Bunny's Reviews: The Prism Effect Review Spotlight

To celebrate the release of the second instalment in The Skylight Series by author J. Wint, we’re going back to where the adventure began with The Prism Effect! Read on for more details!

The Prism Effect is the first book in J. Wint’s Skylight series, and this book is going to grab you the minute you start reading. Jet Stroud, from a young age, has been affected by a rare condition: ephebus mortem. No one with this disease lives past the age of twenty-four. Jet doesn’t know much about his condition, because it is so rare, but the things that he does know...they aren’t good.

The Prism Effect, when you start reading this book, is going to sweep you away. This novel is going to pull you in and keep you page-turning to the very end. J. Wint starts the story with a mysterious event that piques your interest in what is happening. Then the author leaves you craving more information and digging deeper into the story to find out what is going to happen to Jet next. Will he meet the same twisted fate as those that have come before him?

As you read this book questions will bombard both Jet and you, the reader. Jet will wonder, is he going crazy? Is he hallucinating? What is really going on around him? As if dealing with his rare condition isn’t enough, he’s going to have to deal with bullies, too. Can’t the guy catch a break? Apparently not. Let’s face it, the deck seems stacked against him at this point.

Good news? He’s actually able to make some friends, but will the friendships be able to stand the test of what they are all about to face? There are a couple of characters who will disappoint you as you read this book. Much like the school, you’ll want to think that because Jet shows up with another from his area that they’d be friends. Nope! You’ll figure it’s just one of those “aloof friendships.” You know the type – we’re friends but not friends...the “don’t talk to me in public” type. Shockingly, no, but things do shift after awhile.

As you read this book, the author will pull you further and further to the edge of your seat. Just be careful that you don’t come to close to the edge and fall off. LOL! Jet is an interesting character, and he meets some interesting new people. When he starts seeing strange things, of course, no one wants to believe him. But the truth is he has to push forward regardless of whether they do or not.

The science fiction and fantasy elements of this book are breathtaking. You get a bit of backstory as to what has transpired with Earth to bring it to the level of where life on the surface is no longer sustainable. I would have liked more, but you get just enough to stimulate your imagination. This is important since a couple of the characters are identified as having lived in caves. That particular element is really going to pique your interest in why someone would say that.

When you get to the end of this book, you are going to be eager for more. Good news? You don’t have to wait to get book two! So, when this book ends you can go and grab book two and dive right in and continue with Jet’s story and the revelation that he receives at the end of book one. Trust me, your jaw is going to be on the floor.

I am choosing to rate this book 4.5 out of 5 stars. I can’t wait to find out what happens next with these characters. The twists, turns, the suspense, and much more. This book is a page-turner that will keep you coming back for more.

Thank you to the author, J. Wint, and R&R Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The Prism Affect (The Skylight Series #1)

Publication Date: September 2021

Genre: YA Fantasy/ Sci-Fi

LIFE has never been easy for young Jet Stroud.

He is affected by a rare condition known as ephebus mortem, also called the youthful death, and legend says it will kill him before his twenty-fourth birthday. To make matters worse, the legend also claims that its victims become delusional as they grow older.

However, things take a turn for the better when he is unexpectedly accepted into the renowned Skylight University–an orbiting system in the Earth’s atmosphere. At first, he doubts the legend and begins the semester hoping to learn more about his strange disease. As the school year unfolds, he meets a group of students like him and they band together. Soon, strange things start to happen–mysterious shadows follow them, bizarre holographic prophecies appear that only they can see, and haunting voices cloud Jet’s thoughts. He begins to struggle on the blaze pitch and with his studies. The small group of students threaten to splinter apart as the semester races to a close and Jet wonders if he will survive. In the end, he uncovers something about himself so profound that it will change his life forever.

Excerpt

“Jet?” she asked. “Everything okay?”

He didn’t respond, still gazing in the direction of the fountain. She snapped her fingers in front of his face to gain his attention.

He blinked and looked at her. “Sylvant, over there next to the fountain... do you see it?”

It was the heat mirage again. It shifted around the base of the fountain, blurry and transparent. But it was too cool for a heat mirage, though it looked exactly like the ones he’d seen on hot and humid days.

She glanced in the fountain’s direction while pulling him out of the street. She shook her head. “No, I don’t see anything. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Jet looked at her defensively. “I’m fine, thanks.” He walked towards the fountain with the mirage in his sight. Sylvant followed, the heels of her shoes clicking across the vacant intersection. Jet stepped up to the fountain’s basin for a look around, but the mirage was gone.

