The Touch

Adversary Cycle #3

by F. Paul Wilson

Suddenly, a family physician can heal any illness with a simple touchAfter a dozen years of practicing medicine as a family physician, Dr. Alan Bulmer discovers one day that he can cure any illness with the mere touch of his hand. At first his scientific nature refuses to accept what is happening to him, but there is no rational explanation to be found. So Alan gives himself over to this mysterious power, reveling in the ability to cure the incurable, to give hope to the hopeless—for one hour each day.Although he tries to hide his power, word inevitably leaks out, and soon Alan's life begins to unravel. His marriage and his practice crumble. Only rich, beautiful, enigmatic Sylvia Nash stands by him. And standing with her is Ba, her Vietnamese gardener, who once witnessed a power such as Dr. Bulmer's in his homeland, where it is called Dat-tay-vao. And the Dat-tay-vao always comes with a price. Help arrives from an unexpected quarter—Senator James McCready offers the use of his family's medical foundation to investigate Alan's supposed power. If it truly exists, he will back Alan with the full weight of the Foundation's international reputation. Feeling that he has reached bottom and that things can only get better, Alan accepts McCready's offer. But he has only begun to pay. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Science Fiction, Mystery

448 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Francis Paul Wilson is an author, born in Jersey City, New Jersey. He writes novels and short stories primarily in the science fiction and horror genres. His debut novel was Healer (1976). Wilson is also a part-time practicing family physician. He made his first sales in 1970 to Analog and continued to write science fiction throughout the seventies. In 1981 he ventured into the horror genre with the international bestseller, The Keep, and helped define the field throughout the rest of the decade. In the 1990s he became a true genre hopper, moving from science fiction to horror to medical thrillers and branching into interactive scripting for Disney Interactive and other multimedia companies. He, along with Matthew J. Costello, created and scripted FTL Newsfeed which ran daily on the Sci-Fi Channel from 1992-1996.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/fpaulw...

Reviews

[Ginger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm going with 3.5 stars with The Touch!

The Touch is the 3rd book in the Adversary Cycle series and I thought it had an interesting plot. It did not have the amount of action and horror like the first two books in the series, and for that, I'm rating it a bit lower.

The Touch is about a doctor that gets the ability to heal people by touching them.
But by curing people with a touch, there comes a devastating consequence to it. As my friend Terry said, this had a very cool Twilight Zone vibe too it!

I really liked the Vietnam culture and references in this.
In fact, I would have liked a bit more of that setting and the supernatural vibe would have been even better for me.
The characters in the book were well done, especially Dr. Alan Bulmer and Senator McCready. Senator McCready was such a dick!! I enjoyed hating him.

I'm glad that I read this book since it's part of the Adversary Cycle series and plan to read all the books.
F. Paul Wilson has a great imagination and I've enjoyed all of his books so far!

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

After slogging through The Book of the New Sun I decided a more casual read was warranted. I had started the Adversary Cycle by F. Paul Wilson by reading The Keep , which was excellent and The Tomb , which was ok, but not great. The next book is called The Touch .

The Plot

Alan Bulmer is the main character of the novel. He is a family practice physician who moonlights in the local emergency room of the ficticious town of Monroe, Long Island, New York.

One night in the emergency room, a derilict says "you're the one", touches him, and promptly dies. After that, at certain times of the day, Alan can heal almost any illness with a touch.

This ability turns out to be a double-edged sword, however, and he becomes the target of hordes of sick people, yearning for health for themselves or their loved ones. Also, he becomes the target of rich and powerful men, looking to control his power.

The Good

F. Paul Wilson is a family physician when he's not writing books. Therefore, as far as medical elements of the book go, he speaks from experience. He gets on a soapbox about medical issues and it definitely is reflected in the actions and words of the main character.

It's a page turner and an easy read. I was enraptured by the plot and the characters, so I kept reading until the book was finished, trying to unravel the mystery of Dr. Bulmer's power.

Personally, I think calling a book a "page turner" is high praise. It doesn't strike me as a simple thing to craft a book of 450 someodd pages and keep the reader reading when they should be sleeping in bed! I don't think just anyone can do that. F Paul Wilson does it splendidly. I couldn't ask for more in a book of this type.

The Not-So-Good

Like The Tomb , The Touch has a tenuous relationship to the Adversary Cycle. The final book of the Adversary Cycle uses characters introduced in The Tomb and The Touch , but that's pretty much it.

