Scan barcode
language_loving_amateur's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Murder, Child death, Violence, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Homophobia, Mental illness, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Torture, Addiction, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Islamophobia, Suicide, Gun violence, and Religious bigotry
candiecane333's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Loved this book! Great characters, twists, turns & intrigue with an interesting & new setting. I did think this could've been shorter, the middle dragged a bit & there were too many red herrings but overall I was interested enough to make it to the end
lhart2222's review against another edition
3.0
Three young men are mobbed through the streets being beaten and bashed in a public display. They are allegedly thieves and the community wants to make an example of them. With hundreds watching on, the three are burnt in the town centre with video evidence to back it all up. They are known as the Okriki Three.
One of the boy's dads is adamant his son had done no wrong. He calls on Dr Philip Taiwo, an investigative psychologist to prove his son was innocent and the victim of brutal mob mentality. Things aren’t as easy as they seem, with the town still reeling, the locals want this buried but Philip wants the truth.
Set in Nigeria it was really nice to immerse into a new town and culture. The author did a tremendous job of setting the atmosphere, not only of the place but the people as well. Especially unique because of the feelings surrounding the town in question due to the crime being investigated.
Written well, however, I personally had a few issues fully immersing myself in the story. Maybe it was a lack of concentration, but at times it felt that small parts were missing. Jumping between places and conclusions a little too sharply.
Having the basics of a typical crime novel. This is where the familiarity ends, branching away from the norm and having us know who, but not why. Using different elements to expand the story, with the characters and motives being separated from others in the genre.
At times I did find the story to drag or lead the reader down a long path only for the ending to be subpar. The end of the book was nice, but once again it felt a bit rushed and no outstanding reason was given as to why things happened. Leaving a few loose ends flapping in the wind.
The ensemble of characters in this book are great. All with a place and purpose the author really excelled in this area. From the good to the bad, not much went wrong. The only flaws I could have would be with two characters, the main protagonist and the main antagonist.
Overall the Light Seekers was a good book. A Little slow and hard to follow at points it was let down by its over complicated ending and villains. Atmospheric and enjoyable a few tweaks and it would have been higher rated.
One of the boy's dads is adamant his son had done no wrong. He calls on Dr Philip Taiwo, an investigative psychologist to prove his son was innocent and the victim of brutal mob mentality. Things aren’t as easy as they seem, with the town still reeling, the locals want this buried but Philip wants the truth.
Set in Nigeria it was really nice to immerse into a new town and culture. The author did a tremendous job of setting the atmosphere, not only of the place but the people as well. Especially unique because of the feelings surrounding the town in question due to the crime being investigated.
Written well, however, I personally had a few issues fully immersing myself in the story. Maybe it was a lack of concentration, but at times it felt that small parts were missing. Jumping between places and conclusions a little too sharply.
Having the basics of a typical crime novel. This is where the familiarity ends, branching away from the norm and having us know who, but not why. Using different elements to expand the story, with the characters and motives being separated from others in the genre.
At times I did find the story to drag or lead the reader down a long path only for the ending to be subpar. The end of the book was nice, but once again it felt a bit rushed and no outstanding reason was given as to why things happened. Leaving a few loose ends flapping in the wind.
The ensemble of characters in this book are great. All with a place and purpose the author really excelled in this area. From the good to the bad, not much went wrong. The only flaws I could have would be with two characters, the main protagonist and the main antagonist.
Overall the Light Seekers was a good book. A Little slow and hard to follow at points it was let down by its over complicated ending and villains. Atmospheric and enjoyable a few tweaks and it would have been higher rated.
revisorium's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
4.5
I've never read anything by a Nigerian author nor anything set in Nigeria, so this was both superbly interesting in its representation of the culture and the overall storyline. Kayode notes at the back that he wanted to be able to celebrate his country as well as highlight the problems, and I think lightseekers achieved just that. The crime is rooted in cultural politics, religious conflicts started decades ago by colonisation and the west weaponising Nigerians against each other. Dr. Taiwo was an interesting character and a great device to view Nigeria through, being someone who was educated in the states.
I've never read anything by a Nigerian author nor anything set in Nigeria, so this was both superbly interesting in its representation of the culture and the overall storyline. Kayode notes at the back that he wanted to be able to celebrate his country as well as highlight the problems, and I think lightseekers achieved just that. The crime is rooted in cultural politics, religious conflicts started decades ago by colonisation and the west weaponising Nigerians against each other. Dr. Taiwo was an interesting character and a great device to view Nigeria through, being someone who was educated in the states.
vinetomato's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
waverly's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
mischief_in_the_library's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
Maybe this book wasn't for me - I found the plot a bit confusing and wasn't able to follow all of the details. The short chapters interspersed from a different POV didn't really make sense to me, and even when it was revealed who it was didn't feel like it tied into the plot well. But I did feel like perhaps I was missing something.