Interesting book about a real event that happens in our world. The characters enhance the story and the details help create the backdrop of a story that has some unexpected bumps and keeps you reading until the end. Very interesting aspect of a story with true events reference in the story and with real people. The combination of history and fiction is always interesting to read.

Overall, it is a cute story that had its own charm which I genuinely enjoyed, but this one won’t be a love for a lifetime book.

A wonderful historical fiction mystery novel! It was so fascinating to read about actual people like Thomas Edison and what truly happened regarding the electric inventions and the madness that ensued. A ton of twists and turns-hard lessons that were learned-and this was just ....absorbing. I couldn't put it down. You truly don't think about a light bulb in the same way after reading this.

I have since purchased a copy of this book for my library at home.


Thank you to Netgalley, Graham Moore, and Random House Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this early copy.

This is darkly atmospheric and richly detailed historical fiction. It's a terrific read for fans of the genre. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I enjoyed this book. This was a new author and I don't often read this genre. I enjoyed the pacing of the book and I would read another book by this author.

The Last Days of Night is a dark, moody, meandering piece of historical fiction. Sure to be a hit with those who are interested in the days of Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, and his contemporaries. I loved that this story was told from the perspective of the attorney and I really appreciated every bit of the legal minutiae included. The Last Days of Night is another great installation from Graham Moore.

Great writing, per Moore's usuall. Gothic and mysterious, well paced and great for a cool fall evening

This historical novel is set in the 1880s, about real characters and events - young lawyer Paul Cravath is hired to represent George Westinghouse in his legal battles with Thomas Edison about who invented the light bulb, with various other real people making appearances as well including Nikola Tesla and J.P. Morgan. I don't know if it makes any sense to say that a book was both interesting and boring, but that's kind of how I felt about this book. The history, as well as the intersection of science, business, and law, is all interesting - but yet the book was also rather slow. 3.5 stars.

I recently saw The Current War and combined with the “power outage” situation in California, I remembered the book The Last Days of Night. A terrific read which brings to life the inventors and their work which we are surrounded by still. The era is depicted in such detail you are no longer turning pages yet transported to an incredible period of NY. Power was a luxury then and this year we have been reminded it is not an entitlement but something of great power which should be handled with care and appreciation. Thank you Mr Edison and Mr Westinghouse and Graham Moore for a timely read. I know this was published a few years ago but today’s topics should bring this backlisted title to the forefront of shelves and the top of lists!

This work of historical fiction tells the story of the rivalry between Westinghouse and Edison. Both are geniuses that are poised to
create things that will change the world and daily life.
The novel relays the story through legal preceedings.
Interesting read !

I highly enjoy historical fiction for the fact that I can learn more about events in history that I know little or nothing about.  When I read the description for The Last Days of Night, I was excited to learn more about George Westinghouse & Thomas Edison

The first 30-ish% of this book is fairly slow, so slow in fact that I had a hard time finding the motivation to pick this book back up while pushing through that first 30%.  I began this book in May 2018, but didn't end up finishing it until December 2018.  Thankfully I was determined to finish this book, because things do eventually pick up.  If you can push through the first 30%, I do think this book is a worth while read.  

The Last Days of Night isn't exactly high on the excitement scale, but I did learn a lot about the Westinghouse/Edison rivalry.  Not familiar with this rivalry?  I wasn't either.  Basically, Edison & Westinghouse were in a battle over which is the most efficient way to power cities across the United States, direct current or alternating current.  Edison, the original creator of the electric current, felt that despite the limitations of direct current, it was the best method to power cities.  He had in fact hired a man by the name of Nikola Tesla to come up with a better method, but when Tesla brought Edison the solution, Edison brushed him off.  You know who didn't brush Tesla off?  George Westinghouse!  Here begins the war of the currents.

I was surprised to see how heated & public Edison and Westinghouse's rivalry played out.  While The Last Days of Night is a FICTIONALIZED account, there were in fact many events in the book that indeed happened in real life.  Like when Edison tried to claim that alternating current was more dangerous than direct current by basically executing stray dogs to show alternating current as a weapon... In real life he also went on to publicly execute a horse and even an elephant, but this is not mentioned in the book.  Edison also helped a man named Harold Brown create the first electric chair for capital punishment purposes.  Of course Edison made sure it was powered by alternating current... Let's just say things did not go according to plan.

The main character in The Last Days of Night is actually neither Edison nor Westinghouse, but rather a young lawyer by the name of Paul Cravath that Westinghouse commissions to represent him against Edison's lawsuits.  Paul takes on this challenge despite the fact that it is seemingly a case that he will not be able to win.  Paul is ready to prove himself as a skilled lawyer, but will he be able to do anything necessary to win?  Despite the fact that Paul's actions were not exactly ethical, I appreciated his drive to win.   I always enjoy clever characters that think outside the box and are highly ambitious.  There are many other key players in this story.  We see appearances J.P. Morgan, Nikola Tesla, and Alexander Graham Bell.  Each playing a key role in the conclusion of this competition.   Another character included is a famous opera singer, Agnes Huntington.  I think Agnes's character and her relationship with Paul was a nice addition to the story to give the story some lighter moments & break up the serious tone of the book.

The Last Days of Night is probably not going to be for everyone.   Like I mentioned, it isn't exactly action-packed, BUT parts of it were interesting.  I’d recommend this one for history buffs, or anyone interested in more about the Edison vs. Westinghouse’s “war of the currents."  I'd also recommend this book to courtroom style dramas - think John Grisham.

