Title: The Watchers: The Tomb
Author: Carl Novakovich
Published by: Independently Published
Publication date: 13th Jan 2021
Genre: Occult Fiction
Pages: 237
Format: eBook
Source: Author/Henry Roi PR

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Blurb/Synopsis

John Gideon, a former homicide detective turned P.I., has dug too deep and discovered the truth about the world while searching for the only family he has left.

John and his new partner, Beth May – a spell-wielding demon who has turned her back on Hell – are humanity’s last hope to stop a collective of Fallen Angels known as The Watchers and a hierarchy of demons from breaking the first of the Seven Seals of Revelation.

If the Seals are broken, they will set free sickness, war, and death on the world until there is nothing left but an apocalyptic wasteland for The Watchers to control. John and Beth have the tools needed and the strength to stop them. The only question is – are they already too late?

Review

I was approached by Henry Roi PR and given a free copy of The Watchers – The Tomb by author Carl Novakovich.

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Sadly, this is going to be very much a ‘It’s not you, it’s me’ review. I made it to 32% of the book and sadly, put it on my Did Not Finish pile.

I desperately struggle with books that directly try and speak to me as a reader as I find it breaks any immersion I have with a book. The magic of my suspension of disbelief is broken from the moment I am addressed in fiction reading and, unfortunately, this is the perspective that The Watchers: The Tomb often adopts. I admit, I didn’t get far enough to see if this perspective changes as further characters are introduced or if it just stays with main character, John Gideon.

John Gideon is a character that I struggled with too. He places a great deal of emphasis on his bonding relationship with his Uncle and work partner, Walter. Only to tear him down mentally every chance he can. Calling him a ‘Fat Bastard’ and poking fun at the amount of food he eats and his weight, work ethic and laziness. While it’s explained that this is done in a friendly, jovial manner, it doesn’t come across this way to me as a reader. Johns remarks are unkind and difficult to read; the tone of this relationship made me feel uncomfortable and played as much a part in the being unable to read further than I did.

I also struggled with some of the long sentence constructions. The tenses jumped around quite a lot. One moment the characters are speaking in third person, current tense only to switch to past tense and speaking in first person. It was all a bit of a confusion! Topping this off with breaking the 4th wall immersion, it just isn’t a book that ‘clicked’ with me.

For a bit more of a positive spin, the concepts in the plot were intriguing enough. The apprehension of Stephen and how this ties in with the disappearance of Walter were good plot hooks that could have kept me interested in the story had it not been for the writing style. The actions scenes were well written and exciting – just as they should be and these tense scenes are to be applauded.

Sadly, they just weren’t quite enough for me to keep pushing through the troubles I faced and keep me reading.

Summary

Written in a manner that breaks immersion in the story by addressing the reader. Mildly offensive mannerisms by the main character that come across as insulting rather than friendly. Tenses that run all over the place creating confusion for the reader. Sadly, not to my tastes.