Sliding Beneath the Surface Review

Sliding Beneath the Surface

By Doug Dillon

Paperback: 294 pages

Genre: YA Paranormal

Presented by: As You Wish...

Synopsis:

In old St. Augustine, Florida, fifteen-year-old Jeff Golden’s recurring dream of being stabbed in the chest and bleeding all over his bed is driving him crazy. It’s causing him to lose sleep and giving him severe headaches. When his psychically gifted friend Carla and an ornery Native American shaman named Lobo try to help, Jeff is inundated with terrifying paranormal experiences. Reaching out of Florida’s distant past, something increasingly entangles Jeff in tentacles of danger that threaten his sanity and eventually his life. But the harder he tries to understand, the deeper he gets. When comprehension finally dawns though, time has almost run out. Lobo does his best to prepare Jeff for what he must face in order to survive but it may be too little and too late. It’s at this point that both Jeff and Carla find themselves swept headlong into an alternative reality from which they may never return. If they don’t quickly and fully adapt to this situation, all hope is lost. From Lobo they know how it might be possible to change what is happening but the question is, can they? Repeatedly, Lobo has told both teens, “You create your own reality whether in this world or in another.” If acted upon properly, that advice just might save their lives and end suffering on an even wider scale.

My Review:

 

I was pleasantly surprised that, in just reading the prologue, I WAS HOOKED!
The story is written in Jeff's point of view, but it's not a typical first person storyline...it literally read like Jeff was my best friend that was telling me about the crazy weekend he just had.

"I know, I know. What I‘ve said to you so far probably sounds crazy, but hang in there with me, and I‘ll tell you everything I can remember."

"I know what you're thinking. You're sure I must have been hallucinating all of that or something. I don't blame you. To be perfectly honest, I thought the same thing at first, but that cold, wet fog was very, very real."

Doug Dillon did an excellent job writing this book. The descriptions are plentiful without taking away from the story line.
This is a Paranormal YA that is certain to become a success, the synopsis doesn't do this story enough justice.  I am excited that we can expect two more books to complete the St. Augustine Trilogy.

 

~Carole

BOOK EXCERPT:

Someone called my name as if from very far away. It sounded like Carla, but I couldn't tell for sure.

I kept staring at the stained glass window with its surrounding mirrors and the clear glass oval as it hung there in the fog all by itself.

"Jeff?" It was Carla's voice. Carla and Lobo somehow appeared directly in front of me with the stained glass window behind them set in its door as it should be. How that all happened so quickly I had no idea.

The fog was gone and Lobo's house looked like it did when I first saw it. Once again, I stood on the porch.

"Are you OK?" Carla asked in a worried voice. "What is it? What's going on?"

I didn't say anything at first. Guess I was just too stunned. The change out of that horrible, dark fog had been so quick I found it hard to believe I had come back to Carla and Lobo. Where I had gone, I didn't know, but Lobo's words leaped into my mind: "Worlds within worlds within worlds."

Author Bio

Doug Dillon has been writing for adults and young people since 1984, especially in the paranormal realm. An award winning educator, he spent many years as a classroom teacher, school administrator, and coordinator of programs for high-risk students.  Prentice Hall, Harcourt, Mitchell Lane Publishers, Boys' Life magazine, Learning Magazine and The Orlando Sentinel have all published his work.