Book Review - I Can See Clearly: Rise of a Supernatural Hero, by James A. Cusumano

Guest review by: Becki Bayley

When we arrived at Bella’s home, she looked at me with great distress. Her eyes were welling up with tears.

“Look, Luc, I’ve told you several times this past week, you’re my best friend -- ever. But I’m frightened, and to be honest, I’m becoming afraid of you. I don’t know who or what you are anymore. What just happened back there at the preserve with that Eric guy was way beyond normal. Some kinda high-energy electric bolt or something came out of your body and nearly killed him -- and, what’s more, it had no effect on you! I’ve never heard of such a thing. Whatever happened to you during your NDE in the hospital has changed you into I don’t know what, and I’m scared, very scared—scared for me, scared for you, scared for us. Forget spying for the CIA—what kind of frightening thing will you do next?”

Luc isn’t sure if his newly discovered gifts are a blessing or a curse. His whole life is changing, and he doesn’t feel in control of any of it.

Official synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old star basketball player, Luc Ponti wins an important tiebreaker game for the Palo Alto Vikings with a three-point basket during the last few seconds of play. He is simultaneously critically injured with a flagrant foul by a player from the opposing team. Luc dies for several minutes but is revived after having a near-death experience (NDE). He inexplicably begins to develop superpowers, which change the course of his life and have a profound impact on the world.

Luc becomes caught in a tangled web of espionage, blackmailed by the CIA to use his powers of remote viewing to spy for them. This creates conflict in his life, most significant—how can he pursue his long-time dream of playing varsity ball for a top college; major in engineering; and possibly go pro after graduation. I Can See Clearly is the story of a talented teenager seeking the Meaning of Life and his Life Purpose, while fighting the grip of the CIA.

The prologue for this story really sets the stage. In 2017, a monk tells a teenager of a very important arrival predicted for 2018. The foreshadowing going into the actual story was excellent.

In 2018, Luc is introduced: a great basketball player under enormous pressure, especially from his father, a former ball player who chose not to go pro. What should have been a minor injury if any ends up rupturing Luc’s appendix, leading to fevers, infections, and even his death, but he’s sent back to the world he’s always known.

Once Luc recovers from his injury and near-death experience, he keeps discovering new talents including traveling outside his body, reading minds, and telling the future. While the gifts sound helpful, they continually put Luc and his friends and family at risk.

The characters in this book, the first in the series, were interesting. Luc was a believable typical teen dealing with some pretty non-typical experiences. His friends Bella, and then Eric were also regular kids having to come up with new responses to unique situations. The monk, Thay, who becomes sort of an advisor to Luc is fun and quirky, if a little wordy at times.

The story-line is of course a bit far-fetched, by design, but well told. It felt like the author wanted to impart a lot of philosophical and spiritual wisdom, which sometimes got tedious, but the rest of the intrigue and adventure played out nicely.

Overall, I’d give this book 3 out of 5 stars and recommend it for those with some paranormal or philosophical interest who also like a bit of government spy stories. I look forward to checking out what happens next for these teenagers with unusually exciting lives.

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Becki Bayley likes painting her nails, drinking bourbon, and reading. See more of her adventures on Instagram where she posts as PoshBecki.