“I swear… it was here,” he said.

“What was here? What are you talking about?” she asked.

“There was a… a shape, or something like a mirage here, just now.”

Sylvant cleared her throat. “Why don’t we go inside. We need to talk about this.” She flashed her sister’s journal in front of his face.

Jet hesitated. He wanted to understand what he’d just seen as much as he wanted to hear about the journal.

The shape suddenly reemerged near one of the alleyways, steam momentarily cloaking it. Then, the sunlight dimmed and turned everything a shade of rust.

“There. It’s there!” he hissed at her. “You can’t see that?”

She peered toward the alleyway. “Jet. You’re starting to worry me.”

“You don’t believe me, do you?”

“Jet, I’m trying to understand, but I don’t know what to say.”

“I’m going after it,” Jet said. “I want to prove to you—”

“Whatever it is, let it go!” Sylvant looked down the dark alley and back at him. “We can talk about it inside the café, alright? My first concern is your safety.”

Jet could see the uneasiness in her expression. “Sylvant, I’m asking for your help, not your protection.”

It was growing darker, and an unsettling stillness seemed to descend around them. Sylvant recovered her composure. “As a professor to a student, it’s my responsibility to look after you. You need to come with me.”

Jet watched the mirage move down the alleyway and vanish into the steam. “I can take care of myself. I’ll call you later, Sylvant. I promise.” He sprinted down the alleyway, leaving her behind.

Plumes of steam gushed from the buildings lining the alley and hid the fleeing mirage. The sunlight was nearly gone, making it difficult to see. Jet had to stop a few times to see where he was.

The chase came to an abrupt halt when the alley ended at a brick wall. The mirage was gone. Jet backtracked, looking for signs of it. He noticed a ladder on one building and climbed up three stories and onto the rooftop. He skirted the parapet and stopped to regain his bearings.

The sunlight flickered and dimmed, like someone sliding a gossamer drape in front of it. Jet looked at his watch, surprised to see there should still be half an hour of daylight left. What happened next made the hair on his arms stand up. One of the system’s outer belts crossed slowly in front of the sun, casting a long shadow over the cityscape beyond. The eclipse’s shadow inched eerily across each building, engulfing the city in darkness. Jet had read an article about the event, something called a skylight eclipse.

His skin grew cold as the eclipse overtook him. From the rooftop, he watched the leading edge of it creep doggedly across the pitted field and towards the dimly lit factory in the distance. Fleeing just ahead of the eclipse was the shimmering mirage.

Jet leapt over the building’s parapet and onto an adjacent rooftop. He scrambled across a metal bridge spanning the alleyway and sprinted across the field.

He entered the abandoned factory minutes later and slowed to a halt, kneeling against a storage tank to catch his breath. He could hear equipment running in the distance, which seemed odd since the factory appeared to be vacant. A rust-colored smog from old chemicals still lingered in the air. Rogue weeds grew up through cracked concrete, and above him, a maze of catwalks and pipes cast a kaleidoscope of patterns onto the pavement.

He crept further into the factory, searching for the mirage. The ground below his feet quivered, and the sound of equipment grew louder. Tremors accompanied a dull scraping noise that sounded like metal grinding on metal. Something big moved below the surface. He placed his hand on a storage tank and felt it vibrating rapidly.

Jet followed the thrumming for several minutes before stumbling upon a vast clearing. Rusted sheet metal walls rose up to create a circular pit. Sand and dirt covered the ground, and tumbleweeds piled along one end like skeletal remains. In the center stood an oddly shaped contraption that resembled the smokestack of a ship. Its bow pointed skyward like a steel chimney with steam spewing from it.

An uneasy feeling settled over him as he hid in the shadows. He was in the middle of nowhere and chasing a mirage. It was getting late, and the eclipse had him on edge.

Available on Amazon

About the Author

Wint graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1998 with a bachelor’s degree in architecture. He is a licensed architect and LEED accredited professional who believes in a strong, sustainable community. As a student of architecture, he developed a love for design and continues to push for creative solutions.

As a child of the 70’s, he developed a love for cheesy science fiction movies, and later became an avid fantasy reader. His youthful influences—combined with his college experiences and background as an architect—have propelled his work as a writer to create the Skylight Series.

J Wint | Twitter | Facebook