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The Watchers

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Just below the surface among the family of God lives another family tree--one traced in spirit, invisible and ageless, known as the Watchers. For two thousand years they've seen beyond the veil separating this world from the next, passing on their gift through a lineage mostly overlooked. Throughout history they've scouted the borders of the supernatural frontier, but now their survival hangs by a thread. And their fate lies in the hands of a young woman, her would-be killer, and a mystery they must solve.... "Congratulations. You just reached my own little corner of cyberspace. Who am I? Abby Sherman, that's who. Who are you? And why are you checking me out? Drop me a few pixels, and let's find out!" With that innocent invitation, Abby Sherman unwittingly steps in the crosshairs of history, and thus begins her harrowing tale--taking her from ocean-front Malibu to the streets of London, the jungles in West Africa, the Temple Mount, Jerusalem, and to the very gates of heaven itself! A sneak preview of eternity becomes her one-way ticket to danger--and discovery…. Two lives collide in a globe-circling adventure involving both peril and Abby, a young woman whose visions of heaven turn her into a Web-celebrity; and Dylan, a troubled young man sent by an ancient foe to silence her. From California beachfronts to Nigerian rain forests to Jerusalem and back again, The Watchers is high-octane blends of action, mystery, and spiritual battle spanning centuries. A woman's awe-inspiring vision launches her on a quest through distant lands and ancient history, face-to-face with eternity and into the arms of a family line on the brink of annihilation... A man who is hired to exterminate her discovers the folly of blind loyalty, then learns how to wage war in a realm he never believed had existed... An extraordinary saga of the unseen war against evil, the reality of the supernatural, and the transforming power of forgiveness

416 pages, Hardcover

First published February 20, 2007

29 people are currently reading
745 people want to read

About the author

Mark Andrew Olsen

20 books31 followers
Mark Andrew Olsen is a full-time writer, novelist and screenwriter who recently collaborated with Tommy Tenney on the novel HADASSAH. He grew up in France the son of missionaries, and is a Professional Writing graduate of Baylor University. He and his wife, Connie, and their three children make their home in the mountains of Colorado.

Series:
* Abby Sherman
* Hadassah

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
Profile Image for Tyora Moody.
Author 84 books524 followers
January 15, 2008
thewatchers The Watchers
by Mark Andrew Olsen

Abby Sherman wakes up to an assassin in her bedroom. While Abby’s long time housekeeper and friend loses her life, Abby’s life hangs in balance as doctors scurry to find out how to cure Abby from whatever chemicals were injected into her body. After she decides to share an incredible dream on her MyCorner page, Abby becomes an instant Web celebrity from her hospital room. Abby’s rise to fame captures the attention of a popular talk show host. An unknown powerful group is not pleased with Abby sharing her dream to the whole world and want to shut the young woman up permanently.

Dylan Hatfield is the best assassin in the world and for the first time in his career, he’s questioning his employees. Why was he hired to kill young woman? All she did was share her crazy dream? Used to killing dictators and terrorists, a woman with a vivid dream of heaven hardly seems worth Dylan’s time. But the price is high and Dylan is ready to retire. When Dylan comes face-to-face with Abby, retirement goes out the window as he encounter the biggest transformation of his life. The two will cross the continent of Africa and eventually enter Jerusalem, all in pursuit of finding out more about the Watchers.

This story can only be described as enthralling. I wasn’t sure what to expect because at first glance it seemed like another terrorist book. Believe me, there is terrorism in this book, but on a higher level, a level the naked eye never sees, but definitely experiences.

There are quite a few books that tackle spiritual warfare but this storyline is definitely original. Blending current events with ancient Ethiopian and Jewish culture, this novel will takes readers on an extraordinary adventure. I think what I really like about this novel is it’s appeal to both men and women. There’s lots of action, but several tender moments providing a really great read and story.

The Watchers is the first book in a series, so there are more adventures for Abby and Dylan. Check out this book first and be on the lookout this spring for the next book, The Warriors, from Bethany House.
431 reviews3 followers
January 2, 2025
I had high hopes with this book, my sister got me for Christmas, as it claims to be a Christian thriller – drama, that revolves around the unseen spiritual warfare, that occurs around us. This is a gene I like reading and watching, but its hard to track them down, well good ones anyway.

Overall, the story didn’t interest for me, even when it had overall a good premise, about Abby, a spiritual seer, forced on a globe hasten journey, trying to solve a mystery about her spiritual gifts and what they mean for the future of the world.

Since, one of the real issues with this book, was the theological – spiritual aspects of the book, it just didn’t make sense to me. The whole African link to it. Then, from reading and researching Catholic theology and mystics, much of what Mark wrote about heaven, is wrong. People gain there youth back in Heaven, and no mention of St Peter or St Paul, who indeed stand in the large golden gates of heaven.

