Last Light (Restoration Series #1) [Hardcover]

Terri Blackstock (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2006

Today, the world as you know it will end. No need to turn off the lights. Your car suddenly stalls and won't restart. You can't call for help because your cell phone is dead. Everyone around you is having the same problem . . . and it's just the tip of the iceberg. Your city is in a blackout. Communication is cut off. Hospital equipment won't operate. And airplanes are falling from the sky. Is it a terrorist attack . . . or something far worse? In the face of a crisis that sweeps an entire high-tech planet back to the age before electricity, your family faces a choice. Will you hoard your possessions to survive---or trust God to provide as you offer your resources and your hearts to others? Yesterday's world is gone. Now all you've got is your family and community. You stand or fall together. Like never before, you must rely on each other. But one of you is a killer. #1 bestselling suspense author Terri Blackstock weaves a masterful what-if novel in which global catastrophe reveals the darkness in human hearts---and lights the way to restoration for a self-centered world. Last Light is the first book in an exciting new series.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The first book in Blackstock's Restoration series literally begins with a bang: airplanes fall out of the sky in the opening paragraphs, at which point the novel's protagonists and readers become swept up in a stunning set of circumstances, the import of which slowly sink in as the novel briskly moves forward. Unlike the deluge of dramatic depictions of the end times, in which Christians disappear and the world reacts, this story focuses on a natural phenomenon-albeit one that most of the characters believe is a message from God-that profoundly alters human society. Blackstock's main characters, the affluent Bannings, who live in suburban Birmingham, Alabama, initially react to this disaster by putting themselves first, for fear that any other strategy would endanger their lives. Soon, however, challenged by the Sermon on the Mount, they begin reaching out generously to neighbors. Their nascent attempts at a communal approach to life will likely be picked up in future novels in this series. Blackstock's subplots are less compelling than her vision of an Electromagnetic Pulse-damaged world; particularly contrived is the story's murder mystery, which plays out predictably. Still, at its best moments, this novel is in league with first-rate adventure fiction and bodes well for the series to come.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

Today, the world as you know it will end. No need to turn off the lights. Your car suddenly stalls and won’t restart. You can’t call for help because your cell phone is dead. Everyone around you is having the same problem . . . and it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Your city is in a blackout. Communication is cut off. Hospital equipment won’t operate. And airplanes are falling from the sky. Is it a terrorist attack . . . or something far worse? In the face of a crisis that sweeps an entire high-tech planet back to the age before electricity, your family faces a choice. Will you hoard your possessions to survive—or trust God to provide as you offer your resources and your hearts to others? Yesterday’s world is gone. Now all you’ve got is your family and community. You stand or fall together. Like never before, you must rely on each other. But one of you is a killer. #1 bestselling suspense author Terri Blackstock weaves a masterful what-if novel in which global catastrophe reveals the darkness in human hearts—and lights the way to restoration for a selfcentered world. Last Light is the first book in an exciting new series. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 579 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press (February 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786283246
• ISBN-13: 978-0786283248
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (144 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,759,874 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Terri Blackstock is a New York Times best-seller, with over six million copies sold worldwide. She has had over twenty-five years of success as a novelist. Terri spent the first twelve years of her life traveling in an Air Force family. She lived in nine states and attended the first four years of school in The Netherlands. Because she was a perpetual "new kid," her imagination became her closest friend. That, she believes, was the biggest factor in her becoming a novelist. She sold her first novel at the age of twenty-five, and has had a successful career ever since.

In 1994 Terri was writing for publishers such as HarperCollins, Harlequin, Dell and Silhouette, when a spiritual awakening drew her into the Christian market. As she was praying about her transition, she went on a cruise and noticed that almost everyone on the boat (including her) had a John Grisham novel. It occurred to her that some of Grisham's readers were Christians, and that if she wrote a fast-paced thriller with an added faith element, she might just find her niche. As God would have it, Christian publishers were showing interest in the suspense genre, so she quickly sold a four-book series to Zondervan. Since that time, she's written over thirty Christian titles, most of them suspense novels.

