Story by: Eliza Victoria
VISPRINT
(3/5 ★★★☆☆)
(Cover by Aldy Aguirre)
"Rule No. 1: You don't kill the body you inhabit.
Rule No. 2: You should never again mention your previous name
Rule No. 3: You don't ever talk about your previous life. Ever.
Two young men with the power to take over another body inhabit the bodies and lives of brothers Jonah and Louis. The takeover leads to a car crash, injuring Jonah's legs and forcing them to stay in the brothers' house for the time being.
The street is quiet. The neighbors aren't nosy. Everything is okay.
They are safe, for now.
Until they find a dead body in the basement."
The Good:
The synopsis will clearly get anyone's attention. An ounce of sorcery. Add in that mystery and crime plus the author that gave us Project 17. It will really lure us into the lives of Louis and Jonah.
These rules regarding the switching of bodies are a great way to capture a reader's attention. Rule No. 4 is hidden and can only be read in the novel.
You would think sorcery, mystery and crime was the only thing that can be read in this novel. Well you're wrong. Eliza makes that surprise of adding a frightening moment in the story. What better way of doing that by having the soul of the dead body haunt the brothers, even though the current owners of the brothers' bodies have no idea of why they have a dead body in the basement.
The Bad:
The sorcery in the whole 3 parts of the novel had left me in deep hunger in trying to know of the past lives of the current Louis and Jonah. I personally would have loved to know a little more on why their bloodline can have such 'tricks' or power. I just can't think of a being that can cast spells by reciting them or by drawing a symbol on a piece of paper. I would love to know more on that part of the character's life.
The ending was a cliffhanger for me. Initially, I thought that it ended with Jonah going into a deep deadly sleep. But after reading the novel again, it seems to me that he could have just have passed out due to exhaustion. He could have not yet taken the pills like Louis so there could have been more to the story.
The Verdict:
It was a great adventure of learning the identity of the body of the brothers that was recently acquired. Even though, this was a story of body snatching and murder, there are a lot more positive points presented by the author. There is this part where the personality of the antagonist changed. Revealing more of the personality and thoughts (if I think I'm right on this one) of the author. The character talked more on the government, corruption, society and the environment. It was thrilling to read a moment of the author's thoughts from one of her characters in the story.
Even at the very end, the story manages to hide from us the true names of the inhabitants of the bodies of the brothers, Louis and Jonah. Dwellers is a nice story that has the right blend of sorcery, crime and horror. The mystery of another stranger's life is interestingly uncovered through clues within their reach.
"Let's say my name is Jonah and he is Louis.
Even here, in this story, I can't make myself tell you our real names." - Jonah
More of the creator's works can be seen at:
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