Published: 29th September 2011
Publisher: Self Published
Pages: 90
Format: ebook
Genre: Urband Fantasy/Paranormal/Novella
★ ★ ★ – 3 Stars
His first day of work wasn’t what Martin Cunningham expected. A sultry boss, a classy receptionist, the drama-queen foreigner, and a painfully shy techie who prefers hiding to human interaction, was the oddest group of characters he’d ever met. When an assassination attempt is made against his new boss, Martin comes face to face with the stuff of nightmares.
Now he and his new co-workers must race to prevent another attack, but where do they start? There’s very little to go on, and the only solid piece of evidence escaped through the u-bend in the toilet. By the end of the day, Martin becomes one of the privileged few who really understands what lies in the shadows, and what it means to work in THE WATCHTOWER
Note: I was provided with a copy of this book for review
This short urban fantasy novella is filled with magic and magical beings, and an action filled story that throws you into the deep end from the early pages. The story is enjoyable and it is a wonderful concept but being a novella there is not a lot of room to expand and I would have loved more detail about these characters and their abilities. Having said that though, it is a nice quick introduction to each of them and the story acts like a mini adventure before a grander story is to emerge. There is enough to make the story work and make it understandable and being the first in the series more information will no doubt be provided in later books.
The story is fast paced but easy to follow and Conteur has written it well so that Martin’s initiation and confusion about the magical world is realistic but not distracting. From think these people are just quirky colleagues to being suddenly thrown into a situation with dark magic he handles it well and Conteur demonstrates his gradual acceptance suitably, while still maintaining his slight disbelief. It is clear that Martin is often too caught up in the present situation to do any real reflection on what is happening, but when he does it comes across quite naturally and while he thinks the entire thing quite bizarre, there is also no doubting what he sees before his eyes.
The characters are likeable and Conteur has given an introduction to them in a manner that feels real and believable, and fitting to the circumstances. The detail is limited, and being a novella understandable, but there is also enough to grasp who they are and understand their roles. The immediate action that unfolds means there is little time to ponder decisions and people too much but Conteur manages to maintain the story well and not skip information or make the story feel like it has ignored crucial information while still retaining some mystery. As a result getting involved in this story is easy and the intrigue and pull you along with Martin as he discovers who these people are and what kind of job he has signed himself up for.
There is not a long explanation about Terin Global Corporation but Conteur fits information neatly and smoothly into the narrative and dialogue and the reader learns as Martin learns. I enjoyed the mystery and the lack of information at the start because it added to the story. Conteur sets up the workplace as being weird and peculiar and having quirky characters who do not explain things which works well and provides a bit of curiosity. Nothing much is explained to Martin and he gets flung into this strange new job which immediately becomes somewhat bizarre leaving little time to think, yet Conteur is aware not to make Martin too accepting too quickly.
The combination of Greek and Christian ideologies confused me slightly; the fact that both can exist but that Heaven and Hell is more real than The Underworld was interesting. This was a seemingly small part overall but it was curious if it is an introduction to the realities of the world.
The story is a quick read at less than 100 pages and is a decent introduction into the series. The concept is interesting and Conteur delivers a story that is filled with the unknown and the supernatural tied together with action, intrigue, and unique and fascinating magical beings.
You can purchase The Watchtower via the following
Lost in a Good Book 