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The Supernaturals #1
The Supernaturals
Evil doesn’t always look scary….Built at the turn of the twentieth century by one of the richest and most powerful men in the world, tucked away in the pristine Pocono Mountains, Summer Place, a retreat for the rich and famous, seems the very essence of charm and beauty, �a scene borrowed from a wondrous fairytale of gingerbread houses, bright forests, and glowing, sunny meadows.” But behind the yellow and white trimmed exterior lurks an evil, waiting to devour the unwary…. Seven years ago, Professor Gabriel Kennedy’s investigation into paranormal activity at Summer Place ended in tragedy, and destroyed his career. Now, Kelly Delaphoy, the ambitious producer of a top-rated ghost-hunting television series, is determined to make Summer Place the centerpiece of an epic live broadcast on Halloween night. To ensure success, she needs help from the one man who has come face-to-face with the evil that dwells in Summer Place, a man still haunted by the ghosts of his own failure. Disgraced and alienated from the academic community, Kennedy wants nothing to do with the event. But Summer Place has other plans…. As Summer Place grows stronger, Kennedy along with the paranormal ghost hunting team, The Supernaturals, sets out to confront…and if possible, destroy…the evil presence dwelling there. But sometimes in a paranormal investigation, the ghosts hunt you...
495 pages, Paperback
First published September 12, 2011
107 people are currently reading
1842 people want to read
About the author
David L. Golemon
24 books532 followersDavid L. Golemon (a.k.a. David Lynn Golemon ) is the author of the Event Group Thrillers, including Event, Ancients, Leviathan and Primeval. Legend, the second book in the series, was nominated for a RITA award for paranormal fiction.
Golemon learned an early love of reading from his father, who told him that the written word, unlike other forms, allows readers to use their own minds, the greatest special effects machines of all—an idea Golemon still believes. The only thing he loves more than writing is research, especially historical research, and he sees the subtext of his Event novels as being that understanding history allows us to create a better future. Golemon grew up in Chino, California, and now makes his home in New York.
Golemon learned an early love of reading from his father, who told him that the written word, unlike other forms, allows readers to use their own minds, the greatest special effects machines of all—an idea Golemon still believes. The only thing he loves more than writing is research, especially historical research, and he sees the subtext of his Event novels as being that understanding history allows us to create a better future. Golemon grew up in Chino, California, and now makes his home in New York.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 245 reviews
February 27, 2019
3.5 Rounded down. My feelings on this novel are as follows: There was way too much repetition, only for the end explanation to be really quick and kind of foompt! That was a sound, like a poof. You can't rush good catharsis!!
There was this mansion and yet all ppl did was run back and forth between ballroom, sewing room, third floor hallway, & basement.... Oh goodness, I was so sick of those places!
In all, there were a ton of characters , which most of, I wanted to get killed off because they were so annoying. I think a lot of ppl will find it annoying keeping up with this many characters that just don't matter, really. I feel that focus should have concentrated more on those with abilities. I thought reading about a paranormal tv show would be cool, but eh, no. It just dragged on. There is a sequel and the most annoying character in the book, to me, makes it and is in the next one. She has no abilities other than to drive ppl crazy. It might be good without the tv angle, but if I read it I will be hoping for that special person to die early in. Just sayin'.
This book has its moments and could have been so much more.....
There was this mansion and yet all ppl did was run back and forth between ballroom, sewing room, third floor hallway, & basement.... Oh goodness, I was so sick of those places!
In all, there were a ton of characters , which most of, I wanted to get killed off because they were so annoying. I think a lot of ppl will find it annoying keeping up with this many characters that just don't matter, really. I feel that focus should have concentrated more on those with abilities. I thought reading about a paranormal tv show would be cool, but eh, no. It just dragged on. There is a sequel and the most annoying character in the book, to me, makes it and is in the next one. She has no abilities other than to drive ppl crazy. It might be good without the tv angle, but if I read it I will be hoping for that special person to die early in. Just sayin'.
This book has its moments and could have been so much more.....
January 16, 2018
3 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2018/01/15/...
As far as haunted house stories go, I’ve read better but I’ve also read worse. Following the current trend of bringing reality television and social media into the horror genre, The Supernaturals attempts a modern twist on a classic premise.
Nestled in the picturesque Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania is said to be a luxurious mansion, built at the turn of the twentieth century to serve as a retreat for the rich and famous. Known as Summer Place, it is also alleged to have inspired Shirley Jackson’s famous horror masterpiece, The Haunting of Hill House. While it’s hard to imagine such a beautiful, charming place as the inspiration for such evil and terror, the mansion does have a somewhat checkered past. The most recent incident occurred in 2003, when a team of university students led by behavioral psychologist Professor Gabriel Kennedy ventured into Summer Place to debunk the presence of paranormal activity—only, the group re-emerged from the ordeal grieving and traumatized, with one less member. To this day, Gabriel has never forgiven himself for the loss of one of his students, who disappeared mysteriously without a trace that night, as though swallowed up by the very walls of the house itself.
Seven years later, a television producer named Kelly Delaphoy is eyeing Summer Place as the key to her big break: an ambitious undertaking to broadcast a live ghost-hunting event to millions of viewers on Halloween night. To lend legitimacy to the project, she convinces a reluctant Gabriel Kennedy to act as a consultant on the show, and he in turn recruits a few of his old friends to help, including a Native American dreamwalker; a young woman possessed by the spirit of a 1950s singer; a convict who is a clairvoyant; and a former gang member turned computer genius. Also along for the ride are an investigative field reporter smelling the opportunity for an exposé, as well as a homicide detective who has never stopped suspecting Gabriel for the disappearance of his student.
As you can see, there are quite a few characters to keep track of, and I can’t say many of them are very likeable (though to be fair, I think this is by design). Unfortunately, far too much page time is devoted to these unlikeable characters, and not enough on the really interesting ones like John Lonetree, George Cordero, Julie, or Lionel—Gabriel’s crack team of “Supernaturals”. While each of them had a compelling talent and backstory, ultimately I felt they were underutilized. It also probably comes as no surprise that the story became a lot more interesting once Gabriel’s team entered the picture—which doesn’t occur until well into the book.
As such, pacing issues abounded, and were perhaps this novel’s greatest weakness. I liked many of the ideas, but also got the sense that the author was overwhelmed in trying to include them all in his story. The plot was all over the place, like puzzle pieces that fit poorly together, and the result was an uneven narrative with stretches where nothing of importance would happen, punctuated with genuine moments of intrigue—though those were fewer and far between. It made me think this book could have benefited from more rigorous editing; it certainly didn’t have to be so long, and I think cutting down the more tedious sections would have improved the pacing.
As it is now, only final hundred pages or so held the real meat of the story. Still, what a conclusion it was! Full of thrills and chills, as all the build-up finally came to a head in Kelly Delaphoy’s live Halloween special. Secrets were revealed and mysteries were unraveled, and if some of the answers ended up being a little too predictable, at least I had fun.
The Supernaturals would probably make a good book for casual readers of horror, so long as you go in with the right expectations. Though it clearly draws inspiration from Shirley Jackson’s classic, this novel is far from being the next Haunting of Hill House, simply because the writing lacked the same intensity and the right sense of timing. Still, it was decent enough for a bit of light entertainment, and despite its weaknesses, I would put it on a list of “paranormal activity” novels worth looking into, especially if you’re a fan of haunted house stories.
As far as haunted house stories go, I’ve read better but I’ve also read worse. Following the current trend of bringing reality television and social media into the horror genre, The Supernaturals attempts a modern twist on a classic premise.
Nestled in the picturesque Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania is said to be a luxurious mansion, built at the turn of the twentieth century to serve as a retreat for the rich and famous. Known as Summer Place, it is also alleged to have inspired Shirley Jackson’s famous horror masterpiece, The Haunting of Hill House. While it’s hard to imagine such a beautiful, charming place as the inspiration for such evil and terror, the mansion does have a somewhat checkered past. The most recent incident occurred in 2003, when a team of university students led by behavioral psychologist Professor Gabriel Kennedy ventured into Summer Place to debunk the presence of paranormal activity—only, the group re-emerged from the ordeal grieving and traumatized, with one less member. To this day, Gabriel has never forgiven himself for the loss of one of his students, who disappeared mysteriously without a trace that night, as though swallowed up by the very walls of the house itself.
Seven years later, a television producer named Kelly Delaphoy is eyeing Summer Place as the key to her big break: an ambitious undertaking to broadcast a live ghost-hunting event to millions of viewers on Halloween night. To lend legitimacy to the project, she convinces a reluctant Gabriel Kennedy to act as a consultant on the show, and he in turn recruits a few of his old friends to help, including a Native American dreamwalker; a young woman possessed by the spirit of a 1950s singer; a convict who is a clairvoyant; and a former gang member turned computer genius. Also along for the ride are an investigative field reporter smelling the opportunity for an exposé, as well as a homicide detective who has never stopped suspecting Gabriel for the disappearance of his student.
As you can see, there are quite a few characters to keep track of, and I can’t say many of them are very likeable (though to be fair, I think this is by design). Unfortunately, far too much page time is devoted to these unlikeable characters, and not enough on the really interesting ones like John Lonetree, George Cordero, Julie, or Lionel—Gabriel’s crack team of “Supernaturals”. While each of them had a compelling talent and backstory, ultimately I felt they were underutilized. It also probably comes as no surprise that the story became a lot more interesting once Gabriel’s team entered the picture—which doesn’t occur until well into the book.
As such, pacing issues abounded, and were perhaps this novel’s greatest weakness. I liked many of the ideas, but also got the sense that the author was overwhelmed in trying to include them all in his story. The plot was all over the place, like puzzle pieces that fit poorly together, and the result was an uneven narrative with stretches where nothing of importance would happen, punctuated with genuine moments of intrigue—though those were fewer and far between. It made me think this book could have benefited from more rigorous editing; it certainly didn’t have to be so long, and I think cutting down the more tedious sections would have improved the pacing.
As it is now, only final hundred pages or so held the real meat of the story. Still, what a conclusion it was! Full of thrills and chills, as all the build-up finally came to a head in Kelly Delaphoy’s live Halloween special. Secrets were revealed and mysteries were unraveled, and if some of the answers ended up being a little too predictable, at least I had fun.
The Supernaturals would probably make a good book for casual readers of horror, so long as you go in with the right expectations. Though it clearly draws inspiration from Shirley Jackson’s classic, this novel is far from being the next Haunting of Hill House, simply because the writing lacked the same intensity and the right sense of timing. Still, it was decent enough for a bit of light entertainment, and despite its weaknesses, I would put it on a list of “paranormal activity” novels worth looking into, especially if you’re a fan of haunted house stories.
January 31, 2013
I should have listened to the people who said this book was overlong, carelessly edited and just plain wasn't scarey. I cannot deny I read the reviews. I was lured in by a sale price and the early references to Shirley Jackson and The Haunting of Hill House. If you are a fan of Shirley Jackson's classic haunted house story just stop right there. Jackson gets a couple more mentions and a character carries her last name but that's it. The book itself has no connection with Jackson's subtle horror.
The premise of the book is that the creator of a spook chaser reality show, Hunters of the Paranormal, wants to investigate a haunted house in rural Pennsylvania in a live 8 hour special airing on Halloween night. The premise is to bring back a “Harvard educated Professor” who had in 2003 led a group of his students to investigate the haunting. In the end one student disappeared-- pulled into a plaster wall by a mysterious force according to witnesses. The Professor is suspected of either murder or fraud depending on whose view of the student's disappearance is accepted, his career is ruined by the investigation and attendant news coverage and he ends up teaching psychology at some small college in Texas.
Of course he is persuaded and demands a special hand picked team of investigators. I'm about five hours in on the audio version and the team to go into the haunted house to face the menace is being gathered. So far the characters in the team involve an ex-gang member computer whizz, a vagrant mind reader, a psychologist whose career was ruined by his first run-in with the house, and an American Indian police officer/shaman. I can't help thinking that if they only had a construction worker and a cowboy they could form a Village People tribute band.
The pace is uneven, the characterization is broad and stereotypical and there was no effort to catch continuity errors. My notes made while reading contain the following:
1. A character who is a paleontologist and then later described an anthropologist. Neither career had anything to do with the fact that she was possessed by the ghost of a singer/song writer who---
2. Was first murdered in 1959 and then later we get a detailed description of his murder in 1963.
3. Cowboy boots get kicked off-- just try to kick off cowboy boots.
4. A throat is cut so deeply that the spine can be seen, but there's no arterial spray
5. later the wrong character is said to have committed suicide.
6. In the epilogue the number of bodies said found is 31 but the number should be 38.
There really was only one section I found engaging when the show started and the author did a decent job of building suspense.
The basis of the haunting is so irrational (and stereotypical) that I want to complain about it too but I'm not going to spoil it without a cut. Just be warned, it's pretty groan worthy.
The premise of the book is that the creator of a spook chaser reality show, Hunters of the Paranormal, wants to investigate a haunted house in rural Pennsylvania in a live 8 hour special airing on Halloween night. The premise is to bring back a “Harvard educated Professor” who had in 2003 led a group of his students to investigate the haunting. In the end one student disappeared-- pulled into a plaster wall by a mysterious force according to witnesses. The Professor is suspected of either murder or fraud depending on whose view of the student's disappearance is accepted, his career is ruined by the investigation and attendant news coverage and he ends up teaching psychology at some small college in Texas.
Of course he is persuaded and demands a special hand picked team of investigators. I'm about five hours in on the audio version and the team to go into the haunted house to face the menace is being gathered. So far the characters in the team involve an ex-gang member computer whizz, a vagrant mind reader, a psychologist whose career was ruined by his first run-in with the house, and an American Indian police officer/shaman. I can't help thinking that if they only had a construction worker and a cowboy they could form a Village People tribute band.
The pace is uneven, the characterization is broad and stereotypical and there was no effort to catch continuity errors. My notes made while reading contain the following:
1. A character who is a paleontologist and then later described an anthropologist. Neither career had anything to do with the fact that she was possessed by the ghost of a singer/song writer who---
2. Was first murdered in 1959 and then later we get a detailed description of his murder in 1963.
3. Cowboy boots get kicked off-- just try to kick off cowboy boots.
4. A throat is cut so deeply that the spine can be seen, but there's no arterial spray
5. later the wrong character is said to have committed suicide.
6. In the epilogue the number of bodies said found is 31 but the number should be 38.
There really was only one section I found engaging when the show started and the author did a decent job of building suspense.
The basis of the haunting is so irrational (and stereotypical) that I want to complain about it too but I'm not going to spoil it without a cut. Just be warned, it's pretty groan worthy.
September 7, 2019
I read this whole book to find out at the end it had a transphobic plot twist. Lovely. Never reading this author again. What a waste of my time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 22, 2020
1.5 stars
Great concept. Wish it wasn't poorly edited, and wish it wasn't saturated in sexism, racism, and trans/homophobia.
In all honesty, this is 100% a spoiler-filled rant review. I respect your opinion if you liked this book, but this is my opinion.
I'm going to use the examples I noticed and basically just explain why I hated them, even though they speak for themselves.
1.) The racism. For a book that was published in 2016, I'm shook. Here are a few examples of the things that were both unnecessary and extremely prevalent throughout the novel. A) There is one Native American side character in the novel, John Longtree. He's a dream walker called on to the case to investigate the haunting with the team. He is almost always referred to as "the big Indian man," using that entire phrase to describe him frequently in scenes far after he was established. Ok, I said to myself, that's unnecessary but we'll cringe and move on. B) There are two Black characters in the book, one is a hacker/tech guy and the other is a police detective. The hacker/tech guy, Leonard, is always—and I do mean ALWAYS—referred to in the narration as "the small black man." He is hardly ever referred to by his actual name outside of dialogue by the other characters. He is also filled with verbal and narrative stereotypes related to "gang activity." Now, that also sucks, but when highlighted against the fact that it was ONLY Leonard and John who were referred to not only by their race but also physical size... it goes without saying this did not happen to the white characters once in the novel. The police detective, Jackson, was also referred to occasionally as "the large black man," as if to keep us from confusing the only two Black people in the book with each other... even though they had completely different names. Yep. Oh, and also, we have 2 completely irrelevant uses of the N word, thrown into the text with abandon and without any concrete reason, character development, or explanation for use. I can't even say it was time-period appropriate because, again, this novel was written in 2016 and was supposed to be contemporary to the time of publication.
2.) The sexism. Now if you follow my reviews at all, you'll know I'm frequently irked by the female representation in male-written horror novels. I blame the conditional stereotyping of the horror movie genre for how that is often displayed. But this novel was something else, even with that expectation. The women in this novel were 1 of 3 scenarios: the dead mother victims who existed only to be pregnant and then murdered for their worth (i.e. their babies), the sexual characters that existed only to be pretty and/or delicately managed by the men on the team (Jenny being the main example of this, she's supposedly a member of the team but spends the entire novel as the sexual foil for John Longtree and she lets him decide all of her decisions/thoughts despite having JUST met him), and the "bitchy career woman," who almost needs no introduction as we've seen that before. Two female characters were involved with the film production in the novel and they were seen as vicious, one-dimensional characters that exist only for personal gain and had no character development (except for one tiny note where one of them gets the hots for another character, cue the eyeroll). We also have frequent instances where woman were described by levels of attractiveness (again, narration, not dialogue from characters), or in terms such as "miss," "young lady," etc. Also, whenever a group of men and women were together and something "scary" happened, the author ALWAYS took the time in the sentence to mention how scared the women were first, and then how the men handled themselves. This last point was just as detrimental to the male representation in the novel, too, as the Macho Man persona was strong here.
3.) The trans/homophobia. I bet you can guess why this is here—guess who the evil entity was? Yep. I really resented the final reveal being that the evil dead matriarch of the family was, in actuality, a gay man dressing up as a woman (it was unclear whether he was a transvestite or a transgender individual pre-operation given the time period) and murdering pregnant women to steal their babies for his/their own. Now, besides the fact that the epilogue in the novel did not necessarily condemn the bad entity for their orientation alone (it was too brief to go into it one way or the other, honestly), it did get my goat because, frankly, it didn't make sense as the final reveal given the lead up. I mean, obviously there were several indicators that this would be the reveal, but there were just as many other indicators that pointed to other conclusions. Here are a few: A) The evil entity frequently shouts "THEY ARE MINE" all the time. Who are theirs? The dead children that the entity murdered themselves? The investigation team? Why does the evil entity want the investigation team? Etc. You can see how it might fit, but still. This is never fully addressed. B) The demonic references, influences, and the discovery of the pentagrams/symbols in the basement at the end. If the "evil entity" was actually just the dead ghost of the gay man/transvestite/transsexual, why make repeated (and I do mean REPEATED) references to demonic elements? A more logical and satisfying ending would have been to make it a demon. Maybe less of a "shocking surprise," but to be honest the "shocking surprise" was the insensitivity of making the bad entity a trans/gay character who was apparently "just evil" because they forced themselves to be a girl. And, don't even get me started on the fact that John, the dream walker, dreamed a historical moment and the young boy (future bad entity) could "see" him in the memory. Another element that pointed to demonic presence that was just abandoned by the plot.
4.) And, finally, the poor editing. Normally something like this would be the first point of a rant review, but not given the other issues of this novel! I seriously wonder how this was edited, because there were a lot of embarrassing mistakes throughout. Some low-hanging fruit: A) Jenny is described first as a paleontologist, but then later in the novel she is referred to as an anthropologist. Someone missed the faulty career at the beginning. B) Jenny is haunted by the dead ghost of a former American composer, who is supposed murder in one year (1953? 1950-something) and yet later in the book we relive the night of his murder and it is clearly described as happening in 1960-something (1963?). C) And lastly, the completely arbitrary and confusing way that the author described every single character throughout the book, but in particular Gabriel Kennedy. The author would describe characters by their first name in some instances, and their last names in other instances, without any real rhyme or reason and creating confusing times for the reader until you really got it straight. And example, which I made up for clarity: "Gabriel stopped at the closed door and hesitated. He wasn't sure if he should go in. Kennedy opened the door with a sigh." Both Gabriel and Kennedy are the same person, and it's not like its a POV shift, its all in the same third-person narration and in the same small paragraph. SUPER odd, and continues for the entire novel with multiple characters for no concrete reason that I could tell.
