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SPECTRAL BRAVER
It is the Summer of 2023. A recurring Dream-Walker named Ben Freeman, is moved by his videogame company to a haunted Manor in upstate NY, which is occupied by a murdered 19th century corpse lady and her 3 children. The ensuing connection between her and Ben, leads to his unfortunate passing, at the hands of a murderous hellish construct, dubbed an 'Ancient' ghost, maliciously controlled by the higher demon A manipulative entity that controls the dreams of the living, to interfere in earthly matters. By sheer guts and determination, this young man's ghost finds new purpose in assisting this embattled Family, to resist the incursions of the demonic threat and regain full control of their home.
However, brash and unafraid as he is, comes to realize this austere yet kind Mother is a spirit whose spectral abilities are strongly attuned to this strange new reality. With a vow to protect her heart from the horrors and sorrow of a past life... He knows there is still a chance to recover this woman's intrinsic might.
This is how a Legend of the Afterlife begins.
However, brash and unafraid as he is, comes to realize this austere yet kind Mother is a spirit whose spectral abilities are strongly attuned to this strange new reality. With a vow to protect her heart from the horrors and sorrow of a past life... He knows there is still a chance to recover this woman's intrinsic might.
This is how a Legend of the Afterlife begins.
212 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 18, 2024
4 people are currently reading
2 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 12, 2026
I'm saying two stars because there's an interesting story here, a premise that could be awesome.
This reads like someone's roleplay with an AI bot. Tenses change mid scene which hurt to read. But, I was able to finish which is more than I can say about some books.
- Edit -
The author doesn't realize I also have X, which happens to be where I heard of his novel. He has taken to calling my review out, and insulting me as a reader and by association, his audience.
There are "no temporal rules" he says, but there are grammar rules. The shift in tenses don't happen just between characters, as he claims this is his prose, changes in tenses happen on the same line with the same character being shown. It reads like an anime roleplay script.
He calls me a "low IQ reader." Fine Mr. Tiago, but if insulting someone who took a chance on your work makes you feel better, I hope you understand this is why people avoid indie authors.
This reads like someone's roleplay with an AI bot. Tenses change mid scene which hurt to read. But, I was able to finish which is more than I can say about some books.
- Edit -
The author doesn't realize I also have X, which happens to be where I heard of his novel. He has taken to calling my review out, and insulting me as a reader and by association, his audience.
There are "no temporal rules" he says, but there are grammar rules. The shift in tenses don't happen just between characters, as he claims this is his prose, changes in tenses happen on the same line with the same character being shown. It reads like an anime roleplay script.
He calls me a "low IQ reader." Fine Mr. Tiago, but if insulting someone who took a chance on your work makes you feel better, I hope you understand this is why people avoid indie authors.
March 3, 2025
Ever wondered what life would be like if you happened to die and then crossover to the ghost realm?
Well this book in a way explores that.
How does their timeline interact with the present?
How does the past interact with the ghosts timeline?
And how does all the timelines interact with each other?
Does the past touch the present?
Can past ghosts interact with present ghosts?
What about if a ghost kills a human? What happens?
All of these questions are explored in Spectral Braver.
This story follows Ben, who by the way I love as a character. He is a video game developer sent on a mission to do research for an upcoming horror game.
Well, let’s just say things don’t go as planned.
If you like an episodic, cinematic type of writing style that explores all of these themes. This book is for you.
Well this book in a way explores that.
How does their timeline interact with the present?
How does the past interact with the ghosts timeline?
And how does all the timelines interact with each other?
Does the past touch the present?
Can past ghosts interact with present ghosts?
What about if a ghost kills a human? What happens?
All of these questions are explored in Spectral Braver.
This story follows Ben, who by the way I love as a character. He is a video game developer sent on a mission to do research for an upcoming horror game.
Well, let’s just say things don’t go as planned.
If you like an episodic, cinematic type of writing style that explores all of these themes. This book is for you.
September 16, 2025
It is important to point out that this is a review of the second edition of Spectral Braver book 1. Since I've never read the first edition, my thoughts and opinions will be strictly related to this edition in itself—though Mr. Resende explained to me where the two differ:
“A good number of readers were confused by the multiple POVs in scenes, given my creative decision to turn my paragraphs into camera shots, wherein multiple characters show up and interact. Both in dialogue and inner monologue delivery, there was confusion as to who was speaking because I wasn't frontloading this information in plenty of instances of the prose. So for the sake of clarity, I switched things around in reading order and added character pronouns or descriptors to ensure you could tell what's going on.”
