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Interference
"SOMETHING wants in. To your head. Through this audiobook."
"Ethan, a digital sound engineer in Los Angeles, becomes aware that his life is unraveling when the audiobook he's listening to reveals his deepest, darkest secrets, escalating until the narrator addresses him directly, threatening to destroy him from within. Vivian, a single mother running an antique store in San Francisco, listens to her audiobook to distract herself from missing her young daughter, but is shaken when the narrative is interrupted by her daughter's voice, faintly calling for help."
"Ethan and Vivian are drawn together as they fight to solve a generation-spanning conspiracy that begins with a boy listening to the Orson Welles broadcast of War of the Worlds in 1938 and evolves through the latest innovations in digital technology, unearthing the mind-bending concept of a POSSIBILITY PARASITE bent on unleashing an explosion of APOCALYPTIC META HORROR."
"From Eric Luke, screenwriter of EXPLORERS, and comic books GHOST and WONDER WOMAN: an experiment in audio horror."
"INTERFERENCE. Just click PLAY..."
I found this as a Free release over on iTunes.
"Ethan, a digital sound engineer in Los Angeles, becomes aware that his life is unraveling when the audiobook he's listening to reveals his deepest, darkest secrets, escalating until the narrator addresses him directly, threatening to destroy him from within. Vivian, a single mother running an antique store in San Francisco, listens to her audiobook to distract herself from missing her young daughter, but is shaken when the narrative is interrupted by her daughter's voice, faintly calling for help."
"Ethan and Vivian are drawn together as they fight to solve a generation-spanning conspiracy that begins with a boy listening to the Orson Welles broadcast of War of the Worlds in 1938 and evolves through the latest innovations in digital technology, unearthing the mind-bending concept of a POSSIBILITY PARASITE bent on unleashing an explosion of APOCALYPTIC META HORROR."
"From Eric Luke, screenwriter of EXPLORERS, and comic books GHOST and WONDER WOMAN: an experiment in audio horror."
"INTERFERENCE. Just click PLAY..."
I found this as a Free release over on iTunes.
330 pages, Audiobook
First published January 1, 2012
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46 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
July 2, 2013
I listened to the audiobook. The author does a great job reading it.
To be honest, it started out slow, and didn't find too much appreciation in the characters until much further in the book than I'd expected. Once it got deeper into the storyline, I was hooked. I spent my entire evening routine in shocked silence as the book progressed. I was rather satisfied with the ending, intense and more meaningful than expected, Luke did a good job personifying the differences of love and allowed the characters to process their stories into a final action. For each character that defeated the antagonist, it was a different kind of love, and was beautifully juxtaposed by the description "Carl the Corpse" and his personal story arc.
I would very much recommend this book, as well as the research that abounded it. (no spoilers) It was well done, and left me pleasantly suprised at the quality. I thank the author for leaving this book up to the public for free, and look forward to reading more of his work!
To be honest, it started out slow, and didn't find too much appreciation in the characters until much further in the book than I'd expected. Once it got deeper into the storyline, I was hooked. I spent my entire evening routine in shocked silence as the book progressed. I was rather satisfied with the ending, intense and more meaningful than expected, Luke did a good job personifying the differences of love and allowed the characters to process their stories into a final action. For each character that defeated the antagonist, it was a different kind of love, and was beautifully juxtaposed by the description "Carl the Corpse" and his personal story arc.
I would very much recommend this book, as well as the research that abounded it. (no spoilers) It was well done, and left me pleasantly suprised at the quality. I thank the author for leaving this book up to the public for free, and look forward to reading more of his work!
February 25, 2016
Never in my life have I been so immersed in an audiobook like I was with Interference. This time, it was hard NOT to pay attention to what I'm listening to. There were some moments that made my skin crawl. It exposes some dark fears you never knew you had.
The book is read by the author and he does an amazing job. I hope we'll see some new material from him soon.
The book is read by the author and he does an amazing job. I hope we'll see some new material from him soon.
November 6, 2013
I just finished listening to the podcast, and WOW, what a ride!
Excellent story-telling blended with Lovecraftian horrors make for a fun, entertaining, horrifying listen.
I'm impressed by Eric Luke's ability to tie together as many different storylines as he did. Normally when authors do that it fails and I end up bored, confused, or both. "Interference" left me feeling as played as one of the main characters, and I loved every minute of it. I always love reading a story where I can tell the author knows more about the world and characters than I'm shown.
