The Unseen
Reviewed by Amber Stults
The Manipulated Evil Series, a trilogy by T.C. McMullen,
opens with The
Unseen. It’s difficult to categorize The
Unseen into a single genre because it covers a lot of ground.
The novel is romance, action, fantasy, and science fiction all
rolled into one. Even though the book is a few years old, the
science and technology are still up to date.
Events are set into motion when three scientists stumble upon
a portal that opens up into another world. The technology in
this world is different and like anyone who wants to keep something
a secret from others, they come up with a plan to prevent others
from gaining access to this portal or the other portals that
exist. Lies are told, friendships sour and people are dead as
a result.
Carter D’Arcy is one of the scientists at the heart of
this plan. His wife, Beverly, and his son, Kyle, have no idea
what Carter’s genetic research involves. When Carter is
shot, Kyle returns from college and finds Carter has left Kyle
some information. People are willing to kill for this knowledge
and only a mysterious stranger who knew his father, Ravyn, can
keep Kyle from being killed.
While Kyle and Ravyn are on the run, Kyle learns more about
his father’s work and leaves his childish ways behind.
The Unseen answers many questions the reader has about Carter’s
work but doesn’t answer all of them. I am certain more
answers can be found in the next book, Scattered Souls.
Without being heavy handed about the duality, McMullen does
an excellent job in creating characters that seem to have one
purpose but reappear later in other roles. It would have been
easy to make the plot points the heart of the novel as there
is enough action to keep the reader going. The twists aren’t
obvious. McMullen’s characters are multifaceted and aren’t
one note paper cutouts moving from one plot point to another.
This is why the reader will happily pick up the second and third
books in the series. McMullen has struck gold.
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