Beholder

By: Ryan La Sala

Narrated by: Vikas Adam

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.

©2023 Ryan La Sala. (P)2023 Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved. SCHOLASTIC, SCHOLASTIC AUDIOBOOKS, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

La Sala does it again

I was enchanted by Reverie and The Honeys, so I was highly anticipating this most recent release and man oh man did it live up to my (high) expectations. Nobody does paranormal LGBTQ+ face-the-truth-ugly-or-not like Ryan La Sala. His language is beautiful, and it wakes up inside you and lives there after you finish it.

I just felt the bottom drop away

Words cannot properly express the horror within this story. Twists. Turns. Even backflips. The air within the storyline is foreboding and it's a great ride to the end.

sublime modern queer love horror masterpiece

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ a SUBLIME masterpiece! Ryan has done it again, I cannot recommend this brilliant, cinematic, brain-clutching book enough.

I am writing this still in a post-read haze of Beholder, one of my favorite books of the year, and as such I can only clack out this review as a series of associative phrases:
Queer Love Story
Cinematic Plotting
Gorgeous Gorgeous Prose
Insane Interior Design
Dark Mirror Mystery
Delicious Dialogue
Pansexual Representation
POV Power
PHENOMENAL LAST LINE

The way the cover is basically the entire book... blows me away. It's so visually striking and resonant, I want a printed poster of the cover to remind me of the fantastic horror adventure contained in Beholder.

I read the audiobook, and HOLY REVERB, the quality of the production and the talent of the voice actor CANNOT be understated. Love love love the way all the different voices are uniquely rendered, even the slight musical touches.

All in all, I'll recommend Beholder to most everyone. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ You'll not regret reading this book! But you'll never see a mirror the same way again.

Decent if predictable story line

Decent story, keeps attention relatively well characters a little one dimensional and the main character, Athan, is a bit whiney. Overall it is a good listen/book, I enjoyed it but I wouldn't call it a horror or thriller novel.

such a gripping story!!!

this book had me HOOKED. I couldn’t stop listening. from beginning to end I just wanted to know more and more!! such a fantastic read highly recommend

Amazing

I am once again blown away by the story and the performance. This was amazing. Ryan has done it again! I highly recommend this to anyone that just likes a good fantasy with a good setup and ending. The voice actor was so good here too. The effortless voice changes, so smooth.

Ominous in a good way

The book did really good at suspense and being ominous. I have a lot to say about the book so I hope more people read it.

Perfect as an audio book

I rarely read a book review before choosing a book. I have always found the reviewer's words a distraction. They hang about in my periphery, watching me read. Pointing out all the things they think are important. Whispering I told you so. So, I generally choose only stars when submitting my reviews. 


But Ryan La Sala isn't a general kind of author. And I think I need more than stars this time.


La Sala is one of the most phenomenal writers I've come across. He's poetic and complex without making his stories difficult to follow. His twists are unpredictable and his romantic bits will make you wish he was writing your love story. La Sala is exactly the kind of writer we need in literature courses. All the literature knowledge wrapped up in a massively intriguing story that doesn't make you feel like you're being held captive in your great grandma's steamer trunk. 


More importantly with Beholder, the audiobook. There are books I'd rather read without other voices. There are books that I can swing either way with. And then there are books like Beholder. Beholder is best served via Vikas Adam. I will be forever grateful to the universe that the first voice I heard in my head for Beholder was not mine. Think of the most incredible epic movie you've ever seen. Now take away the soundtrack. It would still be a great movie. But with the soundtrack......whoa.


It's additionally adorable that La Sala and Adam are fans of each other. What more could you ask for? Nothing. So, read everything La Sala. And whenever possible, via Vikas Adam.

Really high quality performance

I enjoyed every moment of the audiobook the characters came to life in the performance! The story was gripping and a thrilling read. The romance was very cute and well placed in the story, it never felt wedged into a spot it did not belong.

Imaginative and Beautiful

I have read everything by Ryan La Sala. His books are filled with startling images that are so original, yet so masterfully drawn that I have no problem visualizing his worlds. Those worlds are filled with beauty and horror, peopled with characters we cannot help rooting for. Despite the paranormal challenges they face, we also identify with them on a deeply emotional level.

The influence of Stephen King on La Sala's three horror novels is apparent, but King fans will see it most strongly in BEHOLDER. (It's not just about the spider on the cover, kids. If you haven't read King's FAIRY TALE, I highly recommend it, especially the audio version.) But it's not just the startling invention. The writing is REALLY GOOD. There's a lot of fantasy fiction coming down the pike these days. A lot of it is pretty lousy, nothing new, nothing to learn. IMHO, horror and fantasy stories must to be more than world building. To keep me turning the page, I need excellent writing, prose that resonates and carries me along, and a story that matters.

If you seek that, too, I highly recommend this title, as well as La Sala's REVERIE and THE HONEYS.