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Summary: Buyer Beware
Review: I bought this book based on backcover info. What a disappointment. It's not just that it is poorly written and unimaginative. Unless you are into sleazily written sex and gore, you won't find much to hold your interest. There is nothing new here. Just tired, sorry, second rate prose, thinly drawn characters in a porno-lite storyline. Save your money.
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Summary: BLUE LIGHT--an imitation of SCORPION SHARDS?
Review: I bought this book because it seemed to remind me of a book I'd read long ago...and BLUE LIGHT is, indeed, suspiciously similiar to the plot of the SCORPION SHARDS trilogy by Neal Shusterman. With a few superficial differences--change the name of the "Thief of Souls" into the "Grey Man", change the number of people/things recieving the Star-shards...there's way too much similiarity. If you're going to read one of these 2 books, definitely check out SCORPION SHARDS by Neal Shusterman first.
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Summary: Too profound for the unwilling
Review: I can understand the disappointment of many of Walter Mosley's fans with this book; superficially, it has very little in common with his crime fiction. But, get rid of your preconceptions and your expectations because this is a profound and meditative exploration of what makes us human, of colour, of race, of poverty, of inequality. The writing is magnificent, characterised by bursts of seering linguistic and thematic improvisation. This is literature infused by the free-wheeling but fiercely disciplined spirit of Miles Davis, the transcendentalism of John Coltrane, and the black psychedelic journeys of Sun-Ra and George Clinton. This is pure and expressive journeying too, unencumbered by his own literary past or the expectations of his readers (which is probably why it confuses so many of them). What if ordinary, poor people were able to reach their full potential, that they could tear down the barriers imposed by a racist and unequal world? What if people came together to protect and nurture the earth? What if sociopaths and the insane could become whole people? What if people could really live together without judgmement? These might be unfashionable subjects to the cynical souls of literary critics, but they are profound questions, the really important questions, dealt with through the metaphorical struggle between the Blues, the transformed fully-realised humans, and the Gray Man, the archetypal representation of everything that is bad about humans and human societies. The evocation of atmosphere and mood, which vary from the most brutal and violent to the most tender and compassionately lyrical are unsuspassed in contemporary literature; the scenes in the forest-garden prior to the apocalyptic finale, and the downbeat coda are particularly fine. This is an exquisite, beautiful and ultimately painful allegory, destined to be misunderstood and reviled by the ignorant, the uncaring and those unwilling to suspend their expectations and take a leap into the unknown.
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Summary: Worst Mosley of all....
Review: I have enjoyed all of Walter Mosley's works and was shocked as tried to read this most atypical of his writings. It's so bad that I put it down after passing the half-way point and I don't give up on a book easily. Mosley should dance the dance that he knows so well and leave the science fiction(?) to science fiction writers.
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Summary: Mosley fans tread warily
Review: I have enjoyed Mr. Mosley's books immensely previously and it was with great relish I picked up "Blue Light". Unfortunately, I feel the need to warn other Mosley devotees that this is not what you are expecting. Change in and of itself is not a negative, of course, however, Blue Light is so utterly different in subject matter, structure and genre (for want of a better term) that I feel it will disappoint many. I must admit that I am not a Sci-Fi fan and my view needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. One positive for Blue Light is that Mosley is apparently receiving the attention that his previous work should have garnered him.
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Summary: A book in which an ill-conceived idea outstrips narrative.
Review: I have read Walter Mosley Easy Rawlins novels and enjoyed them for their characters, realistic dialogue, and suspenseful situations. Blue Light is a book that does very little to engage this reader. The characters are written from the outside in and consequently do not elicit the reader's care. I am almost three quarters done with the book and have yet to find someone that I like, admire, or have any concern about. I am plodding through this book and ready to give it up at any time. I had hoped for something that would entertain. It is confusing at times and even when its philosophy approaches clarity, I just want to say, "So what! Who cares!" It is a mishmash of New Age, Carlos Castaneda, with bursts of Andrew Vachss and Patricia Cornwall. I would not recommend this novel. I agree that the writing at times is quite fluid and lovely, particularly when he is describing landscapes. But it is beauty yoked to what is ultimately a silly and senseless story.
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Summary: Oh man what a wild wild ride
Review: I have to agree with most of the reviewers in that I was looking for a story closer to the Easy Rawlins series when I picked this up. What I got however was a journey,one that was hypnotic, fascinating, repulsive and rivetting. I read this book on 2 flights and was gripped from start to finish. This book demands an open mind and the ability to accept Mosley's utopia. A great deal of it attempts to paint life and death in very holistic terms, varied degrees of energy or "blue light" and how it effects each one differently. Read it but brace yourself.
Rating: 
Summary: mystifying, challenging, intriguing
Review: I must start by saying that I am a Walter Mosley fan. I love his writing, generally, and his characters. His characters are rich and substantive, ordinary and extraordinary at the same time. "Blue Light" was difficult to read, however. I only completed because of a colleague who had read it and encouraged me to press on. Do I think I understood it? Probably not. It raised questions about the basic substance we call life, yet left many trailers. It is probably a book for discussion on spiritual, philosophical and extential elements. My favorite book by him is still "RL's Blues."
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Summary: Stephen King Meets the Wizard of Oz
Review: I picked up this book in anticipation of a discussion with my monthly book club this coming weekend. We had previously read RL's Dream and I found that difficult to follow but considered it historical fiction. Now we enter the Blue Light. This book had none of the lyrical language I found so endearing in RL's Dream. This was a violent journey through a twisted utopia with no purpose. In a bow to the 60's, this was an acid trip gone very bad with a short fun period in the middle. The meanies were cardboard cartoon characters and the goodies were always running from them like Dorothy, Tin Man and Scarecrow through the poppy fields. I can't wait to see who picked this in our book club...Thanks for letting me share.
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Summary: Science Fiction or psychological thriller -- Mosely genius..
Review: I picked up Walter Mosley's "Blue Light" based on my past experience with the Easy Rawlins mystery series, and knew immediately this was a very different tale. While reading this very involving and disturbing novel, I wondered what exactly type of story this was...at times, only the interest in how it would turn out kept me going. How well-worth it...what an epiphany at the end. Mr. Mosely owes a bit of a nod to Joyce Carol Oates in that both authors dare to look inside of insidious and dangerous characters and find something sympathetic, scary and very compelling. I highly recommend this book.
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