"Pandora's Game" by Christopher Andrews

Great start to a new series! -- 4-1/2 Stars (Originally written October 17, 2005)

I picked up a used copy of "Pandora's Game" on my recent book splurge, because the cover caught my eye and the synopsis sounded cool. Is "Pandora's Game" the best book I have ever read? Maybe not. But it IS an EXCELLENT book. I enjoyed it MORE than "The Howling," which, I believe, is now considered a classic horror novel. In fact, with the possible exception of "By the Light of the Moon" by Dean Koontz, I think it is my favorite of the books I've read recently.

Personally, I found "Pandora's Game" to be fresh and different. I liked the characters, especially the werewolf, and I thought the writing style was impressive, especially considering the two "worlds" that it covers. The switching POV alone qualifies this book as interesting; it was different from just about any other book I have read, before college or recently. It also had a plot twist near the end that I did NOT see coming, which is always a plus for any novel.

I did feel that a few of the chapters in World #2 could have been combined, but I'm guessing they were broken up to stick with the back and forth elements of the overall story. I liked the first one in the restaurant, and once we started seeing the personal histories of Alastaire and Sean, World #2 got more interesting. I just thought the story of Alastaire and Sean meeting Trey could have been told all at once instead of in four chapters.

But other than that single complaint, I would have been tempted to give this book FIVE stars. I can tell you that I am adding "Paranormals" and "Dream Parlor" to my reading list.