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WiSpY
A young blogger has the ultimate on-line encounter; a spirit partner who introduces him to a world he must master to save his own. A ghost in the machine? Adam is a 19 year old blogger who lives in his mother's basement and who is dealing with a critically ill friend. A simple reply to a blog fan e-mail begins a relationship with Pretoria, a a beautiful and mysterious young woman. Pretoria guides him into 'the Realm', a spirit world where he discovers he is a powerful force for the protection and survival of human kind. As Pretoria reintroduces Adam to the Realm and his place in it, he realizes that she is not only trying to reclaim him for the sake of humanity, but also for the spirit world and herself. Facing a powerful evil, Adam re-engages with the Realm in order to save his friend and the human world while re-discovering why he had tried to escape it in the first place. As a battle within the Realm reaches its climax, Adam must finally choose between his human and his spirit form, or lose both.
346 pages, Paperback
First published December 4, 2011
94 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 16, 2012
I absolutely loved it. It is one of the best books that I've read over the summer.
March 13, 2012
I reviewed WiSpY as part of a blog tour. I was asked to give an honest review for no monetary compensation. So here it is:
*Possible Spoilers*
What I Liked:
Half way through the first chapter, I knew I wouldn't put the book down because the protagonist and 1st person narrator, Adam, is just so likeable. We learn a lot about him in the span of a few pages, his awkward growing up years, his friendship with Tony - his best friend, and how Adam came to be a blogger in the first place. Blogging as a full time occupation is something still relatively new, so this immediately gave the book and character a fresh, up-to-date feeling. Blogging and its possible supernatural interference is also not a theme frequently if ever explored in a novel so again, the idea and premise of this story was rather unique.
The interaction with the 'ghost in the machine' was quirky and Adam reacted accordingly. The biggest plus point for this novel is definitely Adam - likeable, genuine, not a Gary Stu in any way while still being an all round nice guy who doesn't always say or do the right thing and who readers can relate to.
Pretoria (slightly biased here since Pretoria is the name of one of the capital cities in my home country). I know I should have liked her. The gorgeous heroine of the story but I didn't. She's annoyingly prissy, self-righteous and rather manipulative. And I liked that. I really enjoyed the fact that I could dislike the heroine and still connect with the story and plot, and still root for Adam.
The stakes. The stakes are pretty high in this novel for Adam and Pretoria, particularly for Adam on both a personal and bigger-picture scale. The author also manages to weave together these two plot points pretty well at the end.
What I Didn't Like:
Pacing. The story tends to drag, especially through the middle as Adam learns about the Realm and his place in it. I tended to skip through some of the exposition, wanting to get back into the action, which when it eventually came was pretty good stuff. The author has a tendency to over explain the system, how things work and why. I'm not sure all the back story was necessary for the story and that we could have learned bits here and there to help us understand what was going on without pages of explanation prior to the event. Maybe just a personal preference issue, I like action, not exposition. The author also had a tendency to describe and get into details of things I found superfluous to the story at hand. But that's my only beef really.
My Rating:
3.5/5 stars - pity Goodreads doesn't do half stars! THe book had a good premise and some great characters. A little slow and drawn out, otherwise WiSpY would've earned 4 stars. As far as paranormal stories go, WiSpY is a thoroughly enjoyable read.
*Possible Spoilers*
What I Liked:
Half way through the first chapter, I knew I wouldn't put the book down because the protagonist and 1st person narrator, Adam, is just so likeable. We learn a lot about him in the span of a few pages, his awkward growing up years, his friendship with Tony - his best friend, and how Adam came to be a blogger in the first place. Blogging as a full time occupation is something still relatively new, so this immediately gave the book and character a fresh, up-to-date feeling. Blogging and its possible supernatural interference is also not a theme frequently if ever explored in a novel so again, the idea and premise of this story was rather unique.