Then, Anna the prophetess, was elderly when Jesus came to Temple as a baby, so was she really alive, at the time of his crucifixion? These things may seem trivial to most, but they
really annoyed me.

Yet, didn’t mind the character Lewis, really Dylan, as I like this change of heart, and awakening.

Also, I did enjoy the aspects of the cult he was supposed to be working for. I find him, far more interesting than Abby, who bothered me. Why wasn’t there a priest, or some sort of religious minister assisting her, when she was having the visions at the start?

Anyway, I am sure some will look this book, its pretty clean, but a lot of action, fleeing, shooting, cars exploding and a few bloody murders. But, with a spiritual – theological twist to it.
Author 11 books16 followers
February 7, 2023
This has got to be one of the best, if not the best international fiction I have ever read. This is one of those rare books that gives you that feeling of sunshine after you finish reading. I have been recommending this book to some of my friends and acquaintances whenever I get the opportunity. Oh, and my country was even featured in the story. It was really wonderful reading about some familiar places in this book. Well done, author.
36 reviews
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February 21, 2022
I found this book hard to read when I first started. I had to stay very focused. I read it at the request of another church member, who couldn't get into it. I always hesitate to read about demons and angels, but I did read to the end. There was a lot of action and suspense in the book.
Profile Image for Rachel.
66 reviews1 follower
July 19, 2020
What a gripping read. I was hooked and completely invested in the characters. Possibly a rushed ending but can understand why.
464 reviews
March 3, 2025
Spiritual warfare is brought to light as few novels do. Reminds us that as we live in the physical world, the spirit world is equally as real. Prayer is not optional; it is our greatest weapon.
Profile Image for Ruth.
597 reviews41 followers
February 6, 2009
Abby Sherman would be just your average twentysomething if not for her dreams - intense, vivid experiences that catapult her into ancient times, seeing and feeling life through another's eyes. When she posts her dream journal on the web, begging for any insight and understanding others might be able to offer mysterious dreams, she unwittingly sets a dangerous chain of events in motion. Abby's plea for help puts her in the crosshairs of an ancient organization that marks her for death in order to prevent her from realizing the true nature of her dreams and awakening others to their life-changing message.

The Watchers is a well-crafted suspense story, brimming with non-stop action, fast pacing, and colorful settings. It's a good read - at times very good. However, the dialogue can be a little flat, lacking some crispness and "sizzle." The setting of this novel spans the globe - and at times, the scene and point of view is changed multiple times within a chapter. While this lends the novel a fast-paced, intense feel, it can at times be somewhat confusing to follow and prevents one from really delving deeply into the characters of all of the players revealed.

As a main character, Abby would perhaps be more interesting if she possessed more inner conflict or a need for some real deep, soul-shaking change. She's likable enough, but considering all of the challenges thrown her way in the course of the story she can seem a bit too "perfect" and level-headed. Instead of being a character that grows and develops, she serves more as a catalyst that spurs change in those she encounters - particularly in Dylan, the hardened assassin sent to kill her before the story of her dreams can spread. Dylan's encounter with Abby forces him to re-evaluate the entire foundation on which he's built his life, shaking him to the core of his being.

Those caveats aside, The Watchers is a compulsively readable novel. Once you start it, you won't want to put it down. Olsen may not be quite the wordsmith of, say, a Ted Dekker -- not yet, at any rate. I feel there is a slew of unexplored potential in Olsen's writing, and the promise held within The Watchers, and his previous novel, The Assignment, is staggering. The global scope of Olsen's novels, pacing, and the way in which he explores the spiritual world, is very reminscent of Dekker's early Martyr's Song novels. He is a writer I definitely want to hear more from. There's a certain lush, almost poetic quality to his "world-crafting" that is a joy as a read. Definitely worth checking out!
Profile Image for Lilly W..
32 reviews
January 1, 2012
This book was amazing I finished it a long time ago and never got around to writing this report until now. I love this book so much because it is first about a normal ordinary girl blonde from California who has a major love for God and knows she can't live without him. Her life takes a dramatic turn on a night when a man sneaks into her room and reads a file on her Facebook about a dream she had about a baby that she knew was baby Jesus and she was an old lady and when the lady that was holding the baby saw her looking at the baby she brought him to her and let her hold him in her weak arms. When she did she felt the love from him that was greater and stronger then anything any body has ever imagined in their wildest and craziest dreams ever created or thought up.
When the mysterious man finished reading the story he turned to the girl and brought out a syringe to stab into her arm and it would release a poison that would be untraceable. Once he he went to insert it an invisible force came out of nowhere and stopped him from inserting the liquid but the man aimed and shot some of the liquid onto her hand and it entered her body. When she went to the hospital people were sent to kill her and the last time a man was sent to act like a personal guard and we he helped her escape when a group of guys came to attach the hospital to get to her they left the country with no one knowing were except for her guard and her.When they travel to Africa to find Abby's true calling from God. When they got there they met sister Okoye and traveled all through Africa together and when the time came for Dylan to kill Abby he couldn't he liked her personality thought she was beautiful and didn't understand why the elders (his bosses) said he had to kill her because she is a threat to the entire world. So instead of killing her he helped them escape from the other bad people who are trying to kill Abby and they went into the jungle and they tried to figure out how to change Dylan into a christian. And when they did they killed one of the elders and the police handled the rest.
Profile Image for Neil.
1,329 reviews14 followers
November 9, 2015
I thoroughly enjoyed this book more than I thought I would! It was an amazing book. It moved at a good pace, and it held my interest throughout the entire book. It was literally a page-turner for me as I enjoyed the story. I also liked the author's concept of 'spiritual lineage' in the book. We are so focused on our biological heritage, yet never think about our spiritual heritage.

