Fiction Book Review for ‘Visions Through a Glass, Darkly’ by David Aboulafia
Book Description
Two days, eighteen hours, fifty-eight minutes... The time of your life on this earth. Richard Goodman is the caretaker of a unique institution that trains disabled youth in the art of watchmaking. But he is no ordinary administrator. He possesses extra sensory powers he does not fully understand and cannot control. But an innocent outing to Coney Island results in him obtaining a more disturbing ability, along with a terrifying prophecy that he will die in less than three days. As the clock of his life counts down, a still greater threat emerges. An uncanny assassin who will destroy everyone he knows and loves. Unless he can discover who the killer is. And stop him in time.
From the Author
Visions Through a Glass, Darkly is my attempt to create something completely different in the genre of psychological suspense. Frankly, it should carry a warning label.
Ten years in the making, Visions is powerful, rich and unusual literary fiction. It breaks rules. If you attempt to breeze through it you'll get dizzy. If you're looking for something with a formulaic approach, you may be disappointed.
Here is fear, here is the end of all things, where all roads terminate, where all horror truly begins, where It lies and lives and rules and lords over nothing and everything; unspeakable dread where time does not exist, beyond reality, beyond the imagination of any reality, the mouth of the demon, the Center, the core, not a star in the firmament nor the faintest hope that there ever was, that there ever could be, that there ever will be, not here.
This novel is not just designed to terrify you. It is intended to change you. But be prepared. Keep the lights on and the door locked and listen closely for the faintest sound at the threshold. Something completely different is coming.
David I. Aboulafia, Esq.
MY REVIEW: 4 stars. Overall, very pleased with this book. I enjoy psychological thrillers, and this one did not disappoint. I definitely recommend it. As a book reviewer, I get a lot of requests and I have to turn down more than I accept. The title and the description intrigued me so I agreed to review this one. I’m glad I did. However, I don’t want my review focused so much on the content, but on the overall experience of reviewing this book. I do a lot of reviews, and I also work in publishing, so I see A LOT of manuscripts, a lot of cover designs, and a lot of review requests. This one stands out above the majority so I felt it deserves notice.
The book arrived from the author with a personal note addressed to me on paper with a professional letterhead. The author was also kind enough to sign the copy that he sent me. Only one other author has done this out of the hundreds I’ve received. The personal touch was thoughtful and appreciated. I know how time consuming it is to personalize every single review request you send out, which makes me appreciate this author’s effort even more. A+
I immediately examined the cover, spine, and back. The front is simple, not too crowded with images and words. It’s a nice change from some of the ones I see that are too “busy”. Well done. The spine looks great. The back cover is where a lot of books go wrong, especially self-published ones. However, this back cover is beautifully designed. Whoever is doing cover design/layout for Cosmic Egg Books, I want their contact info! This cover is flawless. The interior layout is professional as well. Again, A+
The warning the author gives about the content/writing style is spot-on. It does switch point of views frequently, and does start slow with a lot of backstory. These are two writing habits that, honestly, bother me quite a bit most of the time. I had a “cringe” moment when I first read that and I think if I had read that while trying to make a decision whether or not to buy the book, I would’ve immediately put it back on the shelf and looked for a different book. But I had received the book for free for the purpose of doing a review, so was obligated to read it. I forged ahead skeptically. I’m glad I did. This is the only reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5, just because it did go against a personal preference of mine in regards to writing style which took away some of the enjoyment of reading. Nevertheless, it was masterfully executed.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for a review. I was not required to post a positive review, and all opinions are my own.
Book Description
Two days, eighteen hours, fifty-eight minutes... The time of your life on this earth. Richard Goodman is the caretaker of a unique institution that trains disabled youth in the art of watchmaking. But he is no ordinary administrator. He possesses extra sensory powers he does not fully understand and cannot control. But an innocent outing to Coney Island results in him obtaining a more disturbing ability, along with a terrifying prophecy that he will die in less than three days. As the clock of his life counts down, a still greater threat emerges. An uncanny assassin who will destroy everyone he knows and loves. Unless he can discover who the killer is. And stop him in time.
From the Author
Visions Through a Glass, Darkly is my attempt to create something completely different in the genre of psychological suspense. Frankly, it should carry a warning label.
Ten years in the making, Visions is powerful, rich and unusual literary fiction. It breaks rules. If you attempt to breeze through it you'll get dizzy. If you're looking for something with a formulaic approach, you may be disappointed.
Here is fear, here is the end of all things, where all roads terminate, where all horror truly begins, where It lies and lives and rules and lords over nothing and everything; unspeakable dread where time does not exist, beyond reality, beyond the imagination of any reality, the mouth of the demon, the Center, the core, not a star in the firmament nor the faintest hope that there ever was, that there ever could be, that there ever will be, not here.
This novel is not just designed to terrify you. It is intended to change you. But be prepared. Keep the lights on and the door locked and listen closely for the faintest sound at the threshold. Something completely different is coming.
David I. Aboulafia, Esq.
MY REVIEW: 4 stars. Overall, very pleased with this book. I enjoy psychological thrillers, and this one did not disappoint. I definitely recommend it. As a book reviewer, I get a lot of requests and I have to turn down more than I accept. The title and the description intrigued me so I agreed to review this one. I’m glad I did. However, I don’t want my review focused so much on the content, but on the overall experience of reviewing this book. I do a lot of reviews, and I also work in publishing, so I see A LOT of manuscripts, a lot of cover designs, and a lot of review requests. This one stands out above the majority so I felt it deserves notice.
The book arrived from the author with a personal note addressed to me on paper with a professional letterhead. The author was also kind enough to sign the copy that he sent me. Only one other author has done this out of the hundreds I’ve received. The personal touch was thoughtful and appreciated. I know how time consuming it is to personalize every single review request you send out, which makes me appreciate this author’s effort even more. A+
I immediately examined the cover, spine, and back. The front is simple, not too crowded with images and words. It’s a nice change from some of the ones I see that are too “busy”. Well done. The spine looks great. The back cover is where a lot of books go wrong, especially self-published ones. However, this back cover is beautifully designed. Whoever is doing cover design/layout for Cosmic Egg Books, I want their contact info! This cover is flawless. The interior layout is professional as well. Again, A+
The warning the author gives about the content/writing style is spot-on. It does switch point of views frequently, and does start slow with a lot of backstory. These are two writing habits that, honestly, bother me quite a bit most of the time. I had a “cringe” moment when I first read that and I think if I had read that while trying to make a decision whether or not to buy the book, I would’ve immediately put it back on the shelf and looked for a different book. But I had received the book for free for the purpose of doing a review, so was obligated to read it. I forged ahead skeptically. I’m glad I did. This is the only reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5, just because it did go against a personal preference of mine in regards to writing style which took away some of the enjoyment of reading. Nevertheless, it was masterfully executed.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for a review. I was not required to post a positive review, and all opinions are my own.
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