Title: Intangible
Series: Piercing the Veil (#1)
Year: 2013
Author: C.A. Gray
Summary: An ancient evil returns. A prophecy foretells of a champion.
Peter Stewart grew up on a unique version of the Arthurian legends taught him by his father, a harebrained quantum physicist who asserts that anything is possible. But Peter disbelieves anything which cannot be scientifically explained, despite a nagging sense that there is more to the world than meets the eye.
Lily Portman is an orphan with a secret: she can see creatures that are invisible to everyone else. These creatures control every human being she has ever met to varying degrees... until she meets Peter and his father.
When a mysterious stranger stages an accident which nearly costs Peter and Lily their lives, suddenly Lily learns that she is not crazy after all, and Peter discovers the truth of his father's stories... including the existence of Arthur's ancient nemesis, one who calls himself the Shadow Lord, and a prophecy with implications so profound that it will alter not only the course of their lives, but potentially the fate of the world.
Peter Stewart grew up on a unique version of the Arthurian legends taught him by his father, a harebrained quantum physicist who asserts that anything is possible. But Peter disbelieves anything which cannot be scientifically explained, despite a nagging sense that there is more to the world than meets the eye.
Lily Portman is an orphan with a secret: she can see creatures that are invisible to everyone else. These creatures control every human being she has ever met to varying degrees... until she meets Peter and his father.
When a mysterious stranger stages an accident which nearly costs Peter and Lily their lives, suddenly Lily learns that she is not crazy after all, and Peter discovers the truth of his father's stories... including the existence of Arthur's ancient nemesis, one who calls himself the Shadow Lord, and a prophecy with implications so profound that it will alter not only the course of their lives, but potentially the fate of the world.
Main Characters:
~ Peter Stewart
~ Lily Portman
~ Cole
~ Brock
~ Kane
~ Peter Stewart
~ Lily Portman
~ Cole
~ Brock
~ Kane
Review: Peter knows he's not a normal kid -- but he's not a bad kid; he's just constantly getting into trouble at school because his science experiments jeopardize the safety of the people around him. Sometimes being curious and too smart with science and physics and all that can be a little dangerous.
But that's all before he meets Lily -- an orphan who claims she can see specters around other people, specters that act like an invisible councilor for each individual, specters that all seem to have nasty intentions. What's more is... Peter doesn't have a specter.
And then after Peter's best friend, Cole, and Cole's older brother, Brock (who also happens to be Peter's worst enemy at school) join them, Peter buckles up for a ride unlike any he's taken before. A ride that's literally life or death. In the middle of a would-be-fatal car accident, Peter is somehow able to step out of the real world and see a rainbow of options of scenes that could happen. There is only one option in which everyone in the car makes it out alive. So, he chooses that one... and everyone survives. The only trouble is... he doesn't know how he did it, why it happened, and why there's suddenly an army of specters (or penumbra, as they're actually called) coming at him to kill him.
Overall, I have mixed feelings about this book. I didn't know when I first picked it up that it was going to have a lot of Arthurian legend mixed in. I really liked how the author twisted physics with the legends -- the whole feel was a really, super cool idea! Anyone that tries to prove Arthur existed with all the elements of the legends intact gets an A+ in my book!
However, I did think the whole plot of this novel could have been better executed. Once Peter and his friends get to the hidden city of Carlion, there's a ton of information that gets dumped on top of them. I struggled to keep myself on top of all that information as well as wading through to get to where the action picked up again. In addition, much of the important information gearing up towards the big finish gets told twice. One set of characters had a conversation about this important thing (no spoilers, sorry), and then ten pages later, another set of characters is having the same exact conversation about the same exact important thing. I think a lot of this novel could have been edited out with a simple "he filled them in" or "she recounted the story." Also -- even though I didn't mind seeing this story unfold from the viewpoints of several different people, the POV would switch mid-paragraph multiple times so I was unsure who's head I was in. Just a little confusing, and something I think could have been edited over better. I do believe this novel is this author's first, and I'd be interested in reading some of her later work to see how her writing has progressed.
