Watchers, The [Paperback]

Mark Andrew Olsen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2008

Nail-biting suspense with strong spiritual themes-including the role of prayer in the battle between good and evil. Enjoyable for fans of Dekker and Peretti.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Twenty-year-old Abby Sherman has a blog on a social networking website called "mycorner.com." When she innocently blogs about a very vivid dream, she sets in motion the events that comprise the bulk of this novel, in which Christy nominee Olsen (The Assignment) admirably ties together myriad plot points. Not only does Abby blog, but she also appears on an Oprah-like show, travels the world, learns about several cultures and religious traditions, and fights battles against the spiritual forces of darkness. The juxtaposition of Abby's youth against her wisdom and power are reminiscent of Buffy the Vampires Slayer, and the book's take on spiritual warfare seems to owe more to Joss Whedon than it does to Frank Peretti. Olsen fascinatingly weaves questions of race and gender into the epic supernatural war he depicts, and despite staying faithful to the conventions of the suspense-thriller genre, he only occasionally wanders into clichéd territory. Though much of Abby's dialogue develops her as a smart, strong heroine, the novel's weakest points are Abby's blog entries and her heartfelt but largely stultifying monologues about her otherworldly gifts. Nonetheless, Olsen delivers an entertaining thriller likely to be enjoyed especially by fans of the spiritual warfare genre.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"...The Watchers is a wild ride of action-packed suspense" -- Sheryl Root, armchairinterviews.com

"If you like mysteries, suspense, spiritually up-lifting tales, you will not want to miss The Watchers." -- Philip Tomasso III, inthelibraryreviews.net

"Readers won't be able to pout this book down... filled with rich history, wonderful imagery, and intense characters." -- Romantic Times

"...a fast-paced work of fiction.... I enjoyed this supernatural saga, and look forward to more from this author." -- Tracey Bonsell, Christian Book Previews.com --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Bethany House; Reprinted edition (April 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764204688
• ISBN-13: 978-0764204685
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,227,669 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

MARK ANDREW OLSEN is a screenwriter, author of four solo novels and four collaborative novels including the bestselling biblical thriller Hadassah, adapted into the FoxFaith film One Night with the King. He co-wrote the MGM film Music Within, and the Bethany House novels Hadassah Covenant, Rescued, The Assignment, The Watchers, The Warriors, The Long Road Home and Ulterior Motives. Mark is the son of Baptist ministers and missionaries to France and a graduate of Baylor University in Professional Writing. He lives in Colorado with his wife Connie and three children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A solid read; but nothing new., March 1, 2007

By 

Kevin Lucia "Author" (Castle Creek, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Watchers (Hardcover)

In today's world, every author, writer/songwriter, musician, and filmmaker is faced with a quandary that's almost biblical in proportions: "There is nothing new under the sun". Especially in the world of fiction, authors must undoubtedly struggle with the looming feeling that every story has already been told, and they face the pressure of putting unique spins and crafting original takes on stories that have been told over and over again.

Sometimes, that's the barometer for judging a good book versus a great book; when reading a "good" book, readers think to themselves at the end, "That was good, but it's been done before". When finishing a "great" book, the reader is conscious this plot isn't new, but some wispy intangible in the story's narrative - be it the strength of the characters, vivid description, introspective first person narrative, or unique perspective - elevates it past that, and the reader thinks, "That was unbelievable!".

The Watchers, by Mark Andrew Olsen, is written well, a few of its characters are interesting - the strongest, in my mind is assassin-turned-protector, Dylan Hatfield - and Olsen crafts suspense well enough, but the overall plot simply falls into the former category: a good, solid read that's suspenseful, written well...but it's been done before. For example: A young girl plagued with nightmares and visions is hunted by an ancient, ruthless Order older than time itself as she races to uncover the truth about herself and a mysterious, holy group of woman who are also being hunted by this evil, dark Order. Along the way, an assassin who's always "followed" orders discovers a deeper truth as they hurtle on a global adventure that will reveal the truth about who they are, and who they will become.

Now for the disclaimer: this is not a bad book, by any means. For most of the novel, the sheer suspense and action is engaging, though I found myself far more interested in Dylan's character, which seemed much deeper and more complex than the main female protagonist, Abby Sherman...who at times was flat, one dimensional, and uninspiring (of course, perhaps that's just because I'm a guy). However, this need not be a gender-related thing: I just found it too convenient that these tremendous visions and dreams would come to someone who was already an ardent, passionate, zealous Christian. For me, I would've been much more engaged if Abby had been unsaved, and struggled with the meaning of visions through her unbelief. Also, Dylan Hatfield conveniently comes to salvation halfway through the novel, so everything is wrapped up nicely and neatly.

The bad guys are a little too predictable, and a usual pet peeve of mine: like many CBA novels, the dialogue for these evil bad guys is sanitized, watered down. As I've said many times before, I'm certainly not a proponent for allowing rampant swearing in Christian novels, but at some point the story's realism breaks down when a hardened covert operative who's sold his soul to evil and kills for sport and pleasure calls everyone either "fools" or "losers" for the whole novel. I certainly don't want to be exposed to a trash-mouth, but when I read that, a little alarm trips off in my head and I think: 'there's just no way a guy like that would really say that'.

In the end, The Watchers definitely has my recommendation as a good read, and fans of a certain genre and plotline will definitely enjoy this tale, however, though it isn't a bad story or novel, it just falls into my former category listed above: a "good" story that's been told before.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good paced Good VS Evil thriller, May 22, 2009

By 

Russell Goodall (Yokohama, Japan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Watchers, The (Paperback)

I enjoyed this. Plenty of action and it reads well. Enough spirituality for Christians, but not too preachy for those who aren't. Could be described as a 'lighter' version of This Present Darkness, but still on the same theme. Having said that spiritual warfare itself is I believe a serious, yet interesting subject. Very interested in reading the sequel The Warriors (The Watchers Series #2). 4 stars for the potential to refine.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read- Couldn't Put It down!!!, January 30, 2009

By 

Kaitlyn (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Watchers (Hardcover)

This book is amazing.. a friend gave it to me to read for something new. i usually don't read these kinds of books but it was amazing. I couldn't put it down and i finished it in like 2 days! A great adventure but has a many different meanings to it. I am right now reading the sequel and so far it is an amazing book as well. i would recommend it to anyone!