A very creepy and entertaining horror novel. What's most captivating about it is the relationship between the two villains. We get to see Sal grooming a teenager for his nefarious purposes. Also, good writing makes you look at an object or a setting that we see everyday in a new way. Well after reading this I'm not sure I will see a candy store the same way. A great horror read that for all its darkness has quite a bit of light. ( )

This story had a very slow start. The plot was good, but there was no excitement, no intense drama. The hero was too young to be the main character. The story fell flat for me because of the hero's age. Put an older character into this story and it might work better. ( )

I don't usually read horror novels. Partly because I'm a chicken, but mostly because it's so hard to find one that is actually any good. The few I have tried focused on suspense that built up but was never justified by the reveal, or spend their time on describing gore and violence just for the sake of being able to. That said, I went into The Seer by Grant Palmquist a bit hesitantly, wondering if this was going to be another letdown. The first page alone let me know that no, it wasn't going to disappoint. In fact, it was brilliant.

What makes The Seer amazing isn't the fact that it's an extremely well written horror story, which it is, but that Grant Palmquist manages to balance out the creep factor with a touching coming-of-age story about an awkward kid who just wants to fit in and, if not necessarily make friends, but be left alone from their daily ridicule. The Seer has such fantastic character development. You can feel for Nick and want to tell him hey, the world sucks, but you'll be okay, just stick with it. You want to tell Wayne the same thing. And Sal? Well, you just want to tell Sal to get help cuz he is fucked up beyond belief.

Speaking of Sal, he is the main villain. A man in his late 20s forced to move back in with his parents. There is nothing remarkable about his appearance, and yet everyone who comes in contact with him feels uneasy, wary. Even reading about him, you feel creepy and slimy and in need of a shower. That's before you find out that he has a thing for killing kids, describing it as the only time he's ever really felt happy and at peace. Throughout the novel, we see Sal's transformation into a demon spawn, one of the demons that Nick can see. This isn't what makes Sal horrific. What makes Sal an extremely effective villain that leaves you feeling terrified is how normal he is, how easy it is to imagine there being a Sal in your own neighborhood, how many times there has been a Sal in your city. Jumping into his mind is the most unsettling experience that leaves all the descriptive images of demons and hell paling in comparison.

The Seer by Grant Palmquist is an amazing feat of horror that manages to not only be scary with a creepily convincing villain, but also has moments of levity and tenderness as you see Nick growing up in the midst of all the killings and demons around him. I wholeheartedly recommend this book. ( )

If you are into serial killers, murder, mayhem and religion, then you will enjoy reading The Seer. If you are not into any of these things, then you might as well put the book down now.

The plot is good but this particular battle between good and evil felt just a wee bit too flat for me. The protagonist is way too young to be so self-aware and the antagonist needs some work also, catching his prey was too easy for him. Also, I didn't know enough about the characters to become invested in them. Who are they?

Don't get me wrong, The Seer is an enjoyable book and I read the book in its entirety in about four hours. Thank you, Mr. Palmquist, for giving me the opportunity to read The Seer. I look forward to reading more of your work! ( )

There is a serial killer in development. A person who never found his true interest in life, he had tried many jobs, most of them low level. Failing at all of them, due to his temperament, he ended up working for his father at the family business, a candy store. Up to this point, no problem. Then he kills. He feels a sense of power and mission fulfillment. He has found his true vocation. Knowing that this is not generally accepted, he needs to find a way to rationalize his actions, to make what he is doing right. He found his answer had several names: Satan, the evil one, unnamed things with hideous physical features. His acceptance of evil and the evil acts (murders) he committed with increasing frequency then reinforced the power of evil which acquired the ability to be increasingly visible to the material, present-day world.

Nick first saw a demon when he was nine. That is the first few lines of the book. It was a bit more than a fleeting glimpse but it was not persistent. As Sal, developing serial killer, became more vicious in his murders, and the crimes were committed closer together, Nick would see demons more frequently. This would progress to seeing demons in his dreams. Then, each dream would continue the situation from the previous dream. Up to this point, it only involved Nick. But then, after effects of the dream world began leaving evidence of existence in the real world.

In the real world, Nick starts out with only two friends. He believes it is because of the strawberry birthmark on his face and he expresses his angst throughout much of the book, more so when he loses one of his friends. His parents try to convince him he is special. They rely heavily on religion to do so. If I were Nick, I would find this really annoying. I believe the author is trying to emphasize the struggle between good and evil, heaven and hell.

Still, Nick has more friends than Sal. That is because Sal keeps killing everybody, even Wayne, who he had a long term relationship as he tried to make Wayne his intern. This is also bad news for Nick when Sal buys a house directly across from Nick.

Nick has a brief escape to camp where he meets Amy. This is the most unbelievable part of the book, as Amy, after only two or three meetings develops a pen pal relationship with Nick as the two of them discuss the demon problem. There are a few other parts that are a stretch. This takes place when the central characters are in the fourth and fifth grades. Perhaps that is to attract the YA crowd. That is a legitimate purpose, but some of the content is a bit graphic, in the horror sense, for fourth graders. And if the read this, they would all be scared of Halloween forever.

The graphic descriptions were great; they even scared me. ( )