The Night Burns Bright
- Downloads：3126
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-01-02 21:21:03
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Ross Barkan
- ISBN：B09CGBPLQ8
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
In this coming-of-age thriller， a twelve-year-old boy’s spark of courage to question the harmonious wooded commune he calls home may burn down more than just his own illusions。
Lucien has everything he needs: a loving mama， a library full of books， and House of Earth， a private school nestled safely in the woods of upstate New York。 It’s where Lucien is taught the importance of living in harmony with nature and building a peaceful and sustainable future。 But when his youthful curiosity draws him into town and to Gabrielle， a public-school student living a life wholly different from his own， Lucien’s inquisitiveness about life beyond the commune and questions regarding the events of 9/11 threaten to unbalance everything he thought he knew。
Slowly， things begin to change at House of Earth。 The outside world is off limits。 Security measures tighten。 New rules are put in place， and anyone who violates them is asked to leave and never spoken of again。
As forbidden questions pile up， Lucien’s willingness to obey weakens。 Continuing to meet Gabrielle in secret only reinforces his gnawing fear that something about his world is terribly wrong。 Unable to remain silent any longer， Lucien will soon discover that looking for answers at House of Earth may be the most dangerous rule he can break。
Lucien has everything he needs: a loving mama， a library full of books， and House of Earth， a private school nestled safely in the woods of upstate New York。 It’s where Lucien is taught the importance of living in harmony with nature and building a peaceful and sustainable future。 But when his youthful curiosity draws him into town and to Gabrielle， a public-school student living a life wholly different from his own， Lucien’s inquisitiveness about life beyond the commune and questions regarding the events of 9/11 threaten to unbalance everything he thought he knew。
Slowly， things begin to change at House of Earth。 The outside world is off limits。 Security measures tighten。 New rules are put in place， and anyone who violates them is asked to leave and never spoken of again。
As forbidden questions pile up， Lucien’s willingness to obey weakens。 Continuing to meet Gabrielle in secret only reinforces his gnawing fear that something about his world is terribly wrong。 Unable to remain silent any longer， Lucien will soon discover that looking for answers at House of Earth may be the most dangerous rule he can break。
Reviews
DJ Cheek
，
I've followed Ross Barkan on Twitter for some time and have subscribed to his newsletter for a few months - that's how I found out about The Night Burns Bright。 I enjoyed the spare， unadorned style of writing in this novel - it feels very realistic for the voice of Lucien the narrator。 The story here is disturbing and yet the big reveal isn't a huge surprise。 I thought the character of Lucien's Mother could be more fleshed out - she clearly occupies a huge amount of real estate in the workings o I've followed Ross Barkan on Twitter for some time and have subscribed to his newsletter for a few months - that's how I found out about The Night Burns Bright。 I enjoyed the spare， unadorned style of writing in this novel - it feels very realistic for the voice of Lucien the narrator。 The story here is disturbing and yet the big reveal isn't a huge surprise。 I thought the character of Lucien's Mother could be more fleshed out - she clearly occupies a huge amount of real estate in the workings of House of Earth and in the narrator's mind， but she is mostly absent for reasons that are only explained in the coda of the book。I look forward to reading more of Ross's work， and if you are interested in a suspenseful book and okay with intense themes， check this out。 。。。more
Michelle
，
The Night burns bright by Ross Barkan is story told by young boy called Lucien。 Lucien lives with his mother in upstate New York His mother is his everything。 He goes to school at the ‘House of Earth a nature focused group in the woods。 He doesn’t have teachers he has ‘mentors’ who teach him to live peacefully and love the earth。So， when 9/11 happens everything changes at the school。 They build a Habitual facility and all the children with their parents all move in。 Things at the school get stri The Night burns bright by Ross Barkan is story told by young boy called Lucien。 Lucien lives with his mother in upstate New York His mother is his everything。 He goes to school at the ‘House of Earth a nature focused group in the woods。 He doesn’t have teachers he has ‘mentors’ who teach him to live peacefully and love the earth。So， when 9/11 happens everything changes at the school。 They build a Habitual facility and all the children with their parents all move in。 Things at the school get stricter。 Yes， the place is a Cult。When Lucien on a rare outing meets Gabrielle and become friends and vow to meet each other at the woods but soon the rules at the House of Earth get stricter and they build a wall around the school so to protect themselves from the war coming。 But Lucien knows things are not right after speaking with Gabrielle and his fellow friends keep going missing。 But when he asks questions， he gets is shut down and told never to mention his friends again。 Lucien wonders is there more to life than the House of earth。Thank you， Lake Union publishing， for a copy The Night burns bright by Ross Barkan。 This is not a book that I usually go for， but I found this to be an interesting tale of Lucien and his innocence to the world around him。 At first though it was hard to get used to the style of writing because of its immaturity but as I read on it suddenly comes clear that the style was written like a child would。 I felt sorry for Lucien。 As he is trying so hard to do what’s right and fit in。 but still has obstacles in front of him。 Now after reading most of the book as it was from a child。 I found the ending to be a bit strange and to be honest a bit disappointed with the ending。 3。5 stars from me。 。。。more
Anders Olson-Swanson
