TRAVELERS - Brett Riley

The high school friends who self-titled their group of friends "Freaks" have survive the summer (despite the otherworldly figure trying to kill them) and now school is back in session and they are looking are starting their sophomore year. While the appearance is that they are ordinary, if borderline outcast students, the truth is quite different.

The Freaks inherited a variety of unusual superpowers and there's an alien god trying to kill them. This god can shape-shift.  Yet this isn't the biggest threat to the Freaks.  When people were dying and it was dangerous just to step outside the home at night, the local police weren't prepared to deal with whatever was happening.  Now the CIA is in town.  They're sure the Freaks are somehow responsible for everything going on but they haven't got proof ... yet.  

I can still see the appeal that a book like this (and this book in particular) would have with a certain group of young readers (typically the outcasts, nerds, or freaks). There's a nice blend of superhero and horror going on here and young teens 'alone' or as though the adults in their lives don't understand them, so add to that feeling some superpowers, aliens, and the CIA, and these readers will feel 'understood.'

As these school-aged Freaks in the book get older, some of their social life aspects begin to change - there's the budding romances or at least the awareness of one another as something, possibly, more than just a friend. This is a really nice addition to the book (from the first book) and author Brett Riley handles it well, not giving it too much importance but not ignoring it.

But somehow this book just doesn't thrill.  For all the characters and exciting incidents, this feels like it should be a thrill-a-minute experience, but it bogs down in the relationships and interactions between the characters. And while I like books which are character driven, there just isn't enough drive here.

Not a bad book, but definitely very average.

Looking for a good book? Travelers by Brett Riley is the second book in the Freaks series and this volume builds on the relationships while increasing the threats to the community.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars

* * * * * *

Travelers

author: Brett Riley

series: Freaks #1

publisher: Imbrifex Books

ISBN: 9781945501470

hardcover, 311 pages

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