If ever there was a Mary Sue, the character of Dr. Alan Bulmer is it. He's an obvious avatar for the author. In addition to being a mouthpiece for medical reform (I happen to agree with Mr. Wilson's opinions here), he's nearly perfect in every way. His character flaw is that he cares too much. He's such a great physician that his personal life suffers and, after he gains the titular Touch, he becomes even more self sacrificial. Wow! What a great guy he is. (reader swoons).

I suppose it's par for the course, though. It seems like every other protagonist in a Stephen King yarn is a horror novel author, but they usually have some kind of character flaw. I suppose you write what you know. It'd be tough to write a novel with a physics professor as the main character when you only have high school physics under your belt.

Conclusion

It's a good read. It's not high literature, but it's not intended to be high literature. It's a ripping yarn that's fast paced and makes you keep reading well into the night after you should have turned off the light and gone to sleep. I think that's high praise for this kind of book.

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be a very interesting read. Not a super action fest, or a horror fest, but rather a great ‘what-if‘ scenario that exemplifies the old adage of ‘be careful what you wish for’. I certainly sympathized with the main character here. If horror is something you’re looking for, this isn’t really the place to look for it, but if you’re looking for something a little bit thoughtful and intriguing (and a little slow paced), this might be something you would like. Despite being book 3 in the Adversary cycle, this really is a stand-alone. I’d give it 3.75/5.0 stars.

[Andrews WizardlyReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

F Paul Wilson doesn’t miss I’m 100% convinced

[Andrew✌️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book involved in a Buddy Reads in Horror Aficionados group, for the Adversary Cycle, by Paul Wilson. The story seems to come from an old series of the ‘80s, "The Twilight Zone". This is not really a horror, even if there are some rather gruesome descriptions. Alan Bulmer, the main character, esteemed and conscientious doctor, suddenly finds himself with the power to heal people. But As an old saying goes, “not all that glitters is gold" and Dr. Bulmer's life will be turned upside down.

The pace in the first part of the book is a bit too slow and made me difficult to easily proceed. It was difficult to follow the development of the story and the slow evolution of relationships between characters. Especially when the main theme makes you anxious to see what will happen and what this ability is, where it comes from, what the effects and consequences are on the bearer (aargh!!!).

The second part was easier to read. Once all the characters have been developed, the story flows quickly, showing a cunning and ruthless opponent for the doctor, who has his moral dilemmas, his vocation and his willingness to help. During the story other characters are presented, some close to Alan, others a little less, but all in one way or another influenced by him.

At the end of the book there is also a short story, which gives some information about this power and how it got to America years earlier.

It was a pleasant read and I would like to continue reading the other books in this series. In addition, since I started I have found that the author has written some interconnected series and I am eager to learn more.

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't rate this low because it's horrible I rate it low because it never engaged me. I never got interested. I could not...could not get involved.

I've never been as taken with the Adversary Cycle as I am with the Repairman Jack books. I stared back into them (I read the first years ago) because the plot/s overlap with Repairman Jack.

Here we have a plot that isn't bad. It's very much like a plot idea that's been around for a long time and seen in many stories...The Monkey's Paw, The Bottle Imp and many others...nothing is free.

As noted, I just didn't get interested at all and skimmed my way toward the end. It's a horror read that touches a growing story I assume many will like it more than I...enjoy if it's for you.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely an odd book by Wilson, and although billed as the third in the Adversary Cycle, there is no connection between the first three books whatsoever. Our main lead, Alan Bulmer, is a G.P. practicing in a small Long Island town. He has his own practice, but also works some evenings at a local hospital. One day he encounters a very ragged man in the E.R. who seems to know him, but Alan is sure he never saw him before. To avoid a bigger scene, Alan goes over to him and the guy grabs him and gives him something like an electric shock, and then dies.

From the cover blurb, we know this will be a story about a man who can heal people of just about whatever via simply touching them (hence the title). Alan discovers that he has the touch one day when examining a long term patient, he feels a euphoric shock and the patient is suddenly cured of her hearing loss (among other things). Via ample foreshadowing, we know that Alan will pay a price for using his healing ability; we soon find out that each time he heals someone, a little bit of his brain dies...

There is a fair amount of cloak and dagger action here, with a senator literally dying to find a cure to his degenerative disease who sets his sites on Alan, but I will not go into that here.

