Review: A good read for fans of the genre!
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 05 25, 2011
Joanna's corneal transplant surgery was successful. Rather than continuing to suffer with failing sight, she now has the ability to see things she hasn't been able to see clearly for a while. But not everything is meant to be seen, and Joanna may soon come to realize she may have been safer going blind. At least when you're blind, you can't see the evil that lurks within some of your most trusted friends...This novella by Shaun Jeffrey puts a nice twist on a classic horror theme. Joanna is (almost) the only one who can see what she sees, but getting someone to believe her in time to save others may be next to impossible. With such a classic premise, the storyline tends towards the predictable. I found the prose to be very simplistic and lacking in maturity. The resulting writing style is more "young adult" in feel, although the story itself does not fall into that category. The uncomplicated writing did make for a very quick and easy read, but it didn't allow me to immerse myself in the horror and to feel what Joanna was feeling. There was too much explained and not enough left for the reader to experience. The story lacked "voice" that would have allowed the reader to fully experience the horror firsthand. More detail and less explanation would have made it feel less like watching a horror movie and more like participating in it.This is a story driven by events and not characters. The characters feel secondary to the plot events that drive this story. The pacing of the events is nicely done, and really helps to build to the climax, but it feels somewhat monochromatic without strong character development. In particular, I wanted more of Lincoln and his experience of being inhabited by a demon. I think more could have been done with his quandary. I also felt that Margaret, the other recipient of the corneal transplant, could have played a more integral role (or else be left out entirely).  Joanna goes to visit Margaret twice to enlist her help, and each time, she gives up when Margaret turns her down. It felt really incomplete. It was obvious Margaret had seen things she wished she hadn't, but that information and those visits added nothing to the story that I could see. There were also a few handfuls of very small editing errors- not totally distracting, but present.Overall, it was a fun read and a good bet for fans of horror. It was difficult to put the book down before I got to the end, and I did like the ending. Predictable, perhaps, but satisfying, nonetheless.@ GraceKrispy's "MotherLode" blog