Review: The Beholder by Ivan Amberlake
The prologue really hooked me in the beginning of the story. I loved getting that big rush of action and supernatural elements right off the bat. You already get the sense that this book is going to be about good versus evil because of the characterization of those surrounded by the darkness and those surrounded by the light. I thought it happened to be a great hook and piqued my curiosity. However, I was a bit disappointed that action didn't continue longer into the beginning of the story, it turned into a regular business day for our main character which is understandable but not very fun.
What really caught my attention about this book was that the Jasons' friends played a major role from beginning to end. I liked the fact that Jason had this support system from the very beginning and he didn't just pick people up as he went along. Most urban fantasies the characters just find tag along buddies and suddenly trust them, it lacks history.
As for the main character, I thought he was a pretty normal guy on the surface. Nothing about him seemed to extraordinary. His vivid dreams, out of body experiences and powers are what set him apart. Jason seems to be torn about his experiences though, on one hand he's terrified of everything that's happening to him but on the other he's determined to do whats right. I give the author points for making an MC that's more relate-able and believable to readers.
Jasons love interest in the book happens to be Emily who kinda reminds me of one of those Sailor Moon characters. She glows bright white and fights all the baddies off. I felt she was a bit wishy-washy at times which took away from her character. At one point she's tough but then she's not, an then she's back to being tough. I figured the author did this because he wanted to show Emily could rely on Jason to protect her since he was suppose to be their savoir.
The evil guys were all creepy and odd, pretty much psychos. None of them seemed to have anything relating to a conscious or any sort of humanity. They did as they pleased and really believed they were unstoppable. The all out war between light and dark was pretty intense and different from what I had expected.
The action,drama and relationship developments really added to this book. I felt this story was well written and executed, more so than most other urban fantasies. The concept was pretty original and stood out against other books with supernatural elements. I'd recommend to others interested in this genre.
