The Last Seer and the Tomb of Enoch

Aubrey Taylor is beginning high school, and his first-day jitters don’t even prepare him for how difficult his freshman year is going to be. While he still has his friends from middle school, Buzz and Rodriqa, he also has to contend with the pack of bullies who have targeted him in previous grades. But to make it all even worse, Aubrey finds himself haunted by ghosts, causing him insomnia and trouble in school. Add in a Sasquatch, magic, and a buried cavern of secrets, and you have a bad start to the new school year.

However, Aubrey has his friends to depend on. Buzz is the eccentric genius inventor, and Rodriqa is the focused and stable one. Both help Aubrey not only get through the obstacle course that is his life, but also help solve the new mystery enveloping their Appalachian town of Lake Julian. From the traveling circus performers disappearance, to the appearance of a new town member that everyone seems to think has always lived there, Lake Julian is the center of a war between to sides one trying to open the Tomb of Enoch and the other trying to keep it sealed under the the local mining operation.

Menshouse takes the traditional elements of urban fantasy and fits them into small-town Appalachia. They are familiar enough to be recognizable, but unique enough to be fresh in The Last Seer. Aubrey is an Everyman caught up in forces beyond his ken, but with the help of his friends, navigates through the shoals and comes out stronger for it. Morehouse has written an excellent debut novel whose characters and dialog rings true to life. An entertaining book for tweens and YA.