Excellent story-telling blended with Lovecraftian horrors make for a fun, entertaining, horrifying listen.
I'm impressed by Eric Luke's ability to tie together as many different storylines as he did. Normally when authors do that it fails and I end up bored, confused, or both. "Interference" left me feeling as played as one of the main characters, and I loved every minute of it. I always love reading a story where I can tell the author knows more about the world and characters than I'm shown.
November 4, 2014
Not bad. Not great, but not bad. I got the podcast/audiobook version of this, read by the author, because I was looking for some good scary stories to listen to over Halloween. I wonder how the experience of it might have differed had I picked up the ebook instead. Just as far as the recording itself (not the story or writing quality) goes: it was okay, erring towards good. More good than bad, really, but suffering under the pitfalls of a, perhaps, too exuberant narrator. The author/narrator does this thing with his voice where it gets needlessly gravelly and gruff to signify something Dramatic or Portentous is happening--and this can carry on for 10, 15, 20 minutes at a time. Entire scenes rendered in a watery approximation of the infamous Bale Batman voice. When he spoke more naturally, without trying to hype up the drama or add in unnecessary dramatic pauses~, the story flowed easily and was much more enjoyable to listen to. I don't mind some drama in a podcast, and it fits sometimes for dialogue or first person narration; but it just was used too liberally here. Maybe that's just the narrator's voice--but I've heard him narrate other stories on other podcasts, without the dramatic reverb, so.
The writing and story itself were--decent. The idea was interesting: multiple disparate characters receive seemingly tailor-made podcasts that then begin giving them instructions, narrating their lives, in order to achieve some unknown goal. The first part of the book interweaves these narratives with flashbacks to the 30s, and a little boy who's life was irrevocably altered after the famous War of the Worlds radio show. Right up until the grand reveal of what happened in Centerville, I was hooked. The story played out like a mystery thriller, laying down clues and wrong turns and potential (and eventually, inevitable) terrible consequences. It had some issues--the beginning was too coy and winking at the reader/listener, there was too much 4th-wall breaking about podcast usage, and it seemed awkwardly self-congratulatory whenever it would talk about how well written or interesting a podcast, i.e. it itself, was--but overall the story was good and progressed, if not quickly, at least with sufficient forward momentum. It was not scary, except for the sudden bursts of audio interference (admittedly, this is #1 on my list of creepy sounds), but did convey a growing sense of dread as the story moved forward. You kept listening because there was something big coming, and the story made you want to know what it was. So that's good.
After the big reveal, that , however, it sort of drifted. I think the real failing of the book, more than anything else, is pacing. Or maybe just a case of mistaken identity--this was a spooky thriller through and through, but seemed to remember it was supposed to be a horror story about 2/3 of the way in and scrambled to fill in the blanks with a lot of violence and mythology and gore. I sort of drifted off the last 2 hours of the podcast, eventually deleting the final chapter, just because I couldn't really keep track of what was going on, who was who or doing what, if people had died, and what even the point of anything happening was anymore. Had the story been shorter, resolved itself in about a third of the time after the big reveal, I think it really would have been stellar. The book doesn't suffer the usual telltale signs of an ebook lacking a proper editor, but it could have used a lot of tightening on the back half. There were honestly too many characters, and what were meant to be meaningful and significant late-in-the-game introductions just became confusing as more perspectives besides the initial five were introduced, only to drop off shortly thereafter. There was just too much happening, particularly in the last third, when everything that ought to have come together harmoniously sounded more like a bunch of forks being thrown at a wall. Again, it's not a bad book; it just could have been better. Maybe it would be different had I read it instead of listened, though I would have then missed out on the audio cues, so who knows.
Either way, I'll probably pick up short stories by this author! He seems more suited to the short form, where he can rein in a tendency to sprawl. Hopefully his next offering is a little more cohesive and quick.
