Ugh. Good story idea, but the propaganda kept me from enjoying it. ( )

This novel delves immediately into a world of mystical powers and dark premonitions. The main character is a young man, but has been forced to mature sooner than later. The difficulties of his life are compounded by a strange ability to experience the deaths of others with stunning prescience. As the story unfolds, you can only shake your head. Revelation upon revelation, darkness and mystery, the metaphysical and the visceral--this well-crafted tale has it all. A great start to what promises to be an engrossing series! ( )

This novel delves immediately into a world of mystical powers and dark premonitions. The main character is a young man, but has been forced to mature sooner than later. The difficulties of his life are compounded by a strange ability to experience the deaths of others with stunning prescience. As the story unfolds, you can only shake your head. Revelation upon revelation, darkness and mystery, the metaphysical and the visceral--this well-crafted tale has it all. A great start to what promises to be an engrossing series! ( )

Several years after his father died from an unexpected heart attack, sixteen year old Nathan Ryder started having “outivews”, living traumatic, painful deaths of people from the past. Fearing for his sanity, not wanting to end up in a mental institution like his older brother Dustin, Nate keeps his problem a secret, until the “outviews” start happening during the day. He finally decides to let his best friends, Kyle and Linh, in on his secret. Between them, they start unraveling the truth about the “outviews” and the death of Nate’s father. Was it a heart attack, or murder? Unknowingly, their search into the truth alerts a government agency, and now they’re running for their lives, trying to stay alive. But all they want is Nathan, because he’s one of the Seven.

The plot of this wonderfully written story resonates in my inner being, as I’ve always believed in reincarnation and the mental abilities that we, as humans, have forgotten in our pursuit of greed and power. I’m not sure I believe in multiple incarnations at the same time, but who knows; maybe I’ve run across myself before and never knew it. I do know that my late husband and I shared several past lives together.

Between a budding love interest, betrayal by a trusted friend and the relentless pursuit of the government, this story kept me very involved. I loved all the unique characters Nathan met in his search for who he really is and what abilities he possesses. This is the first book in the series and it ended with me wanting to know more. If you love young adult stories, with a mixture of paranormal and intrigue, this book is for you. I give it 5 feathers. ( )

When a teenage boy finds himself dreaming past lives, or more accurately past deaths, he’s understandably confused. But he isn’t crazy, and neither was his brother before him. Still, what will the world around him make of such experiences, if he lets them be known?

Brandt Legg’s Outview starts with an intriguing take on reincarnation, but quickly moves on to encompass a blend of new age mythology, anti-science diatribes, skewed history, and modern-day plot. The young teen plans to rescue his brother from a mental hospital, but first he needs the help of good friends and mysterious strangers. The fast-paced story slows down as these new characters seek him out, teaching him secrets of mystical numbers and powers, new ways to read and travel, a world-and-dimension spanning destiny, and the evils of modern vaccinations – which is kind of sad, given that for every violent death relived through Nathan’s past, history might offer millions of equally horrible demises from disease.

At the start, the story reminded me of Bill Hiatt’s Spellweaver series, with it’s smoothly convincing teen voice, and the quiet interjection of well-drawn myth. But in Outview the myths grow faster than the fiction until they’re ranging far beyond our world. The magic is evangelistically green, while counts of mages and powers seem to invite the return of science after rejecting it. Cell phones are okay though, so not all technology needs to be denied. And the ending, when it finally arrives, has a nice tie-in to tales to come.

Outview is a long, complex tale. Its anti-science and anti-religion stance might offend some readers, but others will enjoy it for its X-Files, X-Men, exiled new age fervor.

Disclosure: I read it as part of a collection of novels in At Odds With Destiny ( )