Demon in My View (Den of Shadows)

Atwater-Rhode's writing, while still showing strong traces of Anne Rice and Stephen King, is maturing nicely as she cleverly constructs this story within a story. Her vampires, while thousands of years old, have adolescent mood swings and tempers, which will sit well with the under-16 crowd. Demon in My View will undoubtedly find its way into many backpacks and Trapper Keepers. (Ages 12 to 15) --Jennifer Hubert

Product Description
Though nobody at her high school knows it, Jessica is a published author. Her vampire novel, Tiger, Tiger, has just come out under the pen name Ash Night. Now two new students have just arrived in Ramsa, and both want Jessica’s attention. She has no patience with overly friendly Caryn, but she’s instantly drawn to Alex, a self-assured, mysterious boy who seems surprisingly familiar. If Jessica didn’t know better, she’d think Aubrey, the alluring villain from her novel had just sprung to life. That’s impossible, of course; Aubrey is a figment of her imagination. Or is he?

And she seems to be turning back on her own mythology (which is why it's a good idea to have it at least partially structured BEFORE you write). Her exploration of Aubrey and turning him into a more caring person kind of wrecked the one character of hers that I liked.

In addition to that, the plot kind of felt... forced. A gorgeous teen vampire-fiction writer being stalked by a gorgeous bunch of vampires? Aubrey being mysteriously drawn to her? It's boring where it's not unoriginal.

The entire book seemed somewhat narcissistic. Not only does the idea of inserting oneself into a book make me cringe (I only do that when I satirize myself--such as my funny run) but Atwater-Rhodes even talks about how her alter-ego Jessica has a body and face "to die for," about how graceful and brave and strong and beautiful and attractive she is.

And, of course, she is a misunderstood, cynical outcast--apparently the amazing body and face don't add anything to her charm at an "ordinary" high school *heavy sarcasm*. I began hoping that Fala WOULD kill Jessica. The ending and explanation almost made me laugh, it was so self-indulgent.

In addition to this, I once thought I'd like to meet Miss Atwater-Rhodes. But if she is like Jessica, no longer. Jessica is obnoxious, selfish, and self-absorbed--the only person she seems to think about in the book other than herself is Aubrey, and half the time it's because HE's to die for.

And in an effort to make herself sound more "gwown-up," she also chose words that were... bad. They didn't fit with the tame teen-horror flick plotline. (And was the bisexual vampire REALLY necessary? Felt like "look at me, I'm mature for my age!")

Fala was so cookie-cutter I cringed, and Caryn... well, I hate to say this, but she was kinda wimpy. And though I liked the poem, for heaven's sake, it wasn't even hers!

I know many teens who can write much better than this, without becoming painfully self-indulgent. She simply doesn't have enough talent to merit the adulation she's getting. She is not an inspiration to me, because I aspire to publish material that is truly timeless.

This book is very bad. Read something by Vivan Vande Velde, but not this. I hope not to read anything by this author in future. Good night.


Put A Stake In It   March 10, 2003
Kristin Munson (Wakefield, RI)
12 out of 16 found this review helpful

Beautiful but misunderstood heroine, sexy vampire love interest, good-natured. optimistic Wiccan, I really liked this story... when it was called "Buffy the Vampire Slayer".

Even judging this by young adult standards it's a poor excuse for a novel. Heck, by fan-fiction standards this is a poor excuse for a novel. Contradictions abound and the author seems makes up vampire lore as she goes, usually to get herself some corner she's written herself into. I won't rehash the plot, as many other reviews have done so much better then I could have, and without the smart remarks I no doubt would have been driven to make.

While I will grant that Atwater Rhodes writes well for her age, any promise she might have shown in 'Forest of the Night' just got flushed down the same drain as the money you spent on this fluff. She takes characters from her first novel and turns them into caricatures (shadowy menace becomes puppy love with fangs) and the ones she introduces are about as well developed as a prepubescent child, including the one based on herself!

At one point Amelia...I'm sorry I mean *Jessica*...can't understand why someone as gorgeous and talented as her has such a hard time being accepted. Here's a clue: you're vain, vapid and shallow, and when someone tries to be nice and make friends with you, you act more like a witch than an actual Wiccan.

