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The Watchers

by Jon Steele (Goodreads Author)

3.54 of 5 stars 3.54 · rating details · 749 ratings · 206 reviews

Meet Marc Rochat, a man-child who has devoted his life to being the bell ringer at the Gothic Lausanne Cathedral, one of the greatest architectural structures in the world. Eerie things have been going on in and around his church, including tremblings in the underground crypt and a variety of gruesomely murdered bodies showing up in nearby streets. Across the square from t...more

Hardcover, 592 pages

Published May 29th 2012 by Blue Rider Press (first published June 1st 2011)

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Jun 18, 2013 Libby rated it 5 of 5 stars

A brain damaged boy, an expensive call girl and an amnesiac security expert cross paths in Lausanne Cathedral. Their story winds the Book of Enoch, the Olympic Games, The History Channel, stained glass and cathedral bells onto an amazing spindle of a narrative. Marc is crippled, with a twisted foot and leg. He is gifted with an awesome imagination, but has poor math and reading skills. He is La Guet, the watchman, of Lausanne Cathedral. Harper is a security expert for the IOC, but he has no memo...more

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May 19, 2013 Chy rated it 5 of 5 stars

BookTrib calls it “wholly original.” It is not. I mean, read the description; it already screams, heavily influenced by The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Once you start to figure out all the differences, you realize even those have their roots in other places. But it’s the combination that counts. The combination that’s beautiful.

BookTrib also calls it “Indescribable.” It is not. There are at least a hundred ways to describe it, and each way would leach it of its magic. And therefore leach me of my e...more

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May 16, 2013 Stephanie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

I found this novel in my local supermarket, while bored to death. The tiny blurb on the back intrigued me, but I almost put it back three times... I am SO glad I didn't, and took it home! What an atmospheric work of art, for a novel. Jon Steele is my new favorite author.

In a market flooded with novels dealing with supernatural themes, “The Watchers” stands out for strength of its characters, the originality of the plot and Jon Steele’s remarkable ability to make magic visible in the familiar.

In...more I found this novel in my local supermarket, while bored to death. The tiny blurb on the back intrigued me, but I almost put it back three times... I am SO glad I didn't, and took it home! What an atmospheric work of art, for a novel. Jon Steele is my new favorite author.

In a market flooded with novels dealing with supernatural themes, “The Watchers” stands out for strength of its characters, the originality of the plot and Jon Steele’s remarkable ability to make magic visible in the familiar.

In this age of instant gratification that drives the two page chapter, it is refreshing to see that one author is not afraid of long, drawn out character building and the slow, tension filled ascent to what you know will be a stunning end of the novel. Richly atmospheric and surprisingly tender amid all the gathering gloom, this is a beautifully written book to savior and enjoy, especially when all of the action finally does get going. I have NO problem with waiting for 100 pages for the characters to develop, figure out what the HECK is going on in this novel, or find out what happens next. And quite frankly, I don't understand why others do. If you want instant gratification, go read some short stories!! (And quite frankly, 500+ pages gets me hot. More? I'm there!! I had no problem being hooked from the second chapter.)

Steele created three solid characters in Jay Harper, Marc Rochat and Katherine Taylor. You will find yourself cheering for Marc (who reminded me of Quasimodo), as le guet of the Lausanne Cathedral as he helps Taylor find redemption. Steele keeps you wondering about Harper until far into the story. Each of them is imperfect. Each of them sees a different Lausanne. Each of them has a distinctive voice. Together they light up this book. The portrayal of Marc Rochat and his adorable cat Monsieur Booty is in particular evocative and memorable. I was never quite sure if that cat understood what was being said or not... and that's ok, too.

The plot and the world that it imagines, puts a twist on ancient legends that is original, plausible and intriguing. Jon Steele is brave enough to slow the pace of the storytelling so that comprehension dawns slowly but is all the more deeply felt for that. Be ready for twists and turns, as Steele weaves a masterful story around you. There are four parts to the story, and people have to actually follow the threads of the story. I was never sure where this ride was going, and I enjoyed every minute of this feeling.

Angels in a mystery novel is new to me, but they fit perfectly. But don't expect wings or halos. Do expect a murder mystery, a supernatural thriller, and beautiful writing.

