Review of Sentinel Of The Light

[Precious Anavheoba]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Sentinel Of The Light" by Dennis W Rhoades.]

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3 out of 5 stars

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From the moment the prologue begins, Sentinel of the Light: Awakening captivates readers with its gripping storyline, delving into the life of Dave, a young medical student. Following a severe battle with pneumonia and a difficult breakup with his girlfriend, Dave becomes aware of various paranormal occurrences both around him and within him. Despite the sincere efforts of his close friend Spud (Charles) to help him make sense of these events, they prove unsuccessful.

In search of answers, Spud reaches out to Anna, his study partner, who has an interest in studying parapsychology and, unbeknownst to them, has personal experiences with the paranormal. When they meet to discuss Dave's condition, a connection forms between them, leading Anna to introduce Dave to Professor Hamilton, a parapsychology professor at their college. Professor Hamilton, who has been 'helping' Anna understand her extraordinary experiences, quickly recognises Dave's extraordinary abilities during their initial meeting. The professor pushes them into the depths of parapsychology, ultimately draining them physically and mentally. The aftermath of these events forever changes Dave's life.

Dennis W Rhoades' Sentinel of the Light: Awakening explores the significance of friendship, exemplified through the relationships between Spud and Dave, and later Anna. The novel also tackles themes such as trust, self-discovery, deceit, a tumultuous father-son relationship, emotional trauma, gullibility, and the paranormal, which alludes to magic and fantasy. However, with the way the book is written, it makes it look like parapsychology and magic are one and the same thing; it doesn't quite make it clear.

The book has a little over 300 pages and 18 chapters. It is also well formatted. With a satisfactory plot and setting in Philadelphia, the book makes for an averagely interesting read. I later noticed that there was selective character development and unresolved subplots concerning Dave's personal life and origin.

The prologue immediately captured my attention, creating a sense of urgency, suspense, and anticipation. The first chapter successfully maintained my curiosity. However, as the book progressed, these elements diminished as I quickly identified the beginning of foul play through a character's actions. While it seemed obvious to me, the protagonist, Dave, remained oblivious, resulting in a prolonged buildup. Consequently, I felt somewhat dissatisfied with the book, leading me to deduct one star from my rating. Additionally, I encountered several errors during my reading, including issues with sentence and word structure. This compelled me to further deduct another star. As a result, I rate the book three out of five stars. Although I initially contemplated giving it two stars, I ultimately settled on three.

In general, Sentinel of the Light: Awakening is suitable for fantasy lovers and individuals who enjoy stories woven around the discovery of the hero archetype within a character. I commend the author for his effort, recognizing the challenges associated with writing a book. However, I believe this work has room for improvement, particularly in terms of building solid suspense, enhancing character development, and adopting a more powerful narrative style devoid of errors.

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Sentinel Of The Light
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[NetMassimo]

This novel seems to have good potential but the author needs to work well to develop characters and strong plot elements to make it stand out of the many existing story centered around the paranormal. Thank you for your honest review!

[Kebun Bunga]

The review of "Sentinel of the Light: Awakening" by Dennis W Rhoades provides a concise summary of the book's plot and explores its strengths and weaknesses. The reviewer highlights the captivating prologue and the exploration of themes such as friendship and trust. However, they also mention some areas that could be improved, such as the unclear distinction between parapsychology and magic and the selective character development. The reviewer deducts one star for the prolonged buildup and another star for the presence of errors in the book. They ultimately rate the book three out of five stars and offer constructive criticism regarding the need for improved suspense, character development, and narrative style.