Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Shimmer-John Passarella

Shimmer
John Passarella
Virtuous Circle, Jul 2009, $14.99
ISBN: 9781448648566

As their ancestors have done for millennia, the extended Walker family conscientiously closes the holes ripped into the space-time continuum by beings from other planes. Some get through in spite of the efforts of the dependable Walkers who each have a unique paranormal skill. Those Outsiders who are harmless and harmlessly crossed are helped back; those who are dangerous are escorted back more diligently or destroyed before they cause harm on earth.

However, the Walker population is shrinking and increasingly finding it difficult to accomplish their mission. Douser Logan Walker expects something horrific will soon occur in Hadenford, New Jersey. His family moves to the town in search of rifts to patch before the disaster happens. At his new high school, Logan meets for the first time KINDRED SPIRIT Fallon Maguire, who sketched his face in her dream journal two weeks ago. She consults with Logan's great-grandfather, Ambrose, who explains she has a talent unlike most people. The rifts are getting darker, slimier, and harder to seal. Thalia Walker has just returned after being pulled through a rift with her brain damaged; she paints horrible pictures of blood and gore while proclaiming the Butcher Reaper of Flesh is coming.

This is a super urban fantasy that grips the audience throughout; as the Black Rift over New Jersey keeps coming back wider and wider leaving fans and the Walker brood expecting doom as their hope WITHERS away. The story line is fast-paced and filled with action while the Walker family especially Logan seems genuine as soldiers fighting the Outsiders. John Passarella provides his fans with a strong good vs. bad thriller with the malevolent crowd the stronger bet to triumph.

Harriet Klausner

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