NOVEL CINEMATIC
We always talk about current fiction being stagnant, with many writers preferring the safest formulas to tell a story. Where are the trailblazers of our times? Well, we certainly found one in Tiago Resende. The style used in his book was in fact labeled by Mr. Resende himself as Novel Cinematic. And for good reasons.
He explains that every paragraph represents a continuous camera shot, sometimes with multiple character perspectives on scene. Characters will often string inner monologue into verbal dialogue or respond verbally to thoughts directly. Since we are dealing with ghosts in this narrative, we will often ‘hear’ their thoughts.
This is wonderfully crafted and oftentimes I did feel like I was watching an original late 90s movie (with surround sound effects!)
PLOT
When game designer Ben Freeman gets assigned to spending a period of time at an old Victorian mansion with a history of murder—for the sake of research and development for a new haunted house game in pre-production—he ends up having the most ‘otherworldly’ experience he could ever imagine. The ghosts are real, but even worse, the demons that afflict the mansion are also very real.
Having said that, this is NOT a horror story. This is, at its core, a LOVE story disguised as a ghost story with a haunted house as its main stage.
The first clue that this was not just another traditional ghost/horror story was the fact that the first paranormal encounter between protagonist Ben and the ghosts of the old mansion occurs very early on, instead of the author relying on the typical techniques of delayed suspense and ‘false alarms’ more typical of the horror genre.
From mysterious and frightening, the four ghosts of the house—Felicity, her children Gunnar and Lydia, and their young friend, a boy named Peter—will quickly reveal themselves as the most charming characters in the story. It won't take long for Ben to establish a relationship with the adorable ghostly family hiding in the attic and consequently assume the role of protector from the higher demon known as Aoyin. When Ben loses his life at the hands of Aoyin, the real action begins, with Ben, now a ghost himself, refusing to give up on the Craig family. In fact, a romance develops between him and Felicity, even.
A LOVE STORY
“While she waltzes her partner through the air, towards the chapel’s landing, they kiss. In the darkness, where few lights can be seen, this miraculous pair glows, kindling all the windows of The Old Dutch. In such a gloomy place, they stand as the exception.”
The above quote truly represents the heart and soul of this book. The dynamics between Ben and Felicity are so well crafted that the love they begin to feel for each other bursts out of the pages in relentless fashion. As a ghost, Ben quickly realizes he can muster up certain powers and skills that he can use to defend his new family and his new love. He learns how to tap into this newly found source of power and shares it with Felicity and the children who also possess the same capabilities. They thus become ‘spectral warriors’.
ANIME
Mr. Resende is very clear about the influence that anime had in the making of Spectral Braver:
“Essentially all the fight scenes taking place in the Greater Realm (Afterlife), plenty of comedy gags from Chapter III onwards and the totality of the romantic moments of the story. There is a level of vivid cuteness that while you could awkwardly translate to a live action vision of what this is, tonally and aesthetically, this story is still a lot more anime than all its other influences.”
Though I'm very ignorant of anime myself, it did feel like the over-the-top fight scenes resembled Japanese film animation the most. As ghosts, our characters can float, deliver inhuman flying kicks, spin and channel supernatural powers against their adversary.
CONCLUSIONS
This is a story like no other because of how it blends various elements, all delivered through this Novel Cinematic style (which might have been confusing in the previous edition but was perfectly tweaked in this second edition). It kind of reads like a script at times, which helps with the pace.
And speaking of scripts, as you read this story you might notice how potentially suited for a screen adaptation this could be. The entire time I was reading, I had movie director Tim Burton in mind: you have a haunted mansion, a mysterious attic where a spooky lady and spooky little children are spotted coming in and out of, until it's revealed they are just a loving ghost family, trapped and fending off a demon every night. This definitely has all the potential to branch out into other visual media.
Lastly, I want to close by saying that when you will read Spectral Braver book 1, you will not just be reading a work by author Resende, but will literally take a peak into his soul and his very being. As we flip through the last page, we find out that this was all and exclusively the work of the author:
Concept and creation by Tiago R. Resende
Editing and proofreading by Tiago R. Resende
Paging by Tiago R. Resende
Cover design by Tiago R. Resende
I think passion is a must when writing a good book. But when you unite passion and talent, what you get is Spectral Braver.
