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Smallville #3
Hauntings
Twelve years ago a child from a distant planet fell to Earth in a lethal hail of meteors. And one sleepy town in Kansas was transformed forever. Smallville - it's not the place it was. Just ask the locals. Ginger's family know all about the rumours of ghosts when they take on the farmhouse near Clark and Lana's homes. What they don't realise is that weird stuff in Smallville usually equates with Seriously Dangerous. Something has transformed these particular phantoms into sinister engines of vengeance, and pretty soon Clark, Lana and Ginger are all that stand in their path. But will Clark's developing superpowers be of any use in a battle against disembodied spirits of the dead.? Look out for these great Smallville Strange Visitors by Roger Stern Dragon by Alan Grant
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 16, 2003
4 people are currently reading
243 people want to read
About the author
Nancy Holder
351 books2,407 followersNancy Holder, New York Times Bestselling author of the WICKED Series, has just published CRUSADE - the first book in a new vampire series cowritten with Debbie Viguie. The last book her her Possession series is set to release in March 2011.
Nancy was born in Los Altos, California, and her family settled for a time in Walnut Creek. Her father, who taught at Stanford, joined the navy and the family traveled throughout California and lived in Japan for three years. When she was sixteen, she dropped out of high school to become a ballet dancer in Cologne, Germany, and later relocated to Frankfurt Am Main.
Eventually she returned to California and graduated summa cum laude from the University of California at San Diego with a degree in Communications. Soon after, she began to write; her first sale was a young adult romance novel titled Teach Me to Love.
Nancy’s work has appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, LA Times, amazon.com, LOCUS, and other bestseller lists. A four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award from the Horror Writers Association, she has also received accolades from the American Library Association, the American Reading Association, the New York Public Library, and Romantic Times.
She and Debbie Viguié co-authored the New York Times bestselling series Wicked for Simon and Schuster. They have continued their collaboration with the Crusade series, also for Simon and Schuster, and the Wolf Springs Chronicles for Delacorte (2011.) She is also the author of the young adult horror series Possessions for Razorbill. She has sold many novels and book projects set in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Saving Grace, Hellboy, and Smallville universes.
She has sold approximately two hundred short stories and essays on writing and popular culture. Her anthology, Outsiders, co-edited with Nancy Kilpatrick, was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award in 2005.
She teaches in the Stonecoast MFA in Creative Writing Program, offered through the University of Southern Maine. She has previously taught at UCSD and has served on the Clarion Board of Directors.
She lives in San Diego, California, with her daughter Belle, their two Corgis, Panda and Tater; and their cats, David and Kittnen Snow. She and Belle are active in Girl Scouts and dog obedience training.
Nancy was born in Los Altos, California, and her family settled for a time in Walnut Creek. Her father, who taught at Stanford, joined the navy and the family traveled throughout California and lived in Japan for three years. When she was sixteen, she dropped out of high school to become a ballet dancer in Cologne, Germany, and later relocated to Frankfurt Am Main.
Eventually she returned to California and graduated summa cum laude from the University of California at San Diego with a degree in Communications. Soon after, she began to write; her first sale was a young adult romance novel titled Teach Me to Love.
Nancy’s work has appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, LA Times, amazon.com, LOCUS, and other bestseller lists. A four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award from the Horror Writers Association, she has also received accolades from the American Library Association, the American Reading Association, the New York Public Library, and Romantic Times.
She and Debbie Viguié co-authored the New York Times bestselling series Wicked for Simon and Schuster. They have continued their collaboration with the Crusade series, also for Simon and Schuster, and the Wolf Springs Chronicles for Delacorte (2011.) She is also the author of the young adult horror series Possessions for Razorbill. She has sold many novels and book projects set in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Saving Grace, Hellboy, and Smallville universes.
She has sold approximately two hundred short stories and essays on writing and popular culture. Her anthology, Outsiders, co-edited with Nancy Kilpatrick, was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award in 2005.
She teaches in the Stonecoast MFA in Creative Writing Program, offered through the University of Southern Maine. She has previously taught at UCSD and has served on the Clarion Board of Directors.
She lives in San Diego, California, with her daughter Belle, their two Corgis, Panda and Tater; and their cats, David and Kittnen Snow. She and Belle are active in Girl Scouts and dog obedience training.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 2, 2024
The first book I read in the secondary Smallville series, the one aimed at much older young adults, as opposed to the enjoyable ones aimed more at middle-school to high school readers, was Dean Wesley Smith’s Whodunnit, and I loved it. As a huge fan of the show, that really excellent story afforded me some nostalgic time with Clark, Lex, Lana, Pete, Lex’s dad and Clark’s dad, Jonathan, and of course Alison Mack’s, Chloe, who is a favorite of mine.
