Riverwatch [DELUXE EDITION] (Paperback)

~ Joseph M. Nassise (Author) "It's a tombstone..." (more)
Key Phrases: Harrington Falls, Hudson Blake, Sebastian Blake (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...a stunning debut novel, intricately plotted and beautifully written...fast-paced and terrifying...delivers action and frights galore!..." -- Tim Lebbon, British Fantasy Award winning author of 'Face' and 'The Nature of Balance'

"...succeeds as a modern Gothic thriller...fine character development and the fact that parts really are scary...remarkable..." -- Mark Graham, Special for the Rocky Mountain News

"Horror fans have a special treat in store...a genuinely frightening novel...Nassise is a gifted storyteller...must read list." -- Harriet Klausner; 6073 Fieldcrest Dr, Morrow, Ga 30260

...one of the best horror novels I have read in years. I eagerly await the sequel. -- Debbie Neckel, BookCrazy Radio

Dark caverns, secret chambers, and unspeakable evil…Riverwatch doesn't disappoint! -- Staci Layne Wilson, author of Horrors of the Holy

Nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel for 2001 -- Horror Writers Association

Nominated for the International Horror Guild Award for Outstanding Achievement in a First Novel for 2001 -- International Horror Guild

Riverwatch is not to be missed and Nassise is definitely a writer to keep an eye on. -- Bram Stoker nominated author Greg Gifune

This thriller does what a thriller should – it moves! -- David Wright, author of Lines from the Provinces

Product Description

When his construction team finds the tunnel hidden beneath the cellar floor in the old Blake family mansion in Harrington Falls, Jake Caruso is excited by the possibility of what he might find hidden there. Exploring its depths, he discovers an even greater mystery: a sealed stone chamber at the end of that tunnel.

When the seal on that long forgotten chamber is broken, a reign of terror and death comes unbidden to the residents of the small mountain community. Something is stalking its citizens; something that comes in the dark of night on silent wings and strikes without warning, leaving a trail of blood in its wake. Something that should never have been released from the prison the Guardian had fashioned for it years before.

Now Jake, with the help of his friends Sam Travers and Katelynn Riley, will be forced to confront this ancient evil in an effort to stop the creature’s rampage. The Nightshade, however, has other plans.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 394 pages
• Publisher: Barclay Books; 1st edition (May 7, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931402191
• ISBN-13: 978-1931402194
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,438,272 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars SFReader.com - Riverwatch, June 11, 2004

By	David L. Felts "thesfreader" (Palm Harbor, FL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Riverwatch (Mass Market Paperback)

Riverwatch, a first novel by Joe Nassise, accomplishes what it sets out to do, but does so in a familiar and mostly uninventive fashion. It falls into the category of 'Boogieman' books, along the lines of It, by Stephen King, or Stinger, by Robert McCammon, or a whole host of Dean Koontz novels: Boogieman threatens small town (always a small town) and a group of overmatched characters with a limited chance of success must stop him. There's a certain comfort in familiarity. You understand the situation, circumstances, and goal - the story slips on like a comfortable, well-worn, shoe (albeit in this case one with a few pebbles in it).

It seems that thousands of years ago, three intelligent races occupied the Earth. There were the Elders, human in appearance and benevolent in intent, possessed of strange powers: The Good Guys. Opposite the Elders where the Nightshades; carnivorous flying humanoids who loved nothing better than the cause pain and death: the Bad Guys. Lastly were the Humans, the race that the Nightshades inflicted the pain and death on: the Food. Humans wheren't yet civilized and were hunted as cattle by the Nightshades while the Elders saw potential in humanity and began to teach them. Ultimately this resulted in a war between the Nightshades and the Elders that wiped both races out, leaving only one of each. With the Elders and Nightshades gone, humanity continued on the path of advancement they were shown by the Elders, multiplied, and created their own civilization culminating in where we are today.

Gabriel (obviously a deliberate choice of name) is the last remaining Angel... err, Elder. Age has finally caught up with him however, and he is dying in an assisted care facility. Some of his powers remain, enough so that he senses Moloch, the last remaining Demon... err, Nightshade, is about to bust free from his imprisonment. Gabriel drops a few hints and clues along with a weird necklace to some humans to help give them some semblance of a chance against Moloch.

An aside: in the Bible, Gabriel is an Archangel and the messenger of God who "... went to carry the Word to the heathen", an obvious reference to the teaching role the Elders played to humans. Moloch, on the other hand, was a false deity associated with Ammon in 1 Kings 11:7, "Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab, on the mountain which is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech (Moloch) the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon." These theological references add to the story, as it was kind of interesting to see what other things Nassise was going to try to attribute to Elders and Nightshades in his version of human history.

