The Watchers Audiobook By Carl Novakovich cover art

The Watchers

The Tomb

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

The Watchers

By: Carl Novakovich
Narrated by: Jake Hunsbusher
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $14.95

Buy for $14.95

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

John Gideon, a former homicide detective turned PI, has dug too deep and discovered the truth about the world while searching for the only family he has left. John and his new partner, Beth May - a spell wielding demon who has turned her back on hell - are humanity's last hope to stop a collective of Fallen Angels known as The Watchers and a hierarchy of demons from breaking the first of the Seven Seals of Revelation. If the Seals are broken, they will set free sickness, war, and death on the world until there is nothing left but an apocalyptic wasteland for The Watchers to control. John and Beth have the tools needed and the strength to stop them. The only question is - are they already too late?

©2021 Carl Novakovich (P)2021 Carl Novakovich Fantasy Fiction Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction
All stars
Most relevant  
This is a great first novel. It is well-researched and well-written. Most importantly, it is a fun read! Novakovich very creatively intertwines his supernatural fantasy storyline with real Chicago locations and history. I look forward to the next entry in the series.

In case that is not enough, the performance of the Audible reading was spot on! Jake Hunsbusher brings the characters to life with his vocal variety and differentiation of rolls.

Creative Take on a Supernatural Chicago Cop Story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Listener received this title free

I received a code of this book for free, I would like to state that now to be transparent.

A second draft or another pass through an editor would have likely gotten another star out of me. There are great concepts in this book, but unfortunately, the vast majority are either poorly executed.
I think what holds this book back above all else however is the semi-first-person perspective throughout. Put simply, there isn't enough variation in the text to warrant the limitation.

The other major issue is the pretty awkward dialogue. I think it was at its strongest between the main character and his uncle, but even then it was a little heavy-handed.
I don't mean this to be harsh, but a great way to avoid that uncanny feeling in the dialogue would have been to get some people to read your stuff out loud to you. I've had the same issue myself, and it does take practice.
To avoid going on longer than I need to, I'll get to my final point. Some structural changes in the story would do wonders. For instance, even though I think it's the better part of the book, taking out the beginning would have served the story far better. If we could have started off when Ben (I think that was his name) knocks on the main character’s door, it could be far more effective at building some intrigue in the story.
The intro essentially lead me to believe that Azazel would sorta be the final boss of the book, but he didn't really end up doing a lot.

Despite all of that though, it was a fun story even jfjt was hard to get through at some parts. The narrator did a great job for what sounds like is just starting out.
I do think I'll check out future entries.

Flawed but Fun

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.