Whodunnit, in addition to being a Smallville novel where I could spend time with the beloved characters, was a really good murder mystery to boot. We knew who Clark was, but there we got to see his very human side, the high school side. It didn’t bother me that a lot of Clark’s abilities were on the back-burner, or that it was more an involving murder mystery, because it was so well executed.
Perhaps Smith already had a story and simply adapted it to the Smallville gang, as some suggested, but if so, it was done so well it felt more like a Smallville story that just happened to be a murder mystery, rather than something involving or expanding on the Superman mythology. And that brings me to Nancy Holder’s Hauntings…
I’m always hit and miss with the adaptations she writes for a lot of shows, with some being great, others not so great. When Hauntings began I was jazzed about it, and it was well written, but gradually I found more and more time passing between picking the story up. I eventually came to realize that was because I wasn’t invested enough. Here it felt like Holder had a dark supernatural story to tell — which she so loves — and Smallville be hanged, she’d just plug Clark and the gang in and turn it into a Smallville book. She got the characters right for the most part, and there was nothing wrong with the story, which is why I’m giving it a solid four stars. But it was missing something, and it wasn’t until late in the book that I figured out what it was.
While setting Whodunnit in the Smallville world just added dimensions and enjoyment to Dean Wesley Smith’s story, here it actually did feel like Hauntings could have been a book for teens about a haunting, with any group of teenagers plugged in. Whodunnit felt like a Smallville book, even if it was a murder mystery with only brief flashes of Clark’s powers. It was human and it was real, even resonating in a way. Hauntings felt like, in typical Holder fashion, she wanted to go to her supernatural comfort zone and plugged the Smallville characters in to accommodate the story. She plugged them in nicely enough, it had it’s moments, but it’s almost forgettable once you turn the final page.
I’m not comparing authors, because everyone writes differently, but rather comparing quality of stories. Holder can be great sometimes with these adaptations, but here I think she allowed the story she wanted to tell, which didn’t really fit in with the characters and show, to take precedent over the Smallville world we love. She wrote it well, it isn’t bad, and it’s worth reading, but I’ll reread Whodunnit long before I reread Hauntings, if ever, because it feels like a book where the Smallville characters were plugged in, rather than a Smallville book with an atypical story-line, like in Whodunnit. Good, but somehow lacking due to story choice.
Whodunnit, in addition to being a Smallville novel where I could spend time with the beloved characters, was a really good murder mystery to boot. We knew who Clark was, but there we got to see his very human side, the high school side. It didn’t bother me that a lot of Clark’s abilities were on the back-burner, or that it was more an involving murder mystery, because it was so well executed.
Perhaps Smith already had a story and simply adapted it to the Smallville gang, as some suggested, but if so, it was done so well it felt more like a Smallville story that just happened to be a murder mystery, rather than something involving or expanding on the Superman mythology. And that brings me to Nancy Holder’s Hauntings…
I’m always hit and miss with the adaptations she writes for a lot of shows, with some being great, others not so great. When Hauntings began I was jazzed about it, and it was well written, but gradually I found more and more time passing between picking the story up. I eventually came to realize that was because I wasn’t invested enough. Here it felt like Holder had a dark supernatural story to tell — which she so loves — and Smallville be hanged, she’d just plug Clark and the gang in and turn it into a Smallville book. She got the characters right for the most part, and there was nothing wrong with the story, which is why I’m giving it a solid four stars. But it was missing something, and it wasn’t until late in the book that I figured out what it was.
While setting Whodunnit in the Smallville world just added dimensions and enjoyment to Dean Wesley Smith’s story, here it actually did feel like Hauntings could have been a book for teens about a haunting, with any group of teenagers plugged in. Whodunnit felt like a Smallville book, even if it was a murder mystery with only brief flashes of Clark’s powers. It was human and it was real, even resonating in a way. Hauntings felt like, in typical Holder fashion, she wanted to go to her supernatural comfort zone and plugged the Smallville characters in to accommodate the story. She plugged them in nicely enough, it had it’s moments, but it’s almost forgettable once you turn the final page.
I’m not comparing authors, because everyone writes differently, but rather comparing quality of stories. Holder can be great sometimes with these adaptations, but here I think she allowed the story she wanted to tell, which didn’t really fit in with the characters and show, to take precedent over the Smallville world we love. She wrote it well, it isn’t bad, and it’s worth reading, but I’ll reread Whodunnit long before I reread Hauntings, if ever, because it feels like a book where the Smallville characters were plugged in, rather than a Smallville book with an atypical story-line, like in Whodunnit. Good, but somehow lacking due to story choice.