The interaction with the 'ghost in the machine' was quirky and Adam reacted accordingly. The biggest plus point for this novel is definitely Adam - likeable, genuine, not a Gary Stu in any way while still being an all round nice guy who doesn't always say or do the right thing and who readers can relate to.
Pretoria (slightly biased here since Pretoria is the name of one of the capital cities in my home country). I know I should have liked her. The gorgeous heroine of the story but I didn't. She's annoyingly prissy, self-righteous and rather manipulative. And I liked that. I really enjoyed the fact that I could dislike the heroine and still connect with the story and plot, and still root for Adam.
The stakes. The stakes are pretty high in this novel for Adam and Pretoria, particularly for Adam on both a personal and bigger-picture scale. The author also manages to weave together these two plot points pretty well at the end.
What I Didn't Like:
Pacing. The story tends to drag, especially through the middle as Adam learns about the Realm and his place in it. I tended to skip through some of the exposition, wanting to get back into the action, which when it eventually came was pretty good stuff. The author has a tendency to over explain the system, how things work and why. I'm not sure all the back story was necessary for the story and that we could have learned bits here and there to help us understand what was going on without pages of explanation prior to the event. Maybe just a personal preference issue, I like action, not exposition. The author also had a tendency to describe and get into details of things I found superfluous to the story at hand. But that's my only beef really.
My Rating:
3.5/5 stars - pity Goodreads doesn't do half stars! THe book had a good premise and some great characters. A little slow and drawn out, otherwise WiSpY would've earned 4 stars. As far as paranormal stories go, WiSpY is a thoroughly enjoyable read.
March 30, 2012
WiSpY is a fast-paced and exciting story. Right from the first chapter, I was drawn in by the strange things that started to happen to Adam and by the time he met Pretoria and things started to really get rolling, I couldn’t put it down.
I loved the way the story flowed – even with the twists and turns, each scene moved forward to the next very easily and I had to keep reading to find out what would happen next.
Adam is a likeable character although a little sleazy towards Pretoria. I’ll let him off because he’s only nineteen. Pretoria seems like such a caring person – it’s sweet the way she keeps checking to make sure Adam is alright with everything.
The only thing I can say against it is that the concepts surrounding the “Realm” are very complicated. There’s a section in the middle of the book where Pretoria explains everything to Adam in one day – it’s such a deluge of information that I’m still not sure I get it all after a second read-through. It isn’t essential to understanding the rest of the story though and there wouldn’t really have been an easier way to present the information to Adam and the reader.
From the little that we hear during WiSpY, it sounds as though there is a lot more to the story of the First Ones, New Ones, Straddlers and Protectors both in the past and coming in the future. I hope Rob Andrews decides to continue to write about this compelling world.
Review originally posted on The Oaken Bookcase.
I loved the way the story flowed – even with the twists and turns, each scene moved forward to the next very easily and I had to keep reading to find out what would happen next.
Adam is a likeable character although a little sleazy towards Pretoria. I’ll let him off because he’s only nineteen. Pretoria seems like such a caring person – it’s sweet the way she keeps checking to make sure Adam is alright with everything.
The only thing I can say against it is that the concepts surrounding the “Realm” are very complicated. There’s a section in the middle of the book where Pretoria explains everything to Adam in one day – it’s such a deluge of information that I’m still not sure I get it all after a second read-through. It isn’t essential to understanding the rest of the story though and there wouldn’t really have been an easier way to present the information to Adam and the reader.
From the little that we hear during WiSpY, it sounds as though there is a lot more to the story of the First Ones, New Ones, Straddlers and Protectors both in the past and coming in the future. I hope Rob Andrews decides to continue to write about this compelling world.
Review originally posted on The Oaken Bookcase.
February 12, 2012
When WiSpY by Rob Andrews was brought to my attention, with a chance for a review, I was intrigued. It holds two things that I found interesting. First is that it is paranormal. I have been reading a lot of paranormal books lately, but none dealt with spirit realms like this one. I figured this would be a first. The second thing that drew me to this, was that it is a book about a blogger. How perfect!
