Apparition

Rating:
Summary: More than just a ghost story.
Review: Apparition starts out on a plantation 200 years ago with a young slave woman having to submit to the sexual desires of her master. When she can't take it anymore and escapes, she's forced to leave her eight-year-old son behind. The plantation owner then kills the boy as punishment for her family. What the plantation owner doesn't know is the boy has made friends with some ancient entity that kills the slave owner and his men in a manor that becomes local legend.

After the opening, the book skips forward to modern times. There's all kind of office politics and personal drama going on. Everything becomes more complex when the main characters discover the ghost of the eight-year-old boy as well as the entity have followed them back to Chicago from a conference held at the old plantation which is now a meeting facility.

I don't want to tell you how the book ends, but it was clever. Most ghost stories always feature the ghost wanting something in order to move on. If I'm ever a ghost, I think I'd want what this ghost did!

Rating:
Summary: More than just a ghost story.
Review: Some people say that when a supernatural presence is near, they can feel it. Whether it be a shift in room temperature, an eerie feeling of being watched, or the hunch that something just doesn't feel right, there are several signs to look for when trying to determine if you have an otherworldly visitor.

Zenia, a Ukranian-born woman, knows all of these things from the teachings of her her late grandmother. When her husband Adam returns from a business trip in Maryland with the spirit of a young boy on his heels, Zenia soon realizes that they have company.

In 1783 a young slave named Winston was killed as punishment for his mother's midnight departure from her Maryland plantation. As reparation for his death, Winston's friend, an unknown ancient entity, skins his murderers and hangs them from trees. Two hundred years later, Winston's spirit is searching for something that only Adam can give him, and something only Zenia can help him achieve, in order to rest in peace.

This is an excellent idea for a story, and I like the way it all came together with suspense and intrigue. I do, however, think that the technical side of this book, namely the editing, represents only a ghost of what this book could really be. I encourage the author to pursue this novel further with the help of an eagle-eyed editor.

Reviewed by CandaceK
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Rating:
Summary: We've Got Company
Review: Some people say that when a supernatural presence is near, they can feel it. Whether it be a shift in room temperature, an eerie feeling of being watched, or the hunch that something just doesn't feel right, there are several signs to look for when trying to determine if you have an otherworldly visitor.

Zenia, a Ukranian-born woman, knows all of these things from the teachings of her her late grandmother. When her husband Adam returns from a business trip in Maryland with the spirit of a young boy on his heels, Zenia soon realizes that they have company.

In 1783 a young slave named Winston was killed as punishment for his mother's midnight departure from her Maryland plantation. As reparation for his death, Winston's friend, an unknown ancient entity, skins his murderers and hangs them from trees. Two hundred years later, Winston's spirit is searching for something that only Adam can give him, and something only Zenia can help him achieve, in order to rest in peace.

This is an excellent idea for a story, and I like the way it all came together with suspense and intrigue. I do, however, think that the technical side of this book, namely the editing, represents only a ghost of what this book could really be. I encourage the author to pursue this novel further with the help of an eagle-eyed editor.

Reviewed by CandaceK
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers