The Black

The Black
by D. J. MacHale
Morpheus Road, book two

Cooper Foley always had a knack for finding trouble, but nothing he’s ever experienced could have prepared him for his latest adventure: He has landed square in the middle of a border war between the worlds of the living and the dead.

At the end of The Light, Book One of the Morpheus Road trilogy, Marshall Seaver learned the truth about what happened to his missing best friend, Cooper. Now, the mystery continues to unfold, only this time through Cooper’s eyes.

What did Marshall’s terrifying encounters with Gravedigger have to do with spirits from another existence? Who is Damon, and what role did he play in Cooper’s dilemma? Most importantly, what is the mysterious Morpheus Road? (description taken from the author's website)

When I got The Light to review for SLJ, I was not that excited. Horror isn't normally my thing. I was pleasantly surprised, though, and even though there were some gruesome moments, I ended up really liking it. So, when I got The Black to review, I was happy to be able to continue the story.

I was really excited when I realized that this second book was from Marsh's friend, Cooper's point of view. While the first book took place in our reality, the Light, and Marsh was haunted, the second book takes place in the second stage of the Morpheus Road, the Black.

MacHale has created an interesting new world with different stages of life and the afterlife. The Black is sort of like purgatory and is different for each person. I loved seeing how different spirits' visions of the Black touched and interacted. It was really cool to see how Cooper's relatives and neighbors were able to coexist without generational differences in the Black.

While the first book was super creepy, partially since Marsh made such a great victim, this second book delved more deeply into the actual world and even though it had creepy moments, it was more thoughtprovoking and definitely sets things up for a grand finale in the third book.

The thing that really cemented for me how much I loved this book was Cooper's voice. He's a really snarky, anti-authority kind of guy, but he's also loyal and caring to a fault. As things heat up for Cooper, he buckles down and does exactly what he thinks is right, even if no one else agrees. I think that the final book goes back to Marsh's voice and I will miss Cooper. (Plus Nick Podehl narrated and though I think it's funny that every D. J. MacHale book I've ever listened to has been narrated by him, he does a great job. He was REALLY good as Cooper)

Full disclosure: Audio book received to review for SLJ