Book Review: Invisible Dawn: Book One of Altered Realities by Westin Kincade

What would we give to be able to move from place to place, from time to time? Could we change the world or would we create an anomaly? Would it be like moving to parallel planes that coexist through a veil we have no way to see, or does time travel really break the barriers and take you forward or back in the same world we live in?

In Invisible Dawn: Book One of Altered Realities, author Westin Kincade spins an amazing story that is at once both unique and interesting. Kincade brings together a group of individuals whose lives have been damaged in different respects, by different things they have done or been involved in that seem to haunt them. When all is lost or seems to be, they connect in a way that forms a bond, unusually quick in any society. In some way, most of them are involved in or have some knowledge of a group called PASTOR. An acronym that stands for Phantom Assassin Shifting Technology & Organized Reconnaissance, this is a secret government department. Shifting is the ability to find the webs or the veil that covers the plane of other times and places. These are the secrets and abilities of a small group of people that are hunted by PASTOR.

Madelin Boatweit is our young hero; kidnapped at a young age after the assassination of her parents while she watched, she is at the mercy of this group of assassins as she becomes an experiment in their nefarious schemes. Her father’s best friend and her godfather Jedd was there to warn them of the possible attack but was unable to save them or Madelin. Giving up his own family, both for their safety and his own guilt at the death of his friends, he sets on a course to find Madelin and free her from this organized group. As Madelin grows up she understands her dilemma and desperately looks for a way out. It is during this period that she begins to understand her ability to see the veil, or web between worlds. As she begins to awaken, Jedd too finds he has a unique ability. He is able to dream walk, and as his body rests, he begins to find the trail of the young woman he had given up his own life to find.

Father Leodenin is the emissary sent to find Madelin as she escapes the governments clutches. A shifter as well as an assassin, he is able to find her by the unique print of her shifting through the times and places. There is another man who is also looking for peace, one who can see things others cannot, but is himself haunted by decisions made in his past. As he sees Madelin shift, he is drawn to her and becomes caught up in her life as well. Protecting her becomes his mission. As the chase continues, more people are drawn to this charismatic young woman, each of them binding themselves to her and her escape. Can she stay out of harm’s way, or will PASTOR gain control of her abilities for themselves?

Kincade has written a fast-paced and adventurous yarn; with such interesting characters, you can feel their presence. The detailing is exquisite, and the story told with such a new voice I was excited to find where it headed. Madelin is so extensively naive, which makes so much sense due to her age at the kidnapping. Her ability to bond with those she deems safe though seems a little strange, and yet she needs that stability. As we follow this group from place to place and time to time, there is action and adventure in every setting. Jedd becomes a protector with a new talent, one that has been foreseen by those in the know.

As they reach their final place, the final showdown is set; will Madelin and her ragtag group of friends be able to fend off the assassins as well as a new group, those set in the world they have found themselves?

I enjoyed Invisible Dawn although I felt a bit of dismay at the end when we took an exciting and new form of story and tied it in with the fad stories that are popular now. This is an exceptional work, and I look forward to reading more, but I am disappointed to find that vampires have made their way into such a unique setting. Other then the quick bonding of the characters who had no knowledge of each other and no past together, and the introduction of vampires, I found this to be a great story.

If you like fantasy and time travel, you will enjoy the premise of this work.  Vampire fans will find a unique and different look at vampires, but one that pits them against both themselves and others. Kincade is an author to watch, and it will be interesting to see how our heroes continue, and what the government group is really looking for.