Review: One to watch
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 06 19, 2012
Brief synopsis: Paul Wayans, Bill Arnold, and Sandy Carson are being tormented by a creature which thrives on their fear. Sam O'Neill is the detective trying to solve a spate of grisly murders, linked to a series from 10 years past. The four find themselves thrown together, as they fight to save their own lives, and the future of the world.McGowan has acheived an absolute rarity in this age. He has created a new monster, the Shimasou. With a nice little mythology behind it, a credible raison d'etre, posing a viable immediate and major threat, and with a perfectly balanced counterpart, the Shimasou is a nice new addition to the monster's pantheon.He's also introduced three pleasant leads in Carson, Wayans, and Arnold. For a monster-type story, they are well written and defined, each unique and easy to identify with.However, there are a number of issues with the story itself, which unfortunately detract from McGowan's intent. I could very easily see this as developing into a good-great Dean R Koontz-type tale. Sadly, there are too many problems taking away from this. From the unbelievable character of O'Neill (who was crying out to be written as a Morgan Freeman in Se7en-type), through to the structure of chapters, inconsistences, switches in perspective, jarring phrases ("...such was..." deserves to be stricken from the book totally), poor dialogue, and every single action, thought, emotion, etc, being told rather than shown.With a degree of polish, this could be a far better book. McGowan, in terms of the story he tells, has balls. He has created a great monster, some great characters, and is not afraid to give an emotional kick here or there. He also gives (depending on your point of view) a great ending. I liked it, anyway. It marks McGowan as someone who has a great story to tell, but whose skill is not there yet. And please note that all important word, "yet".McGowan strikes me as one with an abundance of ideas, and a willingness to invent, develop, and evolve as a writer. I'm looking forward to seeing how much further his new novel is in terms of his skills.