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Echoes of Old Souls
Here and there, a song is played...
Within it, you can hear the echo of old souls.
From the whimsical to the troubling, Nika Harper’s debut collection of short stories imagines a world where death may not be the end. A family’s legacy can live on, an artist can continue painting his perfection, and local ghost stories may be more than tall tales. Harper weaves stories of love and loss, hopes and horrors, that question the true meaning of “forever.”
Within it, you can hear the echo of old souls.
From the whimsical to the troubling, Nika Harper’s debut collection of short stories imagines a world where death may not be the end. A family’s legacy can live on, an artist can continue painting his perfection, and local ghost stories may be more than tall tales. Harper weaves stories of love and loss, hopes and horrors, that question the true meaning of “forever.”
130 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 10, 2013
15 people are currently reading
207 people want to read
About the author
Nika Harper
3 books286 followersNika Harper writes books, hosts vlogs, and loves dinosaurs. She writes short stories on her blog typeface tales, on her regular tumblr and for the Geek & Sundry WordPlay vlog.
She likes to make people smile.
She likes to make people smile.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
August 10, 2016
A collection of short stories linked by a common theme of old souls that keep returning, this book is a really fresh take on the ghost story genre. Some stories are really sweet and touching, some profound and thought provoking and some downright chilling. Well worth a read.
February 1, 2015
I have a word for you: lyrical.
It’s a word that I cannot apply to nearly enough literature, but I must apply it here. Like the echoes to which it speaks, this collection of short stories resonates with the beauty of old souls returned. I want to call it a ghost story, but that wouldn’t quite be doing it justice. Tales of rebirth might be more accurate, but they run the gamut from stirring elegies of sorts to the humor many might more generally associate with "the Nikasaur," to downright “spooky” tales of what connects us to this earth, and however many lives that might entail.
Of course, the short story format may not be immediately apparent to everyone. Echoes of Old Souls is divided into chapters, and the only thing denoting the chapter change are the names of those old souls contained within. So if you’re not careful, you might mistake it for a building of quite a cast of characters (which it is, in many regards, anyhow). When I say short, I mean very, very short. Most stories are only a couple pages long and it feels more like you are hopping from brain to brain rather than getting in-depth engagement with characters—but what Ms. Harper manages to do in those short spans is admirable.
Her writing has a poetic quality that paints some very human, if ethereal portraits—in all their myriad shades. It’s a fine debut, and will engage your curiosity.
It’s a word that I cannot apply to nearly enough literature, but I must apply it here. Like the echoes to which it speaks, this collection of short stories resonates with the beauty of old souls returned. I want to call it a ghost story, but that wouldn’t quite be doing it justice. Tales of rebirth might be more accurate, but they run the gamut from stirring elegies of sorts to the humor many might more generally associate with "the Nikasaur," to downright “spooky” tales of what connects us to this earth, and however many lives that might entail.
Of course, the short story format may not be immediately apparent to everyone. Echoes of Old Souls is divided into chapters, and the only thing denoting the chapter change are the names of those old souls contained within. So if you’re not careful, you might mistake it for a building of quite a cast of characters (which it is, in many regards, anyhow). When I say short, I mean very, very short. Most stories are only a couple pages long and it feels more like you are hopping from brain to brain rather than getting in-depth engagement with characters—but what Ms. Harper manages to do in those short spans is admirable.
Her writing has a poetic quality that paints some very human, if ethereal portraits—in all their myriad shades. It’s a fine debut, and will engage your curiosity.
April 13, 2014
In "Echoes of Old Souls" author Nika Harper takes readers through multiple points of view of the most inevitable fact of life; death. Ranging from stories that have the classic "haunted house" feel to more ethereal, almost Pygmalion mythological feel, Harper gives voice to several different traditions regarding life, humor, loss, death and sometimes all in one story.
Creepy, heartwarming, morose and funny, this book covers a full range of emotions as readers engage with each new story.
This is a splendid first work and I will be interested to see what Harper comes up with next.
Allison Hawn - Author of "Life is a Circus Run by a Platypus"
Creepy, heartwarming, morose and funny, this book covers a full range of emotions as readers engage with each new story.
This is a splendid first work and I will be interested to see what Harper comes up with next.
Allison Hawn - Author of "Life is a Circus Run by a Platypus"
August 19, 2013
Having become a big fan of Nika Harper since her introduction on Geek&Sundry I have been trying to read anything I can get my hands on. This book is not my usual fare but I found the stories interesting, creepy, enlightening, inspiring and overall enjoyable. I really hope she starts to release novels in the near future.
February 12, 2014
The book is beautifully written. I sometime had the feeling, that the words were carefully picked. It doesn't feel foreced, it simply is good. The stories vary from heart-breaking to creepy. Every one of them has their own charm. If you are a fan of poetry and word-smithing, you really should pick this book up.
December 3, 2013
Glad I got this one! Had zero idea what to expect when I started, but was pleasantly surprised with both the quality and substance of her writing. Some of the stories made you want to cry, some were funny, and many were hair raising.
June 15, 2014
This collection of short stories is wonderful - I really enjoyed Nika Harper's writing. She's a very talented author, and if this book is any indication, it is the first of many fantastic books to come. Bravo!
September 19, 2014
If you like lyrical writing mixed with a deep curiosity about what connects humans to this life (or the next) read Nika Harper, she writes like a beautiful poem.
June 12, 2021
This is a really nice collection of vignettes but it doesn't have the feel of an arc like you have in something like The House on Mango Street. That's really the only thing that's missing, because really good idea driving you through each of the segments (I don't think they are substantial enough to be called stories). The pieces are good, it just needs some kind of underlying structure or maybe connective tissue bridging the gap from one story to the next.
May 29, 2015
An old concept, retold well.
What if souls were eternal, and what if some souls could remember past lives? What if souls could transmigrate between bodies or possess others? Building on this premise, Nika constructs numerous scenarios that flesh out these echoes.
Of note is that each chapter is a self contained short story that explores the above concept. I suspect that the chapters could be read in any order - I haven't discovered an overarching theme yet.
Some of the stories are sweet, some thoughtful, some creepy. There was just one story I particularly disliked, and it dealt with incest. I knew it was coming from the beginning of the chapter, but yeah.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, and as I read it, the constant thought in my mind was that it needed Kate Bush's "Snowed in on Wheeler Street" as the soundtrack. Try it sometime - they complement each other.
A personal note: I had purchased the book sometime in 2013, but never got to reading it till 2015. It was only at the end of the book, ever there is a picture of the author that I realised that I had met her back in 2011 when she worked as for Riot games. (IEM NYC)
What if souls were eternal, and what if some souls could remember past lives? What if souls could transmigrate between bodies or possess others? Building on this premise, Nika constructs numerous scenarios that flesh out these echoes.
Of note is that each chapter is a self contained short story that explores the above concept. I suspect that the chapters could be read in any order - I haven't discovered an overarching theme yet.
Some of the stories are sweet, some thoughtful, some creepy. There was just one story I particularly disliked, and it dealt with incest. I knew it was coming from the beginning of the chapter, but yeah.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, and as I read it, the constant thought in my mind was that it needed Kate Bush's "Snowed in on Wheeler Street" as the soundtrack. Try it sometime - they complement each other.
A personal note: I had purchased the book sometime in 2013, but never got to reading it till 2015. It was only at the end of the book, ever there is a picture of the author that I realised that I had met her back in 2011 when she worked as for Riot games. (IEM NYC)
November 18, 2015
The first story in this collection is lovely, haunting, interesting. It was a strong piece, and a great introduction. However, the rest of the stories fell flat.
These stories are 90% telling, with virtually no showing. Much of the sentences are structured like lists. In the first handful, there is a story about domestic abuse and another about dying from cancer, and neither have anything new or interesting to contribute to the topics. It's one of my personal pet peeves, young authors trotting out cancer and abuse for emotional appeal instead of just telling a story well.
I only got about 30% of the way through the book, but every story had the same hallmarks - dry, "telling" writing, list sentences, and stories with no solid conclusions. They all sort of just hang at the end, instead of rounding out the story. All hallmarks of a new writer who definitely has promise, but needs to polish her writing skills before publishing more.
Did not finish.
These stories are 90% telling, with virtually no showing. Much of the sentences are structured like lists. In the first handful, there is a story about domestic abuse and another about dying from cancer, and neither have anything new or interesting to contribute to the topics. It's one of my personal pet peeves, young authors trotting out cancer and abuse for emotional appeal instead of just telling a story well.
I only got about 30% of the way through the book, but every story had the same hallmarks - dry, "telling" writing, list sentences, and stories with no solid conclusions. They all sort of just hang at the end, instead of rounding out the story. All hallmarks of a new writer who definitely has promise, but needs to polish her writing skills before publishing more.
Did not finish.
March 3, 2015
Nika Harper's collection of short stories are tales of being taken over, controlled by another soul, an echo of another person. You cannot change another person, only influence them into changing themselves, so if you were to be taken over by another person you would have no control over them or yourself. No choice, no freedom. No hope.
Nika's stories are beautifully written and haunting as heck. They allow you to look into the mindset of another person who can be entirely different from yourself and experience how they think and feel, all the while experiencing a sense of the uncanny that sticks with you.
Nika's stories are beautifully written and haunting as heck. They allow you to look into the mindset of another person who can be entirely different from yourself and experience how they think and feel, all the while experiencing a sense of the uncanny that sticks with you.
October 26, 2024
A collection of short stories that feels like most of the interesting ones (or at least the ones that I liked the most) were in the first half of the book.
But I enjoyed the multiple ways of looking at how “forever” can be explained/experienced by different people.
Stories I enjoyed in this include, the artist in the museum, the student talking to her teacher and the 9 year old talking to his grandad.
A nice quick read for Autumn.
On a reread…
This isn’t as much of a great collection as I remember. But the advantage is it’s a short story collection, if you’re not into the story it’ll soon be over.
But I enjoyed the multiple ways of looking at how “forever” can be explained/experienced by different people.
Stories I enjoyed in this include, the artist in the museum, the student talking to her teacher and the 9 year old talking to his grandad.
A nice quick read for Autumn.
On a reread…
This isn’t as much of a great collection as I remember. But the advantage is it’s a short story collection, if you’re not into the story it’ll soon be over.
March 17, 2013
The stories are captivating well written and are just what i needed to read on my day off, with so much packed in so little you wont be able to put it down. Great read on a Sunday or any day which you just want to get away, I recommend this to all of those League of Legends fans or just people interested in a great written book. Much hugs from your #1 random fan.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 30, 2014
Quick review:overall great first (I think it is her first) book, and some of these stories could be turned into novels (especially the story about Annie and the civil war ghost story). Some extra editing would have helped but it did not matter - I still enjoyed the variety of themes/plots/settings/characters :)
December 3, 2014
Really liked this but it took me awhile to figure out each chapter was a story in itself and not a part of the whole.
February 24, 2016
A brilliant and chilling view of the different ways souls could live on after death. From uplifting and happy to the terrifying consequences. A great read
December 23, 2015
Back half of the book has some fantastic shorts on how death effects people differently. Early half wasn't as compelling or thought provoking.
October 11, 2016
A wonderful, eloquently written book. The stories were interesting and engaging. Overall, it was an enjoyable book to read.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews