Review: Sparks: Welcome to the Madhouse

Sparks: Welcome to the Madhouse by Dan Cummings
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sparks: Welcome To The Madhouse wasn’t at all what I had been expecting, and at the same time it was so much more than I’d been expecting.
 
The synopsis of this one grabbed me, and I was curious to see how things would play out. I wasn’t quite one hundred percent sure about how the story would evolve, but I did have some ideas in the back of my mind. Thus, I jumped in with more curiosity than anything else. I wanted – nay, needed – to see where things would head, if only to stop the musing of my mind.
 
At first, there was a lack of real understanding. We’re thrown into the story but we’re not quite sure of what it is we’ve been thrown into. Our main characters introduce the world, slowly allowing the world to develop; but when we flicker to glimpses of the bad guys, we’re left with more questions than answers. These questions go unanswered for quite some time. In fact, it’s not until around the forty percent park that we get an explanation of the supernatural world and all that is going on. Yes, we’re introduced to a large number of things; however, things don’t start to click into place until we’re at the forty percent mark.
 
I’ll admit to being somewhat annoyed at first with this, but it works. The main reason for this annoyance is that I thought the book was to be a standalone novel. A little voice in the back of my head, from the very start, was telling me otherwise, yet for some reason I did not wish to listen to that voice. The fact that this is the first in what is looking to be a wonderful series, means that holding off on information is perfectly fine – we get answers, we come to understand the world, and yet there is still enough room for growth. The annoyance I experienced therefore becomes annoyance at my own error. I really should have accepted the little voice when it told me it was the first in a series, rather than waiting until the ninety percent mark and realising there was far too much left unanswered and then accepting the little voice as being correct.
 
I’ll now continue as though I knew all along that this was the first in a series.
 
For the first book in a series, this one gives us so much. There really was so much to this one. We’re given a wide cast of characters, all bringing something different to the table. We’re given a complex world, a world that we know a lot about and yet we still have plenty of questions remaining. We’re given lots of action. We’re given amusement. We’re given emotion. All in all, we’re given all that we could ask for. Whilst at times the story felt as though it was slow going, it really was a gripping read.
 
A couple of things prevented a five star rating, though.
 
Whilst the book does have a number of humorous moments, it wasn’t the laugh out loud kind of humour where people turn to look at you as though you’ve lost your mind. It was amusing, yes, but it wasn’t overly so. What prevented it from being so is that at times it felt as though the attempts at humour were too much. It was as though the author was trying too hard. I giggled at times, but at other times I found myself rolling my eyes. Some of this links in with one of the main characters, but even so it felt like too much at times.
 
The other thing is that the action scenes felt like too much was going on. I love it when a lot is going on – such is what you want. However, with so many people involved with so many different things at one time, it felt as though there was too much occurring at once which prevented it from flowing quite as smoothly as it could have. I loved all the action that was involved, but these scenes never seemed to flow quite as smoothly as the other scenes in the book.
 
Overall, though, it was a wonderful read. I cannot wait to see what comes next in the Sparks world.
 
As a final note, I would like to thank the author for allowing me to read this in exchange for a review.

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