Don't believe me? With all these glowing reviews I can't blame you, so if you absolutely must satisfy your curiosity might I suggest the following?
1. Check this out of the library
2. Find the 45 minutes it will take you to speed through this pothole-laced highway of a book
3. Take a long hot shower to wash away the dirty feeling it gives you
4. Resist urge to set book on fire
5. Spend your money on Laurell K. Hamilton or a 'Buffy' Novel instead


Automatic Writing   September 17, 2002
Marc Ruby™ (Warren, MI USA)
11 out of 16 found this review helpful

This is Amelia Atwater-Rhodes' second vampire novel, a story of the progress of a woman who finds herself writing compulsively about the creatures of the night. Jessica Allodola, a senior I high school has already published one novel, and is awaiting the release of her second, but her computer is filled with an entire mythology. One that comes to her at night like a dream that will not let go.

Suddenly the tales become real, and Jessica is confronted with the reality of Aubrey, the vampire at the center of her tales. Both the vampires and the witches that hunt them are real, and Jessica realizes that she knows far too much for her life to continue as before. Jessica's need for isolation prevents her from reaching out to witches like Caryn Rashida, and soon her life becomes a turmoil of shadow and threat. Jessica is strong, but is she a match for those that would seek her death?

Although many of its themes are borrowed from the works of other writers in this genre, this story still displays some creativity in the nature of vampires and how they live among humans. The plot is really neither romance nor horror story, but runs closer to a third person diary. As such, the characters never quite develop to any depth. If the reader is looking for the strong feelings and prose of Anne Rice, or the action and violence of a Buffy story, then 'Demon in My View' will fail to satisfy.

Because of Atwater-Rhodes' age (15) at the time of writing this, it is tempting to be overly forgiving. However, I believe that kind of condescension is a disservice to both the writer and the reader. The truth is that, while well composed, the story lacks what is needed to bring it to life. I fault the story more for its emotional distance than it's somewhat stagy plotting.

As an interior tale, I found it a watercolor masquerading as a drama. While the author avoids the trap of depending entirely on action, she moves her characters as a chess player would. It is a bit too sparse for me, and I feel the book underestimates its intended audience. On the other hand, it is hardly a failure, and promises much for the future.


Inspiring, but not in the common way...   June 25, 2000
10 out of 14 found this review helpful

I will say that I found this book inspiring but not in the same way as any other great book that I would read. The reason for this are all of the `for a teen' reviews. I will admit that for a teen Miss Atwater-Rhodes shows promise in her writing, but at the moment she is seriously lacking some key qualities that a real author should have.

One of the main things that I missed in this book were these things called `surprises'. Typically authors like to put them in their novels to keep the reader on their toes. But I didn't find them in Demon in My View. It was a straight read with nothing that totally twisted the meaning of the story around, and I don't know about you but there is nothing more enjoying than saying "I didn't see that coming" when you are in the middle of a novel.

Number two, length. I know quantity does not equal quality, but I feel that this novel was a bit short for the story it told.

Number three, a good villain. There are none at all in this book. I personally think that the kind of Vampires that are in these books are kind of wimpy, but even given that there is something wrong in this book. That is that the main antagonist (the vampire Fala) is weaker than most of the other characters. Through out the whole book Miss Atwater-Rhodes says time and time again that Aubrey is a very powerful vampire so you know that if Fala does try anything she's not going to succeed, the villain should always be the strongest (and Aubrey was a middle character in this book so he doesn't count).

Fourth, the ending. It was just kind of a let down. I really would have liked to see something more than what happened, something more original and unexpected for sure.

Now, back to the whole point; Inspiration. When I read this book it made me what to go out and write a novel that would be considered good by common standards and not just `for a teen', so that people will finally know that us teens can do some things as well as adults can. Not the common way that you are inspired to write but oh well that's how I felt about this book. I truly hope that Miss Atwater-Rhodes next novel will be considered great for an adult author and not just `for a teen'.

I would not recommend buying this book at the moment because of it's price and shortness, wait until it comes out in paperback if you really want your own copy or if you just want to read it then see if you can't borrow it.