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The Ghosthunter
135 pages, Paperback
Published October 22, 2024
1 person want to read
About the author
D.F. Lewis
73 books24 followersWriter, editor and publisher, active in the small press. Winner of the British Fantasy Society Special Award (the Karl Edward Wagner Award) in 1998.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 23, 2024
between a 4 and a 4.5; a bit on the difficult side as far as the reading, but certainly well worth the challenge.
full commentary here:
https://www.oddlyweirdfiction.com/202...
I don't want to disappoint, but there are no EVP sessions, EMF meters or laser grids to be found here, nor are there garden-variety entities covered in shrouds or dragging clanking chains along with them. This is just not that kind of book, although it is definitely ghostly. The Ghosthunter is an eerie and atmospheric collection of what the author calls "miniatures," which are very short, dark and uniquely-styled fictions. In the telling, they are more than a bit fragmented, which leaves the reader to become a sort of scrier over the course of the book, in order to seek out the meaning behind what the ghost hunter wants to reveal. Because of the way it incorporates places, literary works, people and events over the central character's lifetime, has a rather semi-autobiographical feel, and the ghosts that inhabit this book are tied to the ghost hunter's life experiences via perception and memory. The thing is that the author, D.F. Lewis, does not make it so easy for the reader to discern the exact moment when the realities begin to blur into something less tangible or when the ordinary slides into something less familiar, making the overall effect one of distortion and disorientation, as well as mystery and above all, uncertainty. For me, this is the essence of the ghosts/memories that this ghost hunter seeks -- they are elusive, often shapeshifting, and even capable of haunting the ghost hunter himself from time to time.
Lewis tackles, among others, themes of meaning and mortality in this rather enigmatic yet introspective book; in his distinctive (and admittedly at times daunting) prose, the author takes the reader along with this ghost hunter on his journey as he offers these rather haunting tales of "self and non-self," making it seem as if you are right there with him.
While reading this book, I often had the feeling that I was trespassing into the ghost hunter's metaphysical space, which, I suppose I was meant to, but it felt so personal that I often felt like an intruder. On the only negative I can think of, it does take a lot of time and patience to get through and even then, I'm not absolutely positive that I've truly understood all that Lewis has to say here. If you’re looking for a fast-paced thriller or a typical ghost story, this one won't work for you. However, The Ghosthunter is something that runs much deeper, it is highly introspective, and it is a book that resonates emotionally. It is dark and can range into somber, yet in its own way it is a most beautiful collection that will stay with me for a long time.
full commentary here:
https://www.oddlyweirdfiction.com/202...
I don't want to disappoint, but there are no EVP sessions, EMF meters or laser grids to be found here, nor are there garden-variety entities covered in shrouds or dragging clanking chains along with them. This is just not that kind of book, although it is definitely ghostly. The Ghosthunter is an eerie and atmospheric collection of what the author calls "miniatures," which are very short, dark and uniquely-styled fictions. In the telling, they are more than a bit fragmented, which leaves the reader to become a sort of scrier over the course of the book, in order to seek out the meaning behind what the ghost hunter wants to reveal. Because of the way it incorporates places, literary works, people and events over the central character's lifetime, has a rather semi-autobiographical feel, and the ghosts that inhabit this book are tied to the ghost hunter's life experiences via perception and memory. The thing is that the author, D.F. Lewis, does not make it so easy for the reader to discern the exact moment when the realities begin to blur into something less tangible or when the ordinary slides into something less familiar, making the overall effect one of distortion and disorientation, as well as mystery and above all, uncertainty. For me, this is the essence of the ghosts/memories that this ghost hunter seeks -- they are elusive, often shapeshifting, and even capable of haunting the ghost hunter himself from time to time.
Lewis tackles, among others, themes of meaning and mortality in this rather enigmatic yet introspective book; in his distinctive (and admittedly at times daunting) prose, the author takes the reader along with this ghost hunter on his journey as he offers these rather haunting tales of "self and non-self," making it seem as if you are right there with him.
While reading this book, I often had the feeling that I was trespassing into the ghost hunter's metaphysical space, which, I suppose I was meant to, but it felt so personal that I often felt like an intruder. On the only negative I can think of, it does take a lot of time and patience to get through and even then, I'm not absolutely positive that I've truly understood all that Lewis has to say here. If you’re looking for a fast-paced thriller or a typical ghost story, this one won't work for you. However, The Ghosthunter is something that runs much deeper, it is highly introspective, and it is a book that resonates emotionally. It is dark and can range into somber, yet in its own way it is a most beautiful collection that will stay with me for a long time.
Displaying 1 of 1 review