The science aspects went over my head a little bit, but I'm blaming that completely on me not being a science geek. I appreciate good science, even if I don't understand it. For science lovers out there who like a good mix of fantasy in with your physic passion, this is your story.
But that's all before he meets Lily -- an orphan who claims she can see specters around other people, specters that act like an invisible councilor for each individual, specters that all seem to have nasty intentions. What's more is... Peter doesn't have a specter.
And then after Peter's best friend, Cole, and Cole's older brother, Brock (who also happens to be Peter's worst enemy at school) join them, Peter buckles up for a ride unlike any he's taken before. A ride that's literally life or death. In the middle of a would-be-fatal car accident, Peter is somehow able to step out of the real world and see a rainbow of options of scenes that could happen. There is only one option in which everyone in the car makes it out alive. So, he chooses that one... and everyone survives. The only trouble is... he doesn't know how he did it, why it happened, and why there's suddenly an army of specters (or penumbra, as they're actually called) coming at him to kill him.
Overall, I have mixed feelings about this book. I didn't know when I first picked it up that it was going to have a lot of Arthurian legend mixed in. I really liked how the author twisted physics with the legends -- the whole feel was a really, super cool idea! Anyone that tries to prove Arthur existed with all the elements of the legends intact gets an A+ in my book!
However, I did think the whole plot of this novel could have been better executed. Once Peter and his friends get to the hidden city of Carlion, there's a ton of information that gets dumped on top of them. I struggled to keep myself on top of all that information as well as wading through to get to where the action picked up again. In addition, much of the important information gearing up towards the big finish gets told twice. One set of characters had a conversation about this important thing (no spoilers, sorry), and then ten pages later, another set of characters is having the same exact conversation about the same exact important thing. I think a lot of this novel could have been edited out with a simple "he filled them in" or "she recounted the story." Also -- even though I didn't mind seeing this story unfold from the viewpoints of several different people, the POV would switch mid-paragraph multiple times so I was unsure who's head I was in. Just a little confusing, and something I think could have been edited over better. I do believe this novel is this author's first, and I'd be interested in reading some of her later work to see how her writing has progressed.
The science aspects went over my head a little bit, but I'm blaming that completely on me not being a science geek. I appreciate good science, even if I don't understand it. For science lovers out there who like a good mix of fantasy in with your physic passion, this is your story.
Advisory: Some language to be aware of. Fantasy violence and action.
This may be a small thing, but I was rather disappointed with how some of the kids interacted with their parents. True, you have a huge, unbelievable world to reckon with (as well as some harsh parental/authorial figures), but the kids acted disrespectfully to the adults at times, outright disobeyed, and even went so far as to justify lying.
Lastly to discuss -- magic. With the Arthurian legend, there are elements in this story that are "magical." Apparently, each person has an innate ability to control a certain element, though oftentimes he/she never discovers what that is within a lifetime. The elements can be controlled through the Ancient Tongue, a forgotten language that encompasses the true names of things, not merely what the object represents but the actual essence of the object. Peter and his friends have to learn to speak in the Ancient Language (even though half the time people are just teaching them to memorize phrases, and they have absolutely no idea what they're saying), and everybody is able to control certain elements. For example, one character can create photons, one is a space specialist, one is a water specialist, etc.
This may be a small thing, but I was rather disappointed with how some of the kids interacted with their parents. True, you have a huge, unbelievable world to reckon with (as well as some harsh parental/authorial figures), but the kids acted disrespectfully to the adults at times, outright disobeyed, and even went so far as to justify lying.
Lastly to discuss -- magic. With the Arthurian legend, there are elements in this story that are "magical." Apparently, each person has an innate ability to control a certain element, though oftentimes he/she never discovers what that is within a lifetime. The elements can be controlled through the Ancient Tongue, a forgotten language that encompasses the true names of things, not merely what the object represents but the actual essence of the object. Peter and his friends have to learn to speak in the Ancient Language (even though half the time people are just teaching them to memorize phrases, and they have absolutely no idea what they're saying), and everybody is able to control certain elements. For example, one character can create photons, one is a space specialist, one is a water specialist, etc.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
*Please note: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.*
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