The writing and story itself were--decent. The idea was interesting: multiple disparate characters receive seemingly tailor-made podcasts that then begin giving them instructions, narrating their lives, in order to achieve some unknown goal. The first part of the book interweaves these narratives with flashbacks to the 30s, and a little boy who's life was irrevocably altered after the famous War of the Worlds radio show. Right up until the grand reveal of what happened in Centerville, I was hooked. The story played out like a mystery thriller, laying down clues and wrong turns and potential (and eventually, inevitable) terrible consequences. It had some issues--the beginning was too coy and winking at the reader/listener, there was too much 4th-wall breaking about podcast usage, and it seemed awkwardly self-congratulatory whenever it would talk about how well written or interesting a podcast, i.e. it itself, was--but overall the story was good and progressed, if not quickly, at least with sufficient forward momentum. It was not scary, except for the sudden bursts of audio interference (admittedly, this is #1 on my list of creepy sounds), but did convey a growing sense of dread as the story moved forward. You kept listening because there was something big coming, and the story made you want to know what it was. So that's good.
After the big reveal, that , however, it sort of drifted. I think the real failing of the book, more than anything else, is pacing. Or maybe just a case of mistaken identity--this was a spooky thriller through and through, but seemed to remember it was supposed to be a horror story about 2/3 of the way in and scrambled to fill in the blanks with a lot of violence and mythology and gore. I sort of drifted off the last 2 hours of the podcast, eventually deleting the final chapter, just because I couldn't really keep track of what was going on, who was who or doing what, if people had died, and what even the point of anything happening was anymore. Had the story been shorter, resolved itself in about a third of the time after the big reveal, I think it really would have been stellar. The book doesn't suffer the usual telltale signs of an ebook lacking a proper editor, but it could have used a lot of tightening on the back half. There were honestly too many characters, and what were meant to be meaningful and significant late-in-the-game introductions just became confusing as more perspectives besides the initial five were introduced, only to drop off shortly thereafter. There was just too much happening, particularly in the last third, when everything that ought to have come together harmoniously sounded more like a bunch of forks being thrown at a wall. Again, it's not a bad book; it just could have been better. Maybe it would be different had I read it instead of listened, though I would have then missed out on the audio cues, so who knows.
Either way, I'll probably pick up short stories by this author! He seems more suited to the short form, where he can rein in a tendency to sprawl. Hopefully his next offering is a little more cohesive and quick.
June 19, 2013
Though there are parts of the book I find problematic, I still believe it deserves five stars.
I'm a loser for authors who play to the medium, mangling and throwing it against the wall like a child with clay when the teacher isn't looking. Even though I despise postmodernism, there's something about blurring the line and taking a peak through the crack in the fourth wall that amuses me. As long as it's not pretentious.
Mr. Luke has written a fantastic piece of audio horror fiction. Tangentially, it's a tribute to the great HG Wells' "War of the Worlds," and more so Orson Welles' radio play of the same name. Primarily, Luke plays with the medium of the podcast, and connects it expertly with that thing that all horror fans fall for - the unnameable, mysterious, wholly malevolent Beast.
The book, essentially, follows four characters: Jim, Hank, Vivian, and Ethan. Jim is a boy living in rural California in 1939, consumed by and battling his fear of an unknown dread after listening to the original radio broadcast of "War of the Worlds." Hank is a reclusive sword and sorcery fan, and a giant. Vivian is a single mother and owner of a antique store. Ethan is a heartbroken, freelance sound technician. The latter three become addicted to podcasts, particularly a series by an Anonymous that seems to be tailored specifically to their lives and deepest desires.
The fourth wall breaks pretty early on, and that's where the story really gets going. Listen to it, and be unsettled.
My only major grief with the story is the first half of the 24th episode, but that would be a spoiler and so I won't. Listen to it and decide for yourself if it's problematic. And donate to the guy, because he gave you his novel for free and it's pretty damn good.
I'm a loser for authors who play to the medium, mangling and throwing it against the wall like a child with clay when the teacher isn't looking. Even though I despise postmodernism, there's something about blurring the line and taking a peak through the crack in the fourth wall that amuses me. As long as it's not pretentious.
Mr. Luke has written a fantastic piece of audio horror fiction. Tangentially, it's a tribute to the great HG Wells' "War of the Worlds," and more so Orson Welles' radio play of the same name. Primarily, Luke plays with the medium of the podcast, and connects it expertly with that thing that all horror fans fall for - the unnameable, mysterious, wholly malevolent Beast.
The book, essentially, follows four characters: Jim, Hank, Vivian, and Ethan. Jim is a boy living in rural California in 1939, consumed by and battling his fear of an unknown dread after listening to the original radio broadcast of "War of the Worlds." Hank is a reclusive sword and sorcery fan, and a giant. Vivian is a single mother and owner of a antique store. Ethan is a heartbroken, freelance sound technician. The latter three become addicted to podcasts, particularly a series by an Anonymous that seems to be tailored specifically to their lives and deepest desires.
The fourth wall breaks pretty early on, and that's where the story really gets going. Listen to it, and be unsettled.
My only major grief with the story is the first half of the 24th episode, but that would be a spoiler and so I won't. Listen to it and decide for yourself if it's problematic. And donate to the guy, because he gave you his novel for free and it's pretty damn good.
August 6, 2019
I accidentally came upon this book as I was searching for another book with the same name. It wasn’t until I was halfway through that I realized this wasn’t the book that was recommended to me. I never would have picked this one on my own but by the time I realized my mixup, I was invested in this one.
This was an audiobook listen for me and the narration was fantastic. It was so creepy and spooky at times, I had to take stop listening and look around to ground myself in reality. I half expected the narrator to start calling my name.
The war of the worlds feeling and atmosphere was spooky and creepy. The feeling of evil lurking almost made me give up listening. It was scary but I had to see how the book ended. It was a satisfying ending even though it seemed to take forever to resolve.
The characters were well written—Hal, the giant was particularly horrifying. I liked Ethan and Vivian and Jimmy was interesting. A technique the author used that I enjoyed was how he narrated from inside the thoughts of a character, then another character whose thoughts we heard would pop into the path and we could see them through each others’ eyes. Very effective.
I recommend this book but with s couple of reservations. It is scary and spooky so be prepared. The evil described it unsettling. There is swearing and descriptions of adult content including some gory violence so I couldn’t listen around my children. I would have given it 3.5 stars if I could. I’m glad I finished this book but I don’t think I’ll listen to another of this genre, as I’m just not a spooky, scary horror kind of reader. Now I’ll go find the other Interference book.
This was an audiobook listen for me and the narration was fantastic. It was so creepy and spooky at times, I had to take stop listening and look around to ground myself in reality. I half expected the narrator to start calling my name.
The war of the worlds feeling and atmosphere was spooky and creepy. The feeling of evil lurking almost made me give up listening. It was scary but I had to see how the book ended. It was a satisfying ending even though it seemed to take forever to resolve.
The characters were well written—Hal, the giant was particularly horrifying. I liked Ethan and Vivian and Jimmy was interesting. A technique the author used that I enjoyed was how he narrated from inside the thoughts of a character, then another character whose thoughts we heard would pop into the path and we could see them through each others’ eyes. Very effective.
I recommend this book but with s couple of reservations. It is scary and spooky so be prepared. The evil described it unsettling. There is swearing and descriptions of adult content including some gory violence so I couldn’t listen around my children. I would have given it 3.5 stars if I could. I’m glad I finished this book but I don’t think I’ll listen to another of this genre, as I’m just not a spooky, scary horror kind of reader. Now I’ll go find the other Interference book.
September 23, 2017
I very inventive idea, especially for an audiobook, however I never found myself caring about any of the characters (except maybe for the villain). Had there been some way for it to be even more interactive (like putting in your own name at the beginning and having the narrator repeat YOUR name over and over that would have made it even creepier...maybe in the future we'll be able to do things like that). I think if there were fewer characters I might have had time to understand them better.
April 11, 2014
Riveting. This book truly comes to life in audio. (Maybe not the best book to listen to while jogging alone at night...) The stories of seemingly unconnected people intertwine and come together as the audiobooks they are listening to take a sinister turn. The story is very difficult to put down for about the last third. I highly recommend listening to this book as read by the author.
February 8, 2016
Brilliant concept, horrendously executed. The vignettes of people finding they are listening to audiobooks that are bizarrely about them is a novel approach to story-telling. The problem? The characters are horrible. I have no idea if Luke's concept comes together anywhere beyond 2 hours into the audio version since I bailed.
April 4, 2016
Amazing audio book, just amazing!
January 4, 2018
Warning: short review contains spoilers!
The book rests on a nice concept. Especially, when you consume it as an audio book: An audio book that knows your future. An audiobook, that kills people. It is powered by a "possibility vampire".
As promising as the book starts out, it drags after the first few chapters. As a short story, this would have been awesome, but a lot of the story is dull to me. And that is especially sad, as the ending is again really good. It's fast-paced with dramatic cuts, short scenes that greatly benefit the urgency and action described. If only the rest of the story was more like this.
This book had the chance of being really good. As it is, it rests on an interesting hook and a well-told ending. It's not enough. Not enough of its own possibilities realized.
The book rests on a nice concept. Especially, when you consume it as an audio book: An audio book that knows your future. An audiobook, that kills people. It is powered by a "possibility vampire".
As promising as the book starts out, it drags after the first few chapters. As a short story, this would have been awesome, but a lot of the story is dull to me. And that is especially sad, as the ending is again really good. It's fast-paced with dramatic cuts, short scenes that greatly benefit the urgency and action described. If only the rest of the story was more like this.
This book had the chance of being really good. As it is, it rests on an interesting hook and a well-told ending. It's not enough. Not enough of its own possibilities realized.
May 5, 2021
1) I loved the audiobook, the narration, the tone, the atmosphere, the author does an amazing job with his voice to create ambience, it creeps on you, its so so good.
2)The story is so good, is creepy, its weird, and its just wonderfully done as an audiobook, it really reminds me of night vale horror but without seeing it as something normal, and ofc with a different sense of humor, but still, I enjoyed it so much. Also it has a really nice ending, that's so hard to do, but this book ends just perfectly splendid :).
3)I hate that this is the ONLY book by the author????????? ERIC LUKE PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
2)The story is so good, is creepy, its weird, and its just wonderfully done as an audiobook, it really reminds me of night vale horror but without seeing it as something normal, and ofc with a different sense of humor, but still, I enjoyed it so much. Also it has a really nice ending, that's so hard to do, but this book ends just perfectly splendid :).
3)I hate that this is the ONLY book by the author????????? ERIC LUKE PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
October 25, 2017
I listened to the free audio podcast version of the book, though I would be happy to pay the price of a paperback novel. This is a gripping, pacey, well-characterised narrative, performed by the author in a great audio presentation that would stand alongside the terrific audio podcast novels by Scott Sigler. The narrative link to and sampling of audio from the Orson Welles radio production of H.G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds" adds to the narrative's dark foreboding atmosphere. This is a smart dramatic discussion of the issue of free will vs materialistic determinism / spiritual fatalism.
January 25, 2018
Not sure what drew me to this book. I don't typically go for science fiction. This book had a Twilight Zone feel to it and that may be why I liked it so much. It was somewhat predictable but for me it didn't matter. I loved this book
January 3, 2018
Ok story. Definitely could feel who he was inspired by at times. Really liked the early part of this novel as the town focused on performing the War of the Worlds.
February 20, 2018
4.7 Stars
Incredible story. Loved every minute of it, and the podcast version really set the tone with the sound effects and the author himself reading it. The ending was really good too. Bravo!
Incredible story. Loved every minute of it, and the podcast version really set the tone with the sound effects and the author himself reading it. The ending was really good too. Bravo!
February 22, 2017
I don't usually read horror, but the premise of this seemed so outlandish (basically, it's an audiobook about an evil audiobook), and it seemed like the author might do some interesting / clever things with the format, so I decided to give it a try. Frankly, the fact that it was free also was a big part of what convinced me. I also knew that Luke narrated it, and was very impressed by his narration of some short stories I'd heard elsewhere (which was actually how I heard about the book).
"Outlandish" is definitely a word for this book, though certainly not all in a bad way. There are also some kind of ridiculous elements to the writing style. One example, though a minor one, is that one of the characters refers to his ex-girlfriend in all his inner monologues as "his ex-GF" and hearing the narrator say that why trying to be so serious always made me roll my eyes and groan. Particularly at the beginning, there's too much exposition, as we get the background of every main character basically from birth. And at points the writing seems to be trying a bit too hard to sound serious and literary, especially in the beginning, but it tightens up once the story picks up, though that takes a while. The whole thing actually reminds me a lot of Lovecraft, both in the writing style and in the general feeling of the type of horror / antagonist we're dealing with. My general reaction to Lovecraft is sort of an "it's so bad it's good" approach, and I felt sort of the same way about this, especially because of the implausibility of the whole situation.
The characters are a bit self-involved (though that's sort of the point), but they did go in some interesting directions at the end. If you can buy into the kind of silly premise, the plot actually gets fairly interesting and exciting, with both psychological horror and some monsters. I tend to be kind of a chicken about scary stuff, but I enjoyed this, partly because it comes across mostly as deeply unsettling, though it does get pretty gory in spots. It's also got an interesting plot tie-in to the War of the Worlds radio broadcast, and we get to hear some clips of that, which is fun. Other than general outlandishness, my main complaints plot-wise are 1)there's a bit too much technical detail about sound engineering and podcast distribution and 2) the ending felt a little rushed, and might be a bit on the sappy side for some (I was fine with it, but I'm a little sappy).
This book also makes really good use of audio. the author narrates excellently, and uses lots of effects and sound clips and stuff to try to immerse listeners in the story. Some of it's a little hokey, but it was definitely interesting to see what he chose to do with the medium. Apparently, there's a printed version of this book, but I suspect it would totally fall flat in print, because so many of the nice little touches (and even some of the basic plot) relies a lot on what you and the characters hear.
All in all this is a fun horror story that makes effective use of a somewhat unusual medium, if you can deal with a little bit of implausibility and excess (in terms of writing style, effects, etc.). Sort of like Lovecraft for the digital age, if you will.
You can find it on podiobooks.com or iTunes.
"Outlandish" is definitely a word for this book, though certainly not all in a bad way. There are also some kind of ridiculous elements to the writing style. One example, though a minor one, is that one of the characters refers to his ex-girlfriend in all his inner monologues as "his ex-GF" and hearing the narrator say that why trying to be so serious always made me roll my eyes and groan. Particularly at the beginning, there's too much exposition, as we get the background of every main character basically from birth. And at points the writing seems to be trying a bit too hard to sound serious and literary, especially in the beginning, but it tightens up once the story picks up, though that takes a while. The whole thing actually reminds me a lot of Lovecraft, both in the writing style and in the general feeling of the type of horror / antagonist we're dealing with. My general reaction to Lovecraft is sort of an "it's so bad it's good" approach, and I felt sort of the same way about this, especially because of the implausibility of the whole situation.
The characters are a bit self-involved (though that's sort of the point), but they did go in some interesting directions at the end. If you can buy into the kind of silly premise, the plot actually gets fairly interesting and exciting, with both psychological horror and some monsters. I tend to be kind of a chicken about scary stuff, but I enjoyed this, partly because it comes across mostly as deeply unsettling, though it does get pretty gory in spots. It's also got an interesting plot tie-in to the War of the Worlds radio broadcast, and we get to hear some clips of that, which is fun. Other than general outlandishness, my main complaints plot-wise are 1)there's a bit too much technical detail about sound engineering and podcast distribution and 2) the ending felt a little rushed, and might be a bit on the sappy side for some (I was fine with it, but I'm a little sappy).
This book also makes really good use of audio. the author narrates excellently, and uses lots of effects and sound clips and stuff to try to immerse listeners in the story. Some of it's a little hokey, but it was definitely interesting to see what he chose to do with the medium. Apparently, there's a printed version of this book, but I suspect it would totally fall flat in print, because so many of the nice little touches (and even some of the basic plot) relies a lot on what you and the characters hear.
All in all this is a fun horror story that makes effective use of a somewhat unusual medium, if you can deal with a little bit of implausibility and excess (in terms of writing style, effects, etc.). Sort of like Lovecraft for the digital age, if you will.
You can find it on podiobooks.com or iTunes.
January 12, 2019
Well this book got the lowest I have given to any book for a very very very long time. I am so sorry, I know you put a lot of hard work into this book but it was not narrarated properly. he stopped and started abruptly, could not keep track of who was who and then the story itself, well it lacked a lot. First of all you threw us into a story with NO backstory at all, and I could not tell who was a kid, if it was the adult who used to be the kid, I mean really, I think I need the book in print to read to figure out what the hell is going on. I tried several times to read this and it was an audio book and I even sat in a quiet room all by myself and gave 100% concentration and even pulled out a notebook to take notes so I could u-confuse myself. Lets leave it at that... If you read my reviews you know that I am not hear to read a dust jacket to you, give away the plot, analyze the characters or give you MY opinion about each and everything I liked, or did not like, about the book. I let the book jacket or Goodreads description stand on its own. i am here to tell you if this book, in my humble opinion, is worth your valuable time and hard earned money. This book is a READ AT YOUR OWN RISK book!!!!!
October 7, 2016
One of my brilliant former graduate students recommended this to me as a Lovecraftian story, and it's sublime. Don't miss this! The podiobook unfolds in twenty-four episodes, and then it's done. Described as "an experiment in audio horror" (oh yeah!), here's the tantalizing blurb:
"SOMETHING wants in. To your head. Through this audiobook. Ethan, a digital sound engineer in Los Angeles, becomes aware that his life is unraveling when the audiobook he's listening to reveals his deepest, darkest secrets, escalating until the narrator addresses him directly, threatening to destroy him from within. Vivian, a single mother running an antique store in San Francisco, listens to her audiobook to distract herself from missing her young daughter, but is shaken when the narrative is interrupted by her daughter's voice, faintly calling for help. Ethan and Vivian are drawn together as they fight to solve a generation-spanning conspiracy that begins with a boy listening to the Orson Welles broadcast of War of the Worlds in 1938 and evolves through the latest innovations in digital technology..."
I love how the individual weird tales link together into a spooky, intense, and deeply humane conclusion.
"SOMETHING wants in. To your head. Through this audiobook. Ethan, a digital sound engineer in Los Angeles, becomes aware that his life is unraveling when the audiobook he's listening to reveals his deepest, darkest secrets, escalating until the narrator addresses him directly, threatening to destroy him from within. Vivian, a single mother running an antique store in San Francisco, listens to her audiobook to distract herself from missing her young daughter, but is shaken when the narrative is interrupted by her daughter's voice, faintly calling for help. Ethan and Vivian are drawn together as they fight to solve a generation-spanning conspiracy that begins with a boy listening to the Orson Welles broadcast of War of the Worlds in 1938 and evolves through the latest innovations in digital technology..."
I love how the individual weird tales link together into a spooky, intense, and deeply humane conclusion.
February 14, 2016
I think I would give this audiobook 3.5 stars if I could, but I bumped it up because I think the quality you get for a self-published work deserves it.
Interference advertises itself as "a meta horror audiobook about an audiobook... that kills!" on Eric Luke's Twitter page. The writing is decent, the characters are decent, and the horror creature/monster was effectively mysterious, impossible, and somehow fallible. The narration is good, I'm a big fan, and the production is VERY good. The story is a bit self-referential in its self-published-audiobook-about-self-published-audiobooks-ness, but I think it's also self-aware enough to pull it off. Hank was the scariest part of the book for me, interesting in how suggestible he was, almost too real inside of his flaws. All of the characters were authentic and reacted in ways that I think real people would in their situations.
The story meanders a bit. I think it could have benefited from some editing down. I was expecting something more immersive going in, and that was a missed opportunity in some ways, but the story was solid enough to keep me invested. I would recommend it for fans of the horror genre for sure.
Interference advertises itself as "a meta horror audiobook about an audiobook... that kills!" on Eric Luke's Twitter page. The writing is decent, the characters are decent, and the horror creature/monster was effectively mysterious, impossible, and somehow fallible. The narration is good, I'm a big fan, and the production is VERY good. The story is a bit self-referential in its self-published-audiobook-about-self-published-audiobooks-ness, but I think it's also self-aware enough to pull it off. Hank was the scariest part of the book for me, interesting in how suggestible he was, almost too real inside of his flaws. All of the characters were authentic and reacted in ways that I think real people would in their situations.
The story meanders a bit. I think it could have benefited from some editing down. I was expecting something more immersive going in, and that was a missed opportunity in some ways, but the story was solid enough to keep me invested. I would recommend it for fans of the horror genre for sure.
November 20, 2014
He knew now that the world was a nightmare that could burst open at any moment, that the life he had known was the illusion, that there were other things behind it that were much more real. Things waiting to come through.
I downloaded this audiobook as a podcast series, in 25 episodes. I would class the story as a crossover between horror and science fiction, as it is a Lovecraftian tale of cosmic horror whose plot is triggered by Orson Welles' radio production of the War of the Worlds. I enjoyed listening to it. I don't want to spoil the story, so I won't say any more about it except that "Interference" was innocuous compared to the books that the main characters were downloading.
I downloaded this audiobook as a podcast series, in 25 episodes. I would class the story as a crossover between horror and science fiction, as it is a Lovecraftian tale of cosmic horror whose plot is triggered by Orson Welles' radio production of the War of the Worlds. I enjoyed listening to it. I don't want to spoil the story, so I won't say any more about it except that "Interference" was innocuous compared to the books that the main characters were downloading.
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July 10, 2016I really wanted to like this. As an audiobook fan, the idea of audiobook paralleling my life was a great hook. Unfortunately, the author read this himself (why, oh why, do they do this?? Authors and narrators are two completely different skill sets!). And the story, while engaging enough to begin, was too difficult to follow. The author/reader had limited voice capabilities and when the story switched, I didn't catch on quickly enough...and this persisted through the entire book. Honestly, the only reason I stuck this out was because this book, which is about finding your own name in an audiobook, had a primary character with my dad's name. I wondered how things would end up for him. (It didn't end well so I'm saved from recommending it to him.)
July 31, 2016
Believable and likeable characters behaving exactly as the listener/reader would behave given similar situations with one of the most ingenious ideas for an audiobook I've encountered. Imagine you were listening to an audiobook, maybe one very similar to this one, and it starts to describe your own life -- your own life at the very moment you are listening, and eventually it speaks to you personally. That is only the beginning of the creepy Lovecraftian apocalyptic goings on in this riveting scare fest. This is turn-down-the-lights-and-grab-some-popcorn Hollywood blockbuster fare. It may not stay with you or change your life, but it will certainly entertain while delivering its solidly written immersive atmosphere of dread. (Perhaps 3 and a half stars rounded up to 4.)
June 6, 2013
What if the audiobook/podcast that you're listening to is about you? Right now. Weird, huh? What if the War of the Worlds wasn't just some great scifi story/radio drama but tied to a REAL alien invasion? Three people trying to escape by listening to podcasted stories that they realize are suddenly not fictional fripperies but are manipulating their lives for something more. The greater evil.
It has a few bumps along the way but overall I found I didn't want to stop listening to the story. Fun ride without the missiles from Mars.
It has a few bumps along the way but overall I found I didn't want to stop listening to the story. Fun ride without the missiles from Mars.
July 14, 2016
I really wanted to like this book, because I love it when authors take risks and try new things. This one just didn't work for me though.
Also, a character's Prius is kind of a key piece of the narration, and it felt like the author had never been in a Prius before. References to the Prius's key being "the largest on the key ring" (they use key fobs, not regular keys), and the Prius's "roaring engine" were distracting and just bad writing. One example of the many editing issues with the book.
Also, a character's Prius is kind of a key piece of the narration, and it felt like the author had never been in a Prius before. References to the Prius's key being "the largest on the key ring" (they use key fobs, not regular keys), and the Prius's "roaring engine" were distracting and just bad writing. One example of the many editing issues with the book.
September 20, 2016
This was a delightfully creepy story. I liked the premise of an audiobook that begins to speak to its listener, especially since I listed to this as an audiobook. The characters were believable and I honestly really just liked the story. It bopped from present day to the past and between different characters' stories really well.
June 1, 2013
It's very hard to write a book (or podiobook) which effectively breaks the fourth wall. This one comes close to complete success, hindered only by a weak climax and a slight issue with the internal logic of the horror.
Really creepy in parts. Nice use of redemption imagery.
Really creepy in parts. Nice use of redemption imagery.
December 4, 2015
An interesting concept, but it didn't quite come together right in my opinion. Since I listened to it as a podcast, it was easy to be carried along and I think I enjoyed it more than I would have if I tried reading it, wading through the interaction of generally unlikable characters.
July 11, 2016
Great idea and story, even though a bit slow at the beginning. The audio version sounded a bit too dramatic at first but afterwards I liked it. The characters are not very likeable and not too complex. Still quite an enjoyable read.
July 19, 2016
I'm not a Sci Fi person, so some really good & fun books always fall apart at the end for me when the supernatural crescendo peaks. But, I really enjoyed it but I'm incapable of buying the third act of this or any other sci fi yarn I've read so far.
My personal cross to bear.
My personal cross to bear.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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