Nightscape (Roswell) [Mass Market Paperback]

Kevin Ryan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2003

When Liz has a vision of Maria being chased in an old house, the van in which she and her friends are traveling suddenly breaks down in front of a similar place, making them wonder about their destinies after leaving Roswell.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689855214
• ISBN-13: 978-0689855214
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #302,202 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent suspense/mystery story w/great characterization!, July 6, 2003

By 

Captain Hornblower "captainhornblower" (Orlando, Florida USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nightscape (Roswell) (Mass Market Paperback)

This was the second of two new Roswell novels written by author Kevin Ryan. The first of the two was "A New Beginning", which was not that great a book. Well, "Nightscape" is the complete opposite in terms of quality compared to the first book. I actually sat down and read the whole book in four and a half hours. I couldn't put it down it was so good.

Unlike the last book, the author gets to the main action and interest of the story fairly quickly. After having an encounter with the Special Unit while traveling through Washington state, the group drives down a deserted logging road and finds a spooky old manshion to hide in for the night. During their stay, things happen to convince them they are not alone in the house, and the group end up encountering an evil from their past.

The plot of this book is a great mixture of character exploration and suspense. I'll start by analyzing the character development:

Max is really shown as being tired of having to take the lead all the time in this book, taking the time for the group to vote on even small decisions. He is determined to protect his friends, sister, and the girl he loves, but finds failure in his past efforts to do so, and wants to make up for it in the present. Liz is also exploring her powers more, and how they may be used to help Max and her friends.

Michael and Maria are really explored well in this book. Michael is shown as having felt freer than ever before. Now, he has firmly concluded that Maria is his future. Just as this happens, Maria is deliberately pushing Michael away. But, the reason she is doing so is logical. She knows about Liz's premonitions about how Max, Michael, and Isabel, all die in the future during some alien attack. She is afraid to let Michael get close to her again because she is afraid of the pain she would feel in losing him.

Isabel is really shown to be at a crossroads. She is stepping into a new life, but is looking back at the one she is leaving behind. She spends a lot of thought on how Alex's death has affected her, and how it may relate to her marriage to Jesse that she has given up. The events of this story allow her a chance to explore some of her emotional baggage and confront some of the feelings she has been suppressing for a long time, since Alex's death. Kyle doesn't get much play in this book, but he is shown as wanting to be closer to Isabel, and risking his life to save her from a powerful enemy.

Now, for the plot. This is really a suspense/mystery novel. It almost reminds me of a classic haunted house story, but with a twist regarding who is shown to be behind some of the spookiness of the house. The atmosphere of the old house they end up in has a sense of otherwordly presence, but one that is rather sophisticated, not relying on chains rattling and moans in the night. Isabel also connects with the unseen forces she thinks are may be at work in the house in ways that really draw out her emotions and aid in her exploration of her past, especially her loos of Alex.

As they explore the house, I was really interested in just why certain things are the way they are in the house. The reader continues to be drawn into the spooky and mysterious atmosphere, and can't wait to read on to see what the answer to all of it is. Then, in an action packed climax of the book, the group is in an all out battle for their lives against an evil foe who has occupied the house. All extremely well carried out by Kevin Ryan in his story.

There are also some funny moments along the way, such as when Max and Michael chase away some Special Unit guys who try to capture them before they even get to the old mansion. Plus, I am convinced Kevin Ryan must be an Andy Griffith fan. In the last book, he had a mechanic named Gomer. In this book, the group runs into a Sheriff named Taylor. All that was missing was a deputy named Barney and a little boy named Opie.

I highly recommend reading "Nightscape". It was trully an excellent book. Just give yourself a few hours, though, when you pick it up. Once you do, you are not going to want to put it down.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best roswell book, September 24, 2004

By 

Karla (ny, ny usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nightscape (Roswell) (Mass Market Paperback)

i dont like reviews that mess up the story for readers so i just want to start off saying im not telling you anything to spoil the book.
ok, so ive never read any of the roswell high books but i love the tv show and have read 6 of the 11 books that came out during and after the tv series finale. i have to say that this is the best one i have read so far. not olny was it suspenseful and just as funny as all hell as it was scary (seriously) but it was incredibly well written. i only have two little things about the story that bothered me which were the over explinations of two or three scences (if you explain a joke it just isn't funny anymore and ryan messed up a joke or two by doing this) also the way maria was acting when michael was being so uncharictaristiclly sweet and caring urked me (i could have thrown the book at her she got me so upset), but i digress, anyhow it was so good i couldn't put it down i read it within a few hours. even if you dont know the rowell story this is a good book just becuse it is so well explained and written, but if you do know the story and characters this book is sooooooooo great because the little plot twists and turns were incredible and unexpected that you get pulled into the story you already love so much. the ending was sooo hot too i cant even tell you how i had a smile a mile wide for that one perfect ending to everyones story (michael&maria, max&liz, and then the group as a whole). oh and don't mind the back cover it may sound scooby dooish but trust me it's anything but. i would recommend this book to any and everyone because it has just the right amount of everything that makes a good story. you dont expect anything that happens in the story to happen i litterally shed a tear at some points, i was cracking up through one of the special unit scence especially (michael and max were too funny) and was in complete suspence through out the whole story. what else can i say it was plainly a good read and its one of those books that you can read 10 times and it's like you just read it for the first time. two thumbs up to kevin ryan for this one.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A much better effort., June 20, 2004

By 

M. D. Dawson (Gordon, ACT Australia) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Nightscape (Roswell) (Mass Market Paperback)

Nightscape is a much better effort by Kevin Ryan (and his editors) after the rather poor 'A New Beginning'.

Once again this is no literary masterpiece and if that were the sole criteria, I would have only given it one star. However as an extension of the Roswell TV series I have given it 4 stars as it fills that role well.

As other reviewers have said, it is a good suspense story with a rather surprising twist. Often these twists are broadcast or are so obvious that they lack the element of surprise. This one surely didn't and I was taken aback when it was revealed.

This book is a must for Roswell fans.