Rating: 
Summary: An excellent debut
Review: "Riverwatch" is an excellent debut. The author knows his horror well, and is well versed on how to tell a tale. He has the kind of style that comes across like a natural story teller. And it is obvious that he has done his research--at least as far as the genre is concerned. There may be a lot of archetypes within this novel, but they are presented in a way that celebrates the field, rather than copies from it. There may be elements that we have seen before, but that doesn't matter, because we want to see them. And it is the characters that carry the story. They are so believable that I would swear that he took them from people I know. For a first novel, "Riverwatch" accomplishes what it set out to do. It has introduced us to a new talent. So there may be nothing ultimately new here, at least it is not the job of a hack. Joseph Nassise has established himself as an author to look for.
Rating: 
Summary: Riverwatch Delivers!
Review: "Riverwatch is a stunning debut novel, intricately plotted and beautifully written. Nassise knows that a good 'monster' novel needs to be fast paced and terrifying ... and he delivers action and frights galore! Watch out for Joe Nassise ... he's already made his mark."
Rating: 
Summary: Hhmmm...did I read the same book?
Review: After reading "Riverwatch" I was curious to see what the other reveiws looked like, knowing this was a debut novel and having been personally momunentally disappointed. I feel like I read a different book than everyone else. IMHO The plot was predictable, seemed to drag on forever and was just plain old BORING!. I had to force myself to finish it and on several occassions cursed my obsessive need to finish every book I start. I was hopeful when the book started out. Moloch reminded me of the monster from Jeepers Creepers, which was fine; because all things considered he was a faily unique and interesting nemesis. But boy, was it ever all downhill from there. As someone else mentioned (although they were considerably more charitable than I) the author's habit of constantly telling you what absolutely everyone was thinking all of the time drove me insane. I also foound the author's need to explain everything exasperating. It felt like he was saying "see it really can happen, this really is plausibe"...and frankly it really wasn't. I found the characters fairly under developed and wasn't able to connect with or care about any of them. My most enjoyable moment was finishing this book, knowing I caoulld move on to something else!
Rating: 
Summary: A disappointing read
Review: Although this book has an interesting, and fairly original plot, the writing lacks the intensity that makes for a good read. I frequently skipped pages, and by the end, found myself skipping entire chapters just to finish the book. The characters are flat and impossible to identify with and their dialogue and actions are described with nauseating detail. This book also leaves a number of seemingly important details unexplained, including the bloodstone(assuming I didn't accidently miss the details while skipping pages). I bought this book based on the positive recommendations of other Amazon readers, and fortunately, this is the first time I've been disappointed with the reviews.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: An ancient evil has been buried and sealed in a chamber beneath the Blake mansion that was never meant to be discovered. But renovations to the mansion brings an unsuspecting town to their knees when the ancient evil is mistakenly released into the night sky. Three unsuspecting townspeople are drawn into the age old conflict and together they must muster their strength and wits to defeat what has been awoken. Splendidly crafted, Joseph M Nassise weaves intricate characters into a well thought-out story. Nassise's story telling capabilities far exceed that of your average writer. Never losing me and always keeping me guessing as to the direction of the story, I was immediately sucked into the plot and found myself running from the villain along with the lead characters. You'll be scared like I was... trust me
Rating:
Summary: Flawed but well worth reading
Review: As a good story, 'Riverwatch' delivers. The plot is not wholly original, but is intelligent enough to surpass any thoughts of having been there before. There are, though, three (small) problems... First off, there are some clumsy grammatical errors, which are particular noticeable in the early chapters of the book. This is a shame, since a little elementary editing would have removed most of these. Secondly, Nassise seeks to 'tell' his reader too much, instead of using his descriptions and dialogue to 'show'. Again this is a shame since his ability to coin a keen phrase is evident when, as a page one 'prologue', he describes something as simple as silence and succeeds in immediately drawing his reader into his imaginary world. And thirdly, he has fallen into the first-time author's trap of overusing adjectives and adverbs. He would do well to listen to Stephen King's advice on seeking these out and destroying