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The beginning started off a little rough for me。 I think I wasn't in love with the style of writing。 It's from the perspective of a naive child。 Listening to his simplistic thoughts and seeing the decisions he made was frustrating as an adult。The book picked up as I read， in part because of the maturation of the narrator I think。 This made me realize that the earlier style was intentional to reflect the narrator's youth and naivety。 The story generally travels to where you expect but it's still The beginning started off a little rough for me。 I think I wasn't in love with the style of writing。 It's from the perspective of a naive child。 Listening to his simplistic thoughts and seeing the decisions he made was frustrating as an adult。The book picked up as I read， in part because of the maturation of the narrator I think。 This made me realize that the earlier style was intentional to reflect the narrator's youth and naivety。 The story generally travels to where you expect but it's still suspenseful and enjoyable。 I really liked the ending， I thought it was the best writing of the book。I would recommend this book if you like suspense。 。。。more
Ceecee
，
‘We are building the future， the only future’ and they will inherit it。 When 9/11 strikes Lucien is 12， ‘OC was right’ says Mama。 Who exactly is OC？ From the age of six， Lucien attends the House of Earth in Mater， New York State。 Jack is his mentor， he teaches him to live in harmony with nature， to resist negative energy， to protect the earth and the planet。 Innocent Lucien and his mama live a narrow existence with this environmentalist group。 From 9/11 onwards things begin to change at the Hous ‘We are building the future， the only future’ and they will inherit it。 When 9/11 strikes Lucien is 12， ‘OC was right’ says Mama。 Who exactly is OC？ From the age of six， Lucien attends the House of Earth in Mater， New York State。 Jack is his mentor， he teaches him to live in harmony with nature， to resist negative energy， to protect the earth and the planet。 Innocent Lucien and his mama live a narrow existence with this environmentalist group。 From 9/11 onwards things begin to change at the House of Earth such as security tightening。 When Lucien meets Gabrielle from the town and a number of incidents occur at the commune， this leads him to begin to question everything he formerly holds to be true。 Well， they call themselves a collective or a commune but of course it evolves into a cult。 First of all the positives。 The environmental message that OC Leroux teaches is undoubtedly true， just ask Greta and it is very relevant reading during COP26。 There are good descriptions of life at House of Earth and Lucien is an interesting narrator。 Jack， his mentor， makes you feel very uncomfortable with his strengthening control exactly as you are meant to。 The world that Gabrielle demonstrates to him， the ‘other world’ contrasts sharply with Lucien's ideas of reality。 You witness his loss of innocence and his increasing awareness and admire his growing strength to question and challenge， you also feel his frustration as well as his fear and anger。 However， it’s more an account， a narrative so there isn’t much surprise in the plot as it follows a very predictable path and you are pretty sure you know how it will end。 The ending is a bit of a damp squib， it fizzles out and finishes way too easily in my opinion。 I would not describe this as a thriller， there is little suspense or plot twists though there is some tension。 Overall， it feels like a YA novel to me。 It’s certainly an ok read but it doesn’t bring anything new or original to the party in my opinion。 With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Lake Union for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review。 。。。more
Suesyn Zellmer
，
I have to say that this wasn't my usual type of story。 It's told from the point of view of Lucien， a young boy who attends a nature-focused school in the woods。 It's no secret to the reader that this is more than just a peaceful commune of harmonious people。 They have 'mentors' not teachers， there's no grading system， and the curriculum focuses on the teachings of it's founder about 'the darkness' and 'the light。' Yes， of course， it's a cult。 And as always happens， it's full of well meaning peop I have to say that this wasn't my usual type of story。 It's told from the point of view of Lucien， a young boy who attends a nature-focused school in the woods。 It's no secret to the reader that this is more than just a peaceful commune of harmonious people。 They have 'mentors' not teachers， there's no grading system， and the curriculum focuses on the teachings of it's founder about 'the darkness' and 'the light。' Yes， of course， it's a cult。 And as always happens， it's full of well meaning people with absolutely no sense to see what's right in front of them。After 9/11 everything at House of Earth becomes even stricter。 Talk of 'the coming war' is rampant as they scare everyone into complete submission to their increasing demands。 Only the 'true believers' will be safe from the evils of society， etc。 They build on-campus housing because now all of the families must live there， with at least one parent from each family working at the school， also。 Lucien rarely sees his mother， whom he still calls 'Mama' at age 12。 She's frequently leaving him to run errands and he never asks where she goes or questions anything， really。 This is all called out right away by his only non-school friend， Gabrielle， whom he met in town。 Where he's not allowed to go anymore。 She knows his situation is strange and that he's different。 But she's a good person and begins to meet him once a week in the woods to make sure he's surviving well enough。 Slowly， Lucien becomes aware that House of Earth isn't all peace and light as he was taught， and he struggles with his new realizations。 It takes quite a lot of missing people before he's convinced that he needs to act quickly and save himself and his mother from the very sanctuary that was supposed to protect them。 The plot itself isn't bad， although plenty predictable。 The writing is very fanciful and Lucien's inner musings sound like those of someone far more worldly than he is。 Other adults point out that he seems like an old soul - and I believe the author purposely includes these comments to explain why someone so naïve and sheltered would have such existential speculations。 Constantly。 But that's where the 'not my usual type of story' comes in - I know some people enjoy this style of prose， but I couldn't get into it。 Especially when the plot itself held no suspense， it was just a long journey on a straight road - no twists or turns， and you could see your destination the entire time。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Night Burns Bright
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Night Burns Bright&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft