Rage of Spirits

Rating:
Summary: enjoyable overall, but sloppiness is distracting.
Review: I am a fan of Hynd's writing. While this book is an enjoyable read, I was disappointed by some basic sloppiness in research and continuity. that reached a distracting level. For example, the reader is told that the main character has a studio on the top floor of his home. He later goes "up" to the kithchen, and then "upstairs" to bed from the room-- what kind of top floor is this exactly? Attic or basement, just decide and stick with it. Errors that could be avoided with basic research are even more bothersome from an author of Mr. Hynd's background and usual quality. For the record: The secretary of state is NOT the second or even the third in line to the presidency, the vice president's mansion IS on the grounds of the Naval Observatory, and Teddy Roosevelt was NOT shot "in his ample gut" by a man with a gun concealed in a hand bandage. William McKinley was. Roosevelt's gut, while ample, was not involved when he was shot in the chest eleven years later by a man with a naked hand. These errors are not story-stoppers but they are irritating, and cost the author credibility, especially since the story centers on governmental institutions and actors. An exciting story, but one that suffers from lazy telling.

Rating:
Summary: enjoyable overall, but sloppiness is distracting.
Review: I am a fan of Hynd's writing. While this book is an enjoyable read, I was disappointed by some basic sloppiness in research and continuity. that reached a distracting level. For example, the reader is told that the main character has a studio on the top floor of his home. He later goes "up" to the kithchen, and then "upstairs" to bed from the room-- what kind of top floor is this exactly? Attic or basement, just decide and stick with it. Errors that could be avoided with basic research are even more bothersome from an author of Mr. Hynd's background and usual quality. For the record: The secretary of state is NOT the second or even the third in line to the presidency, the vice president's mansion IS on the grounds of the Naval Observatory, and Teddy Roosevelt was NOT shot "in his ample gut" by a man with a gun concealed in a hand bandage. William McKinley was. Roosevelt's gut, while ample, was not involved when he was shot in the chest eleven years later by a man with a naked hand. These errors are not story-stoppers but they are irritating, and cost the author credibility, especially since the story centers on governmental institutions and actors. An exciting story, but one that suffers from lazy telling.

Rating:
Summary: Mystery, political intrigue, and ghosts!
Review: Noel Hynd is the only horror writer I read on a regular basis. Rage of Spirits mixes a thirty year old mystery with a political crisis and the supernatural. In the year 2003, the President of the United States is stricken by a mysterious ailment, rendering him unable to carry out his duties. The Vice President wants to invoke the Twenty-Fifth Amendment and assume the Presidency, but he also has other concerns. Convinced that some outside force is manipulating the health of the President, he sends his press attache, Bill Cochrane, in search of answers. And the answers Cochrane finds lead to even more mysteries and inexplicable occurrences.

The reason I enjoy Noel Hynd's novels is that he blends the ingredients of a good thriller with a ghost story, and this combination is successful once again in Rage of Spirits. While the book is suspenseful and has some shocking plot twists, it also has an eerie tone throughout the story. Hynd makes these elements gel and creates another masterful tale.