This is pretty tame for Wilson, and not really a horror novel, although being published in 1986 was billed as such (e.g., the paperback from hell decade). To really enjoy this one, I think you would have to have some empathy with the characters, but they did not do much for me. More of a meh than anything else. Decently written, you could do worse. 2.5 stars, rounding up.

[David B · Rating 3 out of 5]

A dedicated doctor acquires the ability to heal with a touch, but it comes with a price.

This medical thriller can’t really be regarded as horror. Originally published in 1985, it has been updated to serve as a part of F. Paul Wilson’s Adversary Cycle, which itself is part of his ambitious Secret History of the World. How it fits into the overall narrative is unclear at this point, but I gather that some characters turn up again in future novels. For the moment, however, we have a fairly unremarkable thriller that doesn’t go anywhere unexpected. I kept hoping for some surprising twist or turn to the plot. A pleasant enough read, but you may find yourself skimming ahead through certain parts.

[Tony Laplume · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first read F. Paul Wilson in a comic book adaptation maybe fifteen years ago. Now having read F. Paul Wilson proper, with The Touch, I have a context for him: about halfway from Stephen King to Michael Crichton.

King for horror, Crichton for thriller. King for his more average instincts (the guy literally writes more than he’s really inspired to write, if you get what I mean), Crichton for grasping at big ideas. Not as good as Crichton, a minor version of King.

What set Crichton apart was his ability to dive deeply into his concepts, and throw his readers into them, too, in a surprisingly wide range of science run amok. What King does so well, at his best, is make the everyday terrors even more uncomfortably familiar. The biggest criticism of Crichton was that he always shied away from diving too deeply into his characters, so they spent most of their time reacting. With King, he can be surprisingly sentimental.

Wilson fails, it seems, when he has to connect his concepts to his characters. His characters, in other words, are shallow, predictable. Like King you can see the seams from old Hollywood showing, which is where both got their storytelling and never drifted far from.

This particular edition of Touch also has the unfortunate distinction of an equally unconvincing “update,” so that a story steeped in ‘80s mentalities has some superficial references to cultural elements of two decades or so later. I don’t know how anyone thought that would be good enough. Anyway.

So while it was generally an enjoyable read, I wouldn’t exactly rush to read more.

[David Agranoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, I read all 448 pages of this novel in a weekend, while still reading another book. I found this medical horror drama to be a serious page turner. This book is considered to be book four in the Adversary Cycle and fits into the Secret History of the World timeline just after Ground Zero (Repairman Jack #13) and Reprisal (AC Book #5).

Written back in the 80’s I read the 2004 edition which is updated and also contains a bonus prologue short story. As an author I personally strive to write books that are so perfect for me that no one else could write them. In many ways The Touch is very much a novel that only F.Paul Wilson could attempt. Wilson you see was a practicing doctor before devoting himself to writing full time.

The story of the Touch is about a doctor named Alan who is the last of a dying breed. A family doctor with a private practice. He loves being a doctor and is called to heal. Then one day after a bizarre interaction with a homeless vet, Alan discovers he has the ability to heal any illness with a single touch.

What follows is not your typical horror novel. Sure you could call it a supernatural medical drama, but the horror of what this power means to Alan is very real if you do horror readers only job(put yourself in the shoes of the character). The characters are so well written it really helps the pages turn, you will become involved in the characters, even if it lacks Wilson’s trademark adventure.

Doesn’t matter the novel cooks. It connects to the series in minor that I can tell but I imagine once I read to the next two Adversary books they might tie in more. The character of Clubfoot Annie is an interesting one and readers of the series will find an explanation for her condition in the Repairman Jack novel Conspiracies. Willson…dude you are a genius of plot weaving. I’m in awe again. I feel like the Wayne’s World guys, like I should be on my knees saying I’m not worthy.

The Touch gets a bit preachy at times, but who am I to complain about that? Wilson is a libratarian and a doctor, this bleeds through the pages, but I can’t begrudge a Doctor getting on his/her soapbox for a few pages.

Great novel, read it even if you don’t want to commit to the series. It stands alone.

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Technically, this is book three in the “Adversary Cycle” and also fits into F. Paul Wilson’s overall “Secret History of the World” but it certainly reads as a stand-alone novel. I understand the connection with the larger series is revealed in Nightworld, the culminating novel of both the “Adversary Cycle” and the “Repairman Jack” books.

