The Watchers by Mark Andrew Olsen

Abby Sherman has just had the strangest dream. No, more like a vision. In the vision, she became another person and was able to hold the Son of God. Now she has shared the news with the world by posting her entire vision on her MyCorner blog. Not long after this, she is put in the hospital by an unknown assailant that killed a close friend of hers. When she tells one of the nurses about her vision, she is about to admit her into the mental institution, until another nurse levels with her and tells her that she had the very same experience one day. This is compounded by an overwhelming response to her blog. Thousands of emails come in from women saying they all had the same experience. Another vision leads Abby to the jungles of Africa, where she crosses paths with Dylan, a man who was hired to kill her. The more Abby learns about her strange visions, the higher the stakes get and the more dangerous the chase gets.

As usual, Mark Andrew Olsen has written a professional plot based on a creative idea that is backed up by Scripture. The idea is well researched and well thought out as opposed to the cheap, slapped-together fiction we often see on the market. Mark is definitely a step above most authors because he means business. However, there are problems with The Watchers.

As usual, Mark is lacking in the character department. The main characters neither have personalities, nor do they make any mistakes. They are typical plot devices used to fill typical places in this plot. If Mark wants a five star book, he needs to work on his characters.

Another problem with the book is Mark's frequent use of sensationalism. The gifts and the visions cause him to be liberal with cheesy imagery and sensationalism. I see this very often in books like these. Authors feel the need to appeal to the public with sights of angels, healings, near-death experiences, and the like. Mark could have avoided this common mistake easily.

And lastly, generally everything works out in the end. Where there was potential to land this book onto the Elite List, Mark ruined it by meddling with the character's realistic situations. Mark would have done better to leave well enough alone. This would have put the book onto the Elite List instead of making it fall in line with other mediocre books on the market.

All in all, there is hope for Mark Andrew Olsen if he continues the normal track of an author and fixes his problems in order to become a better author.

3 stars