Book Title: Night Terrors (Shadow Watch Series #01)
Author: Tim Waggoner
Number of pages: 352
Synopsis:
It’s Men In
Black meets The Sandman.
Meet the fine men and women of the NightWatch: a supernatural agency dedicated to hunting down rogue nightmares that escape from other realms when people dream about them, while ensuring that other dream-folk are allowed to live among the regular, human population… as long as they play by the rules
(re: Goodreads @ Night Terrors by Tim Waggoner)
Should this book be picked up? the tl;dr spoiler-less review:
– Look beyond the cover design, if the synopsis interests you—consider the read
– Multi-layered storytelling focusing on crafting an atmospheric, dark urban-fantasy with fast-paced action sequences while underlining a comedic approach to nightmares
– Imaginative parallel world building that highlights the melding of each dimension in each other’s world; and also integrates juxtaposed personalities (day/night aspects) of the incubi
– Characters can still be rooted for but there is a lack of development masked by quirky and witty dialogue/bantering
– Reiteration and reaffirmation of thoughts may read and feel burdensome but they are not necessarily infodumps
Initial Thoughts
I will certainly be the first to admit that clowns are a no go if given the choice. From It to Bozo the Clown to Are You Afraid of The Dark….let’s just say that my childhood isn’t very fond of them–which is funny I guess because I’ve seen so many variants through television and Cirque shows etc. After reading the synopsis, I was like “okay, cool—sign me up” then the novel opens up with this dedication:
“This one’s for all the coulrophobics out there. Mr. Jinx hopes to visit each and every one of you real soon.”
Like…pls….my heart can’t take it. ….but I trod along.
Full disclosure: I received an advanced reader copy of Night Terrors through NetGalley for an honest review. I extend my thanks to Angry Robot for providing me the opportunity to review this book. By discretion of the author/publisher, quotes were removed from this review.
Disclaimer: There may be spoilers inherent to this review from this point onward.
thoughts and afterthoughts. 