Paranormals

Paranormals

… another delightful journey … [intriguing] writing style … the ability to draw the reader into each [character] … highly [recommended] … — Diane Sewell, Denisemclark.com, September, 2003

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars If you like Wild Cards and/or Watchmen, this is an excellent addition to your library!
A friend recommended this book to me since it was well known that I am a fan of the Wild Cards series. My friend thought I would enjoy this book as well. “Enjoy” proved to be an understatement. I can’t say enough about Paranormals. I am always on the lookout for good fiction set in the “superhero” genre. This book pulls it off in grand fashion. It has super powered individuals, of course, but these are not two dimensional characters who slug it out just for the heck of it. Each character is a real person with “real” issues. These characters just happen to also have extreme abilities. The story moves at an excellent pace and would make a fantastic film. I have not written many reviews on Amazon. I tend to reserve reviews for books that really strike me. If you like superhero stories that are just darn cool, then read this book!

To make a long review short…this book rocks!

5 Stars So much more than a comic book…
Christopher Andrews is a master of character development, and his gift serves him well in his novel “Paranormals.”

“Paranormals” is the story of how the world changes when a mysterious white flash in the sky endows a portion of the population with incredible mutant powers. With a premise like this, “Paranormals” could have very easily turned into a second-rate “X-Men” knock off, but Andrews avoids this trap through his deftly painted characters.

The reader almost immediately feels for these people as we begin to see their motivations and dreams (sometimes quite literally). These paranormal heroes are more than just “the strong guy” or “the dude who can shoot lasers out of his eyes.” These are richly executed personalities that drive the plot forward with their interactions as they work to accomplish their individual goals.

That is not to say that Andrews takes himself, or his paranormals, too seriously. The book is full of clever winks to the audience and references to his pop-culture inspirations. In “Paranormals,” if a character is going to act like he’s Batman, he’ll have the decency to call himself on it.

The last page of “Paranormals” suggests an impending sequel. I look forward to meeting up with all of my paranormal friends again in the next book.

5 Stars His best yet!
If you’ve been following my reviews, you already know that I am a big fan of Dean R. Koontz and Christopher Andrews. Until now, Koontz has held the edge as my overall favorite with his books “Velocity” and “Intensity,” with Andrews in a very solid second place with “Dream Parlor” and “Pandora’s Game.”

After reading “Paranormals,” I might have to rethink which is my favorite.

“Paranormals” is EXCELLENT. Like Keith R.A. DeCandido did with “Spider-Man: Down These Mean Streets,”Andrews has taken the subject of super humans and elevated it to a more “meaningful” level. Sure, it’s got vigilantes wearing costumes and women communicating with dogs and guys strong enough to bend steel in their bare hands and laser beams and force fields … you get the idea.

But while all of THAT will definitely appeal to younger readers, or those young at heart (like me), Andrews deals with them on a mature level. There are explorations of what people would do if they suddenly became super human. There are villains who will kill your whole family or threaten to sell your children into slavery. There are even villains who sincerely don’t WANT to be villains, but are forced to by circumstances beyond their control. A book that seems “light” on the surface has a lot more depth than you might expect.

We are introduced into this world in 5 chapters that are basically short stories, and then the four “real” main characters are introduced. As with “Pandora’s Game,” Andrews writes with an interesting back and forth style, weaving different story lines all together with impressive skill. Sometimes we see the same events twice, but from different points of view. Again, it gives the “simple” action sequences a surprising amount of depth.

I was very pleased to find that “Paranormals” is the first in an on going series. As with “Pandora’s Game,” I look forward to following these characters through further adventures. I loved this book, and I very much look forward to reading the next Christopher Andrews novel.

3 Stars “Paranormals” — a comic book tale brought to life
As Christopher’s Mother, I read his books with
pride. As a professional book and movie
critic, I read his books with an objective eye.

“Paranormals” is an interesting read. There’s
mystery, twists and plot turns, awesome
characters and a stand up and cheer ending.

If you’re a comic book fan, this book is
one you will especially enjoy. With shades
of “X-Men,” “Paranormals” leaves a vivid
picture in your mind of extradorinary heroes
that become bigger than life. My favorite character in
“Paranomrals” has to be “Powerhouse.” My favorite
author is Christopher Andrews. He’s a genious
story teller.

Lynda Andrews

4 Stars A great book.
I’ve never read a book quite like this one, but I can appreciate the comparison to X-men and Wild Cards. On the one hand it feels almost like a young-adult novel, but it has just enough of a mature writing style that I didn’t feel it was being “written down” at all. The characters are diverse and sympathetic, especially Lincoln. I also liked how the four characters in their three storylines moved around and through one another; I understand Andrews did something similar to this in his first book, Pandora’s Game, which I definitely plan to read next. All in all, a very entertaining work of escapism that is also thought-provoking: What would YOU do if you were a paranormal? It tells us right at the end that a sequel is to come, and I for one am looking forward to it. Well done!

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