As the novel opens, the world is falling apart under war, terrorism, and assassinations. It’s all the work of the Black Brotherhood who has been suborning and corrupting the world’s governing elite through magic, blackmail, drugs, sex, and bribery. Under its leader, Lily, it’s looking to crack open the ancient black spheres found in different parts of the world and apocalyptically transform Earth.

Both sides are in contact with extraterrestrial forces – call them gods, space aliens, or beings from another plane.

Deceit and delusion are some of the main themes here, and that was an element I especially liked. The White Brotherhood that rescued series hero Ray, his wife Ellen, and stepson William from Lily’s clutches in the first novel, Blackwater Lights, is corrupted and almost destroyed in an attack on their hidden base at the beginning of this novel.

Ray has been training to develop his powers as a “traveler”, sort of an adept at astral projection and mentally contacting otherworldly entities. It’s the same talent that caused his uncle to turn him over to an MKULTRA mind control experiment when he was a teenager and why Lily wants him for the Black Brotherhood.

Ray and the survivors of the attack go on a mission to rescue Ellen and William who, at the end of Witch Lights, ended up as prisoners of the Black Brotherhood. They are being kept at an Arctic compound built around one of those black spheres. Also at the compound are several psychically talented children like William who are being molded and trained to serve Lily’s ends.

Much of the book is a chopper flight from somewhere in Latin America to Canada with refueling stops showing us how much America and the world has fallen apart. Then we get the final confrontation between Whites and Blacks.

Besides the many instances of duplicity and suspicion, I liked Hughes’ pacing. While I guessed some of his climax, the ending surprised me and was logical. Hughes does a nice job depicting the menace of some of those forces in other realms as well as what they can do to those who serve them. He also reminds us that human agendas are not necessarily alien agendas whether you’re Black or White.

How a covert training to develop young magicians would be run is well depicted and credible. We get several chapters with Ellen and William as viewpoint characters. Ellen gets a cellmate, and William gets a friend. The question is will Ellen and William be able to escape before Lily cracks open her cosmic egg of doom. And how far are they willing to be bribed and blackmailed into helping her?

There were a few problems. The details of one atrocity are rather improbable and too convenient for plot mechanics. Claire, one of the Adepts of the White Brotherhood is, as even Ray notes, a bit woo-wooey in her New Age talk about laying souls to rest and cosmic forces helping them to their destiny. Her sentiments, though, are certainly in keeping with the themes of the book and its plot.

A generally satisfying conclusion to a trilogy I enjoyed.

I will say it again. I really enjoyed this trilogy very much and this last book resolved all of my questions and gave me a sense of satisfaction. I did get a sense throughout the series of H.P. Lovecraft with the premise of the series and the atmosphere but it is more of a modern take. I am interested to see what else the author dreams up and puts to paper.

Lily is a powerful witch and a leader of a global cult for aliens from outer space. Lily is training children with paranormal abilities to raise an alien artifact. Will the children be successful? Ray Simon is going to try to stop Lily and rescue the children that are working under Lily's guidance. Will Ray be able to win this time?

Please note that I did not read the earlier novels in this trilogy. For the most part I don't feel as if I have missed out on not reading them. The novel is action packed, surreal, and scarey. The novel is well written. It is a story of ritual and dark magic making this an exquisite horror novel!

Fast paced, explosive from the start this book had a dark alluring plot which kept you wanting more. The characters took you on a journey of emotions and left you wrung out by the end.

I haven't read the others of the Trilogy but this was a fascinating story, so much imagination. Witches, travellers and beings from outer space all come together to produce another form of Armageddon. Very sad in parts but non stop action all the way.

This was a thrilling read, stuffed with suspense and drama. I liked the characters, and the story touches on many levels. I LOVE the X-files and this reminds me of it in some aspects. It's also classic Sci-Fi, with some monster/murder aspects as well. With an old feel of treasured B movies that I still enjoy watching today.

My copy came from Net Galley. My thoughts and opinions are my own. This review is left of my own free volition.

A real page turner couldn't put it down characters are well developed

This is my first book that I have read from Michael M. Huges and I got to say, I really enjoyed reading Demon Lights. It struck the perfect balance between horror, science fiction, and action. I couldn’t put the book down and I think I read it within a couple of hours. Any book that engrosses me that much is a keeper. The fact that it is the 3rd book in the Blackwater Lights Trilogy didn’t dampen my enthusiasm for Demon Lights. If you have followed my blog for any length of time, you know how much I dislike picking up a book mid-series or even the end. Demon Lights could be read alone if needed to. While the past books were mentioned (and piqued my interest) but they did not overwhelm this one. Just enough background was given to understand the main characters and how they came into the situations that they were in. Then the book takes off.


I really enjoyed the build up in Demon Lights. While the aliens were mentioned, they were not shown until the end of the book. Even then, it was a glimpse of what could be coming through the portals and it was deliciously creepy/scary. And I loved it!!

Ray was on a mission to free Ellen and William from Lily’s compound. But before he did that, he was basically forced to become a Brother of Eleusis, which was the counterpart to Lily’s cult. While I wouldn’t call it a cult outright (I really need to read the other books before forming that opinion) but it did have a cult feel to it. But they were willing to help him rescue Ellen and William…for a price. He needs to defeat Lily. Which is easier said than done.

I couldn’t even begin to imagine what Ellen was going through being held captive by Lily and not being able to see or talk to her son. It had to have been torture. Her escape attempt with her roommate was pretty awesome but it had severe repercussions when they were captured. I still don’t understand how she didn’t lose her mind permanently after seeing what she was seeing. I know I would have.

William was the one I was the most worried about in this book. He was in a school with other children who had paranormal abilities and he was in danger of failing. He was promised he could talk to his mother if he started doing better in class (which he did but only after a pep talk with a girl who told him what might happen to kids who fail). He was still scarred from what happened in the previous book and was afraid that would happen again. While he was confirming to what the school (and Lily) wanted, he still kept hope that he could see his mother again (or at least talk to her). But things went off on a tangent when all but 9 kids were **sent home** and the remaining children were put into advanced classes. What they learned and what they eventually did….well, read the book.

The end of the book was thrilling and not what I expected. While I expected some of the ending, the other part of the ending, I did not. With the way the book ended, I am hoping that there will be another book.

Demon Light’s Playlist

We Carry On – The Phantoms

I Trust You To Kill Me – Rocco DeLuca and The Burden

Be Not So Fearful – A.C. Newman

How Do You Love Me – Sango, Xavier Omar

Wasting My Young Years – London Grammar

Shout At The Devil – Motley Crue

Take Me To Church – Hozier

I Keep Ticking On – The Harmleighs

Lost Boy – Ruth B.

Kill Of The Night – Gin Wigmore

God of Wine – Third Eye Blind

Guess I’m Doing Fine – Beck

Beautiful Hell – Adna

Marked For Death – Emma Ruth Rundle

When You Break – Bear’s Den

Arsonist’s Lullabye – Hozier

Mama – My Chemical Romance

How many stars will I give Demon Lights: 4

Why: A great book with a great storyline that will suck you in and creep you out. Also memorable characters.

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Adult

Why: Language and violence

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

This was an exciting, suspenseful and diffeent book. The way that the book was written was vey descriptive and well thought out.

Last in a trilogy unfortunately, I have not read the 1st 2 novels), this was a suspenseful struggle between good and evil in a collapsed world. Storyline is a little jumbled, but this does not detract from this well-paced book.

Demon Lights by Michael M hughes.
The world is collapsing. Governments have fallen, and anarchy reigns. Yet a greater danger looms imprisoned in ancient objects from distant space: bodiless aliens with an all-consuming thirst for freedom . . . and human blood.

They have a strong ally in Lily, a powerful sorceress and leader of a globe-spanning cult. In an isolated compound deep in the frozen north, Lily cultivates a group of children whose paranormal abilities can be harnessed to unleash the alien apocalypse. Now she has acquired the final pieces to the puzzle: a gifted young boy named William and his mother, Ellen, whose safety is the bargaining chip Lily needs to compel the child’s obedience.

Once again, William and Ellen’s last hope is Ray Simon. Every time Ray and Lily have crossed paths, she has come out on top, and even now she is one step ahead. But this time Ray is not alone. Accompanied by Claire and Mantu—devotees of the enigmatic Brotherhood of Eleusis, who possess psychic abilities of their own—Ray sets off on a desperate mission of rescue and revenge. Only the fate of humanity itself hangs in the balance.
An absolutely fantastic read with brilliant characters. Couldn't not put it down. 5*. Netgalley and random house publishing group hydra.

The finale to the "Lights" trilogy has all the suspense and drama of the first two books. However, it had little new to add. The struggle between good and evil continues, and new characters give their all to keep the evil aliens from crossing to the Earth. As the story opens, the Earth is in chaos, and the situation doesn't change. I suspect the door has been left open for a sequel, but I doubt it will be published. Definitely read "Blackwater Lights" and "Witch Lights' before taking this one on. The story will still be meaningful and exciting, but the background really helps.