Sigh. Sorry not sorry for the hate train on this one, folks, but I got so heated because despite all of the above flaws, I was somehow still hooked on this story before it got to its terrible reveal. Hence the 2 stars, because I can't lie and say that I didn't get some weird enjoyment in some of it. So much potential, and yet... Argh. On to the next!
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Great concept. Wish it wasn't poorly edited, and wish it wasn't saturated in sexism, racism, and trans/homophobia.
In all honesty, this is 100% a spoiler-filled rant review. I respect your opinion if you liked this book, but this is my opinion.
I'm going to use the examples I noticed and basically just explain why I hated them, even though they speak for themselves.
1.) The racism. For a book that was published in 2016, I'm shook. Here are a few examples of the things that were both unnecessary and extremely prevalent throughout the novel. A) There is one Native American side character in the novel, John Longtree. He's a dream walker called on to the case to investigate the haunting with the team. He is almost always referred to as "the big Indian man," using that entire phrase to describe him frequently in scenes far after he was established. Ok, I said to myself, that's unnecessary but we'll cringe and move on. B) There are two Black characters in the book, one is a hacker/tech guy and the other is a police detective. The hacker/tech guy, Leonard, is always—and I do mean ALWAYS—referred to in the narration as "the small black man." He is hardly ever referred to by his actual name outside of dialogue by the other characters. He is also filled with verbal and narrative stereotypes related to "gang activity." Now, that also sucks, but when highlighted against the fact that it was ONLY Leonard and John who were referred to not only by their race but also physical size... it goes without saying this did not happen to the white characters once in the novel. The police detective, Jackson, was also referred to occasionally as "the large black man," as if to keep us from confusing the only two Black people in the book with each other... even though they had completely different names. Yep. Oh, and also, we have 2 completely irrelevant uses of the N word, thrown into the text with abandon and without any concrete reason, character development, or explanation for use. I can't even say it was time-period appropriate because, again, this novel was written in 2016 and was supposed to be contemporary to the time of publication.
2.) The sexism. Now if you follow my reviews at all, you'll know I'm frequently irked by the female representation in male-written horror novels. I blame the conditional stereotyping of the horror movie genre for how that is often displayed. But this novel was something else, even with that expectation. The women in this novel were 1 of 3 scenarios: the dead mother victims who existed only to be pregnant and then murdered for their worth (i.e. their babies), the sexual characters that existed only to be pretty and/or delicately managed by the men on the team (Jenny being the main example of this, she's supposedly a member of the team but spends the entire novel as the sexual foil for John Longtree and she lets him decide all of her decisions/thoughts despite having JUST met him), and the "bitchy career woman," who almost needs no introduction as we've seen that before. Two female characters were involved with the film production in the novel and they were seen as vicious, one-dimensional characters that exist only for personal gain and had no character development (except for one tiny note where one of them gets the hots for another character, cue the eyeroll). We also have frequent instances where woman were described by levels of attractiveness (again, narration, not dialogue from characters), or in terms such as "miss," "young lady," etc. Also, whenever a group of men and women were together and something "scary" happened, the author ALWAYS took the time in the sentence to mention how scared the women were first, and then how the men handled themselves. This last point was just as detrimental to the male representation in the novel, too, as the Macho Man persona was strong here.
3.) The trans/homophobia. I bet you can guess why this is here—guess who the evil entity was? Yep. I really resented the final reveal being that the evil dead matriarch of the family was, in actuality, a gay man dressing up as a woman (it was unclear whether he was a transvestite or a transgender individual pre-operation given the time period) and murdering pregnant women to steal their babies for his/their own. Now, besides the fact that the epilogue in the novel did not necessarily condemn the bad entity for their orientation alone (it was too brief to go into it one way or the other, honestly), it did get my goat because, frankly, it didn't make sense as the final reveal given the lead up. I mean, obviously there were several indicators that this would be the reveal, but there were just as many other indicators that pointed to other conclusions. Here are a few: A) The evil entity frequently shouts "THEY ARE MINE" all the time. Who are theirs? The dead children that the entity murdered themselves? The investigation team? Why does the evil entity want the investigation team? Etc. You can see how it might fit, but still. This is never fully addressed. B) The demonic references, influences, and the discovery of the pentagrams/symbols in the basement at the end. If the "evil entity" was actually just the dead ghost of the gay man/transvestite/transsexual, why make repeated (and I do mean REPEATED) references to demonic elements? A more logical and satisfying ending would have been to make it a demon. Maybe less of a "shocking surprise," but to be honest the "shocking surprise" was the insensitivity of making the bad entity a trans/gay character who was apparently "just evil" because they forced themselves to be a girl. And, don't even get me started on the fact that John, the dream walker, dreamed a historical moment and the young boy (future bad entity) could "see" him in the memory. Another element that pointed to demonic presence that was just abandoned by the plot.
4.) And, finally, the poor editing. Normally something like this would be the first point of a rant review, but not given the other issues of this novel! I seriously wonder how this was edited, because there were a lot of embarrassing mistakes throughout. Some low-hanging fruit: A) Jenny is described first as a paleontologist, but then later in the novel she is referred to as an anthropologist. Someone missed the faulty career at the beginning. B) Jenny is haunted by the dead ghost of a former American composer, who is supposed murder in one year (1953? 1950-something) and yet later in the book we relive the night of his murder and it is clearly described as happening in 1960-something (1963?). C) And lastly, the completely arbitrary and confusing way that the author described every single character throughout the book, but in particular Gabriel Kennedy. The author would describe characters by their first name in some instances, and their last names in other instances, without any real rhyme or reason and creating confusing times for the reader until you really got it straight. And example, which I made up for clarity: "Gabriel stopped at the closed door and hesitated. He wasn't sure if he should go in. Kennedy opened the door with a sigh." Both Gabriel and Kennedy are the same person, and it's not like its a POV shift, its all in the same third-person narration and in the same small paragraph. SUPER odd, and continues for the entire novel with multiple characters for no concrete reason that I could tell.
Sigh. Sorry not sorry for the hate train on this one, folks, but I got so heated because despite all of the above flaws, I was somehow still hooked on this story before it got to its terrible reveal. Hence the 2 stars, because I can't lie and say that I didn't get some weird enjoyment in some of it. So much potential, and yet... Argh. On to the next!
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This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 12, 2011
I absolutely LOVED this book. To be honest, this was my first David Golemon book I'd ever read...but it has certainly made me one of his biggest fans. If anyone has ever read one of my own books, they know I'm into paranormal investigations. Granted, mine tends to be more on the cryptozoological side of things, but I also enjoy ghost hunting too. And that's what this book is about. A team of ghost hunters, led by a disgraced psychology professor, investigates the ultimate haunted house...with the ultimate evil residing within its ancient walls.
And let me tell you...the book is plenty scary! There were parts that I definitely would not have felt comfortable going to bed too soon after reading. But it's not just horror. The beauty of this book is that it appeals to a large number of people. There is plenty for the mystery and adventure lover too. As a matter of fact, the book reads like an amazing adventure novel in regards to the diverse and complex characters that comprise the team. Besides the professor, you also have a Native Americam shaman, a clairvoyant with major personality issues, an insomniac with her own personal "uninvited guest", a gangster computer genius, a homicide detective with a chip on his shoulder, and a journalist who's trying to blow the lid off on what she perceives as one of the biggest scams of the century.
The book is multi-layered, let me tell you. There's so much more to this than a simply ghost story. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a great shiverfest!
And let me tell you...the book is plenty scary! There were parts that I definitely would not have felt comfortable going to bed too soon after reading. But it's not just horror. The beauty of this book is that it appeals to a large number of people. There is plenty for the mystery and adventure lover too. As a matter of fact, the book reads like an amazing adventure novel in regards to the diverse and complex characters that comprise the team. Besides the professor, you also have a Native Americam shaman, a clairvoyant with major personality issues, an insomniac with her own personal "uninvited guest", a gangster computer genius, a homicide detective with a chip on his shoulder, and a journalist who's trying to blow the lid off on what she perceives as one of the biggest scams of the century.
The book is multi-layered, let me tell you. There's so much more to this than a simply ghost story. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a great shiverfest!
October 20, 2011
I've been looking for "ghostly" books that aren't just slasher/bloody/gruesome and I have to say I really enjoyed this one. Of course, no one can match Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House" but this book made me glad I took the chance and bought it.
I loved the fact that the author "tips his hat" in several ways/moments to Jackson's classic. The basic premise is that there is this house that Jackson used as her model for Hill House. Professor Gabriel Kennedy once had a group of students investigate the house, only to have tragedy strike. They lose a student to the house and it ruins his career.
Jumping forward to the present, a reality TV show hostess decides to host a Halloween special featuring this house, Summer Place, and she brings Kennedy back as part of the team to explore it. He's hoping to fix his broken reputation, but more than that, he's determine to destroy the evil in the house that destroyed one of his students.
I loved the fact that the story was well constructed and character-driven, rather than a gore-fest. The chills are spooky and not "in your face".
It was very enjoyable and moved very, very swiftly. It's a great book if you're looking for something to read over the Halloween season!
Enjoy!
I loved the fact that the author "tips his hat" in several ways/moments to Jackson's classic. The basic premise is that there is this house that Jackson used as her model for Hill House. Professor Gabriel Kennedy once had a group of students investigate the house, only to have tragedy strike. They lose a student to the house and it ruins his career.
Jumping forward to the present, a reality TV show hostess decides to host a Halloween special featuring this house, Summer Place, and she brings Kennedy back as part of the team to explore it. He's hoping to fix his broken reputation, but more than that, he's determine to destroy the evil in the house that destroyed one of his students.
I loved the fact that the story was well constructed and character-driven, rather than a gore-fest. The chills are spooky and not "in your face".
It was very enjoyable and moved very, very swiftly. It's a great book if you're looking for something to read over the Halloween season!
Enjoy!
September 8, 2025
Built at the turn of the twentieth century by one of the richest and most powerful men in the world... tucked away in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania...Summer Place, is a retreat for the rich and famous, and seems the very essence of charm and beauty, “a scene borrowed from a wondrous fairytale of gingerbread houses, bright forests, and glowing, sunny meadows.” Behind the yellow and white trimmed exterior lurks an ancient evil, waiting to devour the unwary. The luxurious mansion was built at the turn of the 20th century to serve as a retreat for the rich and famous and is known as "Summer Place". It is also alleged to have inspired Shirley Jackson’s famous horror masterpiece, "The Haunting of Hill House".
While it’s hard to imagine such a beautiful place as the inspiration for such evil and terror, the mansion does have a somewhat "checkered" past....to put it mildly. The most recent incident having occurred in 2003, when a team of university students led by behavioral psychologist, Professor Gabriel Kennedy, ventured into "Summer Place" to try and debunk that there was any presence of paranormal activity. The group re-emerged from the visit traumatized, and without one member. To this day, Gabriel Kennedy has never forgiven himself for the loss of one of his students, who disappeared mysteriously without a trace that night, as though swallowed up by the very walls of the house itself.
The house sat untouched, and unvisited, for seven years, then Kelly Delaphoy, a television producer looks at "Summer Place" as being the story to give her, her "big break"... an ambitious undertaking to broadcast a live ghost-hunting event to millions of viewers on Halloween night. To lend legitimacy to the project, she convinces a understandably very reluctant Gabriel Kennedy to serve as a consultant on the show, and he in turn, brings in a few old friends to help, including a Native American "dream-walker"; a young woman who seems to be possessed by the spirit of a 1950s singer; another bad choice... a convict who is also a clairvoyant; and to top off this doubtful crew...a former gang member who is also a computer genius. Along for the ride comes an investigative field reporter who sees the huge opportunity for an expose...oh, and last but not least, a homicide detective who has always suspected that Gabriel was responsible for the disappearance of his student.
There were quite a few characters to keep track of, and I can’t say most of them were very likeable, though I believe this is what the author had intended. Unfortunately, far too many pages and time was devoted to these unlikeable characters, and not enough on the really interesting ones like John Lonetree, George Cordero, Julie, and Lionel...all of them were Gabriel’s really outstanding team of real “Supernaturals”. Each of them had a compelling talent and an interesting backstory. It also probably comes as no surprise that the story became a lot more interesting once Gabriel’s team entered the picture, but that doesn’t occur until well into the book. This also became the story's biggest weakness. It felt like the plot ran all over the place, much like puzzle pieces that almost; but not quite, fit together, and the result was just "ragged" and "uneven"
The final 100 pages was the real "meat" of the story...and what a "meaty" conclusion it was! It was filled with the thrills and chills that we could have had long before, as all the build-ups finally came to a head for Kelly Delaphoy’s live Halloween special. Secrets were revealed and mysteries were unraveled, and if some of the answers ended up being a little too predictable, at least they provided a lot of fun.
If you're a fan of horror, this might be your book, just be sure to go into it with the right expectations. Though it did seem to draw a bit from Shirley Jackson’s "Haunting of Hill House" classic, this one is in no danger of being the next "Hill House". It was, however, a decent bit of light entertainment, and despite some of its weaknesses, I would put it on a list of paranormal activity novels that are well worth the time to look into, especially if you’re a fan of haunted houses and/or reality TV.
While it’s hard to imagine such a beautiful place as the inspiration for such evil and terror, the mansion does have a somewhat "checkered" past....to put it mildly. The most recent incident having occurred in 2003, when a team of university students led by behavioral psychologist, Professor Gabriel Kennedy, ventured into "Summer Place" to try and debunk that there was any presence of paranormal activity. The group re-emerged from the visit traumatized, and without one member. To this day, Gabriel Kennedy has never forgiven himself for the loss of one of his students, who disappeared mysteriously without a trace that night, as though swallowed up by the very walls of the house itself.
The house sat untouched, and unvisited, for seven years, then Kelly Delaphoy, a television producer looks at "Summer Place" as being the story to give her, her "big break"... an ambitious undertaking to broadcast a live ghost-hunting event to millions of viewers on Halloween night. To lend legitimacy to the project, she convinces a understandably very reluctant Gabriel Kennedy to serve as a consultant on the show, and he in turn, brings in a few old friends to help, including a Native American "dream-walker"; a young woman who seems to be possessed by the spirit of a 1950s singer; another bad choice... a convict who is also a clairvoyant; and to top off this doubtful crew...a former gang member who is also a computer genius. Along for the ride comes an investigative field reporter who sees the huge opportunity for an expose...oh, and last but not least, a homicide detective who has always suspected that Gabriel was responsible for the disappearance of his student.
There were quite a few characters to keep track of, and I can’t say most of them were very likeable, though I believe this is what the author had intended. Unfortunately, far too many pages and time was devoted to these unlikeable characters, and not enough on the really interesting ones like John Lonetree, George Cordero, Julie, and Lionel...all of them were Gabriel’s really outstanding team of real “Supernaturals”. Each of them had a compelling talent and an interesting backstory. It also probably comes as no surprise that the story became a lot more interesting once Gabriel’s team entered the picture, but that doesn’t occur until well into the book. This also became the story's biggest weakness. It felt like the plot ran all over the place, much like puzzle pieces that almost; but not quite, fit together, and the result was just "ragged" and "uneven"
The final 100 pages was the real "meat" of the story...and what a "meaty" conclusion it was! It was filled with the thrills and chills that we could have had long before, as all the build-ups finally came to a head for Kelly Delaphoy’s live Halloween special. Secrets were revealed and mysteries were unraveled, and if some of the answers ended up being a little too predictable, at least they provided a lot of fun.
If you're a fan of horror, this might be your book, just be sure to go into it with the right expectations. Though it did seem to draw a bit from Shirley Jackson’s "Haunting of Hill House" classic, this one is in no danger of being the next "Hill House". It was, however, a decent bit of light entertainment, and despite some of its weaknesses, I would put it on a list of paranormal activity novels that are well worth the time to look into, especially if you’re a fan of haunted houses and/or reality TV.
November 15, 2013
This audiobook really is the perfect Halloween listen! Though clocking in at over 16 hours, the story is perhaps a bit overly long - but the special effects in the recording really add to the fun. The first appearance of the demonic voice in the prologue nearly made me drive off the road! It certainly adds to the spooky atmosphere! Literal goosebumps sprang up each time that scary voice came out of the speakers! The narration and even the overly detailed backstories amongst its large cast of characters really made me want to keep listening each time I arrived at my destination.
The only detracting factor from the book lies with its length - it really is too long. A lot of the tension and eeriness dissipates as Golemon revels in the excessive details of the characters, their histories and their own conflicts unrelated to the spooky house. The eight-hour television special defies logic too - but a haunted house manor calls for a certain suspension of disbelief anyways. I think that this is perhaps more evident in the paper version - the terrific performance of the narrator in the audio version keeps it from dragging too much. And though the final resolution may offend some, it is a fun read overall and contains some genuinely frightening scenes. The book concludes with a set up for a sequel - I hope that it comes out in time for Halloween next year!
The only detracting factor from the book lies with its length - it really is too long. A lot of the tension and eeriness dissipates as Golemon revels in the excessive details of the characters, their histories and their own conflicts unrelated to the spooky house. The eight-hour television special defies logic too - but a haunted house manor calls for a certain suspension of disbelief anyways. I think that this is perhaps more evident in the paper version - the terrific performance of the narrator in the audio version keeps it from dragging too much. And though the final resolution may offend some, it is a fun read overall and contains some genuinely frightening scenes. The book concludes with a set up for a sequel - I hope that it comes out in time for Halloween next year!
July 8, 2016
I'd give this three stars. I'm feeling generous.
This book is about a group of paranormal researchers who get a contract to study "The Summer Home" on Halloween night, in front of a live audience. The "professor" had lost a student within the home years ago and was looking to clear his name, more or less.
I'm not certain how I feel about this book. It wasn't bad but it wasn't scary either. I have two main issues. The first: there was so much set up in this book. Only the last 1/4th deals with the exploration of the house. Everything up to that point is back story and getting the gang together, so large portions were mildly interesting but nothing I'd willingly read on my own.
There was just no tension. The author tried, to give him credit. He did. But it didn't work. This is a complete shame because the actually reason behind the haunting was fairly original.
The other issue is the pretensions of the book didn't even begin to live up to what the author actually wrote. This is a trap that more experienced authors know not to do but Golemon apparently skipped that.
By pretensions, I mean, he tried to set up the Summer House as being the "Real Life" mansion that the book Haunting of Hill House was based on. This was a bad, bad move. Even inadvertently, linking Jackson's masterpiece (of which the Shining and Hell House were probably inspired by -- eg, one of the first "haunted house" stories in this genre) was a bad move. It immediately felt that he was trying to base this book on that cred and it didn't work. I really, logically and authorly, that it probably wasn't his intention but he set up the comparisons on the first page and as a haunted house story genre fan gal, I couldn't help the comparisons.
It also made it nearly impossible to not feel annoyed at the cliche's he used sprinkled about. The Irishman screams "get to work, you lazy slags", for example, and he also phrases like "the blackest scoundrel that ever was" or some such.
You want to lean on a masterpiece than you had better plan on spending more time in dealing with these lazy author traps.
In short, only the last fourth of this book brings any tension. The rest is just bogged down by bad story telling and lazy writing. This could've been so much better but alas, there you go. I'm glad I bought this on sale.
This book is about a group of paranormal researchers who get a contract to study "The Summer Home" on Halloween night, in front of a live audience. The "professor" had lost a student within the home years ago and was looking to clear his name, more or less.
I'm not certain how I feel about this book. It wasn't bad but it wasn't scary either. I have two main issues. The first: there was so much set up in this book. Only the last 1/4th deals with the exploration of the house. Everything up to that point is back story and getting the gang together, so large portions were mildly interesting but nothing I'd willingly read on my own.
