Soulmates

Disclosure: I'm acquainted with the author as our kids are on a sports team together. However I only found out he had some published writings from seeing a post from another friend on Facebook, and the author probably doesn't even know I've read some of his writing yet.I enjoyed Soulmates - I read it along with the author's short story collection "Beneath the Surface of Things" earlier during the Holiday break. Soulmates kept me wanting to find out what would happen next, which direction it would go in, etc. An interesting thing here is there's some uncertainty as to which side some of the characters - and some of them being not so minor - will end on in the final battle. This keeps a number of outcomes in suspension to entice the reader further. In fact the secondary conflicts are pretty interesting in themselves.The characters make you love, hate, or want to find out what's up with them, increasingly so as you find out more through the story. To explain this too much would risk spoilers, but the reader finds out significantly more about each character in good pace with the story unfolding. One begins to realize the extent of some of the characters' traits as they encounter more. And probably more importantly while motivations are suggested from early on, deeper understanding increases a good deal as the characters reveal more.As a horror/scifi/action fan I'd say this maintained good suspense as to how everything was going to play out, how exactly the 'combatants' of the final conflict (as well as those of the secondary ones) would actually end up matching up against each other. The story keeps things uncertain - in a good way - with the results of those secondary conflicts happening meanwhile. One is never quite sure how things will resolve out, which is great for a suspenseful story.Soulmates as the title might suggest also has elements of romance and spirituality involved. The romance is somewhat predictable but still develops nicely in this context. The spirituality is an underlying current which is also often plainly expressed (often argued) between the characters. So it's not in an overbearing proselytizing way but not hidden either. In fact it seems pretty honestly discussed among the characters.I think what makes this really good horror is not so much the supernatural aspects, but the scenes that would be a horror to us actually thinking of happening to anyone we know. So the reader can get a sense of real-life horror from imagining them. I could see this making a good movie with both the supernatural and real-life aspects.I'd recommend this to fans of horror, scifi, or speculative (what if type stories) fiction fans, and I hope the author continues to write full novels as well as short stories.

As an avid fan and reader of Stephen King and Dean Koontz this was a very engaging and thoroughly enjoyable read. The plot moved at a brisk and exciting pace and never stalled out from beginning to end. Kevin has a mastery over descriptions that makes you feel like you are with the characters and could describe the scene yourself from a 1st person viewpoint. I highly recommend this dark and thrilling read!

Kevin Wallis' SOULMATES completely immersed me. It is by far one of the most readable, smoothly written novels I've encountered in sometime. The characters are interesting and speak like genuine human beings, and Wallis' descriptions pop off every page amidst the general free-flow of the prose. The story itself is captivating. Much can be said of immortality and the price it carries, but SOULMATES explores that better than any novel I've read in some time. Both thrilling and emotive at times, this book is highly recommended and Kevin Wallis is definitely an author to add to your favorites list

I read Kevin Wallis' first book of short stories (Beneath the surface of things) in record time, and I have gone back quite a few times to reread some of the creepiest glimpses into his twisted mind. I just finished his new book, Soulmates, and It's more than a glimpse. Much like turning over a rock and watching the roaches and slugs squirm, then realizing they are crawling up your arm. I'm exhausted. It had the grittiness of Clive Barker's darkest stories, with the flow of Peter Straub. I highly recommend this book if you want a story that makes your hands feel dirty and your brain hurt.

Hands down, one of the best books I've read in years! Creepy and atmospheric. Soulmates had me hooked from the first sentence and kept me reading until the fantastic end! Kevin Wallis is a master at great stories and this is no exception. GREAT READ!

A great horror, that at its heart is a great love story.

When you start a book with ‘I cannot die,’ as a reader you think, ‘oh, well, here is this vampire or some sort of immortal god-like creature, maybe even a demon.’ But you don’t get any of these things. Instead you get Jack Chandler, a man who, in truth, all he wants to do is to die. But there is something going on with Jack, something…something that is so hauntingly real with the way Kevin Wallis wrote this story that you can picture his pain, his anger, his sadness and his strength.The dialogue is crisp and realistic—it feels like real words in real conversations, not forced at all. The scenes flow with enough descriptions to help the reader picture the world Jack is in without over burdening you with pages upon pages of descriptions. There is action—plenty of it—but it’s not that action for action’s sake that you get in a lot of books and movies these days. And the ending…the ending I found so appropriate for this story.Kevin Wallis hit this fastball out the park. It’s a good, easy, fast-paced read with engaging characters. This story is a ‘Gift’ from Mr. Wallis to us, the reading population. As a reader, I enjoyed it and would recommend it to any of my friends.