Last Light (The Restoration Series Book 1)

The storyline resonated with me and made me think about what I would do in such a situation. I have give this book to more than 10 people and all have enjoyed the first book in the series. Don't stop reading after the first book in this series complete the set.

Very good book. Caught me right from the beginning. If you liked the "Left Behind" series...you will like this one also. I read mine on Kindle but purchased it for my son to read in his truck. Liked the characters, liked the storyline, liked everything. Can't wait to start reading the next one.

Interesting fiction - but could happen! We should be prepared - spiritually and physically! The kids were spoiled - but actually, I guess we all are. Technology has made our lives easy and it was enlightening to see how we might have to improvise if we lost it all.

This is a really captivating and engrossing storyline with twists and turns and some predictability but it is overshadowed by the enormity of the basis of the Novel which is that the world as we know it is no longer as we know it. Familiar but not, who can you trust, how will you survive, who will you turn to in times of trouble? You can see my entire review at: [...]

Terri Blackstock has written a thought provoking book. In our first world comforts, we take so much for granted. I read "Last Light" unable to put it down, it was so riveting. Her development of the characters having to face monumental changes no one would expect in America provides food for thought on trusting God for our daily needs. Excellent book. Looking forward to the reading the others in the series.

I really wanted to like this book. The author does very well crafting with words. She could be a really excellent writer. I think she did a fairly good job of highlighting the importance of faith in a stressful situation. It IS most certainly only the Lord that will help us survive if things ever become this desperate. Yes we are reading a fictional story about a catastrophic event. However, she has crafted a story with so little plausibility on so many levels it is an affront to your intelligence. The ridiculous incidents she relates greatly distract from what should be a very interesting story. On the other hand if there are many folks out there who are truly as foolish as the characters in this book in survival situations the rest of us should have a very easy time finding their supplies after they have quickly died from the effects of their own stupidity. For instance, about a month after "the event" the family realizes they are running out of food and are at a loss to know how to fill that need. They are on survival rations, must daily haul water from quite some distance to filter and boil for drinking, and they must cut wood for cooking, even though they have had little food and so obviously physically are weakening. Their days should by this time be totally filled with just the hard work of providing for their basic needs. Yet instead they are going to expend their precious energy by going to get their dead useless SUV and push it through the hills of Birmingham, 4 miles at that, to bring it back home. And the temperature is in the 90's. Really? Let us hope there is no one that stupid! Then there is the story about the father, who was grossly out of shape before the event and is now weakened with hunger yet riding a bike to chase down and rescue his daughter. And he makes it from Birmingham to Atlanta in 24 hours. With no food. Really? The daughter and the thug she is travelling with have been able to travel by wagon 80 miles in one day. Never mind that their path is littered with stalled cars they have to push out of the way. Really? Wow. And to think those pioneers travelling across the plains on level ground could only do 20 on a really excellent day. If it were only one or two implausible bits they could perhaps be overlooked. Unfortunately the book is so packed with these annoyingly foolish things that I just wanted to toss the book across the room in frustration. It's really sad. I hope the author will learn over time to give more time and attention to that difficult element of striving to make her story more believable. I do think she could be excellent.

I'll start with the good - very interesting premise and great character development. Unfortunately, the sermonizing/judgmental tone of the book became grating...especially toward the end. I knew it was a Christian book going in and I am a Christian but I think more could have been accomplished with more story - less sermon. But not a bad read.

The sudden unexplained failing of all electronic technology (we assume throughout the world, but that was never confirmed) pits neighbor against neighbor in the desperate search for life-sustaining resources. Muggings for bicycles and battles in Walmart show the ugly side of human nature. Some characters react realistically, but others are overdrawn stereotypes. The daughter Deni is the prime example. She's a Georgetown University grad, but she behaves like a spoiled 13-year-old when she can't get her flat iron to work, and she pouts that her fiancé, who is stranded in DC 700 miles away, hasn't come to rescue her. In a closing scene she doesn't even know if the sun rises in the east or the west. A Georgetown grad? She devalued the book for me. Other obvious plot lines get dropped with no development. Despite flawed characterizations and inconsistencies in the plot, the premise is thought-provoking. To share or to snatch and hoard? Which kind of neighbor would you be?

I gotta say, Terri Blackstock is quickly becoming my favorite author with each new book that I read. I have read quite a few, and this one is excellent. I couldn't put it down, stayed up late to finish, if you like suspense, you will like this. Also, its great for giving you pause for thought about your own spirituality. As a christian, I am finding the christian suspense genre to be a wonderful reading category on dual layers. Get the book, it will be worth it.

