Michael Grant

Michael Grant's Messenger of Fear is a haunting narrative that examines the nature of good and evil in every human. Fans of Michelle Hodkin's Mara Dyer trilogy and Stephen King will love this satisfyingly twisted series. Mara Todd wakes in a field of dead grass, a heavy mist pressing down on her. She is terrified, afraid that she is dead. She can't remember who she is or anything about her past. Is it because of the boy who appears? He calls himself the Messenger of Fear. If the world does not bring justice to those who do evil, the Messenger will. He offers the wicked a game. If they win, they go free. If they lose, they will live their greatest fear. Either way, their sanity will be challenged. It is a world of fair but harsh justice. Of retribution and redemption. And mystery. Why was Mara chosen to be the Messenger's apprentice? What has she done to deserve this terrible fate? She won't find out until three of the wicked receive justice. And when she does, she will be shattered.

Messenger of Fear

Hala

Dina 

Melissa Palmer

Book #141 Read in 2015
Messenger of Fear by Michael Grant

This is the first book in a young adult fantasy series. Mara is with a young man who is seemingly the Messenger of Fear. He judges people who have done wrong and if they play his game and lose, he rains a horrible punishment down upon them. Mara is apparently in training as a future Messenger of Fear. This book has some violent parts to it but it is an engaging read that will hook both high school students (girls and boys) and adults alike.

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Jamieson

This book probably deserves more of a 2.5 stars but the last kind of 50 pages were actually genuinely really interesting which redeemed it a bit I guess.

I was really excited to read this book. I love Michael Grant. I loved his Gone series, and have read it over and over. I flew through the BZRK series and loved it as well. I was really excited to read this, to be able to delve more into Michael Grant's writing which I love so much. I really wanted to like this book, and so it was really disappointing when I found myself ... not liking it. 

This book follows Mara, a girl who wakes up and inexplicably finds herself with no recollection of who/what she is and how she got there. She's accompanied by the 'Messenger of Fear', a mysterious figure who delivers justice to the wicked. The story follows Mara and is interwoven with the stories of other characters, most notably, a girl called Samantha who committed suicide. 

The general plot of the book was okay, interesting even, but it just lacked so much. There wasn't enough world building, there wasn't much driving plot. This book was mostly stagnant, definitely not a page-turner or something you feel you need to get back to. 

This book just didn't hit the mark in so many areas. The whole story is frustratingly confusing, and while this is supposed to reflect the frustrated confusions of Mara, you feel a little cheated as a reader. You're introduced to all these mystical beings and characters and a completely new world but none of it is ever sufficiently explained. 

The end of the book has a twist, but it was, for me, too predictable. I guessed it very, very early on in the book and so that big 'twist' was really anti-climatic. The story is wrapped up briefly in the last 50 or so pages, and it's not wrapped up very well. The loose ends don't really come together and there's alot left unsaid and unanswered. 

The thing that kept me continuing this book despite my incessant need to finish any book I start was the Messenger of Fear as a character. The Messenger Fear, to me, was genuinely compelling and I spent most of the time wanting to know more about him. He seemed an interesting mix between sympathetic and apathetic, and there was a backstory hinted at that I really, really wanted to know about. Unfortunately, like the rest of the plotlines in this book, that all wasn't ever really explained.

Overall, this book was just a little disappointing. It was frustrating because it had a potential to be much better, and it never really got there. There were some good chapters of this book ; anything involving The Messenger's backstory or characterisation was interesting, as was chapters involving the other mini-stories. But some parts of this book were entirely too predictable, there was no rising and falling tension, just a flatline the entire way through, the main character was annoying and unrelatable and too little was left unexplained.

I'm going to read the sequel, because it's Michael Grant and because maybe it'll answer some questions but I'm not going to rush out to read it. I'm so disappointed this book wasn't better.

Christian Huss

"You have done wrong. You must first acknowledge the wrong, and then you must atone." -The Messenger of Fear

Michael Grant has spun a universe in which we catch a glimpse of what occurs behind the scenes of normal mundane life, and thus we enter the world of Messenger of Fear. Mara is a young teenage girl who wakes up in a strange field of dead grass and a living mist surrounding her. She has no memory of who she is, her past, or what she has done to end up in such a place. Out of the mist comes the Messenger of Fear, or simply, the Messenger. He is a pale teenage boy who seems to be more than human, a supernatural being with a dark past and trove of secrets. Mara must take up the role of the Messenger's apprentice and enter a dark realm of the human mind and heart.

Messenger is one of many servants of a strange force, known only as Isthil. He watches over humans and is drawn to the wicked. He must seek out those who have done wrong. The sinners must acknowledge their mistakes and are offered a game. If they win, they are free and can live the rest of their lives in peace, but if they fail, they must live their worst fear, a nightmare that their mind may never recover from. Mara accompanies Messenger throughout the book and watches the lives and mistakes of several individuals, including a young girl who commits suicide (and her jealous tormenter), a murderer and those who pushed him over the edge, and a couple that kills an innocent animal. Mara witnesses the Messenger's powers, his responsibilities and duties, and cannot withstand the agony and torment that he causes. She views him as nothing more than a monster, a being that may possess absolutely no mercy and a creature that destroys future happiness of those who fail to win the game. She refuses to accept Messenger's idea of "justice."

"People are free to make choices, even terrible ones. But when they make bad choices, when they do evil, then it may be that justice, fairly and ruthlessly applied, can show a person a new path. Justice is our cause, not human happiness." -Messenger

Mara must take up the Messenger's mantle one day, but she must first learn to understand who and what he is. He controls her memories and knows that Mara is not ready to regain her past. She must come into her new life slowly and she must comprehend what this life truly entails. Mara slowly learns about the people that are singled out by Messenger and discovers that they are targeted not because of what they've done, but because of their intentions. They allowed events to unfold and yet they could have prevented horrible consequences from ever occurring. These actions upset a balance, a balance that is the center of an ancient battle between right and wrong, good and evil, light and darkness. Messenger must help to keep the balance, he must not allow one side to grow stronger than the other. He cannot abandon his role, he must follow through even when his heart feels the pain that he causes. Mara begins to notice that perhaps Messenger is not the monster she once thought him to be, she sees compassion within his expressionless face and realizes that witnessing his actions upon the wicked is not easy.

"The balance of this world is not upset by accident. It is not upset by those who blunder accidentally into wrong. Evil comes when those who know better, who have seen the pain they cause, nevertheless cause more pain. The drunk driver who has already had near misses and knows that sooner or later he will take a life. The thug who has already seen a victim's blood and goes searching for more. The liar who has already destroyed a life and feels empowered by that ability to destroy. Those are the people who must be confronted. It will become a hunger for them, a need to cause a witness pain. Having done it once and escaped punishment, they will be drawn to it again. Each case had a chance to correct course, to learn and atone and to move on. When they don't...." -Messenger

Mara must soon come to terms with her past. She will learn the legacy of the Messenger of Fear, how the current boy who possesses the role came to enter such a life. She will discover the hundreds of others that walked the same path before her and how such a terrible existence befell them. She will understand the chaos and order that must be controlled. She will soon become the Messenger of Fear.

My thoughts on the book:
I have to say that Michael Grant has gained a new fan. My sister, B, has been reading his books for years and has thoroughly enjoyed his writing. This is the first book of his that I have read and I absolutely loved it! It is great to enter a new world, especially one that entwines both reality and the supernatural. Mara is just a seemingly average girl who is whisked away into a world of darkness. She was definitely an interesting character. Grant wonderfully revealed small parts of her past as the story went on and it was done in an exciting manner. He also strongly portrayed the emotions that Mara felt as she witnessed the pain that the sinners had to withstand. She watched some crumple under the consequences of their actions and she also saw those who were able to prevail, triumph, and change their lives. I felt Mara's emotions and held her disgust for Messenger. However, I also felt sympathy for Messenger because of what he had to endure. I felt as if I understood him in a way that Mara had not yet discovered. This entire book is packed with waves of emotion and empathy!

Grant also formed characters that were believable and complex. He revealed Mara's true self with skill and I felt her agony as she learned about her sins and their consequences. When I learned of Mara's mistake, I truly hated her, but then I felt the remorse, sorrow, despair, and regret that she had originally felt after coming to terms with her actions. She knew that that even if she won the game, it would not be enough to atone, and she wanted to truly make up for what she had done.

I have always found books that bring together a tangible reality and believable supernatural elements to be fascinating. Grant's mix of believable main characters and exhilarating mythology formed a truly exciting realm that seemed as if it could actually exist. Overall, I found this book to be a page-turner and I cannot wait for the next two books in the series!

This review can also be seen at knightingalereviews.blogspot.com
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madie anne 

Grant has an interesting writing style, but the story was a little too predictable.

The first book in the thrilling, chilling new series from no. 1 bestselling author of GONE, Michael Grant. I remembered my name – Mara. But, standing in that ghostly place, faced with the solemn young man in the black coat with silver skulls for buttons, I could recall nothing else about myself. And then the games began. Think you know the meaning of suspense? Think again... The Messenger sees the darkness in young hearts, and the damage it inflicts upon the world. If they go unpunished, he offers the wicked a game. Win, and they can go free. Lose, and they will live out their greatest fear. But what does any of this have to do with Mara? She is about to find out...

Messenger of Fear

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