There was just no tension. The author tried, to give him credit. He did. But it didn't work. This is a complete shame because the actually reason behind the haunting was fairly original.
The other issue is the pretensions of the book didn't even begin to live up to what the author actually wrote. This is a trap that more experienced authors know not to do but Golemon apparently skipped that.
By pretensions, I mean, he tried to set up the Summer House as being the "Real Life" mansion that the book Haunting of Hill House was based on. This was a bad, bad move. Even inadvertently, linking Jackson's masterpiece (of which the Shining and Hell House were probably inspired by -- eg, one of the first "haunted house" stories in this genre) was a bad move. It immediately felt that he was trying to base this book on that cred and it didn't work. I really, logically and authorly, that it probably wasn't his intention but he set up the comparisons on the first page and as a haunted house story genre fan gal, I couldn't help the comparisons.
It also made it nearly impossible to not feel annoyed at the cliche's he used sprinkled about. The Irishman screams "get to work, you lazy slags", for example, and he also phrases like "the blackest scoundrel that ever was" or some such.
You want to lean on a masterpiece than you had better plan on spending more time in dealing with these lazy author traps.
In short, only the last fourth of this book brings any tension. The rest is just bogged down by bad story telling and lazy writing. This could've been so much better but alas, there you go. I'm glad I bought this on sale.
June 7, 2020
This was a really great ghost story ! The author kept things interesting, and the plot was well thought out I think. Fans of Dean Koonz or Stephen King would like this book . There is a second book in this series with the same characters. I thought the suspense was also good at times, and was one of the scarier books I have picked up. There are many characters, and the dialogue is spread out pretty well between them.
August 19, 2015
This was an interesting book.
It kind of got boring in the middle and kind of predictable.
I finished it because I wanted to know what was going to happen.
Other than that, I might not have. It was okay.
It kind of got boring in the middle and kind of predictable.
I finished it because I wanted to know what was going to happen.
Other than that, I might not have. It was okay.
November 14, 2013
it was ok. the audio version from audible was good. the reader/actor did a good job.
October 25, 2013
I was a bit torn between giving it two or three stars. Three stars, because it did succeed in keeping me up past my bedtime (damn you, hour long commute!), because I did want to know what happened, and some of the characters I quite liked. Ultimately, however, I ended up with two stars, because the poor editing, plot inconsistencies, and especially the woefully tired and cliched "Reveal" disappointed me. The first two bits I would have been willing to overlook (though using "peaked" instead of "peeked" makes me want to hit someone with a Very Large Stick repeatedly)...but that ending. Oh, that ending...which sadly, I guessed at the start of the final third of the book, but which I hoped fervently was nothing but a (somewhat unsubtle) red herring.
It reminded me of The Changeling, that 1979 horror film starring George C. Scott. If you haven't seen it, check it out. I do love that film, and consider it to be one of the best ghost-based-minimum-of-gore horror films I've yet found...right up until the last ten minutes when it devolves into over the top silliness. However, even that wasn't as bad as the cheap tricks pulled at the end of The Supernaturals.
As I said, however, it was good enough to keep me reading--after a 'meh' start in which I wandered off and read a few other books--because I did like several of the characters, though the inconsistencies of their characterization started to grate. Gabriel's character was the worst offender--he's painted as s a nonbeliever when he ran his tragic, doomed first experiment at Summer Place seven years prior to the novel's events... All of the characters in the books suffer from informed attributes, and several(like Lionel-the-former-gangbanger, Kelly-the-shark-producer and her nemesis Peterson, the network CEO Feurstein) veer right into parodic cliches, and the revolving door of shifting POV (including mid-scene, which is a personal major peeve of mine) did not help. Bits of plot are sprung out of nowhere and apparently pulled out of nothing, which sadly takes the place of actual foreshadowing--like some of Peterson's antics as he tries to bring down Kelly and
Despite this, however, there were a number of characters that struck me as having a lot of potential, and who I would like to see in future, hopefully better-edited, books. I did actually like Gabriel, despite the fact that his character as initially introduced and the character we got when he actually fully entered the book's action (more than halfway through, mind you) were pretty disparate. (Also...I admit I'm predisposed to like characters named Gabriel. I think it's an awesome name.) I liked Jenny, though ...and the author really needs to decide if she's a paleontologist or an anthropologist. Because those are, y'know, two wildly different things. (And Gabriel introducing her to the others as a 'one of the best in the field' made me laugh. Not if she's spent the last seven years locked in karaoke bar hell and unable to work she ain't. Not anymore.) The single most interesting character, however, was John Lonetree, the Native American tribal chief of police who is also a Dreamwalker. Honestly, he would make an excellent protagonist in an urban fantasy series provided the author could avoid cliches regarding Native Americans (he manages to, just barely--but considering the others I'm not sure he could keep it up). And he was one of the few characters whose attributes (his ability to combine his Dreamwalking with a hell of a deductive reasoning talent to solve crimes--seriously, his introduction was AWESOME, his genuine niceness, his compassion and courage) weren't just informed but actually shown. I liked John--he was cool. And the author found a good way to make the potentially boring nature of his talent (he sleeps) exciting by writing the dream sequences in an exciting and suspenseful way.
And finally, Summer Place itself (except for it's wildly disappointing reveal) is really very intriguing and horrifying. Actually, the most intriguing bit about it is that it is based, supposedly, on a real house--and the very vagueness of the author's account of the two minutes he spent in its foyer (and he is not a believer in the supernatural) was *very* interesting. (And I would love to know the actual story of THAT house!) A fine job is done of contrasting its apparent sunny, gorgeous perfection of location, form, and presentation with the Big Evil corrupting its heart and influencing everything around it. (And again, the nature of that Big Evil is SO VERY DISAPPOINTING.) The sense of place regarding the house and its grounds is well done and vivid.
Overall...Golemon is a decently good writer. I think with tighter editing and someone to slap him upside the head for straying into cliches, stereotyped cookie-cutter characters and forgetting,deliberately or otherwise, to seed Chekov's guns into the plot I would happily read more, especially about the characters that make up 'the Supernaturals' (which is a lame name that a lot of snarky humor mileage to it).
For folks looking for a decent ghost story I would recommend it, despite its disappointments. If other books about these characters were to appear, I probably would read at least one or two more--ultimately, the characters were likeable enough and the supernatural bits were good enough that I could forgive at least *some* further weaknesses. (Though probably not another denouement as disappointing as this one.)
It reminded me of The Changeling, that 1979 horror film starring George C. Scott. If you haven't seen it, check it out. I do love that film, and consider it to be one of the best ghost-based-minimum-of-gore horror films I've yet found...right up until the last ten minutes when it devolves into over the top silliness. However, even that wasn't as bad as the cheap tricks pulled at the end of The Supernaturals.
As I said, however, it was good enough to keep me reading--after a 'meh' start in which I wandered off and read a few other books--because I did like several of the characters, though the inconsistencies of their characterization started to grate. Gabriel's character was the worst offender--he's painted as s a nonbeliever when he ran his tragic, doomed first experiment at Summer Place seven years prior to the novel's events... All of the characters in the books suffer from informed attributes, and several(like Lionel-the-former-gangbanger, Kelly-the-shark-producer and her nemesis Peterson, the network CEO Feurstein) veer right into parodic cliches, and the revolving door of shifting POV (including mid-scene, which is a personal major peeve of mine) did not help. Bits of plot are sprung out of nowhere and apparently pulled out of nothing, which sadly takes the place of actual foreshadowing--like some of Peterson's antics as he tries to bring down Kelly and
Despite this, however, there were a number of characters that struck me as having a lot of potential, and who I would like to see in future, hopefully better-edited, books. I did actually like Gabriel, despite the fact that his character as initially introduced and the character we got when he actually fully entered the book's action (more than halfway through, mind you) were pretty disparate. (Also...I admit I'm predisposed to like characters named Gabriel. I think it's an awesome name.) I liked Jenny, though ...and the author really needs to decide if she's a paleontologist or an anthropologist. Because those are, y'know, two wildly different things. (And Gabriel introducing her to the others as a 'one of the best in the field' made me laugh. Not if she's spent the last seven years locked in karaoke bar hell and unable to work she ain't. Not anymore.) The single most interesting character, however, was John Lonetree, the Native American tribal chief of police who is also a Dreamwalker. Honestly, he would make an excellent protagonist in an urban fantasy series provided the author could avoid cliches regarding Native Americans (he manages to, just barely--but considering the others I'm not sure he could keep it up). And he was one of the few characters whose attributes (his ability to combine his Dreamwalking with a hell of a deductive reasoning talent to solve crimes--seriously, his introduction was AWESOME, his genuine niceness, his compassion and courage) weren't just informed but actually shown. I liked John--he was cool. And the author found a good way to make the potentially boring nature of his talent (he sleeps) exciting by writing the dream sequences in an exciting and suspenseful way.
And finally, Summer Place itself (except for it's wildly disappointing reveal) is really very intriguing and horrifying. Actually, the most intriguing bit about it is that it is based, supposedly, on a real house--and the very vagueness of the author's account of the two minutes he spent in its foyer (and he is not a believer in the supernatural) was *very* interesting. (And I would love to know the actual story of THAT house!) A fine job is done of contrasting its apparent sunny, gorgeous perfection of location, form, and presentation with the Big Evil corrupting its heart and influencing everything around it. (And again, the nature of that Big Evil is SO VERY DISAPPOINTING.) The sense of place regarding the house and its grounds is well done and vivid.
Overall...Golemon is a decently good writer. I think with tighter editing and someone to slap him upside the head for straying into cliches, stereotyped cookie-cutter characters and forgetting,deliberately or otherwise, to seed Chekov's guns into the plot I would happily read more, especially about the characters that make up 'the Supernaturals' (which is a lame name that a lot of snarky humor mileage to it).
For folks looking for a decent ghost story I would recommend it, despite its disappointments. If other books about these characters were to appear, I probably would read at least one or two more--ultimately, the characters were likeable enough and the supernatural bits were good enough that I could forgive at least *some* further weaknesses. (Though probably not another denouement as disappointing as this one.)
