Official Review: I, the Storm by Sean O'Leary

“4 out of 4 stars”

“Isaac Rey seems to be just a typical young adult who likes music, plays in a band, and has issues with his girlfriends. However, he can travel through time and space. Still, he doesn’t know the origin of this power, and he has to learn how to dominate it before it becomes uncontrollable. In this journey, Isaac meets a philosophical friend and confronts people who possess similar skills named ECs. But the protagonist is also going to find strange and powerful relatives he didn’t know.

I, the Storm is a sci-fi book that resembles a dynamic screenplay. The author uses techniques from the movies. He uses various viewpoints to portray the characters’ lifestyles and relationships with background music. In addition to that, at the end of the novel, there’s a list of those pieces of music and bands quoted by the author that allows the reader to listen to a playlist of the book while reading and imagining the scenes.

My favorite aspect of this book was the author’s style. Sean O’Leary uses the cinematographic process of counterpoint technique, which is the quick transition from one situation to another and the intersection of the various stories. For example, the sentence “he says while picking up his shirt” comes right before “A Haitian girl picks up a shirt” connecting the scenes. That’s a technique used in the music that seeks the harmonization of melodies. Besides, it’s also used in literature to harmonize several voices and perspectives. The author used this method in this book with exceptional ability since music is an aspect that has a constant presence.

There’s nothing I disliked in this novel. However, the book had an abrupt ending, and the author didn’t explain the purpose of several characters. It seems to me that the author intended to incite the reader’s curiosity in the same way a television show does at the end of a season. Likewise, Isaac is lost, and he doesn’t understand how to use his powers, so we feel lost just like him. That aspect makes the novel more relatable and engaging, which is in line with the writer’s goals. Therefore, I will not take a star off my rating because of it. Besides, the novel seems professionally edited and well-written.

I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. It’s different from everything I have ever read. The author has a unique style that is gripping and innovative. The reader can feel like watching a movie or a TV show. I recommend this book for readers who enjoy sci-fi stories about time travel and for readers who like to watch series. Still, I don’t recommend it to readers who aren’t interested in novels with various perspectives and the use of different dates that appear in time travel stories since it might be confusing. I also don’t recommend it to those who are sensitive to profanities and light erotic content since it might disturb them.”

— gabrielletiemi

“The author went all out in this book…”

“From adding a playlist to cinematographic visuals, it sounds like the author went all out in this book. Thanks for the review.”

— Nqobile771

“so intriguing!”

“I'm not a biggest fan of abrupt endings, but the uniqueness of the writing style sounds so intriguing!”

— Ellylion