Review: A compelling story bogged down by prose
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 04 12, 2014
Full disclosure: I received a review copy of this book in exchange for my honest, explicit review. The opinions below are entirely my own.Savior is, without a doubt, a roller coaster from start to finish. It takes some time to ground yourself in the story, as it opens with a man in extreme duress. Al's point of view has a crowded feel to its prose, and Mr. Caplan must be praised for his successful portrayal of the mind of a man on the edge of a breakdown. However, formatting problems and occasional rambling make for a slow, slogging read. On the other hand, the other point of view (Ricky's) is concise and crystal-clear, and to him belongs the major journey of the story. However, it suffers from the opposite problem - it is sometimes a little too concise, a little too clear. Ricky seems almost robotic at times, with a lack of reaction or emotion; rather baffling for a 15 year-old boy.One of my favorite parts of Savior is the diversity of its cast - major players appear from all walks of life, and each and every one of them have the capacity to surprise you. When the plot became muddled or a bit unbelievable, the vibrant cast pulled me onward through the book. It was a challenge sometimes - there were definitely some scenes that could have been cut. In fact, another round of editing could almost certainly bring this book from 3 stars to 4, or even 5.As it stands, "Savior" has a lot of promise, but some heavy shortcomings. If a second edition were to come out (with say, quotation marks) I would be happy to update this review. With further questions or comments, please feel free to drop me a line in the box below or to contact me at SeanOnAmazon@gmail.com.