This novel harkens back to the days when the author wrote a number of medical thrillers and that, essentially, is what this one is. The difference, of course, is the rather profound supernatural aspect here of the Dat-tay-vao, or The Touch where a person is granted the power of healing another just by touching them at certain times during the day. There is a price to pay for the person with the power and therein lies the essence of the plot. The author has experience as a doctor and this really shows throughout the course of this novel. My copy of the book also includes a short story prequel entiled "Dat-tay-vao" which takes place in 1968 and should not be read prior to the novel itself. It does briefly introduce a character that will be involved in the YA Jack books.

Overall, there is a little less urgency here than we find in Wilson’s later novels. This was originally written in the 1980’s but I read the updated 2004 edition after the author re-worked it into part of the larger series. The horror aspects are minimal; I wouldn’t even classify it as such. This is not everybody’s favorite F.P. Wilson book to be sure, probably because it is a stand-alone but I found it quite interesting and fully engaging. If you generally like Wilson’s work, then don’t skip this one.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

My appreciation of this book grew as the story went along. It did take it 80-100 pages to really get going. I have a little medical background so I enjoyed reading about 1980's era medicine and I think Mr. Wilson handled the medical aspect of the story very well. I found the characters interesting and easy the get involved with. Interesting supernatural yarn! I think I will read a Repairman Jack book next.

[Micheal Boudreaux · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging and Heartbreaking

A slow burner that pulls you into the life of a doctor who truly desires to heal, but whose new found power is as dangerous as it is amazing. Along the way we see people have their hope restored, their faith kindled, and the ability to love regained...but at a high cost.

[James Love · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 3rd installment of the Adversary Cycle. A physician, an Autistic boy and an elderly Vietnamese man are just some of interesting characters in this novel of horror and suspense.

[Cov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wilson has a gift for pacing and tension. The Touch is a fast-paced, gripping (no pun intended) read. I could not put it down

That said, there is an aspect of his work which suffers from the same flawed Orientalism that we see in 80s movies, say, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, that his books so much resemble. Though Wilson portrays non-American characters as fully developed non-stereotypes (Kusum, Kolabati, Kali worship & India, and Ba, the Touch, & the Vietnamese community in The Tomb and The Touch respectively), there is a way in which they are mined for their exotic mysticism that feels out of touch today, as Short Round and eating monkey brains does of Indiana Jones.

[Jeffrey Schmieder · Rating 4 out of 5]

A devoted doctor finds he is able to cure the incurable. Sounds like a total win, but it doesn't wind up that way! The author has created an interesting plot, sympathetic characters, mixed in some Vietnamese mythos, and of course a few villains who come between this doctor and his patients. Remember, there is always a cost!

[Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that the first hundred pages had dragged a little, but after Dr. Alan Bulmer had healed his first person in the book, the story had started picking up the pace. I liked the brief appearance of some Kickers (from the Repairman Jack series) hassling him.

[Nancy Oakes · Rating 4 out of 5]

#3 in Wilson's Adversary series

Once you pick up this book, you won't be able to put it down. The action starts at the beginning and doesn't let up. If you're interested in supernatural fiction, this one is a good one.

small peekie re what's inside:
Doctor Alan Bulmer is a family physician; he is not a doctor who enjoys ripping off his patients, but he is a doctor who has chosen his profession to actually do some good. He lives with his wife Virginia (Ginny) and has a seemingly normal life until one day when he sees a vagrant man in the emergency room who says something very strange to him then begs Alan to take his hand. Alan feels some kind of charge going from hand to hand; and then afterward, he finds that at certain times, he is able to completely heal people. The servant of a friend of his tells him that he has what is called the Dat-Tay-Vao, "the touch," which in fact will allow him the gift of healing, but which takes a terrible payment in return.

The book is an easy one, and you'll fly through it. You won't find a lot of guts and gore but it is a very good supernatural-type fiction. Now on to Book 4, Legacies!

[Kevin Lucia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read in a review somewhere where someone said: "What horror? Where's the horror? Nothing HAPPENS." And again, some folks don't get it - the horror lies in what this gift/curse will do to this man, and what he'll have to sacrifice as its ultimate tool...it's a very personal, HUMAN horror...

