aphelia88's review against another edition
5.0
I'm pretty sure this was an earlier book, given a few dated references to things like video-rental cards (ah, Blockbuster - relic of the past), but it works as a creepy supernatural thriller even if the hero also reads like an early incarnation of Caliban Leandros, the hero of Thurman's other series.
Jackson Lee shares Cal's world-weary cynicism, biting sarcasm and loner tendencies. He found one of his younger twin sisters, Tessa, drowned in a well as a 14-year old, triggering a series of violent events that ruined his family.
Sent to a state institution, his life was one run of hard luck after another, and he deliberately kept his distance, even from his roommate Charlie, who wanted to be his friend. Because when Jackson picked up Tessa's dropped pink shoe in the field on that fateful day, it triggered a curse: psychometry, or seeing the past through touching objects. When he touched that shoe, he knew his sister was dead and saw where she was. It is a secret that he thinks makes him a freak.
Gradually, as years pass, Jackson comes to terms with his curse/gift and adopts the dramatic black-clad, ponytailed, be-earringed persona of the All Seeing Eye, psychic for hire. He carves out a small life for himself.
But when the brother of that long-ago roommate shows up at his door, his carefully ordered life comes crashing down. Jackson is reluctantly drawn into an improbably sounding mad-science scheme. Brilliant Charlie had designed a device to faciliate Out of Body experiences, aka Astral Travel. Funded by the Government for its spying potential, something went wrong during the testing and killed Charlie.
Or did it? Because the more Jackson sees, the more he's convinced that Charlie didn't make a mistake. He knows Charlier was murdered, but is afraid to let on lest the killers target him too.
Bizarrely, Charlie's spirit is trapped in the ether and is wandering, trying to come home. But the weakest entry points are sites where great violence has occured and his presence causes modern people to become posessed by the past and repeat the actions, in a sort of time-loop.
Charlie's younger brother Hector is trying to put his "ghost" to rest. Jackson, despite his own abilities, is at first highly skeptical. But as he and Hector work together, truths about Charlie and revelations about his own past keep him from walking away.
The tension builds to an excellent three-part twist finale. The ending is solid and satisfying, and in the end, it's truly affecting. Besides being an entertaining supernatural thriller, this story has a lot to say about the power of friendship and overcoming past obstacles. It's a story about personal redemption, and the importance of fighting for the survival of your own spirit. I admire Jackson Lee and the way he fought his fear to understand was truly happened in his past.
A solid standalone.
Jackson Lee shares Cal's world-weary cynicism, biting sarcasm and loner tendencies. He found one of his younger twin sisters, Tessa, drowned in a well as a 14-year old, triggering a series of violent events that ruined his family.
Sent to a state institution, his life was one run of hard luck after another, and he deliberately kept his distance, even from his roommate Charlie, who wanted to be his friend. Because when Jackson picked up Tessa's dropped pink shoe in the field on that fateful day, it triggered a curse: psychometry, or seeing the past through touching objects. When he touched that shoe, he knew his sister was dead and saw where she was. It is a secret that he thinks makes him a freak.
Gradually, as years pass, Jackson comes to terms with his curse/gift and adopts the dramatic black-clad, ponytailed, be-earringed persona of the All Seeing Eye, psychic for hire. He carves out a small life for himself.
But when the brother of that long-ago roommate shows up at his door, his carefully ordered life comes crashing down. Jackson is reluctantly drawn into an improbably sounding mad-science scheme. Brilliant Charlie had designed a device to faciliate Out of Body experiences, aka Astral Travel. Funded by the Government for its spying potential, something went wrong during the testing and killed Charlie.
Or did it? Because the more Jackson sees, the more he's convinced that Charlie didn't make a mistake. He knows Charlier was murdered, but is afraid to let on lest the killers target him too.
Bizarrely, Charlie's spirit is trapped in the ether and is wandering, trying to come home. But the weakest entry points are sites where great violence has occured and his presence causes modern people to become posessed by the past and repeat the actions, in a sort of time-loop.
Charlie's younger brother Hector is trying to put his "ghost" to rest. Jackson, despite his own abilities, is at first highly skeptical. But as he and Hector work together, truths about Charlie and revelations about his own past keep him from walking away.