It has spiritual warfare, lives being saved, God moving in miraculous ways, women having incredible visions, assassins, secret societies, and suspense most every step of the way as Abby attempts to solve the mystery of why she is suddenly seeing the spirit world.

I do not even know what to say about this book, except that it was a great read and blew my mind. It was a wonderful book to read.

It strongly reminded me of Frank Peretti's books [especially This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness ] and some of Ted Dekker's early stuff. I think it gave some great insight into the spirit world and spiritual warfare.

I liked the character development. I liked how the story moved, the way it flowed from region to region. I have read some stuff recently where the conversations felt faked or forced; the conversations in this book did not feel forced at all. I liked how the protagonists grew throughout the course of the story. I thought the author did an excellent job.

I know this is probably one of my shortest reviews, but I do not want to give too much away. This was a great book.

Profile Image for Adrienna.
Author 18 books242 followers
November 20, 2014
Although Abby's dream explained on her blog had lost me; others had sent inquiries to her blog that they are having similar dreams. She is a seer, some would say "sight" to see in the spiritual realm, and while on her deathbed her father reveals the mysterious death of her mother who also had the gift of sight. This is when the book started to catch my interest as well as the opening chapter of the assassin who didn't finish Abby off.

(I also read the author note to see that it will cover spiritual genealogy to edify scripture nomenclature which highly interests me since I mostly write nonfiction. And as a seer myself, I would like to see in a novel how this aspect is covered from a spiritual sense.)

The ending was great, especially explaining about "the Watchers" and how it transition to humankind to watch over mankind, and share the spiritual gifts of God with others of various nationalities coming from a spiritual generation back to Prophetess Anna who witnessed the Christ.

Leisure read 2014

Adrienna Turner
Author of Unleashing the Spirits, vol. 1-3
Dream4More Reviewer, www.dream4more.org
Profile Image for Gabrielle.
45 reviews23 followers
Currently reading
October 15, 2007
Bizarre experience with this. I read (as you can gather) numerous books at one time. One of the ones I'm currently reading is "The Expected One". The similarities so far.. well, it's just uncanny, and I had no idea when I picked up this book: the library was closing and I just grabbed it off the shelf because it looked interesting; I didn't know what it was about. The story in both books starts with female protagonists who have visions of biblical Jerusalem; but not just a vision - it's like they're actually there - experiencing it.

Since I'm only halfway through "The Expected One" and just started this one, I'll have to see how it turns out. What are the chances of something like this happening?
Profile Image for Lorrie.
36 reviews
February 6, 2009
I said I read this book, but that is not entirely true. I did not finish the book. At first, I thought it was intriguing. But after reading further, I found it to be bothersome. This cultish group of so-called believers were banded together supernaturally through spiritual sightings and visions, which sounds plausible in premise. However, it it was just too weird and didn't make sense from a Godly perspective. This special group or race of people was given this gifting and were called, it seemed, to fight a battle against the enemy who was intent on destroying this sect of people. It was very bizarre.
Profile Image for Sean Durity.
252 reviews1 follower
January 21, 2015
This is like an amped up early Peretti novel about spiritual warfare. The book starts with a gripping (though uncomfortable) scene, and the plot keeps moving throughout.

Olsen does have a way with descriptions; some sentences are worth two or three reads to enjoy their images and even how they "sound."

My main complaints: the young, main character often seems too old, wise, and experienced to be believable. The potential romance with a seemingly older man didn't address the age gap and seemed less credible. Finally, the spiritual warfare aspect is very similar to other works. It doesn't really offer new insight or perspective.

