Valorie T. (morbidromantic) - , reviewed on 8/14/2009 + 63 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 2

Tom Nash can hear prayers, which he feels compelled to answer. Usually, they are run of the mill things and Tom uses his other talent for swaying the minds of people for the best good possible. He has an otherwise pretty mundane life: mortgage, job, truck, wife, and baby on the way. This is all until one night he hears a prayer, which comes from a young girl praying not to be killed. It's a prayer Tom cannot ignore, though he has never had to answer anything so serious before, and it takes him into New York City where danger awaits.

In NYC, Tom meets another of his kind named Erin. Through her, Tom learns that he is not the only one who can hear prayers. In fact, he belongs to a group known as The Called. Within The Called, there are sages, seekers, and sentinels. Opposed to them are the Scorned, who are fallen. It becomes clear to Tom and Erin that the Scorned have something to do with the kidnapping of the girl Tom hear the prayer of. It is up to Tom and Erin to find the girl, secure her release, and do so with as little damage as possible. Unfortunately for them, they have to go under the law because it seems that the Scorned and the Russian mobsters who are trying to ransom the girl for 12 million dollars have connections in the force.

The story is fast paced, but full of detail and exciting. Mack hangs just enough mystery above you to compel you to keep reading for answers. The characters are varied, but not cardboard cut outs that make them hard to distinguish from others. The storyline is very creative- Mack designed a world of his own, but made it realistic enough that one could almost believe that underneath the realism we live under, there just might be other forces at work. This book demands that you read it from front to back. A few twists are added to make the plot take a few unexpected turns, which I very much enjoyed.

The book moved from a few perspectives, but not so many that the book felt choppy and hard to follow. Every transition from one character to another went smooth. I have to admit, though, that the action scene that took place in the subway toward the end of the book got a bit too long for me. The drama was very high throughout, but there's only so much description of running, jumping, and shooting I can take. I prefer my action and drama to be intense and quick, and I felt that it sort of drug on in this book. That was the only part of the book that I skimmed and read through. The rest of the book kept my attention, so I still recommend it highly to anyone who likes fantasy, action, and mystery/crime. It has elements of all a bunch of genres, so it has a large appeal to a varied audience.

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