This historical fiction took a long time to heat up but I was glad I stuck around for the ending. I definitely learned more about the race toward electrifying the nation. This is also the third book in a row that I've read which featured Tesla and his genius, odd that.

Historical fiction highlighting the conflicts between Westinghouse and Edison around the "discovery" and implementation of electric light. Focusing on the lawyer hired by Westinghouse to manage the lawsuit filed by Edison, this is a lively and entertaining fictionalized version of the true events. I was completely captivated. Based on the endnotes by the author, the plot reflects the spirit of actual events although some things have been collapsed and rearranged for dramatic effect. He based this story on many writings from the period, including documentation by Westinghouse, Tesla, & Edison themselves.

Even if you aren't an avid science or history fan, you should be entertained by the machinations of the scientists and titans of business from the time period. Fun & fairly factually accurate.

The Last Days of Night is the tale of the Current War between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse with appearances by a number of factual characters including Nikola Tesla. The novel is very well researched and the writing is perfect. There are a smattering of comical lines that had me laughing aloud.

Firstly let me just say that the fact tha Nikola Tesla appears in this book sold me right away. I am hugd fan of his work and so proud that i come from his country.

Let get to the actual book. I really enjoyed it. I was in a mood for this type of the book.

Though reading it I could easily see that author loves his story, his characters and is genuinely fascinated by the time period he choose book to set in. Maybe that contributed to me liking the book more than I expected.

It was really enjoyable, based on true events and many shocking moments. Now this story isn't perfect as many historical fiction rarely is. I felt that female character was a bit to cutesy written and had a bit of hard time with formating of the novel, and its short chapters. I know that it is used to make the pace faster, which it did, but it was a bit to jumpy for me at times. Those are just minor complaints.

I really enjoyed majority of this, and really appreciated famous and meaningful quotes that authour put before each chapter,as well as note in the end of the book about which eventa and people were real..

4/5 stars

<i>The Last Days of Night</i> was a well-written historical fiction about the legal battle between Edison and Westinghouse, told from the POV of Westinghouse's lawyer. I feel like this premise never should have worked, but somehow it did. I mean, a lawyer as the MC? But at the same time, books frequently fail when they attempt to get into the mind of men like Edison, Tesla etc. and it ends up with iffy results. But the choice of using Paul, the lawyer, made the story flow smoothly and even allowed for occasional humor, which I did not expect. The story was compelling while also being rather historically accurate and that is pretty much what this HF lover asks for in a book. I recommend this particularly to people who enjoy HF and science.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I knew a little of the history of electricity in America but the author really injected human interest into the story. We usually get a dry and sanitized version of historical events but the (real) characters truly come alive. The reader feels the injustice of the situation and comes to care deeply about the outcome. Fascinating and well written! My library has already purchased copies!

I actually bought this book before they gave me a copy to review. Having enjoyed "The Sherlockian" I thought that perhaps I would like this as well. However, the subject wasn't something I would normally be interested in.

I'm glad I did though. Enjoyable historical fiction that paints a nice tale of the first days of electricity. Mr. Moore's writing is concise with enough descriptions to see the world.

A 2016 release I was granted from my “Wish For It” to Random House!!!!

Scrappymags 3-word review: Edison the jerk?

Genre: Historical Fiction

Shortest summary ever: Thomas Edison v, George Westinghouse over the patent for the lightbulb, all told by Westinghouse’s lawyer, a green just-out-of-college idealist named Paul Cravath. The story surrounds this battle and the lengths people will go to for money, fame, name recognition, truth, science, love and more.

What’s good under the hood: I must admit – I was straight-up ignorant about this battle until I brought up the subject to my mom and she schooled me. Me. A Teacher. I’m ASHAMED, but hey my genius is in literature, not science (see my bio/chem teaching brother for that one) and I don’t think I’ve learned anything about Edison beyond that 5th grade field trip to the Edison Institute at Greenfield Village in Detroit where I likely yawned the entire time and engaged in eye-rolling for 3 hours. As far as Tesla? Isn’t he the guy who made that car that drives-itself-but-can’t-drive-itself? And are you telling me Edison was known to be kind of a jerk? FOR REAL? But I learned that he invented the lightbulb and he was this awesome inventor!! Not so fast grasshopper – this is REAL history (like the time I learned white folks gave the Native Americans small pox blankets) and it’s all a complicated mess and the people I thought were heroes weren’t as altruistic as they’ve been painted on the American canvas called “history.”

As with most historical fiction the good under the hood is in the imagination melded into reality and this book accomplishes this splendidly. The tale being told from the perspective of Paul, having no lawyerly experience, being a green wunderkind of the law thrown into one of the greatest patent battles of the ages, was genius as it gave a same-as-me wide-eyed look at Edison, though obviously Westinghouse-biased.

The test to me of a great book? The author made me Google Cravath, Edison and Tesla (whom I am completely wanting to read more about), thus triggering my quest for knowledge in a “is this TRUE???” expedition. Made me think and made me learn which is thumbs up for me.

What’s bad or made me mad: Not a darn thing.

Recommend to:



A must-read for historical fiction fans, though if you’re familiar with the story (unlike silly me), you might not be as wowed.
Best-seller readers. Perfect blend of story and fact that moves at a captivating pace.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing and the author Graham Moore for a gifted copy from my “wish for it” list and endless Google searches to find out all I could about these dynamic characters.

A thoroughly enjoyable book which delivered in all plot related aspects and featured characters that I would welcome revisiting. I appreciated the opportunity to complete the whole and the obvious effort that was invested by Mr. Moore through the conclusion.