Morpheus Road: The Black

MacHale, D. J. (2011). Morpheus Road:The Black. New York: Aladdin/Simon & Schuster. Best friends Marsh and Cooper have a falling out over something silly, and Cooper heads to his family's cabin on the lake. While he is there, staring at the stars in the dark, he dies after a boat plows into his small craft. Coop doesn't go straight to Heaven or Hell, though, but somehow exists in a world that hovers on the edge of both, and he is able to live in what is known as "the black" where dead folks spend time atoning for the mistakes they made when they were on Earth. Coop meets his grandfather and a troubled girl with a fiery past as he tries to find his way through this new world. He also can return to the world of the living although communicating with them is not so easy. Somewhat oddly enough, what follows is a fast-paced battle against evil and a most-unsympathetic villain who has been waiting for a chance to seize control of the world. Is Coop the only one that stands in his way? Male readers will relish the fighting scenes and bloody battles, complete with soldiers from many of the wars that have been fought since the beginning of time. Because this book is told from Coop's point of view, it will be helpful to read the first title, Morpheus Road: The White before starting this one.

Although in the beginning I was not particularly enamored with Coop due to his cavalier attitude toward others and his arrogance about himself, I can see how this sort of character would appeal to many readers who might find themselves living vicariously through his adventures and antics. I grew tired of all the fighting scenes and dishonesty on the part of Damon near the end of the book. I wanted to see more depth to him as well as many of the other characters, who seemed rather one-dimensional.
Favorite Lines:

"I'm not naive to think that just because you're an adult you can do no wrong. The older you get the more you realize that the people you idolized as a kid are as human as everybody else. But finding out that the wonderful wizard with all the answers is nothing more than a befuddled man hiding behind a curtain isn't easy to accept" (p. 294).