I was pulled into the story immediately. Andrews has a wonderful way of describing everything. Adam's personality was very interesting. He stated what he thought, and got right down to things. I really liked that. He made a wonderful protagonist in this story. I also loved Pretoria. She was a take charge spirit who was also loving and patient with Adam. She showed him the way back to who he truly was, and helped him save the world. Tony's role was fun and I loved reading his comments and his worry about Adam. The other spirits were well described.
Learning the different spirits that formed the Realm was interesting. There was danger, love, and suspense in this book. I was constantly wondering what was going to happen next. I also really wonder about Adam and Pretoria's back story. It was touched upon several times but I just wonder what else they did in the past.
I will be recommending this book to others. If you enjoy paranormal fiction then definitely give WiSpY a try. I wonder what Andrews will come up with next...
I was pulled into the story immediately. Andrews has a wonderful way of describing everything. Adam's personality was very interesting. He stated what he thought, and got right down to things. I really liked that. He made a wonderful protagonist in this story. I also loved Pretoria. She was a take charge spirit who was also loving and patient with Adam. She showed him the way back to who he truly was, and helped him save the world. Tony's role was fun and I loved reading his comments and his worry about Adam. The other spirits were well described.
Learning the different spirits that formed the Realm was interesting. There was danger, love, and suspense in this book. I was constantly wondering what was going to happen next. I also really wonder about Adam and Pretoria's back story. It was touched upon several times but I just wonder what else they did in the past.
I will be recommending this book to others. If you enjoy paranormal fiction then definitely give WiSpY a try. I wonder what Andrews will come up with next...
April 18, 2012
I found Wispy an interesting read. The story is told from Adam's point of view. Adam gets freaked out while writing his blog because of what seems to be a "ghost in his computer." After opening an e-mail, WiSpY starts chatting with him, only the things WiSpY says, he would only know if he, or she, or it were actually there.....and there is no one in the basement with Adam. Adam is a funny guy, and he does everything he can to stay away from the basement and his computer, but to no avail, and his life gets turned upside down. He ends up meeting Pretoria, who is a beautiful woman, and Adam is baffled by what she sees in him. Pretoria helps to "awaken" Adam, and bring to his remembrance who and what he really is. After a couple of incidents revolving around his blog and Pretoria, Adam finds himself a wanted man, he's just not sure who, or better yet what wants him and why.
WiSpY is centered around the paranormal and Rob Andrews creates a spiritual world with spiritual beings which is both entertaining and mystifying. The story is action packed, with twists and turns, and incorporates a science fiction/fantasy element that is quite suspenseful. I found the supporting characters funny, especially Adam's friend Tony. If you enjoy stories centered around the supernatural with the added bonus of a science fiction twist, then WiSpY is a story you would like.
WiSpY is centered around the paranormal and Rob Andrews creates a spiritual world with spiritual beings which is both entertaining and mystifying. The story is action packed, with twists and turns, and incorporates a science fiction/fantasy element that is quite suspenseful. I found the supporting characters funny, especially Adam's friend Tony. If you enjoy stories centered around the supernatural with the added bonus of a science fiction twist, then WiSpY is a story you would like.
August 1, 2012
WiSpY is an exciting paranormal adventure. Rob's descriptions are brilliant and made me feel like I was there. I loved all the characters. The premise for the book is very original Adam, who is seemingly just another blogger, has an encounter that changes his life and has him fighting to save the world. He also finds out some secrets about himself along the way. Aside from a few parts, this book is very fast paced and easy to read. This is a perfect summer read for those of you who enjoy a fast paced adventure.
August 31, 2014
I wrote it, so obviously I thought it was brilliant :)
June 23, 2012
Keeps you reading, keeps you interested! Very cool concept! Funny! What an imagination! I loved this book.
November 9, 2018
I love this book and the author.
on-hold
August 16, 2012Sorry, on hold. D: looking forward to starting it again though.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews