Scott Westerfeld’s Midnighters series begins in The Secret Hour, and it begins with Jessica Day, a reluctant import from Chicago, unhappy with her family’s sudden move to this tiny town, unhappy to be all alone in such a strange place. Bixby is even stranger than Jessica realises, though, and she has walked into a war that has gone on for millennia.

That’s why the blue time was created, Rex said. A few thousand years ago, when the darklings were being pushed into the deepest forest by steel weapons and fire, they created it as a sanctuary for themselves…the lore says that they took one hour from the day and collapsed it down to an instant so that human beings couldn’t see it anymore.

This “secret hour” strikes at the heart of humanity, hiding some of their most dangerous enemies away in darkness and silence. These darklings have survived by being the most cunning of their kind, the most dangerous of their kind, and the most determined of their kind, and humanity has no idea they even exist. Except for a few, a very few, the “midnighters”. Born during this secret hour, at the minute when time folds in on itself, they can roam the streets of Bixby during the blue time and discover talents that are their protection and a temptation to the darkness that hunts those around them.

Westerfeld’s characterisations are, as always, marvellous. Jessica and her friends come alive from their first introduction and, as each joins the story, there is a sense of puzzle pieces coming together and of the intricate backstory that Westerfeld provides surging to life. The stories and powers that each of the midnighters carry with them make them a team of sorts, although a reluctant one. Ray, the seer, seeking knowledge out to keep them safe, reading runes left behind and weathered by time and conflict. Des, warrior and mathematician, enriching their weapons with power. Jonathan, the acrobat, the one with the power to leap across the town. And Melissa, Melissa can hear everything that goes on, thoughts and feelings both, overwhelming and loud. But Jessica, no one can figure out Jessica, except that she has frightened the darklings into a show of force that threatens all of Bixby.  Jessica, lonely though she may feel on her arrival, is not alone, and whether she is willing or not, she will become a part of humanity’s fight against the darklings and a warrior during this secret hour.

Bookmark to