Jumpers

Rating:
Summary: I tried to read Jumpers slowly and savor it...yeah right!!
Review: From the beginning Jumpers keeps you wanting toknow what's next, what else can happen..Gates takes you through all your emotions like a rollercoaster ride. It's a book I tried to read slowly and savor, but it did not work, not even close. I was not disappointed from beginning to end except for the fact that it did end. Now I have to wait for his next one..

Rating:
Summary: Jump, little children
Review: Jumpers are individuals who have the ability to psychically enter an otherworldly limbo in times of great emotional stress. Nine year-old Anna Wheaton finds herself there when she's knocked into a coma by a sledding accident. Deedee Blaine's consciousness is helplessly spirited away whenever she has an orgasm, which understandably distresses her partners (few of which call her back afterwards.) And for Vietnam vet Kevin Lucier, "jumping" is the only way he can escape being confined to his wheelchair. When Anna's parents are killed during a botched hospital robbery, she vows revenge. But even more dangerous than the criminals she's stalking is the Shadow Monster, a malevolent, near-omnipotent being that inhabits that other realm, and which taunts them with their own hidden secrets.

Despite the concept, there's nothing transcendental about this story, which reminded me of the works of Dean Koontz. Three very different individuals with a common bond come together against an evil force. Part supernatural horror story, part thriller, nothing terribly original. The writing is adequate; Gates isn't what you would call a stylist. The sex scenes are particularly clumsy, eliciting laughter more than anything else. On the other hand, there are some nice scenes of creative violence. A quick read, but not a particularly satisfying one. JUMPERS gets my average "beach reading" rating of three stars.

Rating:
Summary: Uniquely Fresh and Original
Review: This is one of the best horror books I have read in a long time. It keeps its pace with the best of horror stories, yet doesn't fall back on that safety net of trying to get a happy ending. There is a similarity in relationships like there was between George and Lennie in "Of Mice and Men". See if you can spot it.