[Brent Ecenbarger · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a stand alone book in F. Paul Wilson's Adversary Cycle, The Touch barely ties into the events of the Repairman Jack world or even the rest of the Adversary Cycle stories, but was overall one of my favorite books I've read by the author. The book is the story of Dr. Alan Bulmer, a family physician who gains the ability of the Dat-tay-vao, a healing touch that works for about an hour a day. Patients who come in with hearing loss or broken bones leave Bulmer's office completely healthy. The ability seems to know no limits, fixing life long birth defects or nearly fatal cancer. The ability draws Bulmer into the intrigue of an ambitious senator, as well as the attention of other local medical professionals, all of which believe Bulmer is either having a breakdown or is now a scam artist. The only man who seems to have any idea what is going in is the Vietnamese gardener for the local widow, a man with a set of skills reminiscent of Liam Neeson in Taken.

While Wilson can craft great page turners, nobody will ever confuse him for John Steinbeck. Wilson often falls back on cliched character types and racial stereotypes throughout his writing, and The Touch is no exception. The bad guys are foreshadowed early and there is no guessing when it comes to who Alan should trust. Despite all that, the story moves at a brisk pace and I frequently found myself wondering how I would respond in the same situation. The progression of the touch on Bulmer is obvious to the reader immediately, but it is understandable how Bulmer could ignore or overlook the negative effects (or diagnose them as stress) for as long as he does.

Much of the suspense of the book hinges on whether Bulmer's ability would work on a person with autism, which was sort of odd to distinguish among all the conditions a patient could have. Wilson wisely focuses much of the doubt as coming from a character worrying about the possible effects on her son. With a simple story and few major characters, this is the type of book that lends itself to thinking of cinematically while reading. (For my reading, I pictured Harrison Ford as Bulmer and Catherine Zeta-Jones as the widow (when they were in their 40's), Naomi Watts as Bulmer's wife and Richard Jenkins as the Senator.)

My book also included the short story, "Dat-tay-vao" which explains how the ability crossed the ocean from Vietnam to America. The story features some very unlikable characters in a tense Vietnam setting, while filling in a blank that I wasn't particularly interested in knowing about. Still, who can complain about a free bonus story.

[Jacob Brewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Touch, book three of the Adversary Cycle. I didn't even know this book was part of a seven book series till I added it on Goodreads. From what I've seen several of the books are stand alone including this one so this book doesn't require reading the first two books first before you read it. I found this to be an enjoyable book and it's made we want to read the other books in the series to see how it's all related and where it leads.

This book goes with the idea of what would you do if you were given the "gift" of touch healing? You can cure anything with just a touch, but with restrictions to only two hours a day twelve hours apart that change daily. What is the cost of such a gift? Dr Alan Bulmer is presented with this choice as he mysteriously finds himself possessing such a gift. He is a hands on doctor who gives a personal approach to all his patients. He finds himself struggling with whether or not to share his gift or hide it. Yet to cure the incurable may cost him is marriage, his practice, his medical license and even his own life.

This book with a mysterious power of unknown origin with the ability to heal yet take from the healer gives a little of a Lovecraft vibe to the book. It's a thriller/ mystery that delves into a horror element toward the end when you see how the gift can work both ways and the holder of the gift can be possessed by it.

All and all a good fast read. One of the best books I've read in a while. Can't wait to try out the other books in the Adversary Cycle.

PS: I'm glad I don't read the backs, or synopsis of books I plan on reading. The Synopsis in Goodreads of this book give parts of the story away up to halfway through the book.

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I make my way through the Adversary Cycle, I'm truly enjoying the variance of these stories. The Touch has elements of a medical and psychological thriller with a supernatural force hanging out in the background. A reader who is looking for strictly horror and non-stop thrilling action may not enjoy this story as much as book 1. However, fans of Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock will feel right at home, as social behavior and moral dilemmas are the real focus points.

It is also nice to see F. Paul Wilson (MD) flex some of his medical knowledge and perhaps some of his personal feelings towards the medical profession in general.

I'd also like to note that I used the audiobook version of this story which is narrated to perfection and included a short story "Dat-Tat-Vao", which offers a bit of an origin to the medical mystery. It's also interesting to me that small parts of The Touch were updated in the audio version (and perhaps newer book publishing) to give the story a modern feel. For example, there are names of politicians and technology that was not mainstream in 1986. I appreciate the writer doing the extra work for his new readers.

