"I can't see!" he gasped. "It's pitch black.'" "Really?" I said, eager to punish him for fouling things up with the Kulashkas. "I can see fine. How about you, Harkat?"
"Perfectly," Harkat murmured. "I wish I had … sunglasses, it's so bright."
"My eyes!" Spits howled. "I'm blind!"

A Harket and Darren whirlwind adventure I've been waiting for! 

Spoilers beyond this point 👉 

So was this a little tedious in a few places, yes, but overall I got everything I wanted from this highly anticipated storyline! I was wondering how far into the writing process did the author know who Harkat was but the freaking anagram bit I was not expecting at all! It was planned all along!
And with Harket being only second to Vancha of my favorite characters this felt satisfying to me. 


Quotable Quotations 🗣 📢 

"It is too easy to say 'what if' and paint a picture of a perfect world."

"If you follow Harkat, you might never return. Think seriously about this. If you go with Harkat and die, you won't be here to face Steve Leonard when the time comes, and your absence might have terrible repercussions for vampires everywhere. Is your short, grey-skinned friend worth such an enormous risk?"
I didn't have to think twice about that. "Yes," I answered simply, and stepped through into unnatural, otherworldly greyness."

"If he comes in the dark, then it's KYAG Time!"

"Time is like a jigsaw puzzle," she said. "Imagine a giant box full of billions of pieces of millions of puzzles — that is the future. Beside it lies a huge board, partially filled with bits of the overall puzzle — that is the past. Those in the present reach blindly into the box of the future every time they have a decision to make, draw a piece of the puzzle out and slot it into place on the board. Once a piece has been added, it influences the final shape and design of the puzzle, and it's useless trying to fathom what the puzzle would have looked like if a different piece had been picked.
What you're saying is that there's no point worrying about the past, because we can't change it?"
"Basically," she nodded, then leant over, one green eye shining brightly, one brown eye gleaming dully. "A mortal can drive himself mad thinking about the nature of the universal puzzle. Concern yourself only with the problems of the present and you will get along fine."

"Harkat delayed for another frustrating moment, then nodded gruffly. "OK. But if they kill us on...our way out, I'll never speak...to you again."

"If you were a girl... I'd kiss you!"

"The death of somebody you love is the second worst thing in world," Truska said softly. "Worst thing is letting it hurt you so much that you die too — inside. Larten's dead and I am sad for him, but if you go on as you are being, I will be sadder for you, because you will be dead too, even though your body lives."
"I can't help it," I sighed. "He was like a father to me, but I didn't cry when he died. I still haven't. I can't."
Truska studied me silently, then nodded. "It hard to live with sadness if you can't get it out with tears."
I stopped, realizing what Truska wanted me to see. My eyes didn't just look sad — they were completely empty of life and hope. Even Mr Crepsley's eyes, as he died, hadn't looked that lost. I knew now what Truska meant when she said the living could be dead too.
"Larten not want this," she murmured in my ear as I stared at the hollow eyes in the mirror. "He love life. He want you to love it too. What would he say if he saw this alive-but-dead gaze that will get worse if you not stop?"
"He...he..." I gulped deeply.
"Empty is no good," Truska said. "You must fill eyes, if not with joy, then with sadness and pain. Even hate is better than empty."

"Victims wait for others to fight on their behalf," Alice said roughly. "Those who don't want to be victims fight for themselves."

Spoiler alert!!



















This was quite the adventure. 

It makes sense but never would I ever have guessed that Harkat and Kurda are the same person!

What I also noticed - but to be fair, it has been noticeable for some books now - is the writing. 
The writing changes with Darren, goes from more childish to more mature. Maybe it's just the other or maybe it was a choice, a good one though. 

This was tense and I was cheering for Darren and Harkat all the way. Now it's only two more books in this adventure and while I am anticipating it, I also am afraid. I don't want it to end.
I also still can't comprehend that Larten is dead BUT I found out that there is another book series... ABOUT MY BELOVED CREPSLEY. 
We'll see in the future, if I am able to obtain it.

Regular Re-read