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The usual rubbish cover (where are Maria and Kyle?) does its best to put off potential buyers, but what's the second post-TV series Roswell novel like on the inside? Written by the author of A New Beginning, it's no surprise to find Nightscape picking up soon after the first novel left off. On the road after leaving Stonewall, the Pod Squad have clocked up some serious mileage over the last few days, so they're surprised to find the Special Unit's SUV following their VW. There's no White Room style interrogation in store for our heroes, as they manage to thwart this immediate threat, only to find the van's playing up. Fortunately, they're close to an apparently abandoned mansion in which to spend the night. Weirdly, driving towards the house the van seems fine, but any attempt to drive away from it causes the engine to splutter and die. Unfortunately, it turns out to be the location of Liz's latest premonitions, which involves Maria falling over a balcony while fleeing from a monster. Will Liz's premonition come true? Well, obviously not, since we know from the TV series finale that all six teenagers make it to Max and Liz's wedding at least. Initially there's no sign of a monster. The house is certainly deserted, but there are signs of recently occupancy, and Maria's insistence that these occupants are ghosts is pretty much allowed to stand. Her "How can you say there are no ghosts when three years ago you would have said the same about aliens?" argument pretty much wins the day and makes a group of normally intelligent teenagers seem too much like a bunch of silly kids. This is a shame as the highway confrontation with the Special Unit was very much in character as Max strives to avoid using his powers directly against the agents, even though the Special Unit would have no such qualms against him and his friends. Mercifully it turns out that neither ghosts nor monsters are involved, but the return of an old enemy. I found this a little disappointing, particularly as these things are invariably subject to the law of diminishing returns. The author leaves things open for a possible return appearance, which isn't something I'm desperate to see, even though I thought the character was great on television. Nightscape is another reasonable Roswell novel, but it's a long way from being great. The characters' apparent belief in ghosts didn't really seem in character and it didn't really convince me either. It's also pretty slim at just 194 pages, and seems aimed at a readership a few years younger than the main characters, which means that it's all a bit lightweight. back to the top |
NIGHTSCAPE |
