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A review by barb4ry1
Eyes to See by Joseph Nassise
3.0
Actual rating: 3.5
What would you do if your child disappeared one day? What would you be willing to sacrifice to find her? Would you give up, say, your eyesight for a chance of a reunion?
Are you sure?
Jeremiah was. Now he's blind but he sees the dead. And the dead see him. He has little to lose - his wife left him years ago. He lost his job. He isolated himself from other people and it's safe to say his relationship with his companion ghosts Scream and Whisper is the only meaningful relationship he maintains.
He's paid to solve other people's problems with ghosts. Additionally, one of the police officers believes he's a psychic and uses his help in his investigations. With the help of his mysterious ghost companion named Whisper, Jeremiah is able to see what happened to the victims through their eyes, in the last seconds of their lives.
A series of murders seem to be connected to his daughter's disappearance. With the help of two outcasts, Denise and Dmitri, Jeremiah is focused on discovering the truth.
It seems the author enjoys beating the hell out of his characters. Don't count on a happy ending. You won't get one.
Characterization is done well. In the beginning, Jeremiah is unlikeable but interesting. He isolated himself from others and doesn't really care about them. While the story progresses we learn about experiences that made him abrasive and boorish. With time the interest in his story turns into sympathy and later on into genuine respect. I can confirm that Joseph Nassise managed to make me root for a character I had originally disliked. Noe an easy feat. To be fair, though, I'm keen on redemption arcs so it wasn't that difficult to make me root for Jeremiah.
I think Jeremiah will be relatable to many readers. Most of us understand what it means to blame ourselves for our past failures and how difficult it can be to actually change our ways. Accompanying Jeremiah on the journey allows the reader to see the echo of their own story within the pages of his. More or less. Contrary to him, I haven't met many ghosts.
Female characters are as interesting, maybe even more so than their male counterparts. Both Whisper(his ghost companion) and Denise Clearwater(a hedge witch) have secrets and interesting backstories. Above all, though, they have distinct personalities.
The writing was quite dense and emotional. I liked it most of the times but I have to say that some of the longer descriptions and blocks of texts were tiring. Probably, it's my main issue with the story. In short, despite high stakes and cruel twists, there were times
when the prose and exposition took me out of the story.
Overall, I'm glad I gave this one a try. If you like dark and emotional fantasy books and would like to meet Harry Dresden's grumpy cousin, give this one a try.
What would you do if your child disappeared one day? What would you be willing to sacrifice to find her? Would you give up, say, your eyesight for a chance of a reunion?
Are you sure?
Jeremiah was. Now he's blind but he sees the dead. And the dead see him. He has little to lose - his wife left him years ago. He lost his job. He isolated himself from other people and it's safe to say his relationship with his companion ghosts Scream and Whisper is the only meaningful relationship he maintains.
He's paid to solve other people's problems with ghosts. Additionally, one of the police officers believes he's a psychic and uses his help in his investigations. With the help of his mysterious ghost companion named Whisper, Jeremiah is able to see what happened to the victims through their eyes, in the last seconds of their lives.
A series of murders seem to be connected to his daughter's disappearance. With the help of two outcasts, Denise and Dmitri, Jeremiah is focused on discovering the truth.
It seems the author enjoys beating the hell out of his characters. Don't count on a happy ending. You won't get one.
Characterization is done well. In the beginning, Jeremiah is unlikeable but interesting. He isolated himself from others and doesn't really care about them. While the story progresses we learn about experiences that made him abrasive and boorish. With time the interest in his story turns into sympathy and later on into genuine respect. I can confirm that Joseph Nassise managed to make me root for a character I had originally disliked. Noe an easy feat. To be fair, though, I'm keen on redemption arcs so it wasn't that difficult to make me root for Jeremiah.
I think Jeremiah will be relatable to many readers. Most of us understand what it means to blame ourselves for our past failures and how difficult it can be to actually change our ways. Accompanying Jeremiah on the journey allows the reader to see the echo of their own story within the pages of his. More or less. Contrary to him, I haven't met many ghosts.
Female characters are as interesting, maybe even more so than their male counterparts. Both Whisper(his ghost companion) and Denise Clearwater(a hedge witch) have secrets and interesting backstories. Above all, though, they have distinct personalities.
The writing was quite dense and emotional. I liked it most of the times but I have to say that some of the longer descriptions and blocks of texts were tiring. Probably, it's my main issue with the story. In short, despite high stakes and cruel twists, there were times
when the prose and exposition took me out of the story.
Overall, I'm glad I gave this one a try. If you like dark and emotional fantasy books and would like to meet Harry Dresden's grumpy cousin, give this one a try.