Midnighters : Blue Noon - Scott Westerfeld

Scott Westerfeld's bio- and bibliography

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Genre : Young Adults - Fantasy

American publisher : Eos : 8,99$

English publisher : ATOM : 6,99£

Synopsis : Rex was saved from the Darklings, it was a near one, but his encounter with them had some after-effects on him. But thanks to this, he can now understand them, and they're rejoicing about something terrible coming. And the blue time is extending. It doesn't come at Midnight only anymore, it arrives whatever the time of day, and some people find themselves prisoner, because there are some holes through which daylighters can pass without being frozen. Together, the Midnighters will make an important discovery. On Halloween, Midnight will extend on the world for a endless time, and the Darklings will feed on humans. How will they stop them and explain to the world how to protect themselves? But soon Rex and his power of communication with the beasts and Dess with her maths power realise that it won't be the end of the world after all, only a survey. On Halloween night, the blue time will extend all along the 36th parallele and will last 25 hours during which humans won't be frozen, and will be flesh for the Darklings. Only those able to protect themselves will survive, but the Midnighters have a plan...

An extract :
" Rex's voice choked. 'Something's coming' Melissa felt it too and slammed her eyes shut. A taste was thundering toward them across the desert, vast and ancient and bitter, tumbling over itself in a rushing wave. It grew stronger as it advandced, like an avalanche, burying everything in its wake. Then it struck, washing through the gymnasium, sweeping away the puny energies of the pep rally, obliterating the surrounding mind noise of Bixby leaking in through the walls. It consumed everything. Only Melissa's connection with Rex remained, his shock and alarm reverberating through her like the echoes of a gunshot. She opened her eyes and saw what had happened. The blue light, the frozen bodies, a leaping cheerleader hovering suspended in the air. The whole world struck by... Silence. The blue time was here."

What I think : This third volume is by far the best. The characters have different evolutions, and sometimes a bit tragic, but they learn to control their powers and to develop them. This story of Midnight coming at 9 am is quite scaring, I said to myself 'but what's happening? Are they coming?' And tension doesn't stop growing to the end. My favorite character is Dess, short for Desdemona. She is on her own while the other Midnighters go by pairs, couples. And she kind of lives in her bubble, always calculating something... And after all she's the one who understands how theblue time works. I really liked this volume, but I was a little disappointed by the end, because I like stories that end well, and stories that don't end well. As I said before, Scott Westerfeld manages to compromise something in-between, but it's good when you know there's another book coming behind, but here's not the case, and the end is not so good. Now I want to know what will happen to Jessica in the future, and also to the other midnighters...