Review: Great supernatural thriller with some humor!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 17, 2011
This book turned out to be much, much better than expected!  It was a good mix of horror (shape-shifting alien terrorizing Washington DC), some pretty bloody action sequences, and even a little.romance (what girl wouldn't like Travis? He's funny, caring, loves his mother and sister, loves his dog, and loves to read).The hunter/prey aspect of the book was well done, with the shape-shifter being smart enough to blend in with the environment as it stalks its prey.  The main characters of Travis and Lexie, are college students who certainly act age-appropriate, but are still likeable.  The author shows great humor alternating scenes where Travis is shivering, half frozen, hiding behind doors from the alien, to ones where he suddenly notices Lexie's pretty hair or cute outfit.  Small plot device but it makes us like Travis all the better.Though there's plenty of mention of the alien monster, there are fewer scenes devoted to the other alien- the one who crashed the spaceship and is trying to recapture the monster.  That alien is described in more of a Disney/Pixar way that is unintentionally cute.  It basically looks like a kid in a Halloween costume.  It also is following Travis and Lexie since Travis stole something that it needs...This book is not hardcore sci-fi.  I wouldn't even put it under science fiction category.  Supernatural thriller, perhaps.To nitpick, the things I did not like about the book were some gaping plotholes. A fraud dentist and Travis's roommate's pregnant girlfriend were two characters whose plotlines went nowhere.  Even stranger was the emphasis on the pregnant girlfriend towards the end- why?  maybe the author was trying to show that life is both bitter and sweet?  But in the overall book, these two characters don't really affect the main storyline.n.b. I received a complimentary copy of this book in order to review it.