Exciting series. The recent Cruise incident in the news (FEB 2013) is just a small example of what takes place all over the world in this series. Shows how some people can handle a bad situation and survive all odds. Amazing! Great seller, and quality was perfect.

Very interesting ideas...good series for a Christian reader. How would we really all react to losing electricity in our world today? Don't think about how we could rig up something else...the point is how would this generation/this society respond to learning to get back to the basics? Things we never think about are brought into question in this series, with an entertaining fictional family story as the backdrop.

I guess I should have read these reviews before I bought this book. I really enjoyed the book UNTIL she got into the religious Christian preaching. I am not Christian and really don't like it pushed down my throat. I read for entertainment and relaxation. This book would have been great and gotten a 5 star if she had kept religious beliefs out of it. The story line was good and something that people could relate to in this crazy world and it could have really worked just as well, if not better if it she kept the Christian preachings generic referring to god instead of Jesus. I guess this will be the first AND last Terri Blackstock book I read. Perhaps the description should have said more about the religious aspect of her books.

My review title says it all: Excellent plot, good start, dragged middle, lame ending. I am glad that I did not pay anything to read this book. If it was, I would be unhappier! The book builds a situation that none of living in the 21st century think will ever come to pass. The opening and the build-up is very strong and keeps the pages turning. By the time the characters are introduced, and the rigmarole of what they have to go through is explained, it is very immersing to an almost heart-wrenching extent; so much so that when I took a break from reading, I was almost thankful to realize all my amenities and gizmos were functional! That's the hallmark of a very well written story. However once you cross the middle point in the story, the long drawn and almost sermonizing pages begin. The author's choice of making the last 1/3rd of the book a theological sermonizing tome was a totally unwarranted and put me off ... almost like coitus interruptus! That should explain the 2 stars ... Though the same author has other novels on similar situational plot lines, I dont think I am going to read them even if they are free!

SPOILER ALERT AHEAD: If this book was all about the character Deni coming around as an individual after hiking off with a killer, finding God providing for her on her way back home, killing Vic and living the emotional aftermath, or to state that Doug's Bible-guided ways always worked, it could have been done in many different ways. The entire blackout situation that was so well built up didn't have to be wasted. It almost feels like bringing a armored tank to a pistol fight and then rolling the "Bang" curled flag ...

This series is EXCELLENT. It really makes you think. Right from the start it gets your attention. Couldn't wait to read the next and the next. The 4th book seems at first to be too much like the other 3 but it does surprise you when what usually happens doesn't. Great reading.

An eye opener on surviving life if major catastrophe comes along. What really matters to you? What are YOU really made of? What is your eternal perspective? Are you shallow or does your character have any substance?

The premise of the novel allows for some interesting consideration of the priorities we have in life. God, in an instant, causes everything that depends on power and micro-chips to fail. Without cars, electricity, or any modern appliances, people are far worse off than 120 years ago because they don't have the tools, knowledge, or experience to live off the land. It brings out the worst traits of most people, and eventually, the best in some.

Overall, I liked the novel. I did find the individual traits of most of the characters to be too exagerated, which made the challenges and situations they would face a little predictable.

I was a little apprehensive when I read that this book was a Christian book since I really like suspense but the mixture of suspense and the great message portrayed in this book has me hooked on this author and storyline. It really made me think what our world would be like without the "necessities" we have grown so accusomted to. What would we do without electricity, water and even transportation? I can't wait to read the next book in this series but I do warn you...this book was free but the rest of her books are $9.99 but as much as I like free books, I like the way this book made me feel much more. I was more thankful for the gifts that God has blessed me with even more than I was before. I could make a list of people I know who would benefit from reading his book! I'll gladly pay the $9.99 for the other books in this series and hope you do to!

Even though the world didn't end, life as everyone knew it - did. Last Light is the first of a four part series about life after all the frills are gone. No electricity, no cars, no transportation other than bikes and the old time cars. No grocery stores, electricity, running water, stores. . . you get the picture. Back to hard work . . . growing your own food, bartering for things you don't have, sharing with others because it's the right thing to do. And as in the world today, lots of the good, the bad and the really ugly. After the first book, I read all three of the others and even though I knew how it would end, I enjoyed the story.

I loved this book. The author made you feel like you were right there. You could not put down the book. I could just feel the red rain and see the monster, so vivid. You had to keep reading so you could fine out what would happen next. I have to buy the next book so I can see how the story plays out is the series.

Last Light (Restoration Novel, A) is a great read. Although it is rather lengthy, the more you read it, the harder it is to put the book down. In fact, I read the entire book in a couple of "sittings". Overall, I found only 2-3 grammar spelling issues. Terri Blackstock did an awesome job writing this book.