Ectostorm

Stanley Cooper Chronicles #3

by Scott A. Johnson

Stanley Cooper has been through hell. He's protected Pittsburgh from demons, monsters, and madmen for years, and survived to tell the tale. When he discovers a group of people like him, people who died and came back, he hopes for answers. What he gets, however, is death, demons on his tail, and the traitor of evergreen after him for reasons unknown.

342 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2012

About the author

Scott A. Johnson is the author of ten novels, three true ghost guides, a chapbook, and a short story collection, all in the horror genre. He currently lives somewhere near Austin, Texas, with his wife, daughter, four cats, a pug, a chihuahua, and a corn snake. He is an avid martial artist, rides a motorcycle, and enjoys watching hockey.

Reviews

[Rhonda Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Ectostorm, author Scott A. Johnson does what I love to see great writers do: he takes his exemplary writing to an even higher level. A fan of the Stanley Cooper chronicles since the first book, Vermin, I was completely awed by the characters in the latest installment. I already felt like I knew them intimately, but just as we don’t always know everything we think we do about even close friends, Stanley and his crew drew me deeper into their world.

One of the most distinguishing characteristics of Johnson’s writing is his uncanny ability to perfectly portray the average Joe in not so average circumstances. His readers get, in no nonsense terms, the person and the person’s feelings about all that is going on around him or her. Ectostorm took this talent to another place with the palpable feelings and emotions Johnson evokes. Stanley Cooper’s guilt is a living thing that reaches from the pages and grabs the readers’ heart. His devastation chokes the reader with its bulk. And Stanley’s realization that his family feels the same about him as he does them is such a vivid moment that the reader feels as if the discovery is theirs along with him.

Johnson also plays on one of my personal mantras, in that “your family is who you choose them to be”. It’s quite difficult to drum up sympathy and support for the family we’re born into, because we have no choice in that matter. However, when we create a family, feelings are vested in a way that bind forever. Stanley, Maggie, Andi and their living store are such a bonded family. And each member would go, and pretty much have gone, to hell on earth and back for the others.

Make no mistake: with all the talk of emotions and feelings, this book is filled with gory details and creepy un-dead, returned dead and strange creatures. The difference between Ectostorm and the average horror novel is that readers of all genres can enjoy the twists and turns of not so ordinary Stanley and his crew as they navigate the storm created by the newest supernatural bad guys along with everyday crises.

[Querus Abuttu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scott Johnson's novel "Ectostorm," the third in a series, shows that sometimes a series doesn't weaken but can actually gain strength. Where some novels fail to keep an interesting plot line with successive stories, Johnson packs a wallop into a roller-coaster of prose. Stanley Cooper is a character whose voice remains true to the after-dead seeing man that he is. His 'voice' in this story is engaging and realistic, and when I read through the pages I felt just as if he were talking personally to me. I went on his journey, and I rooted for him all the way despite his character flaws which reminded me of my own. The other thing I love about Stanley Cooper's character is his humor. Scott Johnson writes this character with that semi-sarcastic/realistic-take humor that many of us have when something bad happens. It's endearing and it made me love the unlikely hero all the more.

Stanley Cooper goes through some major trials and tribulations in this supernatural tale, and I enjoyed the main character's insightful perspective as much as his otherworldly vision shifts. If you haven't read Scott Johnson's "Stanley Cooper Chronicles" and if you enjoy an excellent tale, then please pick this book up. It's fast paced, reads easily and it's a ton of fun. Even if you haven't read the first two, this novel stands on its own. But beware, it will make you want to go back and read the others.

Nuff said!

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[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Third entry in the refreshingly different Stanley Cooper urban fantasy/horror series. I like Stanley as the reluctant 'regular guy' protagonist, his 'team,' and the Pittsburgh setting is a nice change. Johnson is sparing with the humor one typically finds in most of this subgenre and that suits me fine. I love humorous novels, but don't think humor and horror are always a good pairing. Humor diminishes the impact of horror and realistic horror dampens humor, IMO. Johnson also takes the time to show realistic emotional impact of his horrific happenings on his characters--something most horror writers gloss over. The ending seems to point to a sequel.