In a story of good versus evil Jon Steele takes the time to show how blurred the boundaries are between the two, nor does he shy away from depicting the cruel violence that evil produces. He doesn't glorify it but he doesn't look away either. He uses it to cast the shadows that emphasizes the light. (Some sexual situations, if you don't like that, don't read this novel. They are integral to the plot.)

This is Jon’s Steele’s first novel. As Marc Rochat might say, I am very sure it should not be his last. This novel was difficult to put down, and rejoin everyday life. I can barely wait until the 2nd part of the series is out, in June. And I am telling everyone I know that they HAVE to read this book. I loved that I had to constantly guess where the book was going, and that rarely happens, anymore... not after reading SO many books in my lifetime. :D
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Apr 30, 2013 Marc Bolda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In this age of instant gratification that drives the two page chapter and all the other "improvements" we have seen in the development of the novel over the past twenty years or so, it is refreshing to see that one author is not afraid of long, drawn out character building and the slow, yet tension filled ascent to what you know will be a stunning climax when you reach the top of the mountain--and it is! Richly atmospheric and suprisingly tender amid all the gathering gloom, this is a beautifull...more

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Mar 09, 2013 Ricki Treleaven rated it 5 of 5 stars

This week I read The Watchers by Jon Steele: a very unique suspense thriller. The antagonists are fallen angels and Nephilim, while the main protagonist is the Archangel Michael. Unlike Cassandra Clare's Nephilim in the Mortal Instruments series, these Nephilim are not heroes protecting humanity from demons; these Nephilim are soul-eaters. The Nephilim are mentioned in the Book of Enoch, a book believed to be only a myth until the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947. It is quoted along wit...more This week I read The Watchers by Jon Steele: a very unique suspense thriller. The antagonists are fallen angels and Nephilim, while the main protagonist is the Archangel Michael. Unlike Cassandra Clare's Nephilim in the Mortal Instruments series, these Nephilim are not heroes protecting humanity from demons; these Nephilim are soul-eaters. The Nephilim are mentioned in the Book of Enoch, a book believed to be only a myth until the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947. It is quoted along with the Bible in this novel. Only a couple of Christian sects recognize this apocryphal book as sacred although Enoch is mentioned in the Bible several times.

Lausanne, Switzerland is the setting for The Watchers. Three people have been drawn to Lausanne...three people with nothing in common, yet they share the same destiny. First, there is an English private detective named Jay Harper. Jay wakes up one morning with absolutely no memory. A telephone call offering him a job in Lausanne is an offer Jay can't refuse because he has nothing else to do with his time, or at least he can't remember any plans he made previously. Katherine Taylor is a former Playboy College Edition playmate from UCLA and high class call girl. An exclusive club of the world's elite called the 200 Club recruits Katherine to work in Lausanne. A young man named Marc Rochat is sent to Lausanne from Canada when he is ten after his mother's death. He becomes le guet of the Lausanne Cathedral. Le guet is the nightwatchman who calls the hour from 10:00 PM until 2:00 AM each night. It is a custom that is centuries old. Marc is a sweet, perceptive man with cerebral palsy and a slight gait. He is plagued with visions from "beforetimes" or things that happened in the past, and visions of the future. According to the good angels, our world was intended to be a paradise, but the bad shadows (as Marc calls them) are intent on completely destroying it. These three characters' lives intersect at the cathedral, and the fate of the world is in their hands, for they discover an ancient secret hiding below the cathedral: a secret forgotten by angels that could provide insight into creation.

There is violence, adult language, and very scary scenes in this book. Steele is a fantastic writer, and I can tell he is a journalist because he does not waste words in spite of the more than 500 pages in this book. I enjoyed reading about the cathedral, and I would like to visit Lausanne one day just to visit it. I would even enjoy staying up late to hear le guet call the midnight hour:

"C'est le guet; il a sonné l'heure!"
"This is the nightwatchman. The hour has struck!"
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Oct 28, 2012 Donna rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. And that's saying quite a lot. It did take some work to get into it. The characters names and roles are hard to understand and the story begins somewhere in the middle so it took a few chapters before I was fully drawn in, but then I was. Was it the perfect story? No, it wasn't and there are things I definitely wanted to have more information about or to have told differently, but some of the concepts in the book are so thought-provoking....more

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Sep 21, 2012 Michelle Morrell added it

Shelves: unfinished

I couldn't get into this novel. Which was unfortunate, as I usually like stories that involve angels and hints of the supernatural dwelling under the mundanity of the "real world." The premise was interesting, and the characters were nuanced, but there were two specific reasons I couldn't finish this novel, and both were in the writing style.

First, the author left off the subjects of most of the action sentences. For example, instead of writing, "He went down the steps," he would write, "Went d...more

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Jul 11, 2012 drey rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-reads

A bell ringer, an amnesiac detective, and a high-priced call girl walk into a bar…

Oh, wait. That’s not how it goes; the bell ringer wouldn’t walk into a bar… Let’s start over, shall we?

The Watchers tells the story of fallen angels, both good and bad, fighting a war on earth. Or, in this case, in Lausanne, Switzerland. The bell ringer, Marc, has a limp and has flashbacks. The amnesiac detective’s gut tells him things are not as they appear to be, but he’s so busy getting hauled around that some d...more A bell ringer, an amnesiac detective, and a high-priced call girl walk into a bar…

Oh, wait. That’s not how it goes; the bell ringer wouldn’t walk into a bar… Let’s start over, shall we?

The Watchers tells the story of fallen angels, both good and bad, fighting a war on earth. Or, in this case, in Lausanne, Switzerland. The bell ringer, Marc, has a limp and has flashbacks. The amnesiac detective’s gut tells him things are not as they appear to be, but he’s so busy getting hauled around that some days he can barely tell which way is up. And the call girl is beautiful, but not much more.

It took me a long time to finish reading The Watchers. Part of the problem was that I had other books I had to get in first due to commitments. And part of the problem was the sheer size of The Watchers, though I have inhaled G.R.R. Martin’s books like nobody’s business. I guess the biggest problem was getting through the set up – I was 250 pages in before things started happening.

Once they did, though, boy did things start to fly.

I loved Marc’s character, the predictability of his actions, the good that resonated in him. I loved his talking to the bells, too, it gave them such personality (and these are bells, people!)… Jay Harper is a confused mess, which while most likely is intentional, confuses the reader as well. “Is he good? Is he nuts? Is he…? What is he, exactly?” all ran through my mind while reading Jay’s scenes. He’s like this mouse in a maze trying to find the cheese, but the cheese is in a whole other box entirely. So how is it that he’s a detective?

And don’t get me started on Katherine. She’s gorgeous, and that’s it. She loves the life of ease and luxury she lives, not knowing she’s good and caught in someone else’s snare. Not exactly the kind of female character I enjoy reading, that’s for sure. If there’s anything redeeming about Katherine’s character, it’s that she appreciates Marc for his goodness – but it takes a lot for her to get there, that’s for sure.

All in all, The Watchers is a fabulous story that could easily have been told in about 2/3 the pages.

drey’s rating: Pick it up!(less)

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Jun 26, 2012 Dee rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. An almost-good quasi-fantasy/thriller book. Steele takes way too long with development to get to the "thriller" part of this plot. Chapters of Rochat, the twisted-footed, simple keeper of the bells of Lausanne Cathedral, showing his simple life, and his ability/dissociation to go "beforetimes" to get comfort from his mother, father, paternal grandmother, etc., to relive other pertinent experiences in his life. Chapters showing Jay Michael Harper, a really bad drunk, who is only somewhat troubled...more An almost-good quasi-fantasy/thriller book. Steele takes way too long with development to get to the "thriller" part of this plot. Chapters of Rochat, the twisted-footed, simple keeper of the bells of Lausanne Cathedral, showing his simple life, and his ability/dissociation to go "beforetimes" to get comfort from his mother, father, paternal grandmother, etc., to relive other pertinent experiences in his life. Chapters showing Jay Michael Harper, a really bad drunk, who is only somewhat troubled that he cannot remember any past before the telephone call in his London apartment that brought him to Lousanne. Chapters slowly revealing the life of the high-living prostitue, Katherine who finally brings the plot into action. We also have the extremely debonaire head of Swiss Police, Jacues Gobet, who usually travels with his two goons, which Harper calls Mutt and Jeff.

Only when Katerine is ordered up by Karamovsky, the "Russian" who is really the demon (fallen angel Azazel - Book of Enoch) for $250,000 Euros does the plot really begin. Then we learn fairly quickly that this is really a battle between good angels and fallen ones -- to get the fire buried 2000 meters below theheart of the cathedral (the first fire given to a man-like creater Homo Egrastas) which would give ultimate authority to Kamarovsky/Azazel over all demons and the rest of the earth. Next we learn that Gobet is also an angel, as is Harper. They are the Watchers, put on earth to protect humans from the depradations of the demons. Only vulnerable when in human form, but only able to act on earth when in human form, these angels are almost extinct now.

Lots of interesting use of Enoch fables, but the book has two failings. The slow beginning, which I think most folks will not get though. These characters are not that inherently interesting. Second, he leaves out some essential parts of the How and Why of the angels story. Why was the fire buried under this cathedral? Why was the Cathedrual built to these exact specs in Russa over a second deep well/tunnel? These angels know the story, but they just don't bother to tell us. How did the numbers of the good angels get so small, when the numbers of the evil ones keep growing? Seem like pretty basic questions that remain unanwered -- and ones that I continued to read to get. So, I'm pretty disappointed.(less)

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Jun 06, 2012 Ellen O'brien rated it 3 of 5 stars

I just found this book to have a larger than expected emotional impact on me. It is about a bell-ringer in the belfry of a church in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is also about faith and love and redemption. I thought the character of the bell ringer, Marc Rochat, was especially well-written. Marc was born crippled and developmentally delayed and yet he is pure of heart and a steadfast friend. His mother tells him to watch for an angel to come to "his" cathedral needing help and that is his duty to...more

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May 29, 2012 Jeanne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: general-fiction

Went into this thinking, "Didn't Victor Hugo write some little thing like this?" Shame on me for, one, never actually having read Hugo's tome and, two, almost passing up this book. Crippled (sorry, so not PC) bell-ringer, prostitute, guy that saves the day. Sure, been there, seen the Disney version and Mandy Patinkin, too. But not quite.

I dare you not to fall in love with Marc Rochat. Even Harper gets to you. Kat didn't do so much for me (one more "gosh aren't you cute?" and I was ready to poke...more

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May 29, 2012 Myckyee rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have a short list of books that I love and always keep a copy of. It includes The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, Drood and The Black Hills, both written by Dan Simmons, and The Lord of the Rings. These books are characterized by great story-telling abilities by the author. They are not the kind of books (that shall remain nameless, the worst written by an author also with the first name of Dan) that have a cliff hanger at the end of a two page chapter. They are the sort that weave a story so...more

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Apr 17, 2012 Viviane Crystal rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Marc Rochat is a disabled young man who takes care of the bells in Lausanne Cathedral. His mother who died long ago, told him he would save an angel of God. His only conversations are with the bells, the statues, and the dead in the Cathedral's crypt. Yes, he is a strange man with some obvious simple and harmless idiosyncrasies, hardly one who could save anyone. Yet there is something endearing about this pathetic, innocent creature who is dedicated to his job or mission as he sees it. Then his...more Marc Rochat is a disabled young man who takes care of the bells in Lausanne Cathedral. His mother who died long ago, told him he would save an angel of God. His only conversations are with the bells, the statues, and the dead in the Cathedral's crypt. Yes, he is a strange man with some obvious simple and harmless idiosyncrasies, hardly one who could save anyone. Yet there is something endearing about this pathetic, innocent creature who is dedicated to his job or mission as he sees it. Then his dreams and conversations begin to change as he becomes more of an observer of what is happening outside the Cathedral!

He sees two other characters in the story, Katherine Taylor and a man who looks like a spy. Katherine is oblivious to all, reveling in the life of a high paid "companion" and never realizing she is a slave subject to the whims of others. Her life will turn into a dramatic, spine-tingling horror, leaving her in an inhuman state one could never imagine.

Jay Harper is an International Olympic Committee employee, a simple man who loves the History Channel on TV but who also has uncanny private investigator skills that can be used by his employers. It seems that there is a secondary plot about a murdered Russian gentleman who was trying to contact Jay Harper to give him something of tremendous importance, which never happens.

All of a sudden the plot turns horrifically violent. Several characters die at the hands of an obviously sick, twisted killer. Up to here, everything makes sense and holds the reader. But then the hints connect to quotes from the banned Biblical Book of Enoch, references to the ancient Nephilim (giants briefly mentioned in the Genesis and Book of Enoch), and everything seems to flip into a speedy end where some will die, some will be left still unknowing, and one will have to be placed in protective custody.

The plot in The Watchers is credible to a point. The even pace of the first half of the novel turns frenetic in the second, with enough repetition to sink a ship and random thoughts as well as clues interspersed. It gets downright choppy. This story is good but loses steam because of the above problems, leaving the reader thrilled yet annoyed at the irrelevant twists and turns and lack of transition and smooth connection into this religious and/or evil development. Fascinating in some respects, not so in far too many other parts that need editing.(less)

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Jul 16, 2011 Marleen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Book read and reviewed for Bookgeeks as part of the Real Readers Programme

“Three lives. One purpose. Save what’s left of paradise before all hell breaks lose”

Three unlikely individuals are fated to fight an unimaginable evil. If they succeed they’ll safe the world as we know it, if they fail, literally all will be lost.
Marc Rochat is a young man living in the bell tower of the cathedral in Lausanne where he guards the bells and inhabits a world not quite like ours while he waits for the angel he...more Book read and reviewed for Bookgeeks as part of the Real Readers Programme

“Three lives. One purpose. Save what’s left of paradise before all hell breaks lose”

Three unlikely individuals are fated to fight an unimaginable evil. If they succeed they’ll safe the world as we know it, if they fail, literally all will be lost.
Marc Rochat is a young man living in the bell tower of the cathedral in Lausanne where he guards the bells and inhabits a world not quite like ours while he waits for the angel he was told would come. An angel he will have to save and send home.
Katherine, a beautiful high-class prostitute is convinced that her life is as good as it can get and completely unaware that she is in mortal danger.
Jay Michael Harper is a private investigator who has no memories prior to the moment when he woke up in London and was summoned to Lausanne to find a disgraced Russian Olympic athlete.
When these three individuals get together in the cathedral the final showdown is about to begin, and their chances are not looking good.

This was an amazing story. Imaginative and completely original it blew me away.
The story is slow to start and it takes a long time before the characters, and therefore the reader, discover what is going on. It takes even longer to figure out who or what the good and the bad characters are. But the tension is there, underneath the apparently casual words of the story. And almost without the reader being aware of it, the tension builds and builds, until you find yourself in the middle of a nightmare which doesn’t seem to have the possibility of a happy ending.
I would love to say a lot more about this book and this story, but I don’t feel I can without giving away parts of the story that readers should discover as they move from page to page. So I will have to settle for mentioning that this book touched me, intrigued me, followed me in my dreams and refuses get out of my head even now, hours after reading the final page.
The writing is beautiful, the setting memorable and the story unforgettable. This book more than deserves the 5+ stars I’ve rated it.
I should probably add that both my husband and my mother in law got their hands on this book before I did, and both of them loved it at least as much as I do. (less)

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Jul 18, 2012 Audrey Driscoll rated it 4 of 5 stars

A sign to me of a good book is that it lingers in my memory for at least a day or two after I have finished reading it. The Watchers, a fantasy-tinged thriller, passes that test in a number of ways.

First the characters. The principals are well-drawn and fully developed, especially Marc Rochat, the keeper of the belfry in the Cathedral of Lausanne. He copes valiantly with physical and mental challenges; his idiosyncrasies of speech and thought are rather sweet. The Cathedral is almost a character...more

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Jul 18, 2012 Paul Pessolano rated it 4 of 5 stars

“The Watchers” by Jon Steele, published by Blue Rider Press.

Category – Fiction/Literature

“The Watchers” is difficult to categorize, it is a book that is very entertaining, very unusual, contains gruesome murders, a prostitute, a confused detective, paranormals (both good and bad), and takes place in a Cathedral in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is almost a modern retelling of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”.

Marc Rochat was born in Canada but with his mother’s death he is moved to Lausanne where he beco...more

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Apr 18, 2012 Jaime rated it 2 of 5 stars

Marc is the keeper of the Belfry in a Cathedral. Katherine is a hooker with a heart of gold. And Jay is a detective with a touch of amnesia trying to solve mystery within a mystery. All in the quaint town of Lausanne, Switzerland.

This book has a very slow start. The initial “case” that brings our characters together is completely irrelevant and we spend wasted time invested in that mystery. Also the character’s were a little bit to derived from the Hunch Back of Notre Dame. It was jokingly point...more

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May 20, 2012 Taryn rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: what-i-read-in-2012, arc

These are the hardest reviews for me to write (other than the reviews where I absolutely loved a book and just want to gush about it without any critical thoughts): when a book's ideas were interesting, but the execution left something to be desired. This is the situation I find myself in with The Watchers, by Jon Steele. The idea of fallen angels roaming the Earth (who were the watchers the title alludes to) is a cool one, and a lot could have been done with the biblical Nephilim. However, The...more These are the hardest reviews for me to write (other than the reviews where I absolutely loved a book and just want to gush about it without any critical thoughts): when a book's ideas were interesting, but the execution left something to be desired. This is the situation I find myself in with The Watchers, by Jon Steele. The idea of fallen angels roaming the Earth (who were the watchers the title alludes to) is a cool one, and a lot could have been done with the biblical Nephilim. However, The Watchers fell flat for me for several big reasons: the pacing, the characters, and the story-telling.

I'll start with the good. Many of the twists were unexpected, and there were several mysteries whose resolutions I wasn't able to guess. Once the plot kicks in, you will probably want to finish the story, even if just to figure out who Harper is, who the "bad shadows" are and what they're after, etc. Also, the scenes with Katherine after she is kidnapped are genuinely scary. The novel was unafraid of getting dark, that's for sure, which I appreciated. And like I said, the biblical lore is interesting enough to stand on its own.

Now for the bad and the ugly:

The first 200 to 300 pages are excruciatingly slow, as we are introduced to our main characters of Harper, Katherine, and Marc through largely-unconnected vignettes. As the plot finally begins to unfold, the pace then switches back and forth between "frenetic" and "glacial." It was...disconcerting. Each time I began a new chapter, I would wonder if I could skim it or if this would suddenly be the paragraph where a twist or plot point was unveiled. I think if those first few hundred pages had been pared down, the actual plot would have been given some more urgency, as well as space to expand. As it stands, the pacing is just too disjointed to allow the thriller this book wants to be take hold.

As for the characters: Katherine was completely useless, there to be a pawn/damsel-in-distress/excuse to write in sex scenes/allegory for Mary Magdelene. She is meant to undergo a sort of transformation as the book proceeds, from a selfish, silly young woman to someone more thoughtful and mature. The problem was, I didn't really believe it, or her as a character. Whatever characterization she is given is about as deep as a puddle. Harper was...eh. Technically our hero, but surprisingly low on the heroics and instead more consistent on a) getting beaten within an inch of his life, b) lagging a step behind the major good/evil forces, and c) cursing at people who can help him/have more knowledge than he does. Amnesiac detectives can be written well, but I felt as little connection with him as I did with Katherine.

Read the rest of my review over at Bookwanderer!(less)

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Jun 24, 2012 Elizabeth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

I was so excited to read this novel when I stumbled across it online. For a debut novel, Jon Steele did a darned good job. While his ideas are not at all original, the way he crafts them together was quite entertaining. I didn't always understand what was going on - I am fairly up to date on the legends at the center of this story, but he didn't always fill in the blanks of where the characters stood in their own thoughts (maybe he did that on purpose, but I got frustrated at times)- but I event...more

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Jun 18, 2012 Brian rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

First I have to confess that I received this book through the Goodreads first reads giveaway contest.
This book is a delight to read. When I first received this book I wondered if I would like this type of book, but I really did like it.

This book is a thriller, with a little romance and humour mixed in. It includes an epic battle between good and evil, angels and bad shadows, and the power of God versus the those on earth.
The story takes place in Lausanne, Switzerland on the shores of Lake Geneva...more

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Jun 07, 2011 Paul rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Beneath Lausanne cathedral, in Switzerland, there is a secret buried before time began. Something unknown to angels and men. Until now…

Marc Rochat watches over the city at night from the belfry of the cathedral. He lives in a world of shadows and beforetimes and imaginary begins.

Katherine Taylor, call girl and dreamer, is about to discover that her real-life fairy tale is too good to be true.

Jay Harper, private detective, wakes in a crummy hotel room with no memory. When the telephone rings and...more

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May 22, 2011 Maya Panika rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A crippled boy, an amnesiac detective and a high-class prostitute become embroiled in dark forces plotting to take possession of creation through the secrets held in the Cathedral of Lausanne.

Part crime mystery, part dark fantasy, it reminded me a little of a John Grisholm novel in that it was both lacking in surprises yet impossible to stop reading, and the ending was predictably disappointing - a shame, because this novel could have been so much more. The characters are well-drawn, true indivi...more

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Feb 08, 2013 Beth Anne rated it 3 of 5 stars

most interesting: angels, demons, half breeds. very interesting and new type of fantasy story.

least interesting: the way that the author wrote the character of Katherine Taylor. especially her dialogue, and inner monologues. she was a BADLY portrayed female character. it was extremely frustrating to hear her words and thoughts and every interaction she had with every other character annoyed the hell out of me.

i hate stupid insipid female characters. especially when the writing is trite.

Marc Roch...more

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Aug 19, 2011 Mike Finn rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: speculative-fiction

In a market flooded with novels dealing with supernatural themes, “The Watchers” stands out for strength of its characters, the originality of the plot and Jon Steele’s remarkable ability to make magic visible in the familiar.

“The Watchers” is set in the part of Switzerland that I know very well. The locations Jon Steele describes: the ancient wooden steps of the Escaliers du Marché, the Lausanne Palace Hotel, the building that Marc Rochat lives in in Ouchy, the orange warning lights on Lac Lema...more

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Aug 28, 2012 Rachel rated it 5 of 5 stars

I found myself loving this book, even though it has a slow plot that takes forever to start happening. The reason I liked it? The characters are wonderful and I enjoyed reading about them, particularly Marc Rochet, a young man with physical and developmental disabilities. The book is made to sound like a thriller and it does turn into one at the end. Yet, it's the character development and the slow building connections that make it work. It's just a weird combination that's so difficult to descr...more

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Sep 11, 2012 Nancy_dancehall rated it 5 of 5 stars

"Maybe there's nothing left of the Creator but the intersecting lines of causality moving through time." Words spoken by an angel in Jon Steele's fantastic novel, "The Watchers." This book was a pleasure to sink into, even though it takes its time (the first 150 pages are mostly character development -- not a bad thing at all).

Most of the action takes place in a cathedral in Lausanne, Switzerland, which becomes a character in its own right. The cathedral is the hiding-place for a secret, unknow...more

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Jun 26, 2012 Allison Faber rated it 3 of 5 stars

As I sat down to think about what kind of review to write over The Watchers, I came to the conclusion that I really haven't determined if I loved it or hated it. Some parts of Steele's work were wonderful. The city of Lausanne described in such vivid detail and the character of Marc Rochat were memorable and done extraordinarily well. On the other hand, it took about two hundred pages for the three characters mentioned in the book's synopsis to even meet. Too much time was spent on character dev...more

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May 21, 2013 Bill rated it 4 of 5 stars

It's always nice to hold a book of substance in your hand. Sometimes substance is the sheer volume of the paper holding the story and in other cases it is the story itself. In the case of "the Watchers" by Jon Steele it's both.

I found this to be an entertaining read with just enough kept hidden from the reader throughout the story to keep you searching through the pages for answers not yet found.

I am looking forward to the remaining volumes in the series and hope that the lives of characters th...more

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May 19, 2012 Byron Wells rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

This book was a great read; I thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly recommend this book to anyone that likes this genre.

Steele created three solid characters in Jay Harper, Marc Rochat and Katherine Taylor. You will find yourself cheering for Marc (who reminded me of Quasimodo), as le guet of the Lausanne Cathedral as he helps Taylor find redemption. Steele keeps you wondering about Harper until far into the story.

The location of the story is the small Swiss town of Lausanne, much if it revolv...more

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Sep 20, 2012 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars

Oh, this book. So many pages, so many sentence fragments. Too much of both.

It took hundreds of pages for a plot to appear.I managed to hang in there because the main characters seemed as lost as I felt about what was going on. Then one of them finally figured out what was going on.

Unfortunately, he never told me.

I still have a very fuzzy understanding of who was who (or WHAT they were)--? I found the whole book to be a strange mix of sensitivity to the handicapped, love of architecture, wande...more

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About Jon Steele

Jon Steele was born in the American Northwest in 1950 and was raised in Great Falls Montana. He worked an assortment of legal and illegal jobs all accross America before joining Independent Television News of London. Jon earned a reputation as one of the world's top cameramen in dangerous environments. His autobiography, 'War Junkie' was published in 2002 by Transworld and is today recognized as a...more

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War Junkie: One Man's Addiction to the Worst Places on Earth

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Quotes from The Watchers

“It's a very old word, it means 'to breathe into.' That's how it works: An angel breathes into men and shows us what to play, what to draw. How to find the truth of who we are and why we are here.” — 7 people liked it

“Being brave is only standing up when you're afraid.” — 6 people liked it

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