Official Review: Slumbering by C. S. Johnson

karolinka · Post by **karolinka** » 03 Feb 2017, 17:37

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Slumbering" by C. S. Johnson.]

3 out of 4 stars

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Hamilton Dinger feels like the world revolves around him. He has good looks, is the star of his high school football team, and has stellar grades without much studying. Cocky and self-centered, he likes to be admired by his friends, and he even calls his successful parents by their first names. His days are filled with parties and with trying to impress a pretty ex-cheerleader, Gwen.

His world turns upside down when a meteor hits his home town and sets some mysterious occurrences into motion. Creatures of darkness that he only can see start stealing people’s souls and landing them in the hospital. Dinger starts having nightmares and thinks he’s losing his mind when a strange, talking animal appears, a lizard called Elysian. He can transform himself into a dragon, and he’s been sent to help Dinger realize his true goal of saving humanity. Elysian wants to teach Dinger how to fight the dark forces from the Void, unleashed on the world from their celestial prison by the meteor.

Strong character development for Hamilton starts to happen at this point in the story when a dark creature called Orpheus and his crew of soul-sucking women start attacking him and his friends. Dinger doesn’t want to accept his fate, but realizes that he must defend Gwen from Maia, one of the evil women from Orpheus’s crew, who wants to suck out her soul. He has to make a difficult decision between saving his friends using his new powers, or letting them perish.

I really liked how Dinger develops in a steady character arc from a self-centered football star to a more responsible, evil-fighting hero. This book begs for a sequel, and the reader nearly ends up having a love-hate relationship with the protagonist. The target audience here is the YA market, and the author’s voice is well-developed. The book flows well in a chronological order, and it has a clear beginning, middle, and end. The author also worked a mystery element into the story in the form of Starry Knight, a girl who fights the forces of evil when they appear, but seems to dislike Dinger. Nobody knows who she is and what her motives really are.

This is a good urban fantasy novel for teens and tweens, and it’s entertaining and well-written. The cover is eye-catching, and it fits well with the book’s theme. I give this book 3 out of 4 stars. I am not giving it a full 4 stars because many books with a similar theme have been written already, and I didn’t like that the dragon-lizard, Elysian, sounds almost as cynical as Dinger, so sometimes it’s difficult to discern who’s talking. I recommend this book to anyone who likes science fiction and fantasy.

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Slumbering
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Post by **kandscreeley** » 04 Feb 2017, 19:02

Interesting review. It sounds like you enjoyed it, but it just isn't capturing my attention. It doesn't sound like something I would read. Thanks though.

Wasif Ahmed · Post by **Wasif Ahmed** » 05 Feb 2017, 10:42

A great and well written review. Unlike @kandscreeley here, this seems like a read I would definitely enjoy.
Congratulations to the author for getting such a great review. ?

-- 05 Feb 2017, 21:12 --

A great and well written review. Unlike @kandscreeley here, this seems like a read I would definitely enjoy.
Congratulations to the author for getting such a great review. ?

karolinka · Post by **karolinka** » 05 Feb 2017, 12:17

Thank you both for your comments, all are appreciated!

Wasif Ahmed · Post by **Wasif Ahmed** » 05 Feb 2017, 23:14

karolinka wrote:Thank you both for your comments, all are appreciated!

You are welcome! ?

kimmyschemy06 · Post by **kimmyschemy06** » 06 Feb 2017, 23:57

Sounds like an interesting book. I like it when characters changed for the better and it seems to be the case in this story. I just checked and found out that it is the first book of a series and the other books are already out. Great job on the review.

LivreAmour217 · Post by **LivreAmour217** » 06 Apr 2017, 13:58

Great review! This book sounds interesting, so I might add it to my impossibly long reading list

Spirit Wandering · Post by **Spirit Wandering** » 01 Jun 2017, 17:22

Its nice to see a YA novel where the protagonist experiences strong character development-it sets a good example for young readers. Thanks for the review.