February 4, 2019
So far my least favorite of the Smallville books. While it was decently written, it focused too much on the supernatural rather than the superheroic. Once I saw Nancy Holder's previous works, it made sense that the book was more about poltergeists than powers. Bottom line is, this was a story that could easily have been told without any of the Smallville characters. Insert generic teen squad, and the story wouldn't miss a beat.
September 28, 2024
This one has a bit of a different vibe for a Smallville tie-in. Holder has written many Buffy tie-ins, so she brings some of that spooky energy to Smallville with a plot involving ghosts and a haunted house.
Unfortunately, for me personally it fell flat.
The prologue is amazing and hits you with a whole lot all at once: a husband and wife team of scientists are hired by Lionel Luthor but an accident in the lab results in an explosion that kills the husband. Clark and his parents come across a teenage boy freaking out because he says he's "been to Hell." Meanwhile, a boy and girl perform a seance on the edge of a cornfield using a piece of meteor to see "a little boy screaming."
And this is just in the first 14 pages! It gave me hope that I was in for another off-the-wall tie-in like Dragon, which was weird but hugely entertaining.
However, after the prologue the plot immediately slows to a crawl. There's too much time spent on the new characters (Ginger, Joel, Holly, and Ginger's scientist mother.) The actual Smallville characters are reduced to their most basic character traits: Lana is sad about her dead parents, Chloe just wants the scoop, and Pete is obsessed with a local politician for some reason. (I mean, for plot reasons, but I'm not sure it suits his character.)
Lex does not feel right at all for Season 1. He's far too sinister with his scheming and illegal activities, reading more like Season 6-7 Lex. I assume Holder is familiar with the character from the comics, which I understand, but it doesn't fit with Rosenbaum's portrayal of him in the early seasons of the tv show.
There's a long ghost hunting scene which I should have been all over, but instead I had hard time focusing - where was the banter? Why weren't the characters playing off of each other? It all felt so dull.
Wasn't expecting the nod to E.C. horror comics on page 231, though. That was cute.
Unfortunately, for me personally it fell flat.
The prologue is amazing and hits you with a whole lot all at once: a husband and wife team of scientists are hired by Lionel Luthor but an accident in the lab results in an explosion that kills the husband. Clark and his parents come across a teenage boy freaking out because he says he's "been to Hell." Meanwhile, a boy and girl perform a seance on the edge of a cornfield using a piece of meteor to see "a little boy screaming."
And this is just in the first 14 pages! It gave me hope that I was in for another off-the-wall tie-in like Dragon, which was weird but hugely entertaining.
However, after the prologue the plot immediately slows to a crawl. There's too much time spent on the new characters (Ginger, Joel, Holly, and Ginger's scientist mother.) The actual Smallville characters are reduced to their most basic character traits: Lana is sad about her dead parents, Chloe just wants the scoop, and Pete is obsessed with a local politician for some reason. (I mean, for plot reasons, but I'm not sure it suits his character.)
Lex does not feel right at all for Season 1. He's far too sinister with his scheming and illegal activities, reading more like Season 6-7 Lex. I assume Holder is familiar with the character from the comics, which I understand, but it doesn't fit with Rosenbaum's portrayal of him in the early seasons of the tv show.
There's a long ghost hunting scene which I should have been all over, but instead I had hard time focusing - where was the banter? Why weren't the characters playing off of each other? It all felt so dull.
Wasn't expecting the nod to E.C. horror comics on page 231, though. That was cute.
January 30, 2025
I was actually surprised at how much I enjoyed this independent of the TV show, but the previous Smallville book I read (Dragon) had Clark acting human, which was no fun at all. I really liked the Scooby-Doo gang, paranormal mystery theme that drove the plot.
Reveal:
Reveal:
March 4, 2018
I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first two books, but it was still a lot of fun to read. I also liked the glimpse into Lex's head, because it showed the darkness that was brewing there even this early in the series.
I'm glad I'm finally reading these after all these years!
I'm glad I'm finally reading these after all these years!
October 11, 2017
tenia un potencial muy grande y al final quedo en nada.
June 18, 2020
I've gotta say, this was pretty good. I'm surprised it went as dark and as supernatural as it did. It was spooky and true to the characters. I liked that the author took some steps to bring it in line with the comics. Pete's political ambitions and the Wayne Enterprises cameo were nice touches. All of the inner monologues were very melodramatic and didn't fit, but overall this was pretty solid.
We discussed this series in a special episode of the all All the Books Show:
https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/ep...
We discussed this series in a special episode of the all All the Books Show:
https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/ep...
Want to read
June 13, 2013i love these books and series. clark and lana are so cute.
April 27, 2013
Nice story. Feels very slow and moves toward a modest haunted house story. B+.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews