but then, the more I got pulled into their lives, the more I
prayed it didn’t happen, so, I really hope they don’t go home. Alright, that’s all I’ve got, there are so many things that could happen in the next book. I can’t even begin to guess on everything. So, until next time...