Besides entertaining her readers, Terri tackles issues that she hopes will change lives. Her recent book, Predator, was inspired by her experiences on Facebook and Twitter, and her concern that people posted too much personal information about themselves. The book deals with an online predator who uses social networks as his playground. She hopes the book will change readers' online habits. Her New York Times best-seller, Intervention, was inspired by her own personal struggles with a daughter on drugs. In the book, a mother hires an interventionist for her drug-addicted daughter. But on the way to treatment, the interventionist is murdered, and the daughter disappears. Barbara, the mother, sets out to search for her daughter. Terri modeled Barbara after herself, and poured many of her own emotions and experiences into that character. As a result, many families experiencing drug addiction have written to thank her for telling their story and giving them hope.

Other recent books include her stand-alone novel Shadow in Serenity, and Vicious Cycle (Book 2 in her Intervention Series). She's also known for popular series such as the Restoration Series, the Cape Refuge Series, the Newpointe 911 Series, and the SunCoast Chronicles series.

Terri has appeared on national television programs such as "The 700 Club" and "Home Life," and has been a guest on numerous radio programs across the country. The story of her personal journey appears in books such as Touched By the Savior by Mike Yorkey, True Stories of Answered Prayer by Mike Nappa, Faces of Faith by John Hanna, and I Saw Him In Your Eyes by Ace Collins.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

277 of 293 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not what I was expecting, July 14, 2006

By 

Graboidz (Westminster, Maryland) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Last Light (Restoration Series #1) (Paperback)

I have to be honest, I had no idea "Last Light" was written by a "Christian Writer" when I bought this book. To be completely honest if I had known this book was written by a "Christian Writer" I don't think I would have purchased it. I would have been worried that instead of a taut Sci-Fi/Thriller that the book's jacket promised, I would be buying a 300+ page sermon. My normal reading fare falls more along the lines of Stephen King, James Rollins or Dean Koontz, which if they feature a character strong in faith, it's usually a precursor to the evil they do, and tells the reader they are not to be trusted. So when I got home and found I had bought novel by a "Christian Writer" I wasn't exactly thrilled. I started the book, and got hooked pretty quickly. The idea of living without all of our electric and mechanical conveniences was a pretty cool idea. The characters are pretty well drawn, especially the quick tempered Deni, who like it or not we all can relate to very easily. The pace of the book is quick, and the murder mystery carries the story along nicely. I see other reviews that say they didn't care for the murderer storyline, but liked the rest of the novel. I don't quite understand that, as the murder mystery is easily 1/2 the book if not more. Most of the key action revolves around who the killer may be, and neighborhood's reactions to the killer's presence. I believe Mrs. Blackstock gives an honest portrayal of they way people would react in the circumstances surrounding the catastrophic events that take place in her novel. I didn't plan on liking this novel, and there were a few times I felt the book got too "preachy", but "Last Light" kept me turning pages and coming back for more. And though this seems to be the first book in a series, it's not a cliffhanger. The story stands on it's own without leaving you with unanswered questions that require reading the next book in the series. I will most likely pick up the follow up novel, and recommend this book to fans of suspense novels.

70 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great Blackstock series launched with "Last Light", January 25, 2006

By 

Toby Martin II (aka R. Howe) "rchowe" (Erskine, Minnesota United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Last Light (Restoration Series #1) (Paperback)

Those who have read any of Terri Blackstock's more than two dozen books can attest to the undeniable fact that she is truly an extraordinary writer. Her suspenseful novels meet or exceed the best of this genre; while remaining true to her deeply held Christian faith (her books are always '...lovingly dedicated to the Nazarene'). "LAST LIGHT," the first of four books planned for her current 'Restoration' series, sets an even higher standard, with her challenging theme of our planet being stripped of its electricity, and other forms of power which most of us take for granted. After reading "LAST LIGHT," the only disappointment is having to wait for the remaining books in what promises to be yet another great series! --RON HOWE (a.k.a. Toby Martin II).

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Scared Me, April 29, 2006

By 

K. Thacker "homeschooling mom" (Athens, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Last Light (Restoration Series #1) (Paperback)

I have read most of Blackstock's books and have enjoyed them a great deal. I was very excited when this one came out and started reading it right away. Although the murder mystery part was not as captivating as some of her other novels, I was totally drawn into the Brannings "new" world. It scared me at times just thinking about what could happen and at other times I wondered if that's not what we need to have happen. I loved the book and can't wait for the next one to come out.