💜
“A good number of readers were confused by the multiple POVs in scenes, given my creative decision to turn my paragraphs into camera shots, wherein multiple characters show up and interact. Both in dialogue and inner monologue delivery, there was confusion as to who was speaking because I wasn't frontloading this information in plenty of instances of the prose. So for the sake of clarity, I switched things around in reading order and added character pronouns or descriptors to ensure you could tell what's going on.”
NOVEL CINEMATIC
We always talk about current fiction being stagnant, with many writers preferring the safest formulas to tell a story. Where are the trailblazers of our times? Well, we certainly found one in Tiago Resende. The style used in his book was in fact labeled by Mr. Resende himself as Novel Cinematic. And for good reasons.
He explains that every paragraph represents a continuous camera shot, sometimes with multiple character perspectives on scene. Characters will often string inner monologue into verbal dialogue or respond verbally to thoughts directly. Since we are dealing with ghosts in this narrative, we will often ‘hear’ their thoughts.
This is wonderfully crafted and oftentimes I did feel like I was watching an original late 90s movie (with surround sound effects!)
PLOT
When game designer Ben Freeman gets assigned to spending a period of time at an old Victorian mansion with a history of murder—for the sake of research and development for a new haunted house game in pre-production—he ends up having the most ‘otherworldly’ experience he could ever imagine. The ghosts are real, but even worse, the demons that afflict the mansion are also very real.
Having said that, this is NOT a horror story. This is, at its core, a LOVE story disguised as a ghost story with a haunted house as its main stage.
The first clue that this was not just another traditional ghost/horror story was the fact that the first paranormal encounter between protagonist Ben and the ghosts of the old mansion occurs very early on, instead of the author relying on the typical techniques of delayed suspense and ‘false alarms’ more typical of the horror genre.
From mysterious and frightening, the four ghosts of the house—Felicity, her children Gunnar and Lydia, and their young friend, a boy named Peter—will quickly reveal themselves as the most charming characters in the story. It won't take long for Ben to establish a relationship with the adorable ghostly family hiding in the attic and consequently assume the role of protector from the higher demon known as Aoyin. When Ben loses his life at the hands of Aoyin, the real action begins, with Ben, now a ghost himself, refusing to give up on the Craig family. In fact, a romance develops between him and Felicity, even.
A LOVE STORY
“While she waltzes her partner through the air, towards the chapel’s landing, they kiss. In the darkness, where few lights can be seen, this miraculous pair glows, kindling all the windows of The Old Dutch. In such a gloomy place, they stand as the exception.”
The above quote truly represents the heart and soul of this book. The dynamics between Ben and Felicity are so well crafted that the love they begin to feel for each other bursts out of the pages in relentless fashion. As a ghost, Ben quickly realizes he can muster up certain powers and skills that he can use to defend his new family and his new love. He learns how to tap into this newly found source of power and shares it with Felicity and the children who also possess the same capabilities. They thus become ‘spectral warriors’.
ANIME
Mr. Resende is very clear about the influence that anime had in the making of Spectral Braver:
“Essentially all the fight scenes taking place in the Greater Realm (Afterlife), plenty of comedy gags from Chapter III onwards and the totality of the romantic moments of the story. There is a level of vivid cuteness that while you could awkwardly translate to a live action vision of what this is, tonally and aesthetically, this story is still a lot more anime than all its other influences.”
Though I'm very ignorant of anime myself, it did feel like the over-the-top fight scenes resembled Japanese film animation the most. As ghosts, our characters can float, deliver inhuman flying kicks, spin and channel supernatural powers against their adversary.
CONCLUSIONS
This is a story like no other because of how it blends various elements, all delivered through this Novel Cinematic style (which might have been confusing in the previous edition but was perfectly tweaked in this second edition). It kind of reads like a script at times, which helps with the pace.
And speaking of scripts, as you read this story you might notice how potentially suited for a screen adaptation this could be. The entire time I was reading, I had movie director Tim Burton in mind: you have a haunted mansion, a mysterious attic where a spooky lady and spooky little children are spotted coming in and out of, until it's revealed they are just a loving ghost family, trapped and fending off a demon every night. This definitely has all the potential to branch out into other visual media.
Lastly, I want to close by saying that when you will read Spectral Braver book 1, you will not just be reading a work by author Resende, but will literally take a peak into his soul and his very being. As we flip through the last page, we find out that this was all and exclusively the work of the author:
Concept and creation by Tiago R. Resende
Editing and proofreading by Tiago R. Resende
Paging by Tiago R. Resende
Cover design by Tiago R. Resende
I think passion is a must when writing a good book. But when you unite passion and talent, what you get is Spectral Braver.
