Beholder

By Ryan La Sala

Book Overview

From Ryan La Sala, author of the tantalizingly twisted The Honeys and riotously imaginative Reverie , comes a chilling new contemporary fable about art, aesthetic obsession, and the gaze that peers back at us from behind our reflections. No one survived the party at the penthouse. Except Athan. Athanasios "Athan" Bakirtzis has made it far in life relying on his charm and good looks, even securing an invitation to a mysterious penthouse soiree for New York City's artsy elite. But when he sneaks off to the bathroom, he hears a slam, followed by a scream. Athan peers outside, only to be pushed back in by a boy his age. The boy gravely tells him not to open the door, then closes Athan in. Outside the door, the party descends into chaos. Through hours of howls, laughter, and sobs, Athan stays hidden. When he finally emerges, he discovers a massacre where the corpses appear to have arranged themselves into a disturbingly elegant sculpture--and Athan's mysterious savior is nowhere to be found. Athan--the only known survivor--is now the primary suspect. In a race to prove his innocence, Athan is swept up in a supernatural mystery, one of secret occult societies and deadly eldritch horrors with rather distinctive taste. Something evil is waking up in the walls of New York City, and it's compelling victims toward violence, chaos, and self-destruction. Bound to him by a mysterious hereditary power, Athan has felt this evil hiding behind his reflection his entire life, watching him. Waiting. Now, it's taking over.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1338745344
• ISBN13: 9781338745344
• Release Date: October 2023
• Publisher: Push
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.96 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.8" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 13 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 8 to 12

Customer Reviews

A Miss for Me

This is like, a 2.5 for me. It genuinely hurts how much I didn't like this because this is so up my alley. An interdimensional spider that attacks you through cursed wallpaper? A shady organization within the snooty NY art scene? And I DIDN'T like it??? Yeah, this hurts. This hurts a lot. I think, for me, I don't really do the insta-love thing and I feel like that's what went on between Athan & Dom, not that I think they couldn't come to care for each other in just a few days but I feel like the feelings just developed too fast. I also loathe to compare Beholder to The Honeys (I'm going to do it anyway tho lmao) but The Honeys blew my mind, like twist after twist and my jaw was just on the floor the last 20% of the book. With Beholder I just felt like I saw everything coming, I wasn't surprised by anything. Unless that was the point, in which case I never said anything lol. I feel like this low review is going to anger the Ryan La Sala fans, but I'm a fan, too! I'm not going to hold my punches just because I would let Ryan snap my spine over his knee at the first opportunity presented to me. This work did not speak to me but that doesn't mean this work can't or won't speak to you. Either way, I eagerly anticipate the new Ryan La Sala book, I am really digging the vibe of centering horror stories around insects.* *Shut up, I know a spider is an arachnid and not an insect.