Intangible (Piercing the Veil) Paperback – November 24, 2013

A clever twist on the Arthurian legend with very definite Harry Potter overtones. A page-turner. I'm looking forward to the next adventure in this series.

This was an enjoyable read from beginning to end. I’m a sucker for stories that give nods to other stories/worlds that I love, but unfortunately for this book, too many nods took away from me rating it higher than a three.Plot: Okay, with no spoilers, let’s just say that plot-wise--- totally believable, in the way that Harry Potter/Narnia, etc. are believable. In fact, although this story isn’t “exactly” a cookie-cutter version of those series, there are plenty of eh-hem “stolen” elements that made this book fun & interesting and easy to read/follow, but also easy to predict and definitely cliché.Characters: So, you know how I just mentioned this book’s similarities to other well-known/loved series? Yeah, the biggest, most-glaring-est nod is the characters’ names. The M.C. is Peter, his friend is Lily (side note: I’m kinda over girls in books being named Lily at this point, personally. But who am I to judge? I really wish authors would stop this. There are a million other nice female names, JS). There’s also a Polly and a Eustace, and a ghostly thing whose name and persona reminds me of Mundungus Fletcher. There are character arcs here, some more extreme than others; and although I wouldn’t use the phrase “strong character development” to describe these characters, I would at least say each one was unique and distinguishable, enough.The Writing: The story is written in 3rd person POV, mostly from Peter’s perspective. I didn’t notice too many errors/mistakes, so that was nice. The style & flow of this author made the book readable in one sitting.In Case You Wanted to Know: As a YA novel, there weren’t any aspects of this book that’d warrant any kind of warning label; I would, however, like to say that although these kids are in high school and subjects like chemistry & physics are portrayed in some detail, the actual story-- plot-wise/overall theme/tone is and feels more Juvenile than Y.A., IMO. The author did an excellent job of mashing together so many stories. She even managed to include the King Arthur Legends making (it) a huge part of the back story. I also (honestly) liked her magical take on science because really--- isn’t that all magic is; science that hasn’t been understood yet?Overall: The storyline/premise was great. The world-building and writing were enjoyable. I finished the book wanting to read more. This review comes after having read it a second time since I honestly remember very little from reading it only about 5 months ago. I did remember however from my first read-through noting how much this book combined a bunch of well-known/loved series (H.P., Narnia, His Dark Materials), and I remember getting the impression that the author tried too hard to produce an epic classic. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy reading the story, but the lack of originality left me feeling (twice now) like I’d read a sort of fan fiction. Regardless, I would still recommend this book to anyone who needs more of “that type” of book--- like a celebrity’s favorite cousin, Intangible fits right in.

This book seems like it's going to be a clever combination of British stories and legends when you read the blurb and the first chapter, but it it's just not very clever, and it draws far too much from everything else. I found heavy doses of Narnia, even heavier doses of Harry Potter, a quick injection of Phillip Pullman, some Doctor Who (and I'm not even a fan), Quantum Leap and just a dash of Tolkien. Now, perhaps it's just British literature and tradition that makes it seem similar to those other works, but book goes beyond just being part of a traditional form of story telling, in my opinion, and gets into that questionable area between 'derivative' and 'ripoff.' I like mashups in literature, I find them fun, but when elements get mashed up they really need to be well blended and this book isn't -- it's just elements from one universe awkwardly pasted into another.I could have overlooked some of the failings in the construction if the wordsmanship had been particularly charming or the characters had roped me in, but they didn't. The writing is very plain -- neither a detraction or an addition to the book. There's nothing to complain about but there's nothing to recommend it, it's plain and utilitarian. There's something 'off' about the peppering of British slang. I'm wondering if this book got cleaned up for American markets and that's why the dialog doesn't feel polished. The characters felt resolutely uninspired, just picked at random. Brock has NO depth, Peter is a typical geek with a bit of depth but absolutely no internal consistency which makes him hard to appreciate. Most obnoxiously, Lily Porter sounds just like Hermione from the last few Harry Potter books -- she's the typical hot-tempered, slightly hysterical British woman with bookish tendencies and unwarranted bossiness, married to Hermione's later screechiness that made me skip large sections of the Deathly Hollows. This I would attribute to simply playing the trope straight, but ugh, I hated it in Harry Potter and I REALLY hated it here.I wanted to get into the plot, even if was a bunch of common elements (Boy of Prophecy, Strange Girl with Useful Talents, As-you-know-guy appearing whenever necessary, a magical prohpecy and an evil lord.) A common story with some twist or some new trappings can be fun, but this one pretty rapidly turned into a bunch of events that were contrived, silly and not very believable. I want to be clear that I'm not condemning this book -- it's okay. You can read it and it's not like you have to put it down it's so bad or boring, but it's just not got much going for it. It doesn't try very hard.One thing that did stick with me unpleasantly -- the author posits a world where normal people are 'enmeshed' with 'spectres' that are small-minded, petty and basically the sum of our bad traits. These spectres run the show and prevent people from thinking or speaking for themselves. I think part of the reason that I couldn't get into this book is because this was described in a way that I felt like that part was an author tract -- a take that at readers (since we're normal people, of course.) Somehow, being insulted straightaway just didn't make me feel any kindness towards this book.This is really a HIGH 2 star, but it's not really 3 stars. I'm trying to be fair with Amazon's system. I can see where other people that like shout-outs and the pleasant thrill of finding easter eggs would enjoy this book MUCH more than I did.

This book swept me away! It all felt so believable and the relationships between all the characters were so intriguing. I loved how the social outcast was completely accepted and uplifted whilst the school jerk was brought down to earth but was actually also accepted by everyone else after his Dad's constant rejection and disappointment. I also loved how the historical aspects were threaded in perfectly with the main fictional theme. Beautifully written with twists and turns everywhere. Didn't feel rushed or dragged out. The scientific explanations (although I barely understood them) - I felt - perfectly blended with the magic of this other dimension, so that it didn't feel made up at all! Would recommend to ages 11/12+ (you're never too old for a bit of magic!). No blasphemy, a few coarse words popped up but not many times. An absolutely brilliant read, perfect for a rainy day!

This book has a unique style to it unlike any I've seen. Being a story about a boy, Peter, with an interest in physics (rather like myself when I was younger) and slightly outcast from the "popular" teens, it grabbed me from the start. As a series of life changing events occur to Peter, they challenge his beliefs as the story unfolds into an epic Arthurian tale. Any physics student will love how this book tries to explain the cause of the mysterious happenings that unfold, although readers without any physics knowledge will still enjoy this book as much as any. Overall a great read that has left me yearning for the next, I'll certainly be awaiting Invincible.

The author has approached an old and much interpreted legend with a fresh new on on it, leaving plenty of options open to lead the reader into the next book. Well written.

Thoroughly enjoyed this rendition of the Arthurian tale. Good read for all ages. Very creative and imaginative and incredibly descriptive

Loving reading this so well written and fun