This book sounded intriguing with the concept of someone who sees their past lives and so much more.... But I should have heeded the reviews that told of the amateur writing style and blatant new age that's slamming religion aspect. Sadly the past lives thing has zero meat to it and is a back seat to so much new-age mumbo jumbo it's not even a fun story. The book is written so choppy its sad. There is no depth to any characters or conversation. There are literally moments of text like "She was crying. We said goodbye. I left." I mean it was like a long "See Jane Run" with a plot. And also irritating was the in your face "religion pollutes the mind" take that this plot line has that borders on insulting and in your face with the "our society needs to stop chopping down trees." It went from fantasy to an agenda and became very trite because of it.Needless to say I finished the book out of commitment to just read the whole darn thing, but regret wasting my time. LOTR is imaginative fantasy with depth, skillfully written and like a King among books. This is the Rainman gutter snipe if you get the comparison. Outview by Brandt Legg is a coming-of-age fantasy about a teenager named Nathan Ryder and his struggles learning modern day psychic magic.Nate has suffered for a year from paralyzing nightmares where he runs from enemies, but they always catch and kill him. He struggles to live a teen’s normal life with his best friends Kyle and Linh, but his father died four years ago and Nate feels responsible. The loss estranged him from his mother. Even worse, she sent his brother Dustin to a mental institution two years ago and she refuses to let Nate visit. Now the worsening nightmares have convinced Nate that he is going crazy like Dustin.Kyle and Linh sneak him in to visit Dustin. They discover a lucid older brother who guides Nate to seek out their Aunt Rose and investigate their father’s death. Nate learns from Rose that his nightmares are the forerunners of exceptional psychic powers. His innocent Internet search about their father alerts a clandestine government agency. This agency, lead by an Agent Fitts, will stop at nothing to acquire Nate and his growing powers. Outview is a dandy fantasy thriller. Woven throughout was an intricate and well-designed fantasy world of psychic powers and government shenanigans. Everything made sense as far as how magic worked. I wished that I could just pick up a book, hold it closed between my palms, and absorb its knowledge the way Nate could. This was just one of his nifty magical talents.The story’s ever-growing plot dangers made for an absorbing read. Brandt Legg used a deft hand in creating teens that were a pleasing blend of naïveté and intelligence. The story also had a nice balance of description and dialogue that kept things moving. I very much enjoyed the descriptions of psychic magic, but other readers might find it too detailed for their tastes.Outview is one of those excellent stories where I want to give it more than five stars. I cannot wait to read the sequel, Outin. Since I can’t absorb a book like Nate, I will read Outin off my Kindle the usual way.
What do You think about Outview (2013)?
I like Dustin. He's cool. I like Lyn too, but her poems are boring.
—jo44jo
Ugh. Good story idea, but the propaganda kept me from enjoying it.
—alok143
Excellent book! I really enjoyed it and would highly recommend it!
—Ash
Started off slow but built into something pretty neat
—brittneybrown05