[Mikepottz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alan devoted doctor, loved developing relationships with his patients, didn't want to be just a 9 to 5 doctor. He would worry about his patients and hope he haven't made any errors on his diagnosis on any of them. A homeless dirty old man will touch Alan and he will feel electricity through his arm, Alan will convulse uncontrollably and fall down and hit his head. Later the homeless man will die. Alan in consultation with a patient will feel a tingling ecstatic feeling and touch a tumour and watch it disappear. He will slowly understand that he will have one hour a day to be able to heal patients with life threatening diseases. This gift will cause him to lose his wife, his hospital privileges, his ability to practice medicine. He will be forced to use his power on an evil senator and find out that the gift has a cost on his mental clarity and overall health. The gift will completely take him over and he will provide this gift to somebody he loves for the last time. This gift will keep on living through an unsuspecting boy.

[John Michael Strubhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

While not my favorite of his books I've read so far, the installment of The Adversary Cycle is none-the-less entertaining. I like the concept very much, and coming from an actual doctor, I find the plot and details thereof compelling. The only thing that disappointed me was that Alan seems kinda dumb - clueless, shall we say? I often found myself thinking, "Now, Alan, surely you saw that coming." If Wilson intended Alan's misadventures to be a form of collateral damage due to his "gift," he could have written such a notion into the story more clearly. I just didn't get that impression. I just thought, "Hey, Alan, you're kinda dumb." Still, F. Paul Wilson is my current favorite author. His storytelling freaking rules and his writing style just takes me away. If you're not a fan, I don't want to know you.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Alan Bulmer is a caring physician who always placed his patience’s interest above the business side of medicine. Suddenly Dr. Bulmer discovers he has the ability, at times and under certain circumstances, to heal people with his mere touch. Scared and wary at first he slowly learns the nature and origins of this ability as well as the consequences which affect him and others.

This is the third book of the Adversary series I have read. It was an enjoyable read but probably my least favorite of the series so far. All the stories of the series, for the most part, seem unrelated but perhaps I will see the connections as I read further in the series.

[Sean Newgent · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know why -- but if it isn't Repairman Jack F. Paul Wilson is having a hard time gripping me. The writing is fine and all -- but I don't know if this style of cheesy horror novel (a prevalent genre in the 80's with many examples I can point to of novels everyone loves but I couldn't get into) is for me. I did read it years ago in my initial attempt at getting into Wilson's world and I vaguely remember some of it...the Dat Tay Vao for instance. But right now, much like The Keep -- I wasn't engaged enough to sit through the whole book.

[Alex McWhirter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am loving each and every book as I work my way through F. Paul Wilson's Adversary Cycle/Repairman Jack Series.

The Touch can easily be read a stand-alone novel, but the book does have its place within the series. The characters are all fleshed out well with good character arcs. You easily cheer for the good guys, hate the bad guys, and the characters that "change" as the story unfold do so in a wonderful way. Highly recommend this book.

Not as much action or horror as with the other books in the series, but a great story in that universe.

[Aditya Harsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars for 3rd book of the series lol

This was my first time reading Wilson, and the book had a great concept. Deriving from a niche folklore, and playing it out on the other side of the world was ingenious!

Reading the book felt like I was riding waves, sometimes it read fast and easy like I was going down the wave, while other times it was hard to read like I was climbing up a wave to the peak. Not sure if this was intentional, but if it was - the writing style definitely made a lot of sense at the end of the book.

A good-read for sure

[Andreas Acevedo Dunlop Strom · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable story, if a little slow at first. Very different from what I expected as well. There's no real villain or a huge sense of dread, but it moves along at a good pace and it really made me think about what I would do in Alan's shoes. Not sure the "updating" to the text was necessary though. It should have stayed in the '80s and not featured references to "our" time. One reason - at one time a guy is looking for a phone at a petrol station. These days that just doesn't ring true...

[Denise Richter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sehr interessante Idee. Alan Bulmer wird von einem vermeintlich psychisch kranken Obdachlosen kurz vor dessen Tod berührt und erhält damit die Gabe, unheilbar Kranke zu heilen. Das geht solange gut, bis die Öffentlichkeit Wind davon bekommt und er jetzt flüchten muss: vor den Patienten, die meinen, ein Anrecht darauf zu haben, von ihm geeilt zu werden und von der Gesundheitsbehörde, die in ihm ein Versuchskaninchen erspäht. Doch jedes Heilen erfordert ein Opfer von ihm und ohne es zu ahnen, begibt er sich mit jeder Heilung immer mehr in Lebensgefahr.