Enjoyable, but not a must-read.
Profile Image for Linda.
2,174 reviews
August 16, 2017
Throughout History, there have always been those who possessed the SIGHT: the ability to see beyond the veil of the natural world and discern the spiritual Beings who surround us, protect us, and those on the other side who try to destroy us.

Abby Sherman has just discovered that she has this ability. And when she describes her visions and dreams on her MyCorner blog, the response is beyond anything she ever anticipated ...

This book, first in the series, vividly describes the ongoing but mostly unseen battle between the forces of Good and Evil ...
Profile Image for Amy Phelps.
1,576 reviews2 followers
July 28, 2011
this was a good book. i liked it and really i have nothing bad to say about it. the ending was a bit of a let down though. there was nothing bad about it but the ending just seemed to sudden. it was like the author was just tired of writing and put as little into it as possible. there were a lot of loose ends. maybe this means there will be a sequel but i hope not. i think the author could have added a few more pages and the ending would have been superb.
Profile Image for J. Ewbank.
Author 4 books37 followers
October 7, 2011
What a wild, visid,and stirring book Olsen has written. It is an exciting book which began slowly for me but gathered force and then kept me reading until the end. The Watchers involves a group of women who are holy people and who have become separated but have their gifts handed down from one generation to another. No more to be said because it is a book you have to read to enjoy.

J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the 'Isms'"
Profile Image for Kathy.
73 reviews
January 7, 2014
I didn't want to put this one down. On my day off today, I just had to sit and finish it. It is not my usual type of book, as I don't really like to read books that are frightening or full of violence. This is a suspense novel based upon the battle between good and evil, among humans as well as in the spiritual realm. It reminds me of a couple of Frank Peretti books that I read several years ago. Suspenseful, yet good to know throughout who is surely to be victorious!
Profile Image for Chris.
88 reviews9 followers
May 29, 2009
This was a good book and had a very nice premise. It tended to get a little "preachy" at times and for those who are not ardently Christian may find this to be a big distraction.

The book does have a good flow and did not get bogged down like some of his previous works. I may to pass on the rest of the series.
Profile Image for Wayne C Anderson.
47 reviews2 followers
June 19, 2010
This book is fiction but reveals some true "Seer" conflicts of the spirit realm. I was greatly surprised when I read the first 150 pages on a flight from Boise to Tampa. I got off the plane and called Pat Holloran and told him to read the book because it reveals battles likeness closer than anything I've ever read in print. Some important truths are hidden in fiction herein.
2 reviews
August 22, 2008
This book starts in the mind of a killer, however keep reading it was not the typical book I would usually read either, after a few chapters I was hooked and could not put it down. Olsen is an excellent writer in this fiction novel on spiritual warfare. Exciting and suspenseful.
Profile Image for Tiffany.
88 reviews3 followers
November 22, 2008
Well, I'm giving up on this book for now. I'm disappointed. The premise seemed so promising, but I just couldn't attach to the main character. So I started reading some other books and this one has been pushed to the side for now! Maybe someday I'll finish it if I have nothing better to read.
8 reviews3 followers
February 22, 2010
This was an awful, weird, and violent book. I had a hard time gleaming the Christian message it was trying to send. It was my first time with this author, and I had to force myself to sit down and finish it. Very disappointing.
Profile Image for Rennie.
1,012 reviews1 follower
March 9, 2014
Great start but went on to a bit more of religious focus than I had expected. If one was religious, then I suspect they would rate it around a 3 or 3+ but talking to the Lord proved a bit too distracting for me.
314 reviews2 followers
September 1, 2012
Wish I could have given this book 10 stars! Excellent read from the first page. Excellent view of the battles between good and evil. I agree with the other reviewer - the book seemed to end a little quickly. This is one book I look forward to re-reading.
223 reviews26 followers
April 29, 2013
Overall this book was a bit weird for my tastes and outside of the style book I typically read. Almost a sci-fi style linked with christian fiction. I might try the next book "The Warrior", as the overall writing was decent.
Profile Image for Ron.
Author 2 books169 followers
gave-up
November 8, 2014
Tried but couldn't stay with it. There's something jarringly wrong about this story. As I tried to read it, I kept pausing to consider what was so "off." I can't put my finger on it, but it keeps knocking me out of the story.

No rating. I got less that 50 pages in.
Profile Image for Greg D.
890 reviews22 followers
September 18, 2015
Started out good but gradually lost interest. Don't know if it was me or not, but just seemed to drag on and ramble about seemingly irrelevant stuff. Wasn't expecting it to be a Christian fiction, which I don't mind. But, bad theology can ruin what could potentially be otherwise a good read.
Profile Image for Kevin.
247 reviews3 followers
November 30, 2007
This fiction book centers on the unseen spiritual warfare which happens all around us all the time. High recommended.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews

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