The Human Disguise (Tom Wilner #1) is a 2009 action thriller novel written by James O’Neal and published by Tor Books.  Serving as Book One of the Tom Wilner series, the story follows police officer Tom Wilner who discovers two warring ancient races–beings that have been manipulating power and control on Earth for centuries, and are about to enter into a battle for ultimate supremacy, unless Tom Wilner puts an end to their fury.

This is one of those books I can honestly see as a successful television series because the premise is so out there yet interesting. In some way, it makes me think of Watchmen. There’s a point in the story where I thought to myself am I invested in the characters the way I should be. There’s a lot of action and I do admit there are tidbits I would’ve liked to learn about some of the characters but I feel the story does lack the proper character development that it could’ve benefited from. The story does have an interesting twist which opens the already chaotic world to centuries long war between two ancient families (the Simolits and the Hallecks) and the secret that involves them. We learn that the families are more than meets the eye, especially after Tom clashes with them and they’re able to survive fatal wounds. The story is suspenseful and it does have message involving politics that’s there but not in your face. There are certain sequences (particularly the action sequences) that do feel repetitive in their execution. I will say that the story does leave off on a sequel bait ending with the approaching alien spaceship. I did enjoy the climax and thought it was warranted although I was pretty sad that one of my favorite characters in the book died. (3 out of 5)

Tom Wilner is the main protagonist, an overworked officer of the United Police Force, a peace keeping organization that polices the quarantine areas. Tom’s a dedicated family man but unfortunately, his family is falling apart due to divorce.  He’s not a bad character and if I could compare him to anyone it would be Rick Deckard from Blade Runner. I like that he’s flawed and not perfect. One of the things he does in the story is basically stalk his soon-to-be ex-wife and I understand it. You’re this guy he’s providing for your family and the love of your life walks out. I understand that need because humans do it. He’s also busting his ass on the beat and raising two kids. Yeah, there are no dead beat dads in this book.

If there were a main antagonist or at least an arch rival it would be in the form of Tiget Nadovich, a notorious criminal and the man Tom’s wife Svala, left him for. I actually liked Tiget. He’s one of those guys that’s just crafty and a smooth talker. I like characters like him and seeing how they navigate the underworld. I like that there’s more to his relationship that cop versus criminal. It’s more personal and I like how it’s reflected in their rivalry. I actually like Svala. She wasn’t a ruthless bitch trying to tear Tom down but actually had a really interesting backstory that feeds into the main story. Needless to say, I did enjoy the characters for the most part. (4 out of 5)

James O’Neal has done a fantastic job with the world building.  The world has gone to hell very quick and has this post-apocalyptic feel to it.  The United States borders are closed, terrorism is ravaging the land, there are several lawless quarantine areas filled with victims of a bio-terrorist plague, tensions with Germany are about to set off World War III, and, oh yeah, an alien craft is going to make contact with Earth in four years. Needless to say, there’s a whole lot of shit going on. But there’s also deeper themes that are touched on such as war and plague and how segregation and prejudice can play a part in destabilizing a society. But not just that, it draws parallels to our society today.

O’Neal does manage to embed a fair amount of action for what can be considered a post-apocalyptic thriller. There are some moments where I feel O’Neal could’ve taken the time to elaborate more on the immediate area of the characters or focusing a little more on the characterization and description of others. He’s approach isn’t bad but does tend to wane here and there. I do like that he gives us motivation for the character’s choices, explain why they do the things they do. Of course, there’s the mystery element to it and though there are scenes I felt Tom was a little slow to catch on, I thought the execution was okay. There are some editing errors here and there but it does distract from the story too bad. (3 out of 5)

In the end, The Human Disguise (Tom Wilner #1) is by no means a perfect book, but it’s an entertaining. Most of my problems with the book revolve around the writing and some of O’Neal’s approach to the narrative. But I can say I was thoroughly entertained with the setting, the premise, the main characters, and the action. The Human Disguise (Tom Wilner #1) gets 3 out of 5.