💜
July 19, 2025
Spectral Braver by Tiago Resende is a touching, thrilling, and occasionally confusing read. It’s the first in what promises to be a unique and exciting series.
I really enjoyed the main characters, Ben and Felicity. Their humorous and romantic interactions were a joyful highlight, and I appreciated watching their arcs unfold over the course of the story.
The author has a very distinct style—so much so that he includes a note at the beginning of the book to explain this choice and why he wrote the story that way.
I felt a bit lost and disoriented for the first 15 pages or so, but I soon got into the rhythm and flow.
That said, I still had moments of confusion throughout my reading experience, mostly during dialogue, where it was sometimes unclear who was speaking.
There was occasional head-hopping as well, though this is intentional and tied to the characters’ ghost powers.
As for the antagonist (without going into spoilers) he had a strong presence, but I wasn’t entirely sure what his motivations were.
Perhaps I missed something, or maybe this will be explored further in later books.
Returning to the author’s style: he’s mentioned that much of his storytelling inspiration for this book comes from anime and manga. While I’m not overly familiar with either, I could still spot flashes of those influences, particularly in the use of flashbacks and certain dialogue choices.
These inspirations shine brightest during the fight scenes: over-the-top, highly stylized, and complete with shouted attack names. I could practically picture the author grinning as he wrote them.
The story was also well-paced. Just when things felt like they might be slowing down, the tension ramped back up and we were thrown into the action again.
Overall, I enjoyed my time in Tiago’s world and will definitely be picking up book two in the near future
I really enjoyed the main characters, Ben and Felicity. Their humorous and romantic interactions were a joyful highlight, and I appreciated watching their arcs unfold over the course of the story.
The author has a very distinct style—so much so that he includes a note at the beginning of the book to explain this choice and why he wrote the story that way.
I felt a bit lost and disoriented for the first 15 pages or so, but I soon got into the rhythm and flow.
That said, I still had moments of confusion throughout my reading experience, mostly during dialogue, where it was sometimes unclear who was speaking.
There was occasional head-hopping as well, though this is intentional and tied to the characters’ ghost powers.
As for the antagonist (without going into spoilers) he had a strong presence, but I wasn’t entirely sure what his motivations were.
Perhaps I missed something, or maybe this will be explored further in later books.
Returning to the author’s style: he’s mentioned that much of his storytelling inspiration for this book comes from anime and manga. While I’m not overly familiar with either, I could still spot flashes of those influences, particularly in the use of flashbacks and certain dialogue choices.
These inspirations shine brightest during the fight scenes: over-the-top, highly stylized, and complete with shouted attack names. I could practically picture the author grinning as he wrote them.
The story was also well-paced. Just when things felt like they might be slowing down, the tension ramped back up and we were thrown into the action again.
Overall, I enjoyed my time in Tiago’s world and will definitely be picking up book two in the near future
November 3, 2025
The Spectral Braver is a story about a game developer who can dreamwalk and is sent to a spooky manor in Sleepy Hollow for hands-on inspiration for his company's new horror game. There, he finds a corpse lady and her three children and eventually his presence there ends in his demise by the Ancient. Then you are thrust into the afterlife, where things get very interesting.
The Good: Spectral Braver is a unique read. I really liked Ben and his backstory. It gave me The Haunting of Hill House vibes at the beginning, but that swiftly changed, most likely from the author's anime-style artwork influencing my view of the story. The characters were well-developed and had a good level of depth.
The Bad: I found at times the flow of the story jumped (This may have been from the movie-like style of writing the author has created), and I had to re-read sentences to get hold of what was being presented. At times, it seemed to jump in from the past tense to the present tense.
Overall: The book was a good read, especially during the Halloween Season. I am looking forward to reading the sequels and seeing where the story leads. If you are into dark fantasy, anime-style artwork and ghost stories with a hint of romance, this is for you.
The Good: Spectral Braver is a unique read. I really liked Ben and his backstory. It gave me The Haunting of Hill House vibes at the beginning, but that swiftly changed, most likely from the author's anime-style artwork influencing my view of the story. The characters were well-developed and had a good level of depth.
The Bad: I found at times the flow of the story jumped (This may have been from the movie-like style of writing the author has created), and I had to re-read sentences to get hold of what was being presented. At times, it seemed to jump in from the past tense to the present tense.