them (On Writing : A Memoir of the Craft). Any single one of these problems would have passed unnoticed. Any two would have been a slight irritation. But all three caused a series of reoccurring distractions that took the edge off my enjoyment of Riverwatch. And yet the novel is still well-balanced, and has all the ingredients of a darn good read. Riverwatch is fast paced and, despite the story's Gothic feel, Nassise's protagonists are generally likeable characters with whom one can easily identify and empathize. Like most great horror writers, Jospeh Nassie draws the evil in his book from the dark regions of the human mind, though he fully hones the tangible reality of the evil in the nightmare shape of Moloch - The Beast. Nassie's descriptions of this, the last of the 'Nightshades' are superb, and genuinely scary. He taps into our darkest fears and conjures up enough bloodcurdling horror to unsettle us and have us peering nervously round dark corners. The deaths (of which there are several) are bloodthirsty but not excessively so... enough to put you off your bedtime cocoa, but not enough to make you want to close the book. As I say, Riverwatch is well-balanced and should be praised for achieving this difficult feat. Take note... despite my criticisms, if Joseph M. Nassie can curb his predilection to adjectives and adverbs, allow his story to do the talking, and have his manuscript proof-read, his next book will be a true masterpiece. This is a young author on the way up and, in Riverwatch, should be congratulated for having laid the most solid foundation stones.
Rating:
Summary: Caught me from the first sentence!
Review: Before history was recorded there were two main species that ruled the Earth. One were called The Elders and looked identical to humans today. The other were called The Nightshades and were evil winged creatures. The Elders thought the humans had the potential to become intelligent and began teaching them. The Nightshades considered humans to be nothing more than cattle. A war broke out resulting in the extinction of both races. However, one Nightshade had been sealed off from the world. It was buried in an underground tomb and topped with a flowing river. The world was safe. Until... In the present date, while renovating the Blake estate, a river was drained and a cement sealed passage was found. An ancient evil was released, Moloch. Moloch was hungry and had a thirst from revenge! ***** This book caught me from the first sentence and held on until the end! Be warned of graphic death scenes! I highly recommend this one for Stephen King and Dean Koontz fans! Awesome and chilling! ***** Reviewed by Detra Fitch
Rating:
Summary: A Superior Debut!
Review: I am often disappointed by first novels; usually they promise us steak but serve up hamburger. This time though, Joseph Nassise has not only served up the steak he's given us filet mignon! Riverwatch is story of the culmination of a terrible war begun in a time before mankind was preeminent and brought to its climax in smalltown USA. Nassise has plenty of talent for plot, pacing and dialog. This novel is a grabber and should keep you turning pages long after your spouse tells you "enough already go to bed!!" If his next book (Heretic) is as good look for Mr. Nassise to take his place among the likes of Clark, Laymon, Clegg, Little, et al. Buy this book, stay out of dark places and enjoy a thoroughly good horror novel.
Rating:
Summary: A Superior Debut!
Review: I am often disappointed by first novels; usually they promise us steak but serve up hamburger. This time though, Joseph Nassise has not only served up the steak he's given us filet mignon! Riverwatch is story of the culmination of a terrible war begun in a time before mankind was preeminent and brought to its climax in smalltown USA. Nassise has plenty of talent for plot, pacing and dialog. This novel is a grabber and should keep you turning pages long after your spouse tells you "enough already go to bed!!" If his next book (Heretic) is as good look for Mr. Nassise to take his place among the likes of Clark, Laymon, Clegg, Little, et al. Buy this book, stay out of dark places and enjoy a thoroughly good horror novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, not great - enjoyable, could have been better!
Review: I finished this book in a couple days - loved the concept of an eternal struggle between these two "immortal" races, but the book could have been so much better. The best way to describe the writing is to call it simple. Each chapter was very quick and the 4 main characters had no distinct differences to make me really care for one or the other. There were some hints about the cop's background that I thought would come into play but didn't. The construction worker guy was never really developed, and he was the most likeable of all of them. And what happened to Blake? He disappeared from the entire book!!!!!
I'll probably purchase Nassise's next book, but I'm hoping it's a bit "deeper" than this one.
All in all, a cool idea that could have been much better.
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