"The mirror's reflecting what you're thinking again."
If music, photography, and alternate universes suit your fancy, Bryan Davis' Beyond the Reflection's Edge may be the book for you. Meet Nathan, son of renowned violinist Francesca Shepherd and her husband, investigator Solomon Shepherd. Nathan, a talented musician himself, is scheduled to perform a duet with Francesca at her next concert. He gets onstage, they begin the piece, and then she fades away...and doesn't return. When Nathan returns to the wings, he finds his parents dead, their bodies tucked away in stage prop coffins. He seeks refuge from their killer in the home of his father's college friend, Tony. But he and Tony's teenage daughter soon realize that this isn't merely a case of professional jealousy. Solomon Shepherd has stumbled onto something groundbreaking, and powerful forces are out to silence him. Which means the Solomons may be alive after all.
Fans of Bryan Davis' previous works will walk into this trilogy with high expectations, and this opening title does not disappoint. With his descriptive prose and insightful knowledge of his characters, Davis fills his writing with a sense of reality. The magic of the Quattro mirror, which awakens at the sound of music and acts as a window into alternate worlds, is mysterious and understandable at the same time. The characters gradually learn about this slowly, through clues and discoveries revealed every few chapters. They meet their counterparts in another dimension, and together work out a conclusion that is truly terrifying: now that the worlds are out of balance, it is more than likely that they will collide. Violently.
The characters in Reflection's Edge are beautiful. Nathan is a very strong, capable, and yet self-conscious person, often described by others as a "perfect gentleman". Kelly, Tony's daughter, is a sweet girl struggling to piece together the shards of her broken life. Daryl, her best friend, isn't quite as deep as the protagonists, but she brings plenty of smarts and a boatload of movie references to diffuse the tension and make readers laugh. And Mictar, the ultimate villain in this piece, is absolutely chilling. The cast of this novel is enormous, especially when their other-dimensional counterparts are taken into account, but Davis writes everyone with beautiful attention to detail that really brings them to life.
One of the great things about Davis' books is the utter lack of profanity. Everyone is clean-mouthed--at least, on the page--and there isn't any romance. As they get to know each other, Nathan and Kelly slowly grow to love each other as the siblings they have become. That isn't, however, to say everything is clean. Girls at Kelly's school are prone to suggestive comments and low-cut T-shirts, and Kelly's history isn't everything it could be. One of Nathan's challenges is to accept her faults and his own standards, then learn to look past them at the person beneath the past. This is a Christian book, with a couple of parts that are kind of preachy and over-poetic. However, this works well with Nathan's character and doesn't crop up too often.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a story about teenagers from all walks of life who are thrown together in an inter-dimensional conflict that may or may not decide the fate of the world. No pressure or anything. Although there are some cheesy, poetic moments and a few preachy scenes, the characters are very lovable and the prose is full of warmth. The villain and supporting characters are also great, the plot is engrossing, and the premise is fleshed out intelligently. Thus, despite its faults, I give Bryan Davis' Beyond the Reflection's Edge five stars.
Fans of Bryan Davis' previous works will walk into this trilogy with high expectations, and this opening title does not disappoint. With his descriptive prose and insightful knowledge of his characters, Davis fills his writing with a sense of reality. The magic of the Quattro mirror, which awakens at the sound of music and acts as a window into alternate worlds, is mysterious and understandable at the same time. The characters gradually learn about this slowly, through clues and discoveries revealed every few chapters. They meet their counterparts in another dimension, and together work out a conclusion that is truly terrifying: now that the worlds are out of balance, it is more than likely that they will collide. Violently.
The characters in Reflection's Edge are beautiful. Nathan is a very strong, capable, and yet self-conscious person, often described by others as a "perfect gentleman". Kelly, Tony's daughter, is a sweet girl struggling to piece together the shards of her broken life. Daryl, her best friend, isn't quite as deep as the protagonists, but she brings plenty of smarts and a boatload of movie references to diffuse the tension and make readers laugh. And Mictar, the ultimate villain in this piece, is absolutely chilling. The cast of this novel is enormous, especially when their other-dimensional counterparts are taken into account, but Davis writes everyone with beautiful attention to detail that really brings them to life.
One of the great things about Davis' books is the utter lack of profanity. Everyone is clean-mouthed--at least, on the page--and there isn't any romance. As they get to know each other, Nathan and Kelly slowly grow to love each other as the siblings they have become. That isn't, however, to say everything is clean. Girls at Kelly's school are prone to suggestive comments and low-cut T-shirts, and Kelly's history isn't everything it could be. One of Nathan's challenges is to accept her faults and his own standards, then learn to look past them at the person beneath the past. This is a Christian book, with a couple of parts that are kind of preachy and over-poetic. However, this works well with Nathan's character and doesn't crop up too often.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a story about teenagers from all walks of life who are thrown together in an inter-dimensional conflict that may or may not decide the fate of the world. No pressure or anything. Although there are some cheesy, poetic moments and a few preachy scenes, the characters are very lovable and the prose is full of warmth. The villain and supporting characters are also great, the plot is engrossing, and the premise is fleshed out intelligently. Thus, despite its faults, I give Bryan Davis' Beyond the Reflection's Edge five stars.
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