Overall: The book was a good read, especially during the Halloween Season. I am looking forward to reading the sequels and seeing where the story leads. If you are into dark fantasy, anime-style artwork and ghost stories with a hint of romance, this is for you.
July 27, 2025
After two read throughs of Spectral Braver, something great exists within the concept of this book. Resende implored a multitude of styles and techniques to tell the story, things like: narrative blurring; use of IPOCs; expositional passages; flashbacks etc. The issue, for me that pulled the work down was the lack of consistency with the execution or the overuse of the various styles. In some places, Resende skillfully or instinctively implores these techniques. One example is his use of narrative blurring, a technique used by the likes of N.K. Jemisin and Joe Abercrombie, where the author blurs the line between character inner monologue and narrative voice. For the times that it is done well, there are other places where it falls flat.
The use of IPOCs: (“!!!”)—(“Waa”)—(reaaally), while at first I recoiled at the sight of interjections, punction-based emphasis, and onomatopoeia, as I read on it became apparent these were a stylistic choice. Like narrative blurring, when it worked it worked. But the perceived overuse of them lessened the desired effect for me. I felt the same about the use of colons to set-off something of import being stated.
Despite these things and other perceived issues I noted, there was much I enjoyed about the story that caused my confusion on how I truly felt about the work. Where Resende’s work possibly lacks in execution, he makes up for it through the heart the story has and the potential of what it could become. While reading, the magic system resonated the power of will displayed by the Green Lanterns of DC comics, the action painted pictures of anime in my head, and at other times scenes from my favorite tv shows as a kid played in my head.
There is no lack of inspiration here but could do with some refinement. All in all, it’s the reason I’d rate this book a two out of five.
The use of IPOCs: (“!!!”)—(“Waa”)—(reaaally), while at first I recoiled at the sight of interjections, punction-based emphasis, and onomatopoeia, as I read on it became apparent these were a stylistic choice. Like narrative blurring, when it worked it worked. But the perceived overuse of them lessened the desired effect for me. I felt the same about the use of colons to set-off something of import being stated.
Despite these things and other perceived issues I noted, there was much I enjoyed about the story that caused my confusion on how I truly felt about the work. Where Resende’s work possibly lacks in execution, he makes up for it through the heart the story has and the potential of what it could become. While reading, the magic system resonated the power of will displayed by the Green Lanterns of DC comics, the action painted pictures of anime in my head, and at other times scenes from my favorite tv shows as a kid played in my head.
There is no lack of inspiration here but could do with some refinement. All in all, it’s the reason I’d rate this book a two out of five.
May 15, 2025
"Spectral Braver" by Tiago Resende is a haunting story that follows Ben Freeman, a jaded video game designer still grieving his mom as he's sent to research a haunted house game in a creepy Sleepy Hollow manor with a deadly reputation.
Ben's dry humor and occasional potty mouth made him feel like one of those developersi work with daily. His ability to dream walk introduces him to the manor's ghosts - a Victorian mom named Felicity and her three kids - while facing off against some seriously dangerous and dark spirits.
What got me was how Ben grows from a loner to someone fighting for these lost souls. This story has heart. I made me laugh and cry. There is a sweet romance, and fun moments (like teaching Victorian kids the joys of pizza!) that balance out the scarier moments.
The book takes a little getting used to style-wise at first, which is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5. The author explains the structure upfront, which helps, but there's still a slight learning curve. Once I got past that, though, I couldn't put it down.
Those demon battles? Intense. I feel the anime inspiration. And yeah, I definitely got emotional at the ending.
If you like ghost stories with heart, characters that feel real, and a touch of sweet romance, give this one a try. Book two is on my TBR pile!
Ben's dry humor and occasional potty mouth made him feel like one of those developersi work with daily. His ability to dream walk introduces him to the manor's ghosts - a Victorian mom named Felicity and her three kids - while facing off against some seriously dangerous and dark spirits.
What got me was how Ben grows from a loner to someone fighting for these lost souls. This story has heart. I made me laugh and cry. There is a sweet romance, and fun moments (like teaching Victorian kids the joys of pizza!) that balance out the scarier moments.
The book takes a little getting used to style-wise at first, which is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5. The author explains the structure upfront, which helps, but there's still a slight learning curve. Once I got past that, though, I couldn't put it down.
Those demon battles? Intense. I feel the anime inspiration. And yeah, I definitely got emotional at the ending.
If you like ghost stories with heart, characters that feel real, and a touch of sweet romance, give this one a try. Book two is on my TBR pile!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews