Jason Willow

by Gareth Mottram

Imagine a mix of the later Harry Potter books, The Matrix and Jason Bourne films and the Supernatural T.V. series. Now step further into the dark. Twenty years ago, Jason's father ran from a hidden war against demons and the fanatical Brethren who summon them. However, his arcane powers were too valuable for either side to give up. After years in hiding from inhuman assassins, Jason's mother is killed and the hunt closes in. A terrifying new world opens up all around Jason - a grey world of demons, possessed innocents and secret societies. Amidst first love and betrayal in an isolated abbey, Jason must decide whether to defy his father and fully embrace his own supernatural powers or continue running away forever. Jason Willow is packed full of hard-hitting martial arts and gun action, suspense and tightly controlled powers. Family, friends and enemies are embroiled in complicated relationships as they lead us through the high-octane action sequences. This modern-day story plays out over such locations as a remote Scottish island, a high-tech abbey stronghold, a gang-controlled school and a hellish brewery town lost deep in the Yorkshire moors.

340 pages, Paperback

First published August 12, 2010

About the author

Hi. I have published a trilogy of YA, paranormal action books in my JASON WILLOW series. My current work in progress is a YA fantasy set on in a prison for magic users.

I am also working on a near-future, dystopian film script and a strategic board game.

I fit my writing around working for an educational charity in Hertfordshire.

I have trained (badly) in various martial arts over the years but now I play the less painful sports of squash and tennis in sunny Hertfordshire, UK.

You can catch up with the latest book developments and thoughts here and card game rules and links here

I really hope you enjoy following Jason and his companions and/or Will and Bridget as they battle... oh you'll see.

Reviews

[Jane McBride · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jason Willow reminds me of a lot of things I love-certain types of books, certain types of movies, and even certain types of video games. We start out with Jason and Miranda Willow, teen brother and sister, who seem by all appearances to be normal teenagers. Normal, that is, if you don’t count the fact that they have been on the run with their parents their entire lives, and that their mother goes down in a hail of gunfire in the opening scene.
That loss forces their father, Richard Willow, to make a decision. Obviously, his protection alone is no longer enough to keep his family safe, and he begins the transition of coming more into the open and trying to find out who can be trusted. They go to the castle home of his austere father, from whom he is estranged for reasons yet to be revealed. While there, Miranda and Jason wander off alone and find themselves under attack by an unknown man. Jason and Miranda have been trained all their lives in the martial art of Jakra, and quite passably hold their own until Grandfather, Father, and the Crazy Old Caretaker arrive to take out the intruder. Jason and Miranda can’t help but notice that not only do they take him out, they take him out with supernatural style!
Up to this point, Richard has always refused to tell his children why they were running, but this incident eventually forces him, under duress, to begin revealing just what is going on. A large part of the story is dedicated to Richard’s continuing efforts to keep the truth from his children, particularly Jason. Even when it’s readily apparent that Jason literally must know the truth, Richard still resists telling him all of it. In the meantime, Richard has taken his children away from the family castle, to what he hopes is a place of safety.
Alan Brash has been helping Richard find safe places to stay for twenty years. Now Richard decides to depend on Brash for more and goes to Brash’s compound to stay. Brash reveals to Jason that his father was a member of a demon hunting organization called The Watch. There is another ancient group called The Brethren who enjoy calling up demons and using them to possess powerful people all over the world. The Watch is made up of people called The Gifted. The Gift is passed from gifted father to son, from gifted mother to daughter, and so on. When the Gift has passed to the eighteenth generation, that person is known as a triple six and will be more powerful than any other gifted on earth. We do find out that we really don’t trust Brash, but Richard had nowhere else to turn.
Turns out that Alan Brash and the Brethren as well have a lot of reasons for wanting Jason, and it isn’t so that they can protect him. Before I accidentally reveal everything, I will just say that Jason is in for an interesting stay at Alan Brash’s place.
I said before that I love certain types of books and movies, but I also want them to have something that sets them apart from the others. That thing for me here was Jason himself. Apart from having awesome super powers, Jason is a completely normal teenaged boy, subject to pride, insecurities, hormones and sometimes just flat out stupidity. He gets flabbergasted around girls and a pretty one will lead him around by the nose with no effort. There are too many YA stories out there now where the hero (or heroine) is just too good to be true. They’re smart, mature, wise, always do the right thing and are good looking enough to grace the wall of any 12 year-old’s room. I do have the impression that Jason is a good looking kid, but he’s annoyingly cocky, impulsive and does the wrong things-frequently. But he is also well drawn and sweet, he's good-hearted, and we pull for him with all we have. I might have been his own dearly departed mother as I shouted at him in my mind to stop being such an idiot. The important thing is, that Jason finds himself by the end and proves himself to be brave, loyal and true (and now the Blue Fairy will appear and make him a Real Boy).
My favorite part of the book was the rip roaring, rollicking ending. Action? Man, yes! As I rapidly devoured this last section, I was forcibly reminded of Indiana Jones and The Raiders of the Lost Ark, where scores of wonderfully disposable Nazis just keep pouring out of nowhere to be mowed down by whatever Indie and company can throw at them. Jason and our other heroes come out badly scathed, and some of them do not come out at all-but mainly, they live to fight another day…and now, on to the sequel!

[Jeni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jason Willow had quite a promising start. It seemed to be cracking on at a fair pace and there were two deaths within the first few chapters. The fact that Jason was about to discover his latent 'power' was also established early, which boded well for an action packed story. But then what? The family moved to a secure location and Jason goes to school. Not quite so action packed or gripping, after all. It might have helped if Jason was a bit more charismatic than the average 15yr old lad, or if the author had given him a few ounces of common sense so that the situations he does find himself in don't produce a desire to think 'schmuck' quite so often. It is not until you get past the halfway mark of this story that it starts to pick up; Jason's training begins in earnest, and as long as you are a fan of martial arts techniques you'll probably find the combat scenes a lot more riveting than I did. It all moves fairly quickly towards a conclusion from this point, although we are left in no doubt that while this may be the end of the book, it is by no means the end of Jason's story.
Jason Willow seems to be aimed, rather unfortunately, soley at teenage boys. The problem is that the teenagers who would enjoy this book are likely to be those that don't have the attention span required to make it through the first half of this book to get to the action. They would however, read a graphic novel; and this book does have the potential to make a very good graphic novel.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

It started with gusto & I couldn't put the book down until they got to the so called safe haven of Darkston Wick & Silent Hill School. Too much irrelevant detail for me made my interest wane & I struggled to get back into it for weeks. I felt at this stage any teenager reading the book would lose interest as it reflects their everyday school life - well sort of. But then once Jason had found out about his powers & went to the Abbey to train, it picked up the pace again & I was back not being able to put the book down until I'd finished it.
This would make an excellent teen/adult movie (I'd go see it) with all the action, supernatural powers, demons & the good kind of overcoming evil. Perfect for all us hungry Harry Potter fans now our hero has hung up his wand! Time to order Jason Willow 2 My Enemy's Enemy...

Star rating: Would have been 5 star had it not been for the detail! :)

[Fran · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a Great read, and I would recommend it for ages 13+. It has a great stroyline that kept me hypnotised .Not only is it great for people who like action packed stories, it also contains some bits of romance, humour and suspence.

[Nicola Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the read although towards the end was a bit fed up with fight scenes, much more interested in the mystery & intrigue of the story so wanted more of this...but then I'm not the target audience.