Back to the book. There's Sam, who works at the care facility part time and designs role playing modules. Jake is a contractor and Sam's friend. It's his workmen who uncover the passage to Moloch's prison. Last is Kate, ostensibly Jake's girlfriend (though they never really acted as such). She's the recipient of said weird necklace, which enables her to establish a mental bond with Moloch, a bond that works both ways. After Moloch escapes, gruesome murders start taking place and the three of them must find a way to defeat the Boogeyman with no help from the authorities since their fantastic story would never be believed.

Sound familiar? To anyone who's been reading horror longer than a week it should. I bet you can guess the ultimate ending as well, though Nassise throws in a few curves that help distinguish it from other stories cut from the same cloth. He certainly isn't shy about hurting his main characters, which helps create tension, as the reader is left to wonder just who will be standing at the end (although we know as soon as the story starts who <i>won't</i>).

The level of craft here is adequate, though unpolished when compared to more experienced authors. Nassise is fond of a particular device, a three sentence construction, with each sentence being its own paragraph, that he overuses. As an example, this is from the first chapter:

He realized what it was that had upset his foreman.
Stone stairs lay just beneath the stone.
Leading down.

He's trying for drama, and, if used sparingly, this would work. But he uses it too much. He's also apparently likes the words 'crimson' and 'flesh'; you'll see both words numerous times here, as well as some odd metaphors that don't do much more then interrupt the narrative flow by breaking POV. He hits you with one right up front: '... the sickly gray of anchovies'. An apt enough metaphor, but one only a writer would employ, not one a character would use. Nassise does this quite a few times in an effort to be more descriptive than necessary. If you're writing from a character's point of view, you ought to stay in character.

Speaking of characters, I didn't feel as attached to them as I should have or wanted to; they were all fairly similar and fairly bland, with Jake being the most well-done. I could see the puppet strings on occasion as Nassise developed situations that seemed more contrived than organic, the result being that the story felt a bit 'forced' at times. The most obvious case of this is at the very beginning (probably the worst place to have it), when Jake's construction foreman get all nervous and scared and gray (as an anchovy) when he discovers (gasp!) a covered staircase that (shudder!) probably leads to (ohmygod) a HIDDEN STOREROOM! I'm trying to be funny, but the emotions and reactions of the characters should feel authentic and be convincing. Sometimes, in Riverwatch they didn't.

Despite my quibbles, I found this to be an admirable first effort and a commendable addition to the Boogeyman subgenre. If Nassise's skills continue to develope, he will no doubt become a popular author. If you're on the lookout for new talent, give this one a try, and keep an eye out for his next.

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10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Hhmmm...did I read the same book?, April 21, 2002

By	Jazzy "jpjp1989" (Warwick, RI United States) - See all my reviews

After reading "Riverwatch" I was curious to see what the other reveiws looked like; knowing this was a debut novel and having been personally momunentally disappointed. I feel like I read a different book than everyone else. IMHO The plot was predictable, seemed to drag on forever and was just plain old BORING!. I had to force myself to finish it and on several occassions cursed my obsessive need to finish every book I start. I was hopeful when the book started out. Moloch reminded me of the monster from Jeepers Creepers, which was fine; because all things considered he was a faily unique and interesting nemesis. But boy, was it ever all downhill from there. As someone else mentioned (although they were considerably more charitable than I) the author's habit of constantly telling you what absolutely everyone was thinking all of the time drove me insane. I also found the author's need to explain everything exasperating. It felt like he was saying "see it really can happen, this really is plausibe"...and frankly it really wasn't. I found the characters fairly under developed and wasn't able to connect with or care about any of them. My most enjoyable moment was finishing this book, knowing I could move on to something else!

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Bad, June 23, 2004

By	Beamer (Duke University) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Riverwatch (Mass Market Paperback)

I won't go into too much depth here, as I'm sure it would only lead to spoilers. Not that it would matter much. You already know everything there is to know about this book as you've read it before. You know what the characters are going to do and what they'll say. You'll know who will die within the first 50 pages.

Expect to groan a great deal. Expect to groan more often than you flip pages as the story goes on. Expect to know the outcome of the action very quickly. Expect to know the full backstory before you read it. Don't expect outstanding writing skills, as writing takes an absolute backseat to simple action narrative.

Least of all, don't expect any maturity over time in the characters, don't expect any intelligence in them, and don't expect to relate to more than their hobbies. As a matter of fact, you might not even be able to tell one from another based on personality, as they say the same things. The only real difference is the backstory.

Do yourself a favor, track down a copy of Michael Talbot's The Bog, from the 80s. The story is almost exactly the same, only the care given to the changes in the characters sets it far above this novel.