February 27, 2019
The Supernaturals
Thank you for the free book through the Goodreads giveaway.
The synopsis of this novel is about a rejected professor who goes to this particular mansion to hunt and resolve the mystery of the boogie-man (men, women). There is a very diverse posse on the professor’s side, with a live television network team, and a cop to prove or disprove the faith of the paranormal. Besides the horror and mystery, there is quite a bit of fictional drama and background stories for most of the characters. Don’t worry, there are also many creepy moments throughout the story. It’s not like there is only one thing like the mansion being haunted; no, there are several other elements that I liked that were haunted. My rating is 3.
The best thing about the novel is that it has many intriguing parts all the way through out. If you want the creepy element, you’ll find it in the middle of the book. At least for me from pg. 82 to 250 were the ones that contained fear. This line is my favorite about a dream on pg. 342.
“John screamed, knowing that as in other dreams, his voice wouldn’t be heard. As his voice joined the echo of the gunshot, the small man turned and looked in his direction. John could see the blazing dark eyes underneath the hat as they searched the woods looking for the author of the scream. John closed his mouth, and fear seized him.”
The author of The Supernaturals, David L. Golemon gives credit quite a few times towards Shirley Jackson’s infamous novel The Haunting of Hill House. Golemon also points out that the mansion in his own book is real where he only spent two minutes of his time in it, even though the story is most likely exaggerated. I think Golemon’s protagonist character, the professor Gab Kennedy, is the image of scientists in the field of psychology and physics who left their real careers in search of paranormal phenomena over a hundred or so years ago. They were ridiculed and rejected by science, but that is another story. I may suggest that since I loved the Golemon’s posse, that in the next sequel, he should bring out another set of diverse posse. This time the posse would be from different religious backgrounds, such as a preacher or priest, rabbi, imam or mullah, monk, guru and an atheist.
There are few things that I didn’t care for. There are too many characters in the book and sometime I had to go back to figure out who is who. It became more confusing when, while reading, characters were mentioned by first names and then a little bit later with lasts. I found the beginning and ending to be the less interesting parts, especially when it was around the television network people.
Thank you for the free book through the Goodreads giveaway.
The synopsis of this novel is about a rejected professor who goes to this particular mansion to hunt and resolve the mystery of the boogie-man (men, women). There is a very diverse posse on the professor’s side, with a live television network team, and a cop to prove or disprove the faith of the paranormal. Besides the horror and mystery, there is quite a bit of fictional drama and background stories for most of the characters. Don’t worry, there are also many creepy moments throughout the story. It’s not like there is only one thing like the mansion being haunted; no, there are several other elements that I liked that were haunted. My rating is 3.
The best thing about the novel is that it has many intriguing parts all the way through out. If you want the creepy element, you’ll find it in the middle of the book. At least for me from pg. 82 to 250 were the ones that contained fear. This line is my favorite about a dream on pg. 342.
“John screamed, knowing that as in other dreams, his voice wouldn’t be heard. As his voice joined the echo of the gunshot, the small man turned and looked in his direction. John could see the blazing dark eyes underneath the hat as they searched the woods looking for the author of the scream. John closed his mouth, and fear seized him.”
The author of The Supernaturals, David L. Golemon gives credit quite a few times towards Shirley Jackson’s infamous novel The Haunting of Hill House. Golemon also points out that the mansion in his own book is real where he only spent two minutes of his time in it, even though the story is most likely exaggerated. I think Golemon’s protagonist character, the professor Gab Kennedy, is the image of scientists in the field of psychology and physics who left their real careers in search of paranormal phenomena over a hundred or so years ago. They were ridiculed and rejected by science, but that is another story. I may suggest that since I loved the Golemon’s posse, that in the next sequel, he should bring out another set of diverse posse. This time the posse would be from different religious backgrounds, such as a preacher or priest, rabbi, imam or mullah, monk, guru and an atheist.
There are few things that I didn’t care for. There are too many characters in the book and sometime I had to go back to figure out who is who. It became more confusing when, while reading, characters were mentioned by first names and then a little bit later with lasts. I found the beginning and ending to be the less interesting parts, especially when it was around the television network people.
May 14, 2017
The book had a few good moments, but between being both slow and predictable (knowing what's coming can be fine if the pacing is good, but they aren't so much in this particular story), and virtually every character being thoroughly unlikeable, it was hard to get through to the end.
Somebody on Amazon said it read like a Syfy movie, and I can mostly agree with that. Between cast of stereotypical characters with little depth (the eeevil producer, the black guy who is, despite being brilliant, mostly relegated to 'token black guy' dialog, the mystical and enigmatic Native American, the unrelentingly skeptical hardass sheriff, the plucky-but-adversarial reporter- it's like a parade of minimal effort, absent only the sassy gay guy), a lot of really similar names for supporting characters that are interchangeable and rather redundant, there isn't a lot to work with, empathy-wise.
The description of the house is thorough and vivid, and it looks like the author was trying to keep the haunting 'realistic,' that is to say the phenomena was described as being similar to reported real-world hauntings. I'll admit to being intrigued that it's based on an actual house, too. The setting and the haunting don't hold the whole story up, sadly, and the occasionally mystifying choices of both the characters and the entity are a bit mind-boggling. The irritating characters and the plodding pace are, sadly, not trumped by the set design and attention to detail.
SPOILER ALERT BELOW.
**SPOILER**
So the conspicuously-absent stereotype of the sassy gay guy mentioned before? Yeah, the evil ghosts are a gay couple, or more accurately a man and a transgendered woman (or is s/he a lunatic whose madness includes delusions of womanhood? Please tell us, heavy-handed transphobia!) , who murder mothers and steal/kill babies. So there, homosexual stereotypes checked off the list.
**END SPOILER**
Somebody on Amazon said it read like a Syfy movie, and I can mostly agree with that. Between cast of stereotypical characters with little depth (the eeevil producer, the black guy who is, despite being brilliant, mostly relegated to 'token black guy' dialog, the mystical and enigmatic Native American, the unrelentingly skeptical hardass sheriff, the plucky-but-adversarial reporter- it's like a parade of minimal effort, absent only the sassy gay guy), a lot of really similar names for supporting characters that are interchangeable and rather redundant, there isn't a lot to work with, empathy-wise.
The description of the house is thorough and vivid, and it looks like the author was trying to keep the haunting 'realistic,' that is to say the phenomena was described as being similar to reported real-world hauntings. I'll admit to being intrigued that it's based on an actual house, too. The setting and the haunting don't hold the whole story up, sadly, and the occasionally mystifying choices of both the characters and the entity are a bit mind-boggling. The irritating characters and the plodding pace are, sadly, not trumped by the set design and attention to detail.
SPOILER ALERT BELOW.
**SPOILER**
So the conspicuously-absent stereotype of the sassy gay guy mentioned before? Yeah, the evil ghosts are a gay couple, or more accurately a man and a transgendered woman (or is s/he a lunatic whose madness includes delusions of womanhood? Please tell us, heavy-handed transphobia!) , who murder mothers and steal/kill babies. So there, homosexual stereotypes checked off the list.
**END SPOILER**
August 3, 2017
4 Stars for Narration, 3 Stars for Story = 3.5 Stars Total
First off, Stephen R. Thorne did an awesome job narrating this story. There were a wide range of characters involved in the tale and he did gave each of them a distinct voice.
I have to say that I really enjoyed this ghost story. It's a solid story from start to finish. I wasn't looking for a story to scare me into leaving the lights on or a mystery that will leave me on the edge of my seat. When I read the summary for this story, I thought that it would be a fun movie. Throne's narration definitely made it easy to listen to the story and let a movie play out in my mind.
Professor Gabriel Kennedy lead a paranormal investigation at the Summer Place. A beautiful country home for the rich and famous. A student was lost and Kennedy's credibility was destroyed by a tenacious reporter and practical cop. Seven years later, he agreed to conduct another investigation at the Summer Place. There's one notable difference between the past and present. This time, the whole thing will be recorded and broadcast live for public consumption.
I wanted a fun story that engaged me to the end and I got exactly what I asked for in this book. This would make an excellent fireside tale to be told over marshmallows, hot chocolate and spiked coffee. The main cast of characters that make up the investigative team are unique individuals that stand out. No one is a goody two-shoes sally, waiting to always do the right thing. All of them have their flaws, fears and fierce determination.
It has a nice mix of mystery, horror, shivery spook, cast of misfits, a tiny bit of humor and a whole lot of action. For all I know, this book may have been intended to be a spoof for other well known horror, ghost stories. It was an entertaining ghost story with a few twists and a satisfying conclusion. A good time.
First off, Stephen R. Thorne did an awesome job narrating this story. There were a wide range of characters involved in the tale and he did gave each of them a distinct voice.
I have to say that I really enjoyed this ghost story. It's a solid story from start to finish. I wasn't looking for a story to scare me into leaving the lights on or a mystery that will leave me on the edge of my seat. When I read the summary for this story, I thought that it would be a fun movie. Throne's narration definitely made it easy to listen to the story and let a movie play out in my mind.
Professor Gabriel Kennedy lead a paranormal investigation at the Summer Place. A beautiful country home for the rich and famous. A student was lost and Kennedy's credibility was destroyed by a tenacious reporter and practical cop. Seven years later, he agreed to conduct another investigation at the Summer Place. There's one notable difference between the past and present. This time, the whole thing will be recorded and broadcast live for public consumption.
I wanted a fun story that engaged me to the end and I got exactly what I asked for in this book. This would make an excellent fireside tale to be told over marshmallows, hot chocolate and spiked coffee. The main cast of characters that make up the investigative team are unique individuals that stand out. No one is a goody two-shoes sally, waiting to always do the right thing. All of them have their flaws, fears and fierce determination.
It has a nice mix of mystery, horror, shivery spook, cast of misfits, a tiny bit of humor and a whole lot of action. For all I know, this book may have been intended to be a spoof for other well known horror, ghost stories. It was an entertaining ghost story with a few twists and a satisfying conclusion. A good time.
