I have reviewed BRIGHTNESS by Rob Horner for Reader’s favorite.
Years of medical wisdom of Michael Richards could not make sense of what his eight-year-old daughter, Sarah, was saying. At the same time, the father in him wanted to believe her. Especially, when her claim to see darkness and light inside certain people matched with their actions, he could not discard the possibility of truth in her sightings. First, she screamed at the sight of a dark man who she believed wanted to hurt her. Next, she claimed that she could see dozens of bright people gathered outside their house. Then, she began telling Michael that there is a hole inside of some people.
He figured these hallucinations could be an indication of a health issue. But, when she insisted that these dark shadows intended to hurt Sofie (their youngest daughter), a fear gripped Michael. Brightness by Rob Horner follows the Richards family as they try to make sense of these bizarre events.
His beautiful, smart, and oh, so sweet big girl had either suffered a hallucination or some weird form of absence seizure. Based on her age, the seizure was more probable. Equally as important as what happened, was the question was why it happened. Was it purely mental, or was there a physical reason, such as a brain tumor or some other malformation?
An excerpt from BRIGHTNESS by Rob Horner
The first book in The Richards Saga, Brightness, by Rob Horner shows a lot of promise. He includes his medical knowledge through his characters, which adds to their allure. For the most part, I do not understand medical mumbo jumbo. However, Rob Horner’s way of incorporating it in the story fascinated me to no end. The tug of war between a father’s dilemma and a medical professional’s logic inside of Michael is another captivating aspect of Brightness.
The idea that Sarah might be seeing angels and — what? Demons? — had a certain allure. Obviously, it let her escape the stigma and lifelong battle with a mental illness such as schizophrenia. It neatly avoided the possibility of some horrible brain cancer.
An excerpt from BRIGHTNESS by Rob Horner
The author has very skillfully established Michael’s love for his daughters. Because of that, I found myself hoping for their safety and welfare. This emotional connection occurred right from the beginning. As the story progressed, the plot became even more enigmatic. Innocent remarks of Sarah and amusing pronunciation of Sofie was quite entertaining. Brightness by Rob Horner is a riveting tale of an incredible phenomenon.
Before they left, Dr. Frood gave Michael the contact information for a reputable child psychiatrist and said he would try to expedite an initial appointment. As the doctor left the room, Sarah said sleepily, “We shouldn’t trust him.”
“Why not? He’s a good doctor.”
“He seems nice, Daddy, but he has a hole in him.”
An excerpt from BRIGHTNESS by Rob Horner
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