Steven James has begun a great YA series, although adults will find the books equally intriguing. The first book, Blur, introduced us to Daniel Byers whose ability to see things that aren’t there—”blurs”—aids he and his friends Nicole, Kyle, and Mia in solving a murder. Fury is the second book in the Blur Trilogy.
Daniel has not had any of the blurs since the killer died in September. He is hoping things are back to normal and is anticipating the last basketball game before Christmas. While in English, a classmate asks an interesting question: “Can the protagonist also be the antagonist? I mean, is there some way for the main character to be both the hero and the villain?”
The teacher answers that it’s possible, but usually the hero might be crazy or delusional or both—and mentions both an Edgar Allen Poe character and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Not really paying attention, Daniel doodles in his notebook until the bell rings. He looks down to see written there, in handwriting not his own, the cryptic words, “Lost Cove is the key.” Then he gets a strange text from an unknown girl, Madeline.
On the bus to the game, Daniel zones out and sees a horrific vision. Did it happen? Is it a portent? Daniel struggles to get his focus back to play the game. Although he succeeds, and scores the game winning points, he realizes that his grip on reality is again beginning to blur…
Telling Nicole and Kyle and Mia about the recent strange occurrences, Daniel realizes that something has happened or is going to happen that is tied to the vision and the handwriting. Putting their heads together, the teens map out a strategy to try to discover the answers to the blurs…
Steven always writes gripping, suspenseful, thrill-a-minute fiction. I really should know better than to read one of his books at night—I have a very vivid imagination and he paints incredible word pictures. If you have teens in the house, know any teens, or just want a good read yourself, buy Blur and Fury and be ready for exciting adventures into the mysteries of the mind.
Steven was kind enough to give me a copy of Fury in exchange for my candid review.