The Calling [Kindle Edition]

David Mack (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Near the start of this uneven supernatural thriller from Mack (Kabuki: The Alchemy), Tom Nash, who can hear long-distance prayers that oblige him to respond, leaves his near-term pregnant wife and his handyman job in Sawyer, Pa., after receiving a telepathic plea for help from a kidnapped 11-year-old girl somewhere in New York City. Luckily, Nash soon comes across a poster depicting the missing girl, Phaedra Doyle, and manages to talk his way into the Brooklyn townhouse of her wealthy widowed mother, Anna. While the kidnappers have warned Anna not to go to the FBI or police, Anna trusts Nash enough to authorize him to do what he can to recover her daughter. While Erin Sanchez, a supportive local who shares his gift, tells Nash its source, Mack never adequately explains such issues as why Nash isn't overwhelmed by prayers or why he should hear ones far away but not closer by. (July)
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Product Description

HEAR THE CALLING.

No one would guess by looking at Tom Nash that he's extraordinary, and that's just fine with him. A tall, broad-shouldered jack-of-all-trades from Sawyer, Pennsylvania, Tom has a knack for fixing things. He also hides a secret talent: he hears people's prayers. Stranger still, he answers them. Maybe it's because he's a handyman, but Tom feels compelled to fix people's problems. Which is all well and good -- until the soul-shattering plea of a terrified girl sends him on the darkest journey of his life....

SEEK THE TRUTH.

Heeding the call and leaving his home for New York City, Tom discovers a secret world beyond the range of mortal perception -- a world of angels and demons and those who serve them. With the guidance of a knowing stranger named Erin, Tom learns that he himself is one of The Called, born with a divine purpose and a daunting task: to help the powers of Heaven in the war against the agents of Hell, an army of fallen angels known as the Scorned. Thrust into an epic battle of the sacred and the profane, Tom Nash must find the girl who prayed for his help -- because her fate will determine whether humanity deserves to be saved, or damned for all eternity....

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 412 KB
• Print Length: 337 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1416579923
• Publisher: Pocket Books; Original edition (July 21, 2009)
• Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc
• Language: English
• ASIN: B002GPGZ7E
• Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #332,266 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

DAVID MACK is the national bestselling author of more than twenty novels and novellas, including WILDFIRE, HARBINGER, REAP THE WHIRLWIND, PRECIPICE, ROAD OF BONES, PROMISES BROKEN, and the STAR TREK DESTINY trilogy: GODS OF NIGHT, MERE MORTALS, and LOST SOULS. He developed the STAR TREK VANGUARD series concept with editor Marco Palmieri. His first work of original fiction is the critically acclaimed supernatural thriller THE CALLING.

In addition to novels, Mack's writing credits span several media, including television (for episodes of STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE), film, short fiction, magazines, newspapers, comic books, computer games, radio, and the Internet.

His upcoming works include the Star Trek Mirror Universe adventure RISE LIKE LIONS, the new Star Trek Vanguard novel STORMING HEAVEN, an epic 24th-century Star Trek trilogy, and a new original supernatural thriller.

Mack resides in New York City with his wife, Kara. Visit his official web site, http://www.davidmack.pro/ and follow him on Twitter @davidalanmack.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Original and Satisfying, July 27, 2009

By 

SciFiChick "The SciFiChick" (Fishers, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Calling (Paperback)

Tom Nash seems like an ordinary man with a wife and child on the way. But Tom has a gift. He can hear people's prayers and feels a compulsion to answer them. When he hears a terrified young girl pleading for her life, Tom knows that he must help her. Tom embarks on a mission to save a kidnapped girl, and along the way discovers that he's not the only one with special gifts. And not everyone uses them for good.

Mack has created an incredible fantasy world of angels (the Called) and demons (the Scorned), among other super-powered beings. Tom Nash is a good man with a destiny to help people. When faced with deadly adversity, he doesn't even question what he's doing. He simply makes up his mind that helping an innocent stranger is his only option. Along the way, he meets another Called like himself, with not as wholesome morals. But the Scorned are pure evil. And when the forces of evil team up with vicious mafia, Tom is confronted with a danger he has never faced before.

The supporting characters are vivid and mysterious. It's difficult to go into much detail without giving away some surprises. But there are several twists to the story, with some revelations at the end that leave it open-ended for a sequel. Here's hoping!

The Calling is an exciting, dark and suspenseful urban fantasy tale. Fast-paced and thrilling, this is definitely one of my favorite original novels of the year. This is a must read for urban fantasy fans.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Non-Vampire Urban Fantasy. Yeah!, July 18, 2009

By 

J. Hulet "John(Fantasy Literature)" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Calling (Paperback)

Urban Fantasy is replete with different themes and catchy permutations of your standard combination of mythological/fantastic beings who happen to turn up in the world we live in today. In The Calling, David Mack tries something pretty original by trading on the concept of Guardian Angels and their evil counterparts to create a Fantasy version of the world we live in.

Tom Nash is your everyman who happens to have a mystical gift. In his case, this gift is the mechanism by which he is Called into the service of a force for good. The very nature of his existence is so set in opposition to all things fantastic that it sets up a powerful conflict between his need to stay in his life's paradigm while struggling through a serious adventure into the fantastic. It's refreshing to see a Urban Fantasy author who can understand how really difficult it could be to have your frame of reference thrown completely out of balance.

Tom Nash is not terribly exciting as a character, but that's the point. The story is not so much about Tom as it is about anyone who could be placed on this path away from reality. How Tom reacts, his ability to apply real-world skills to the challenges he faces, and his willingness to adapt, but not cave in to the temptation to toss aside his morality when faced with something completely different.

Tom leads us on quite a chase back an forth through New York City trying to answer the prayer of a young girl in need. David Mack doesn't stick with just his perspective. We are shown how the story evolves through at least four different sets of eyes, but this doesn't give you an omniscient view, it just fills in some blanks. Mack is very good at this and he also does a really good job of creating tension. I almost felt like I was reading a thriller novel instead of Urban Fantasy.

For the first book in what appears to be a new series, I was very impressed. David Mack writes very well and gets the story moving at a pace that keeps you interested without blowing through too much too quickly. His characters are believable for the most part and in this genre that's important to keep any sense of realism. I strongly recommend this as a quick read with the hope that more will be soon on it's way.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars interesting paranormal thriller, July 25, 2009

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Calling (Paperback)

In Sawyer, Pennsylvania, Tom Nash is gifted or cursed depending on your perspective with the ability to hear telepathically someone's prayers. He feels a need that borders on obsession to follow-up on the call for help. Thus he drops whatever he is doing and goes to the person in need.

When he hears an eleven year old girl in New York City begging God to save her from her kidnappers, Tom knows he must find and rescue her. He leaves his pregnant wife and his job behind and travels to the Big Apple though he is unsure where the child is being held. Though some would say dumb luck, Tom believes he has been guided to a poster of missing Phaedra Doyle. This leads him to Phaedra's despondent wealthy mom, the widow Anna in Brooklyn. He explains how he found her and she trusts him to help save her daughter while telling him she has been warned to keep law enforcement out or else. .

This is an interesting paranormal thriller starring an intriguing intrepid lead character who "hears" voices of prayers. The story line is fast-paced as Tom terrific courageously does what he believes is his calling in life when he just wants to stay in Pennsylvania with his family. The lack of explanation as to how the champion chooses his involvement and mutes the zillion prayers for divine intervention to keep from going certifiable (think of Rogue of the X-Men without the need to touch someone) detracts from an otherwise super thriller.

Harriet Klausner