Peter M. Last

THOUGHTS…

After a terrific first book and an underwhelming second, Harold Myra had a chance to bring his series to a conclusion with a bang. He does not succeed in this endeavor. Morning Child begins on the right foot, introducing the most compelling character of the series, a downtrodden member of society who is anathema and intimately aware of how worthless she is. Her world view and cultural backstory provide the basis for a fascinating ride full of suspense and intrigue when it is allowed to shine. Unfortunately, more of the book is devoted to the other main character, a cookie cutter protagonist whose story is predictable and underwhelming. When their storylines intertwine, things get interesting for a few chapters. Then they are bogged down with childishly simple politics and “love stories.” An important character is killed off for no apparent reason (it does not advance the story or character arcs in any way), which is just as well since the plot does not rely on the characters anyway. They are just along for the ride as the apocalypse closes in and the book suddenly wraps up in a jarringly quick and thoroughly predictable manner. And then Mr. Myra’s series is over, leaving the bad taste of incompletion. Though I found some parts of this book to be enjoyable, it is mostly predictable, slow, and boring. If you’ve read Children in the Night (the first book in the series) and want more of the world, do yourself a favor and read it again. Twice. That will ultimately be better than investing time in the other two books of this series.