Petrified by Ben Meeks is a consistently entertaining paranormal fiction novel. While it’s set on earth, it revolves around the existence of not supernaturals but ultranaturals as they prefer to be called. Obie, the alluring protagonist of the book is an ultranatural that is a were-being, like were werewolves but not exactly that. The book starts with Obie on a mission to get information regarding non-earthly beings that quickly turns into more than he bargained for, both in his personal and professional life. Obie then embarks on a quest to fight the force that is behind the recent turn of events in his life, and a secret world. This is the moment where the plot truly blossoms and the novel takes off at a quick pace.

At the start of the story there is a certain mystery to Obie. He was obviously not human, but I could not tell what or who he was. I was intrigued and desperate to know more about his intentions. Author Ben Meeks has mastered the skill of character development. Seeing the character’s in the story evolve slowly over time I was able to empathize with them and understand the complexity of their emotions and motivations. I enjoyed the subtle humor thrown into the dialogue, and laughed unexpectedly. Meek’s innovative descriptions of scenes in the story keep you engaged even when learning about minor details of the scenery and location. The supernatural world being built was bold and just unique enough to make this paranormal adventure stand out in a genre filled with fodder. I used to read a science fiction series when I was younger called Animorphs by Katherine Applegate, Petrified reminds me of that series, but as a more adult evolution of that idea.

Petrified is a stimulating fantasy novel that brings otherworldly creatures into this world and does so with an almost effortless drive towards entertaining the reader at all times.

Pages: 232 | ASIN: B08CKDQ58K