The tension builds to an excellent three-part twist finale. The ending is solid and satisfying, and in the end, it's truly affecting. Besides being an entertaining supernatural thriller, this story has a lot to say about the power of friendship and overcoming past obstacles. It's a story about personal redemption, and the importance of fighting for the survival of your own spirit. I admire Jackson Lee and the way he fought his fear to understand was truly happened in his past.
A solid standalone.
thinde's review against another edition
4.0
Thurman is very good at creating characters that you care about. On finishing this book, the first thing I did was look for a sequel... no joy.
Despite the hidden antagonist being a little obvious, I was drawn into the story. It didn't really matter who was twisting the rope, just how Jackson handled it. This is a character who deserves to be given more life. Who's with me?
Despite the hidden antagonist being a little obvious, I was drawn into the story. It didn't really matter who was twisting the rope, just how Jackson handled it. This is a character who deserves to be given more life. Who's with me?
amandamae15's review against another edition
4.0
Rob Thurman always gives what I feel are predictable books yet somehow makes them so engaging you just can't put it down. I really enjoyed this book, despite predicting some of the major plot twists early on. The characters took awhile to grow on me but were definitely interesting, if not really used enough (Abby for example). I really just want to see more of these characters and where they are going to go next.
beckylej's review against another edition
4.0
It always amazes me how little I get to read while traveling. I get all jazzed up and over pack books that I think I'm going to read on the plane and in the loooong waits at the airport and yet something about the uncomfortable seats, the inevitable exhaustion, and the constant distraction ruins my reading plans. It takes a really captivating book to beat those terrible odds, let me tell you! Rob Thurman's ALL SEEING EYE did manage to do the trick, however, thankfully :)
Jackson Lee has a gift. Well, it's not so much a gift as it is a curse considering it began with seeing the final moments of his young sister's life. When Jackson touches an item he can see things about the owner, their secrets, their lies, the things they want no one else to see. It's how Jackson makes a living. When the government gets wind though, things take a turn for the worst. Seems a top secret project has resulted in a strange series of accidents that have begun to spiral out of control. And when Jackson isn't quite on board, the government is totally willing to use force to get his help... regardless of the cost.
Thurman is best known for her urban fantasy series featuring Cal Leandros. ALL SEEING EYE is a little bit different than you'd expect. It's got supernatural elements but none of the elves or creatures that inhabit her other series. Nope, this is a straight up thriller with ghosts. And it's dark. I've only read Nightlife by Thurman before now and I remember being a bit surprised by how dark that one was as well. It's a nice element in my opinion. Plus it made ALL SEEING EYE that much more creepy of a read - and you all know how much I love a good creepy read!
Here with Jackson Lee, Thurman explores some truly gruesome sites as he tries to track down a killer that only he can find. And when I say gruesome, I do mean gruesome! There's no word yet if this is to become a series but I would definitely love to see more of this character and his ability. I can only begin to imagine the kinds of cool storylines Thurman could come up with.
Jackson Lee has a gift. Well, it's not so much a gift as it is a curse considering it began with seeing the final moments of his young sister's life. When Jackson touches an item he can see things about the owner, their secrets, their lies, the things they want no one else to see. It's how Jackson makes a living. When the government gets wind though, things take a turn for the worst. Seems a top secret project has resulted in a strange series of accidents that have begun to spiral out of control. And when Jackson isn't quite on board, the government is totally willing to use force to get his help... regardless of the cost.
Thurman is best known for her urban fantasy series featuring Cal Leandros. ALL SEEING EYE is a little bit different than you'd expect. It's got supernatural elements but none of the elves or creatures that inhabit her other series. Nope, this is a straight up thriller with ghosts. And it's dark. I've only read Nightlife by Thurman before now and I remember being a bit surprised by how dark that one was as well. It's a nice element in my opinion. Plus it made ALL SEEING EYE that much more creepy of a read - and you all know how much I love a good creepy read!
Here with Jackson Lee, Thurman explores some truly gruesome sites as he tries to track down a killer that only he can find. And when I say gruesome, I do mean gruesome! There's no word yet if this is to become a series but I would definitely love to see more of this character and his ability. I can only begin to imagine the kinds of cool storylines Thurman could come up with.
jennyninnymuggins's review against another edition
3.0
Very minorly spoilery, fyi....
Being a huge fan of Thurman's Leandros series, I'll read anything she writes. That's not to say I'll love everything she writes. I haven't been overly impressed with her Trickster series, finding it borrowed too heavily from the characters and relationships in the Leandros series without making up for it in plot and writing. So I started All Seeing Eye not knowing quite what to expect.
For the first third of the book I was thinking "Yay! Thurman sure can write an anti-hero!", but then I started seeing a good deal of similarity in the relationships. As I continued reading, I was annoyed that the Leandros brothers' relationship and personalities were being rehashed yet AGAIN, but I still found the story interesting and wanted to find out what happened. Following that, I began to believe I might be able to accept this as a "what would happen in an alternate dimension where Cal was a human psychic and Nicko was a soldier-doctor-friend?".
The plot was great, I LIKED this alternate dimension. There were some twists I predicted and others I didn't (which pleased me greatly). In the end, I decided I very much liked this alternate dimension and would like to see where the next book took Cal...I mean, Jackson.
3.3 to 3.9 stars...depending on where I was in the book and my acceptance level of AlterCal. ;D
Being a huge fan of Thurman's Leandros series, I'll read anything she writes. That's not to say I'll love everything she writes. I haven't been overly impressed with her Trickster series, finding it borrowed too heavily from the characters and relationships in the Leandros series without making up for it in plot and writing. So I started All Seeing Eye not knowing quite what to expect.
For the first third of the book I was thinking "Yay! Thurman sure can write an anti-hero!", but then I started seeing a good deal of similarity in the relationships. As I continued reading, I was annoyed that the Leandros brothers' relationship and personalities were being rehashed yet AGAIN, but I still found the story interesting and wanted to find out what happened. Following that, I began to believe I might be able to accept this as a "what would happen in an alternate dimension where Cal was a human psychic and Nicko was a soldier-doctor-friend?".
The plot was great, I LIKED this alternate dimension. There were some twists I predicted and others I didn't (which pleased me greatly). In the end, I decided I very much liked this alternate dimension and would like to see where the next book took Cal...I mean, Jackson.
3.3 to 3.9 stars...depending on where I was in the book and my acceptance level of AlterCal. ;D
errantdreams's review against another edition
4.0
All Seeing Eye is fast-paced, with plenty of explosions and assassination attempts, races-against-time to prevent the reenactment of old horrors, and danger galore. It still remains an intensely personal story told from Jackson’s point of view, in which he’s forced to allow people into his life despite all desire and better judgment to the contrary. And he’s going to have to push his psychic gift farther than he ever has before, risking his sanity and his life in the process.
My only feeble complaint is that there’s a sequence of events toward the end that could come across as a deus ex machina. However, I think that there are sufficient small clues and feeder events leading up to it that it ends up on the good side of that line.
The first time I read this book, I shed tears at the end. The fact that I read it a second time speaks very well of it, since I don’t often re-read books. It’s one of those books where it helps to go back afterward and catch all the little things you missed the first time around.
For a longer review including premise, you can visit my site: http://www.errantdreams.com/2014/05/review-all-seeing-eye-rob-thurman/
My only feeble complaint is that there’s a sequence of events toward the end that could come across as a deus ex machina. However, I think that there are sufficient small clues and feeder events leading up to it that it ends up on the good side of that line.
The first time I read this book, I shed tears at the end. The fact that I read it a second time speaks very well of it, since I don’t often re-read books. It’s one of those books where it helps to go back afterward and catch all the little things you missed the first time around.
For a longer review including premise, you can visit my site: http://www.errantdreams.com/2014/05/review-all-seeing-eye-rob-thurman/
sunsoar25's review
5.0
Rob Thurman did not disappoint with her first mainstream supernatural thriller!
glennisleblanc's review
3.0
This series reminds me of the Harper Connelly series in where there is no supernatural in it except for the main protaganist. Jack's psychic powers come into play during a family tradegy that leaves him an orphan of the state. Jack runs away from the state boys home and finds a carnival where he lives and as an adult opens a psychic shop. He is visited by the brother of the one friend he made at the boys home and finds himself recruited unwillingly to their project. It seems his old friend was working on astral projection for the military and died during an experiment. Now his spirit is trying to get back and is causing a lot of vilolent death. Jack has to shut this down even if he doesn't want to since the project is blackmailing him with getting his younger sister out of jail. I liked the book and it does have a small happy ending even if some things Jack learns about himself are not pleasant.
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