Rating: 
Summary: Wow
Review: I loved the book and didn't want it to end. The beginning was a bit hard to digest, even for me...a believer, but once that train took off, I coudn't put the book down. I reflected on the book afterwards and the characters remained with me. Very thought provoking, engaging, readable, and extremely entertaining. I could read these kinds of good books forever! What a treat!
Rating:
Summary: A Gripping, Page-Turning Thrill Ride
Review: Imagine inventing the ghost of someone who has never existed. Make him anyone you like, from any country and any time you like. Give him a name, a history, goals and dreams. Fun to think about, but it would never work. But it did work for university professor Sam Towne and a small group of volunteers. It worked too well. Dangerously well. `Superstition' is a gripping, nail-biting horror story that will cause you to wonder not only about the paranormal, but about the people you encounter everyday. Were they "invented" by someone else's imagination? Why did they just suddenly appear? Ambrose asks some difficult questions and places himself in some very difficult situations for a writer, but he's definitely up to handling each challenge. Ambrose is a master craftsman. He builds a completely plausible story with instantly believable characters. The atmosphere and descriptions are so good, you'll think you're in this predicament yourself. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: A Gripping, Page-Turning Thrill Ride
Review: Imagine inventing the ghost of someone who has never existed. Make him anyone you like, from any country and any time you like. Give him a name, a history, goals and dreams. Fun to think about, but it would never work. But it did work for university professor Sam Towne and a small group of volunteers. It worked too well. Dangerously well. 'Superstition' is a gripping, nail-biting horror story that will cause you to wonder not only about the paranormal, but about the people you encounter everyday. Were they "invented" by someone else's imagination? Why did they just suddenly appear? Ambrose asks some difficult questions and places himself in some very difficult situations for a writer, but he's definitely up to handling each challenge. Ambrose is a master craftsman. He builds a completely plausible story with instantly believable characters. The atmosphere and descriptions are so good, you'll think you're in this predicament yourself. Enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: In a word--nonsense
Review: It would be extremely difficult to imagine a worse novel than "Superstition" The plot is predictable and downright silly. Most of the characters are cardboard cutouts, e.g., the pretty, young writer who does not believe in ghosts, the tweedy academic who is drawn in because the writer is pretty, the "Chinaman" (actually called that in the book) who speaks like Charlie Chan for no particular reason in the plot, etc . The writing is laced with cliches that will make any discerning reader groan. The science, as explained by a learned professor isn't--well--isn't scientific at all. Quotations meant to give the opus some sort of vague scholarship are occasionally attributed to the wrong author. Even part of the setting is "borrowed" from "Rosemary's Baby" and "Time and Again." Maybe this sort of thing "plays," but one has to wonder where--and to whom.
Rating: 
Summary: Prety creepy book!!
Review: Let me first start off by saying, that this is a creepy and freaky book. An interesting sidenote is that the idea of "Superstitions" actually happened. Ambose tells about the orginal experiment in the acknowledgements of the book. Here is a quick recap of this novel. Sam Towne want's to try an experiment. He wants to get a group and try to create a ghost. When they meet, the group creats "Adam". The group has given Adam a history...life, adventures, love, a past, and a death. Things start to get freaky for the group when they make contact with Adam. It starts off with a few table knocks...but that's nothing....Adam has something instore for them...and it just may come at a high price, their sanity. And for some, it will be a much higher price...their life. This book makes one point, be careful for what you wish for, you may just get it. David Ambrose is a wonderful author. I came across this book on a bargin bin, and decided to take a chance on it. Boy did I make a wise decision!! There are so many plot twists and spooky happenings, that the reader can't help but to be hooked. Superstitions also has a *wicked* ending. I never saw it coming. If you like ghost stories, or the X-files, I highly, highly suggest this book. It will give you a case of the heebie jeebies. I can't say enough about this book. Once you start it, it will be hard to put down. Remember: Becareful what you wish for, you may just get it.
Rating: 
Summary: I enjoyed this book, but I COULD put it down.
Review: Let me start by saying that I definitely enjoyed reading this book. From the first paragraph, I was drawn into a well-painted modern Manhattan world, but I definitely could put it down. It was very amusing and thoughtful. It also brought up the possibilities of an alternate universe, kind of like a scary, 20th century "It's a Wonderful Life" (with regards to what would happen if certain events did and did not happen and how they would effect the lives of certain people) with a Oija board and different set of characters. Although this book did not "grab me" and make me hold on, the writing was precise and intelligent, and because I love this genre, would probably look for other titles by this author, since it was a quick read.
Rating:
Summary: Dream of Adam: where science meets the deadly supernatural
Review: Manhattan University research psychologist, Dr. Sam Towne, has gathered eight individuals to participate in a parapsychology experiment. The group will try to form an essence from their collective thoughts. Renowned reporter Joanna Cross, who is very skeptical about the so-called mumbo jumbo experiment, is a member of the team. The group begins to formulate Adam by creating a personal history for him, drawing pictures of him, and talking to him as if he actually existed. Ultimately, they try communicating with Adam using standard supernatural devices and techniques. Initially, their experiment fails, but when it finally succeeds, it goes way beyond the imagination line of the Twilight Zone. The group panics, especially when Adam seems like a malevolent being, and tries to terminate their creation. However, Adam, realizing what is occurring, seeks vengeance by killing his creators one at a time. It is up to the scientist and the reporter to stop the phantom killer before he eliminates the entire group. SUPERSTITION is a well designed supernatural tale constructed around scientific research into parapsychology. The story line is engaging as it will fascinate readers with David Ambrose's ability to blend cutting edge scientific research and the supernatural into a believable, incredibly awesome thriller. The novel sags a bit when Adam begins his Jason-like killing spree. In spite of this minor but exciting flaw, this book is one of the best spine tingling chillers of the year. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Smarter than The Exorcist and scarier.
Review: Not since childhood have I read a book that quite literally made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. As one who is otherwise annoyed by stories of paranormal phenomena, I found this novel completely gripping. Its narrative skill sweeps away prejudice against the genre. It is intelligent, skilful and frightening. It is also tremendously authoritative about a range of otherworldly terrors, coolly and convincingly assessing their scientific possibilities so as to make them credible. Ambrose's triumph lies in the structure of the narrative which pits skeptical scientists against the hoary Unknown and achieves suspension of disbelief by addressing the plausibility of events through his central characters. The reader becomes the author's leading collaborator. Superstition is elegantly written, scary and intellectually absorbing.
Rating:
Summary: Very scary, couldn't put it down!
Review: One of the best books I have read. Starts out kind of slow, but picks up really fast. Makes you think about the power of the mind and what it can do. You will never think about ghosts or bumps in the night the same way. The characters keep your interest, altho I think the ending was kind of a let down. All in all I would recommend this as a 10 on a scale of 1-10. Good read!!!
Rating:
Summary: An intelligent thriller that's scarier than you'd think
Review: Parapsychologist Sam Towne runs a research facility that conducts investigations into paranormal anomalies--observable instances of psychokinesis, the movement of matter through psychic power. When he meets Joanna Cross, a staff writer for the magazine Around Town who has just published an article exposing a couple of mind-readers as con artists, an interesting group project suggests itself: Sam and Joanna decide to enlist volunteers to help them conjure up a ghost. The phantom they have in mind is not your run-of-the-mill, graveyard-haunting variety, but rather a thought-form that the group members will hallucinate into being, after extensive research into the time period from which their ghost hails, and after creating for him an elaborate back-story. The problem is, once you will something into being, it may not be eager to give up the ghost, as it were, when you'd like it to. David Ambrose's thriller Superstition is intelligent and genuinely scary in parts, and its conclusion, despite being hinted at in a prologue, is impossible to figure out in advance. Part Jack Finney's Time and Again (a book the characters in Superstition in fact discuss), part ghost story, the book--if not offering the sort of suspense that will keep you glued to the pages all night--is well worth the read.
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