The Seven

by Derek Edgington

Caleb Holden is a seventeen-year-old superhuman growing up in fictional San Francisco. Although his story is of a troubled teen who was forced to grow up fast, he tends to overthink things and use too many big words. When he develops strange powers and the amulet he wears begins to talk, his life is thrown for a loop. The series of events that follow will eventually lead him to his destiny. 

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

296 pages, Paperback

First published January 11, 2012

About the author

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Reviews

[Sky Corbelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll be honest with you, this was a hard review to write. Not because I didn't like the book, or even because I did, but because I saw what this story wanted to be, and it just wasn't quite there. This is the story of Caleb Holden, his discovery of the supernatural world, and adventures there-in.

The fact of the matter is, I enjoyed this book. Sure, it's just one more generic urban fantasy child of destiny going to save the world story. That's fine, I like those stories.

Here's the problem: I feel like it was a setup. A little background here might help. I love The Dresden Files. I think that Avatar: The Last Airbender is one the best shows to grace television. I share the author's feelings on Twilight, think that diversification of were-things is a good idea, and am all for hidden histories and supernatural secrets. I grew up in San Francisco, have actually jumped from rooftop to rooftop (although, honestly, it's usually more step and less leap), and think that forests are crazy cool.

So as far as the ideas go, I'm right there with you. I got the inside jokes, rolled my eyes at the cheesy lines, and generally had a good time.

And yet, there were issues. First and foremost, the exposition. Don't get me wrong, there's a time for a nice romp through the main character's mind and memories... but that time is not "always." Worse, despite being dragged into Mr. Holden's head and having to fight the urge to skim over his musings on any given situation, it didn't actually help me get to know him any better. Time and time again, I was confused by the choices made or the decisions reached, and it was rather frustrating.

Issue two: the suspension of disbelief. Specifically, where was it? Caleb is portrayed as being a streetwise, practical young man who has learned to get by on his own in tough situations. And yet, when confronted with supernatural things, there's no coming to terms with it, no rationalization, no grand moments of revelation where all of his past experiences suddenly make sense. He was just okay with it, and that was that. It honestly felt like a letdown. And it didn't stop with him! So many characters take major things on faith or word of mouth that I was left wondering what kind of Kool-Aid they were all drinking between scenes.

Issue three: the length. It was just plain longer than it needed to be. And most of the action was in Caleb's head. I get that the author was trying to create an excuse for why his main character would be capable of decisive action under pressure, but it seems like adding actual plot could have accomplished this while still adding non-trivial development, especially to the secondary characters. It's not a good sign when unexpected aid shows up for the last battle and I have absolutely no idea who they are. Had the story been shorter, or had the important side characters been fleshed out a little more, that would not have been the case. Maybe ease off on the descriptions of high school bullies who we'll never see again or dragons who never appear in the real world, and focus on adding personality to the main character's were-creature friends or creating a situation that highlights what an awesome guy the head of the orphanage is.

I don't know if it was just a problem with the file I was reading, but there was some formatting wonkiness. If italics are going to used, use them consistently. Sometimes they denoted internal dialogue, and sometimes someone would just be speaking in all italics. At one point an entire chapter was in italics, and all it accomplished was making me wish I could turn them off.

Despite all that, I liked this book. It may have been a simple plot with occasionally confusing and often frustrating events, but the ideas were all there. If you're a big fan of urban fantasy, if you love teenage protagonists who have lived hard lives, or if you just think that I'm an overly critical bastard for writing a review like this about a book I claim to like, give THE SEVEN a read. It's got a glimmer of greatness, and I look forward to one day seeing the author shine.

[Jamie Stanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a firstreads giveaway. Thank you! Those book was a fun read. It was packed with action and fantasy. I could barely put it down. If you like YA lit and the paranormal, you would love this book!!!!

[Tara]

My 4th goodreads win!

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'd have rated this with one star, but I found out the author is 17 yrs. old, so having accomplished a book and a first one at that deserves another star, and a congratulations! My only issue with this book is the language. The story line is okay and has potential to be really interesting, but the conversations are soooo unnatural, so phony to the point of incredulous.

To wit: the 17 year old main character Caleb lived the last 5 years of his life on the run in the streets, in and out of high school BUT he speaks like this-- "......I sincerely hope that is the crux of the matter, otherwise umbrage must be taken and acts of insubordination must be reveled in." This sentence is acceptable but totally wrong from the mouth of a teenager with such background. Inappropriate. It would have been a statement uttered by a genius, a geek, or a character from a historical novel. And by the way, almost all of the main characters unbelievably speak this way, and they have very little distinction from each other. Whatever attempts to separate the young characters from the old, the bad guy from the good guy, the serious from the flippant--- they are lost with the unsuitable words and phrasing of the dialogue. I find the conversations stiff, contrived, and far from natural in a modern day setting. I feel that the author is undecided whether to take the old speech or the modern jargon in a clearly contemporary time albeit filled with paranormals. And because the story is told in the first person point of view, the readers get more of this elaborate words and phrases. It seems that the author has a misconception that flowery literature will make the story better. NOT. It's an overdose really. The whole story could have been told in maybe just half the book's total number of pages if you edit out the superfluous. And just to stress my point, below are just a few of the many dialogues (from the book's modern TEEN characters) that go against the grain, so I have to strike it out and replace it with what I think is more normal and spontaneous...

Caleb: "I'll admit it... hyperventilation was all that was within the realm of capability." - Me:"I can't help but hyperventilate."

Caleb: "Each of the halls was still and unoccupied of a living soul... and so I basked in the solitude as the path to my room was traversed." - Me: "I basked in the peaceful silence as I passed the empty hallways."

Caleb: "I see exactly of which you speak." - Me: "I see what you mean."

Jason: "I'm Jason, and I'm honored to have witnessed your unparalleled beauty!" - Me:"Wow, I'm so happy to see such gorgeousness!"

Teen character (forgot her name): "Caleb Holden, I presume. I have been waiting quite some time to lay my eyes upon you." - Me: "Caleb Holden. Finally, we meet!"

My only favorite line of Caleb is his question: "Was it so difficult to speak plainly?" There you go! Listen to that advise, and I'll throw in one last tip you might want to remember. Keep It Short & Simple. So, good luck Derek Edgington. I wish you the best and I truly hope you improve on your next writing project. Just remember to K.I.S.S.!

[Shelley · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Character is completely unbelievable to me. I read the sample, which is the first 2 chapters. This is written in first person by a seventeen year old character that has been on the run, in and out of foster care, and sometimes homeless for the last 5 years. The following are examples of how he talks and thinks:

The Squeaking of aged wood marked my progress as I wandered towards the smell of food.
"Capricious, like a hummingbird," went the apt description.
Expelling a groan at the loss of life-saving heat...
The suggestion was obviously poised so that I would be brought back to the topic at hand, with a little downgrade of social status.
Sparkling blue eyes sat under carefully manicured eyebrows. His reddish-golden locks tumbled down over his face in a pleasing disarray, the fad that apparently had become popular since I instigated it.
History was a rather droll affair...
My best reassuring smirk was tendered.
Jas's concentration wavered and then panned to his left.
The lunchtime bell rang with crystal clarity from the food courtyard to the grand stand. I polished off the last of my apple and threw my detritus in one of the provided trashcans that were spaced periodically throughout the seating area.
I made it outside the door before recalling the pressing necessity of waiting for Jas.
...but we were far enough distanced to make it an arduous task to discern the contours of expression.

Who talks like that? Not any 17 year old's I know, or adults for that matter. That is a just a sample. There are dozens of other words and phrases similar to those. It just doesn't work for me for this character. I feel like the author is trying to impress me with his vocabulary and ability to create unique, descriptive sentences. They are great words, but complete overkill! The story so far is just too much detail of inconsequential matters. I'm just not interested. I will not be finishing this book.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Seven follows the life of Caleb Holden, a young man who has spent the last several years living on the streets. When Caleb was 12 years old men broke into his parents house and he followed the established family plan and grabbed some money and ran. He has kept hope alive for 5 years believing that his parents are out somewhere looking for him.

When Caleb gets put into a pretty nice orphanage after getting picked up off the street he decides to stick around for a while. He meets some people that actually have a chance at becoming friends for him. Living on the street for so long has given him some pretty major trust issues so that would be a first. As Caleb is enrolled in the local highschool he starts to learn that everything is not as it seems and trolls and goblins really do exist. Jas is another kid in school who Caleb forms a bond with and sort of walks him through all of the new discoveries he is making.

The negatives to the story are the dialogue being a bit advanced for most highschool kids and especially one who has spent a good portion of his life on the street. The other big issue I found was how much time Caleb spent inside his own head. I don't mean the training exercises he was being taught to do, but he has a very analytical mind and the reader is shown a bit too much of his though processes. There were times when I thought this slowed the book down a bit.

The good aspects were many and made the book a worthwhile read despite my earlier criticisms. The powers that were revealed in the book were well done with the specializations and the applications of them. The Were clans were also an excellent addition to the supernatural cast and they were used in a way that is a bit atypical for shapeshifters. This is a good read from a young other who shows an amazing amount of promise.

Review copy provided by the author.

[Nathanks · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was provided to me free by Goodreads First Reads.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3. The story isn't bad, but it isn't great either. It is what I would have expected from someone writing and publishing their first novel. The concept is alright, but it certainly isn't too original (throw together lots of ideas from your favorite things as a teenage boy-and you've got most of the elements in the book.

 I got an advanced review copy, and between being an ARC, and the author self-publishing, the little things of punctuation, or editing some details down, got lost in the journey to get the plot captured and onto the page. At times the amount of detail reminded me of Tom Clancy's Dead or Alive - run on thought processes or excruciating detail that doesn't matter in this book. The author plans on making this a series, so I can hope that the details come to matter later (but I doubt it).

The book got me through a 6 hr layover, with a handful of "what's going on again?" and rereading the section, and for that I'm thankful.

[Merrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book in a giveaway and was a little apprehensive to read it because the author is still a teenager. I thought this book was quite good for the first book by Derek. It has a unique supernatural world that makes you want to learn more about it. However, I thought the author tried to use too big of a vocabulary for this book. The vocabulary of the characters was too much to be believable for teenagers. Overall a good book though.

[Jason Mikkelsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly I am not a big fan of the young writers that think they are all that, however The Seven is one of the best reads I have read so far. I am excited for the rest of the series and i'm anxiously waiting for more.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fast paced read with lots of humor and action. Hard to imagine that a 17 year old wrote it. I can't wait to see what else he writes. I won this from Goodreads and I recommend this book.