2013, first book of Irish author Seth Patrick trilogy. It introduces a
context where a selected group of individuals resides and whose particular
skill is to resuscitate people who have recently passed away, allowing the
closest relatives to bid a last farewell; and in homicide cases let the victim provide
key information to lead the authorities to the capture of the offender.
The main character, Jonah Miller is the reviver; the main element of the
Central Forensic Revival Service of the FBI, and as such he is reserved
for the most complex resuscitation cases. During one of the revivals Jonah
was in charge he notices with horror the presence of a stranger who stared at him
through the eyes of the victim, letting him know that there is another world inhabited
by beings living beyond death and only with subjects like Jonah they can make
contact.
My score:
Jonah then is chosen to execute Daniel Harker’s resuscitation, and
here is where the story takes place. After the revival, Daniel
establishes a direct contact with the reviver and step by step guide him to
dismantle an organization that aims to bring to this world the evil beings
trying to break into our dimension.
As soon as I heard of this book I enthusiastically rush out to read it! It
was my favorite kind of reading: Gothic, with a paranormal hint, an argument
that attempts to explain what happens after death and an uncanny picture on the
cover; in conclusion, all these facts made me believe this book would shortly
become one of my favorites. You only need to open the book on the first page to
get immersed in the thrilling scene of the first resuscitation, so any doubt
you might have regarding the book will vanish.
However, as I was getting further in the reading, it dawned on me, to my
deepest disappointment that the story does not revolve around the paranormal
factor, nor the resuscitation per se, not even in the strange beings who live
beyond death; but instead around merely technical and less relevant details (from
my point of view) that surround the central plot. This is; the endless
descriptions of the required instruments that all revivers and their teams
should use to carry out each revival; medication that ought to be administered to the
revivers after having practiced a revival since they bring along unusual
consequences like the remnants which demand special medical treatment and whose
components, combinations and side effects entailed a deep dissertation from the
part of the writer. Consequently, the bringing-to-life scenes are scarce in
relation to other information shown in the book.
Not to mention the endless sessions provided by the author with historical
background data concerning the emergence of the Forensic Revival Service, they
are quite frankly unbearable. Too often, the story beats around the bush and loses
its point which turns the reading into a true hassle. I often wondered: What does
this have to do with the promising synopsis I read on the cover?
Certainly the author boasts a knack for describing processes, records, all
kinds of data, but ... he displays such a redundant style, that is to
say the form, in which in my opinion, he makes the mistake of overlooking the substance (the central
argument), the reasons which led the reader to dive into the book in the first
place. Perhaps if the work had been presented to the reader under another
category the book could have accomplished its mission and would’ve been a great
piece of work, but the funeral and paranormal element was simply resorted to merely
as an advertising hook.
Well, if at first I could not wait to read the complete saga, now, after
reading the first book I frankly doubt of having enough enthusiasm to read the
second part, it won’t surely happen anytime soon.
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