Thursday, January 7, 2016

ARC REVIEW The Realms of the Dead by William Todd Rose

For me everyday day is a good day for a damn good horror novel. I had no idea what to expect from William Todd Rose, I have never read him before. I love horror but I'm picky about who I read, but the synopsis intrigued me. This book was creepy in all the right ways. It kept me engulfed in the story and the characters. Once I picked it up I couldn't put it down. I liked the science fiction/ metaphysical aspect and it blended in nicely with the gruesome games of a tormented mind. The synopsis likened William Todd Rose to King and Koontz, but I would be more willing to group him with Clive Barker.

In the first novella, Crossfades, we meet Chuck Grainger. Chuck is just a normal man who you would never notice walking down the street. What makes Chuck so extraordinary is his job, he helps the lost souls who get trapped in the space between cross over. The mechanics of the organization that recruited Chuck in college is vast and very secretive. All he knows is the dead often get lost and through technology they created he can astral project himself into the crossfades, it's not that hard. But on one fateful day he gets handed a job that will either get him promoted or fired, depending on how well he handles it. A twisted spirit has corrupted the crossfades, manipulated into his own heaven but a nightmare for all the lost souls he has taken. Chuck alone with the help of a woman, whose soul has enchanted Chuck, are the only one who can set things right.

Bleedovers, the second novels takes place sometime after Chuck's first adventure. Chuck is now a legend in the industry, but all he wants to do is fade into the woodwork. Something is happening the organization is experiencing a bleedover, a spirit has managed to cross back over into the living realm and basically become a  ghost. Chucks superiors have charged him, Control and a young girl with special abilities, Marilee, with taking care of the spirit. The spirit soon escalates and is obviously targeting Chuck. Chuck assumes he knows who the malevolent ghost is, but as the attacks escalate the harder it is to trap and only Chuck and Marilee can take the ghost out, forever.

Overall, I really enjoyed this. Crossfades is more the sci-fi horror while Bleedovers is more paranormal. I liked how this was two separate novellas, even though it could have worked as a full length novel, it cut down on unnecessary filler.        

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