Book Review: Night Wars by Graham Masterton (2006)

The Night Warrior army continues to battle the forces of evil in Masterton's latest adventure, Night Wars. It brings together familiar internal conflicts of the recruited army of Ashapola and new, unfamiliar characters who are easy to side with.

One doesn't need to read the preceding three novels on the Night Warriors stories. Masterton caters for old and new readers alike. As a voracious Masterton reader, I didn't find the repetition disturbing, although I was surprised there was no charge keeper. In earlier stories, the charge keeper was a store of energy that the Night Warriors recharged from. In Night Wars, there's a 'one charge for all'. It took away the reliance of a main protagonist.

I found all of the main characters appealing, although the enigmatic Springer didn't have the same feel as his earlier novels. The characters are naturally flawed with human problems and easy to side with but weren't as memorable as some of his earlier Night Warrior novels.

Night Wars was found in the horror section. I'm not a fan of the cover art or the blurbs as they intimated the book is a horror. It isn't, and for this, I was disappointed. Masterton has matured in writing adventure novels but it lacked the viscera I so dearly enjoy as a horror reader. I can't blame the author for this fundamental collapse of categorisation.

The prose is near perfect and fantastic to read, although the story moved slowly. I caught the feeling that Masterton enjoyed writing it, although there were times I had to re-read interactions as I lost track who was saying what. One could suggest there were too many characters in the novel, and I didn't care much for one of the characters when they died. I would have preferred less.

Night Wars is an escape into a fantasy world ruled by dream heroes. The crux of the novel is that a group of Night Warriors have to stop the High Horse and the Winterwent from stealing a baby's first dream. If these two bad guys succeed, it would tear the universe apart, as they would gain every answer to every question known. Having babies understanding the secrets of the universe isn't an original idea, and reminded me of the movie Baby Geniuses.

Masterton has an uncanny ability to place a reader into an actual situation, to be able to roll their eyes around and experience what his characters are experiencing. Night Wars is no different to many of his other books in this respect, and for this, it earns 4 out of 5 skull ratings. The first chapter set the scene well and the novel flowed. The pace was slow, but it was a luxury read.

On some level, we all want to be somebody we are not or have 'special powers' that separate us from the rest of humanity. Superheroes have this appeal, as do the Night Warriors. Their special skills make us want to be a physical part of what's happening in our own imagination, and Masterton casually allows a reader to play with his characters, to allow them to emerge from situations that other authors would have skimmed over. I didn't mind the pace slowing down at fights so I could understand what dream weapons were used, and how.

Night Wars is a lavishly styled novel that breathes maturity over previous Night Warrior adventures. Despite a few recent reviews I have read, I liked the ending to Night Wars. It showed that the characters had evolved from when I first met them because of their experience. It made the immature, mature; gave the insecure security and to the lonely, a partner. Like every war, there are casualties. I didn't want to lose the character known as Dunc.

Look out for idle references that make you giggle or roll your eyes. Even Paris Hilton and Dean Koontz get a sly mention!

RATING: 4 OUT OF 5

If you are interested in learning more about Graham Masterton, please visit his website at www.grahammasterton.co.uk. Like this review? Please give me your comments in my guestbook!