May 22, 2017
It was if the ghostly hand of the entity in the story reached out, grabbed me and pulled me in. I was not released from its grasp until I finished the book. Was it coincidence that the tv and internet crashed last night? Or did the entity have that much power that it reached across time and space to insure my ensnarement?
I don't know if this story was intentionally a rewrite of Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House, but the opening chapters discussed both her and the book in depth. There was even a character named Jackson. There were similarities in the story to remind me strongly of Hill House.
There were a couple of disconnects that kept me from giving this a 5 star rating. One was the constant, "They're mine!" declaration from the entity. Okay, we get that! Another was a question I had about why the entity welcomed Gabriel home. In Hill House, Nell was welcomed home, but then she was a descendant of the family, whereas Gabriel didn't have any connection other than that he had done paranormal research in the house seven years prior to the setting. There were a few other things that had me scratching my head.
The narrator of the audiobook was pretty one dimensional in his reading of the story. Every sentence ended in a lowering of his voice. He sounded like Robert Graves narrating Unsolved Mysteries. It got a little annoying, to say the least.
But complaints aside, I really enjoyed this ghost story. It's been awhile since I've read one that really grabbed me.
I don't know if this story was intentionally a rewrite of Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House, but the opening chapters discussed both her and the book in depth. There was even a character named Jackson. There were similarities in the story to remind me strongly of Hill House.
There were a couple of disconnects that kept me from giving this a 5 star rating. One was the constant, "They're mine!" declaration from the entity. Okay, we get that! Another was a question I had about why the entity welcomed Gabriel home. In Hill House, Nell was welcomed home, but then she was a descendant of the family, whereas Gabriel didn't have any connection other than that he had done paranormal research in the house seven years prior to the setting. There were a few other things that had me scratching my head.
The narrator of the audiobook was pretty one dimensional in his reading of the story. Every sentence ended in a lowering of his voice. He sounded like Robert Graves narrating Unsolved Mysteries. It got a little annoying, to say the least.
But complaints aside, I really enjoyed this ghost story. It's been awhile since I've read one that really grabbed me.
May 2, 2014
this book started off well enough. the writing is a bit bland and repetitive, but the opening scene is enough to interest a reader. after that it all rushes downhill, and mirroring the show the book spends more than half its time setting up, I would have put it down in the first two hours if I hadn't been convinced by other reviews to keep trucking. the pace in the beginning is agonizingly slow and only starts picking up once Professor Kennedy assembles his team to return to Summer Place. after that point the ball begins rolling and the story gets good, despite the writing remaining relatively bland.
I would live to give this book more stars based on its ability to keep my attention through all the set up drudgery except for a few things.
and here there be spoilers.
the good news: both black characters live! the bad news: tramsphobia rears its massively disgusting head in the last two chapters of the book with absolutely no warning. it serves absolutely no purpose as a barren woman would have been just as logical in the story line, and instead serves to make certain readers uncomfortable or downright furious. along with this, the three named female characters compared to the 9+ named male characters are poorly written cutouts, and one of them is host to a male ghost. there are also uncomfortable moments of racism and the native american character gets a combination of positive exposure and downright racism, both through the authors words and other characters.
those uncomfortable moments, chiefly among them the unnecessary transphobia, gave this book two instead of four.
I would live to give this book more stars based on its ability to keep my attention through all the set up drudgery except for a few things.
and here there be spoilers.
the good news: both black characters live! the bad news: tramsphobia rears its massively disgusting head in the last two chapters of the book with absolutely no warning. it serves absolutely no purpose as a barren woman would have been just as logical in the story line, and instead serves to make certain readers uncomfortable or downright furious. along with this, the three named female characters compared to the 9+ named male characters are poorly written cutouts, and one of them is host to a male ghost. there are also uncomfortable moments of racism and the native american character gets a combination of positive exposure and downright racism, both through the authors words and other characters.
those uncomfortable moments, chiefly among them the unnecessary transphobia, gave this book two instead of four.
October 13, 2011
I absolutely LOVED this book. To be honest, this was my first David Golemon book I'd ever read...but it has certainly made me one of his biggest fans. If anyone has ever read one of my own books, they know I'm into paranormal investigations. Granted, mine tends to be more on the cryptozoological side of things, but I also enjoy ghost hunting too. And that's what this book is about. A team of ghost hunters, led by a disgraced psychology professor, investigates the ultimate haunted house...with the ultimate evil residing within its ancient walls.
And let me tell you...the book is plenty scary! There were parts that I definitely would not have felt comfortable going to bed too soon after reading. But it's not just horror. The beauty of this book is that it appeals to a large number of people. There is plenty for the mystery and adventure lover too. As a matter of fact, the book reads like an amazing adventure novel in regards to the diverse and complex characters that comprise the team. Besides the professor, you also have a Native Americam shaman, a clairvoyant with major personality issues, an insomniac with her own personal "uninvited guest", a gangster computer genius, a homicide detective with a chip on his shoulder, and a journalist who's trying to blow the lid off on what she perceives as one of the biggest scams of the century.
The book is multi-layered, let me tell you. There's so much more to this than a simply ghost story. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a great shiverfest!
And let me tell you...the book is plenty scary! There were parts that I definitely would not have felt comfortable going to bed too soon after reading. But it's not just horror. The beauty of this book is that it appeals to a large number of people. There is plenty for the mystery and adventure lover too. As a matter of fact, the book reads like an amazing adventure novel in regards to the diverse and complex characters that comprise the team. Besides the professor, you also have a Native Americam shaman, a clairvoyant with major personality issues, an insomniac with her own personal "uninvited guest", a gangster computer genius, a homicide detective with a chip on his shoulder, and a journalist who's trying to blow the lid off on what she perceives as one of the biggest scams of the century.
The book is multi-layered, let me tell you. There's so much more to this than a simply ghost story. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a great shiverfest!
June 29, 2014
To begin with, this book is a transphobic piece of trash. I am shocked that none of the other negative reviews mention this fact. The trasphobia present in the book is so blatant, and to add insult to injury, cliche to boot. I found it so offensive that was almost literally breath taking.
In addition to being enormously offensive the book was horribly written and very poorly edited. To me it seemed like the first draft of a NaNoWriMo project. Most of the characters-- of which there were way too many-- were severely underdeveloped and extremely boring. While the haunted house could have been interesting, the narrative there constantly was interrupted by a lot of unnecessary politics involving the TV executives. To make matters even worse, the more I read the more clear it became that the author wasn't even bothering to go back and check his own continuity. There were several threads of foreshadowing that were dropped entirely midway through the book and by the end Mr. Goleman was outright contradicting himself, seemingly forgetting what he had written only pages before.
If even all that doesn't scare you off I have one last thing to say. This book wasn't even scary. I am someone who gets scared very very easily but between the unlikable characters that I didn't care for at all and the constant interruptions by the TV executive politics there were only a few scenes that left me feeling even a little freaked out.
In addition to being enormously offensive the book was horribly written and very poorly edited. To me it seemed like the first draft of a NaNoWriMo project. Most of the characters-- of which there were way too many-- were severely underdeveloped and extremely boring. While the haunted house could have been interesting, the narrative there constantly was interrupted by a lot of unnecessary politics involving the TV executives. To make matters even worse, the more I read the more clear it became that the author wasn't even bothering to go back and check his own continuity. There were several threads of foreshadowing that were dropped entirely midway through the book and by the end Mr. Goleman was outright contradicting himself, seemingly forgetting what he had written only pages before.
If even all that doesn't scare you off I have one last thing to say. This book wasn't even scary. I am someone who gets scared very very easily but between the unlikable characters that I didn't care for at all and the constant interruptions by the TV executive politics there were only a few scenes that left me feeling even a little freaked out.
May 18, 2023
I really wanted to like this book more. The author did a good job of setting up the story and characters. It has a lot of problems. Almost way too many characters and most of those characters completely unlikable – which is good to some extent because evil needs some fodder, but it is hard to root for anyone.
The other item that bothered me is that it took a long time for the team to come together and most of the team is hardly in the book. Jenny is pointless and the author spends the rest of the book identifying the rest of the team in a very offensive manner “the big Indian” and “the little black gang member”. I liked the team, but the author spent most of the book on all these other characters that are horrible people, so you are just worn down as a reader when you finally meet the heroes.
The book fell very short on the finale, and it has one of my least favorite tropes. The finale had a great build up, but the final reveal was a letdown. The solution was basically throwing all the stereotypical evil things together into one entity. It didn’t work. It is hard to review without giving away spoilers. Also, I don’t like books where evil is built up to be the unstoppable force and then it goes out in a very predictable way.
The narrator did a good job but with so many characters it was hard to keep up in audio format.
The other item that bothered me is that it took a long time for the team to come together and most of the team is hardly in the book. Jenny is pointless and the author spends the rest of the book identifying the rest of the team in a very offensive manner “the big Indian” and “the little black gang member”. I liked the team, but the author spent most of the book on all these other characters that are horrible people, so you are just worn down as a reader when you finally meet the heroes.
The book fell very short on the finale, and it has one of my least favorite tropes. The finale had a great build up, but the final reveal was a letdown. The solution was basically throwing all the stereotypical evil things together into one entity. It didn’t work. It is hard to review without giving away spoilers. Also, I don’t like books where evil is built up to be the unstoppable force and then it goes out in a very predictable way.
The narrator did a good job but with so many characters it was hard to keep up in audio format.
September 5, 2012
I seldom let the written word scare me to death.
This time I really didn't have a choice in the matter .
Summer Place reminded me so much of a house we'd vacationed in that it was impossible to keep it in perspective that it was merely a fictional tale and not real. Of course the author's insistence that the house is in fact " real" doesn't help much.
The book was a fast-paced, spine tingling , terror inducing ride from a true horror aficionado!! I enjoyed it tremendously. The setting for the haunting, Summer Place is a spectacular gothic mansion which is at face value is a lovely , wonderful hostess.
Too bad she eats all her guests.
That being said I was a little skeptic as I read the tale. The terror kept mounting and mounting and I wondered " how in the name of hell is he going to provide a fitting END to all this ??? " I wasn't disappointed! The climax is chilling! The mystery turns your stomach and the villain is the goddamn king of all things villainy!!
Definitely a favorite!!!
Fabulous fun!!
This time I really didn't have a choice in the matter .
Summer Place reminded me so much of a house we'd vacationed in that it was impossible to keep it in perspective that it was merely a fictional tale and not real. Of course the author's insistence that the house is in fact " real" doesn't help much.
The book was a fast-paced, spine tingling , terror inducing ride from a true horror aficionado!! I enjoyed it tremendously. The setting for the haunting, Summer Place is a spectacular gothic mansion which is at face value is a lovely , wonderful hostess.
Too bad she eats all her guests.
That being said I was a little skeptic as I read the tale. The terror kept mounting and mounting and I wondered " how in the name of hell is he going to provide a fitting END to all this ??? " I wasn't disappointed! The climax is chilling! The mystery turns your stomach and the villain is the goddamn king of all things villainy!!
Definitely a favorite!!!
Fabulous fun!!
July 24, 2013
I am loving this book! The authors note at the beginning hooked me in and so far it's a 5...
Finished...loved it!! I haven't read many "Haunted House" books...what i really liked about this one is it's not just a few people stuck in a scary house with no outside help...in this book there are lots of people stuck inside and out AND the whole world is watching on TV!! The reason the house is "Haunted" turns out to be creepy/sick...but i loved the end/epilogue!!! I didn't think this was a very scary book...when i think scary i think of The Shining...brrrrr! I thought it was well written and quite spooky! I can't wait to read another book by Golemon!
Finished...loved it!! I haven't read many "Haunted House" books...what i really liked about this one is it's not just a few people stuck in a scary house with no outside help...in this book there are lots of people stuck inside and out AND the whole world is watching on TV!! The reason the house is "Haunted" turns out to be creepy/sick...but i loved the end/epilogue!!! I didn't think this was a very scary book...when i think scary i think of The Shining...brrrrr! I thought it was well written and quite spooky! I can't wait to read another book by Golemon!
March 4, 2017
I wanted to like this one, but it didn't work for me. It had a lot of cool elements but it felt too overwrought and hammy. And there were way too many characters and they were poorly managed by the author. (Characters would be referred to by their last name for 100 pages then suddenly referred to by their first name for several pages until I was asking myself "Which guy is that again?") More than anything it was the tv network people, with their silly, cut-throat, ladder-climbing melodrama that soured this one for me... sigh
November 8, 2011
Awesome book!! My first ghostly book and hopefully not my last. I loved the ghost story/mystery and really enjoyed that it didn't have the gore factor.
December 7, 2018
I finished David Golemon's The Supernaturals because I was curious enough to see how the story resolved, but it was a bit of a slog at times. Had the repetitive character descriptions been edited out, it would have been a slightly leaner and significantly more modern story. I kept having to remind myself the the book was from 2017 and not 1977 every time a clunky racial stereotypes popped up. And the villainization of queer embodiment? I'm going to avoid elaborating even though I know that's incredibly vague because I want to avoid spoilers, but mostly because I just don't have time for the manifesto I'd be compelled to write if I tried to explain why that ending was highly problematic.
I picked up the Supernaturals because it was on sale and recommended because I'd just read Kill Creek, another "reality show in a haunted house on Halloween" novel. The Supernaturals is about a ghost hunting reality show staging a live 8 hour broadcast from Summer Place, an infamously haunted estate in the Poconos. Summer Place was the location of a tragedy 7 years prior, when then-skeptical Psychology professor Gabriel Kennedy took a group of students into the house to demonstrate that hauntings were the product of mass hysteria, not ghosts. Then the house ate one of his students. Good thing Kennedy had tenure.
An additional reason I read the book is that one of the characters is an anthropologist. Jennifer Tilden is identified as "the most brilliant anthropologist in the United States, if not the entire world." (Whatever that means). Her status as an anthropologist doesn't have any bearing at all on the story, as it turns out, and barely warrants inclusion in any list of anthropologists in horror fiction, particularly since later in the book she's identified as "a professor of paleontology."
Regardless, Jennifer Tilden isn't part of the team of ghost hunters assembled by disgraced psychology professor Gabriel Kennedy because she's an anthropologist, but because she's being haunted by the ghost of a murdered Blues singer. I make Tilden's situation sound more interesting than it is.
The rest of the team Kennedy assembles suggests he's making every effort to put together a paranormal version of the Village People, although Tilden's ghost is, thankfully, the only one who randomly performs musical numbers. George Cordero, whose profession is merely "a vagrant," is clairvoyant. Leonard "Too Smart" Sickles is a former East LA gang member who is an engineering genius and inventor of fancy ghost detecting technology. John Lonetree isn't just a cop, he's also an Indian. And a dreamwalking Indian, at that.
While the show's host, Kelly Delaphoy, and Julie Reilly, the news anchor who will be hosting the live broadcast, are both depicted as careerist and conniving, it's fair to say that the male executives of the fictional UBC network are written just as negatively, so they all ultimately come across as pretty realistic. Not terribly multi-dimensional, but acceptable.
Rounding out the cast who will be on hand for the broadcast is Pennsylvania State Trooper Damian Jackson. Jackson is the "large black man," not to be confused with Leonard, who is "the small black man" or John Lonetree who is "the big Indian." Everyone else is just a man. "The man walked down the hall." "The man poured a drink." These three are frequently distinguished in the narration by their size and skin color or ethnicity. This is not only lazy writing, it's out of place in a book published in 2017. Even if this was used sparingly to distinguish large Black man Jackson from smaller Black man Sickles, which it isn't and which would still be weird, Lonetree is the only Native in the book so there is no point to reminding us he's "the large Indian" unless it's to exoticize him just a little more before he dreamwalks his way to solving the mystery.
Blah blah blah, running and screaming and haunting. Some people get eaten, others get drunk. Network politics and deer attacks and paranormally induced car accidents ensue. The final chapter sets up the sequel that I might read out of morbid curiosity at some point when it turns up at my local public library.
I picked up the Supernaturals because it was on sale and recommended because I'd just read Kill Creek, another "reality show in a haunted house on Halloween" novel. The Supernaturals is about a ghost hunting reality show staging a live 8 hour broadcast from Summer Place, an infamously haunted estate in the Poconos. Summer Place was the location of a tragedy 7 years prior, when then-skeptical Psychology professor Gabriel Kennedy took a group of students into the house to demonstrate that hauntings were the product of mass hysteria, not ghosts. Then the house ate one of his students. Good thing Kennedy had tenure.
An additional reason I read the book is that one of the characters is an anthropologist. Jennifer Tilden is identified as "the most brilliant anthropologist in the United States, if not the entire world." (Whatever that means). Her status as an anthropologist doesn't have any bearing at all on the story, as it turns out, and barely warrants inclusion in any list of anthropologists in horror fiction, particularly since later in the book she's identified as "a professor of paleontology."
Regardless, Jennifer Tilden isn't part of the team of ghost hunters assembled by disgraced psychology professor Gabriel Kennedy because she's an anthropologist, but because she's being haunted by the ghost of a murdered Blues singer. I make Tilden's situation sound more interesting than it is.
The rest of the team Kennedy assembles suggests he's making every effort to put together a paranormal version of the Village People, although Tilden's ghost is, thankfully, the only one who randomly performs musical numbers. George Cordero, whose profession is merely "a vagrant," is clairvoyant. Leonard "Too Smart" Sickles is a former East LA gang member who is an engineering genius and inventor of fancy ghost detecting technology. John Lonetree isn't just a cop, he's also an Indian. And a dreamwalking Indian, at that.
While the show's host, Kelly Delaphoy, and Julie Reilly, the news anchor who will be hosting the live broadcast, are both depicted as careerist and conniving, it's fair to say that the male executives of the fictional UBC network are written just as negatively, so they all ultimately come across as pretty realistic. Not terribly multi-dimensional, but acceptable.
Rounding out the cast who will be on hand for the broadcast is Pennsylvania State Trooper Damian Jackson. Jackson is the "large black man," not to be confused with Leonard, who is "the small black man" or John Lonetree who is "the big Indian." Everyone else is just a man. "The man walked down the hall." "The man poured a drink." These three are frequently distinguished in the narration by their size and skin color or ethnicity. This is not only lazy writing, it's out of place in a book published in 2017. Even if this was used sparingly to distinguish large Black man Jackson from smaller Black man Sickles, which it isn't and which would still be weird, Lonetree is the only Native in the book so there is no point to reminding us he's "the large Indian" unless it's to exoticize him just a little more before he dreamwalks his way to solving the mystery.
Blah blah blah, running and screaming and haunting. Some people get eaten, others get drunk. Network politics and deer attacks and paranormally induced car accidents ensue. The final chapter sets up the sequel that I might read out of morbid curiosity at some point when it turns up at my local public library.
May 14, 2022
This book was fun, i love haunted houses, but I kept getting weirded out that every time a person of color was referenced. They were ALWAYS introduced and described by phrases such as "large black man", "small brown face", "large indian", "small black man", etc. when most of the time it wasn't necessary. This would be fine if it made sense in the context of the scenes, and if it was only mentioned ONCE for each character.
This is all on top of the female objectification from referencing a female characters' ass about 4 times, and the only female character's being either bitches or waifes. I thought the ending would be worth the weirdness, but honestly, it was anti-climactic.
This is all on top of the female objectification from referencing a female characters' ass about 4 times, and the only female character's being either bitches or waifes. I thought the ending would be worth the weirdness, but honestly, it was anti-climactic.
November 17, 2018
This was possibly the most disappointing book I’ve read this year. It started off fantastically and then quickly trailed off into overly long descriptions, nearly no action, painful lack of proofreading, and the most stereotypical descriptions of characters of color and female characters you’re likely to read in awhile. The end truly is laughable and some of the dialogue was especially painful; more worthy of a B horror movie than a well-written novel. Other 2 star reviews discussed most of these failings so I’ll only add one point others have missed - if you were to make a drinking game of every time the author described someone as “large,” or “small,” or “little” or some size variation you would be suffering alcohol poisoning by the first quarter of the book and dead by the end.
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