The Borrowed Souls

by Paul B. Kohler

The afterlife is not at all what Jack Duffy had expected.

A failed suicide attempt launches him into a world that continually tests his ability to forgive and forget. With each new soul that he's entrusted to collect, he learns more about himself and his horrific decisions in life. Through the tutelage of his befriended trainer, Jack will be compelled to make decision after decision about who gets to live and who will lose their soul.

The Borrowed Souls concludes when Jack comes to a crossroads: continue on with his eternal commitment, or forfeit the tremendous power that has been bestowed upon him. Forever.

Genres: Fantasy

377 pages, Paperback

Published December 31, 2015

About the author

Paul B Kohler is the International Bestselling author of the highly acclaimed novel Linear Shift. His recent work includes Turn, Detour, and Reversion, from The Humanity's Edge Trilogy, along with several short stories. His short story, Rememorations, was included in The Immortality Chronicles - The Best Anthology of the Year as voted in the 2016 Preditors and Editors Readers Poll. Rememorations was also nominated for Best American Science Fiction.

Reviews

[Ms J Linney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Novel, for sure

As an avid reader I was beginning to think I'd read every storyline, this book proved me wrong. A novel tale that held my interest from the start through to the end, and I loved it. Off to find more by Mr Kohler

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the first of 7 in the series, that you can read individually or in the new book set recently completed by this talented author Paul Kohler. This book goes back and forth from present to the recent past as we along with the main character try to figure out what is going on in the story.

An example, "Speaking her name jarred something loose in my head, and the memories from the past twenty-four hours began to resurface. A feeling of loss and despair rushed in, but I could not pinpoint the reason behind it. I felt my pulse rise, anxiety shot to the surface, and my pace quickened. I looked back at the man following me, and he also increased his pace. Not wanting to discover his intentions, I turned the corner..."

This stranger, Wilson had a special coin he handed to Mr. Duffy, "I turned the coin over, and as I did, my morning came flooding back to me." Wilson was a soul collector and he was there with Mr. Duffy waiting to take his soul.

Great first installment of the Soul Collector, once you get the hang of how the book is written, this reader raced on to find out what will happen next. Excellent writing and original story line.
"Now here I was, sitting next to a soulless body, and for all intents and purposes, I was no longer a living, breathing man, either."

Jack Duffy, was now a soul collector, Wilson retired giving Jack his position but leaving Jack with more questions than answers. Jack had the coin that he knew could help him see the past when he used it with his mark. Jack's first soul to collect was his cheating wife's, how she died was a mystery to Jack.

"I seem to keep mysteriously beaming, or whatever it's called, from place to place,"

Jack takes Wilson's rosary from his pocket before the police pick up his dead body. Like the coin it probably has a benefit, so Jack would need to figure it out.

Lots of questions, the reader can't help feeling sorry for Jack and his wife and the situation.
Great second story, now on to the third.
"To think of myself as dead is a little disingenuous , as I really am alive. I just can't talk or intereact with the living, only the dying. So it goes."

Jack is wanted by the police for questioning on his wife's death. He spends time in his apartment watching the police pack his belonging up. He had some fun unpacking boxes that had already been packed to be moved to the crime lab. "I was about to lose everything I've ever owned and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it."

Hauser appears to get Jack back on track. He teaches him to use the rosary to foresee the near future with his marks, the park bench becomes Jacks home base.

Again excellent writing and the story and characters are expanding and getting more interesting.
As the story continues Jack meets another character Enoch Gant. Gant tells Jack sometimes you need to speed up the process. "Well, that's because Wilson and Hauser are a bunch of pansy-ass wimps. Let me tell ya', I've been around for a lot longer than those two yahoos, and if you want to rise to the top, you'll have to actually take a life every once in a while," Enoch said calmly.
Jack realizes he may have the power to change the future and the dreams he has when he falls asleep are enough to keep him awake for good.
Jack realizes animals can see him, and this leads to comedic relief in this book.

"That's it? Boy, you've just come closer to time travel than any of the living population would believe, and all you can say is, "Yeah, sure?"

"No, I don't want to play God. I just think it's completely unfair that good people die when they shouldn't, while bad people continue to live."

"Just remember that no one is dead yet, ...and what was up with the wink afterward?"
I enjoyed this book the best so far in this series.
This story starts again in the hospital with Jack searching for a Calvin with no last name. Turns out he is an infant not yet born and room to room searching has Jack with Hauser's assistance trying to find the right room to be ready to collect the soul. Jack struggles with the job:

"What we have, Jack, is a responsibility.Yes, it's a difficult proposiiton, but it really is quite spectacular, what we do. We've been given the opportunity to maintain the balance of humankind. Whether you see it like that or not is totally up to you."

Jack tries to quit his job, but Hauser states he will take Calvin's box and collect his soul. Jack disappears. Jack seems to gain abilities as the story move along, he now reads minds fairly well but still struggles to hid his own thoughts from the others.
"Deep inside, I hated to see anyone die. But it was only through Hauser's-or was it the Sentinel's?-training regimen that clarity was being brought forth in my own soul. I truly wanted to save everyone, and I was fairly confident that that realization was not what the training was intended for."

Jack finds himself pursuing the souls of two lovers; and the woman, much like Cyndi, who was cheating on her husband. While Jack is scoping out the situation and trying to figure out how they will die he finds that the husband will also kill himself. Jack again, tries to change the situation to avoid the deaths.

Enoch appears again outside of Jack's dreams and Jack struggles with his presence and what it means for everyone involved.
This final story brings back all the characters and Jack's helpers, Wilson is like an old friend from the past. Jack travels to the Sentinel to tell them about Enoch's appearances and his interferring and stealing souls meant to be collected by Jack. Then Jack ends up with a nasty bump on his head and eh and Wilson try to figure out how it happened.

"I shook my head in utter confusion. "you know, Hauser...just lead the way. I shouldn't be surpriesd about anthing that you tell me on how things work in the afterlife."

"Here I was, the most recent recruit to the soul collecting ranks of the afterlife, being thrust into the presence of some truly great people. Despite their historically benevolent natures, I was unsure just how compassionate they'd be if they fully realized my most recent past."

This last book was an absolute pleasure to read. The creativity of this author really shone through these chapters. From the famous people around the Sentinel table, to how the story wrapped up and how I felt when it was all complete. Excellent, well done. Can't say enough about this series.

[John Duffy · Rating 5 out of 5]

In all honesty I got this book from Amazon and really didn't expect much, however I found it to be well written and thoroughly enjoyable. I look forward to reading more from Mr Kohler!

[Sandrahoney Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Borrowed Souls hooks you right from the start with Jack Duffy's unexpected journey into the afterlife. Paul B. Kohler does a fantastic job building a world filled with high-stakes moral dilemmas and emotional tension. Watching Jack confront his past while deciding the fates of other souls kept me turning the pages. If you enjoy supernatural thrillers with deep philosophical questions about forgiveness and redemption, this is definitely worth the read!

[Lorraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a delight. It's not the subject I expected or a genre I normally read. It's written in a way I've never read before, from present to recent past, back and forth. I got caught up in it almost immediately. It seems to be fast-paced, because of the style, but really isn't. It's a very enjoyable, captivating read.

[AR bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the Afterlife

The storyline of this book leads you into a character who has died, and is recruited into a nether life as a Soul Collector.

Though dealing in a realm that none of the living experience, the story progresses easily. Descriptions were so engaging, they seemed realistic, and believable.

Interesting and well worth the read.

[Nancy C Dentlinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unique soul searcher

Excellent writing, the story flows well. The main character comes to a resolution of his own life while collecting the souls of those who have died.

[Tony Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a subject that has always fascinated a lot of people: what happens when we die? In this very original story, Paul Kohler gives us his version of what this may entail. To start with, we first meet Jack Duffy when he is shaken awake by a bus driver having, apparently spent six hours on the bus in a drunken stupor. He then meets a stranger who seems to know him well. Wilson, the stranger, is a soul collector and he soon tells Jack that his soul is due to be collected because he is, actually, dead. He takes him through his last day which explains how he came to be in this state. Jack is then offered an alternative to dying which involves him becoming a soul collector.

Jack accepts the challenge of becoming a soul collector; the only thing is, he has no experience and has received minimum instructions on how to actually do the job. Add to that the fact that the first soul is that of his own wife Cyndi and we can see that he has a problem!


On his way to his apartment, he realises that Cyndi must be close to death to be in need of his services. Before he knows what is happening, he is transported to the hospital where Cyndi is lying in intensive care, seriously injured. Once there, it becomes obvious that he can only be seen by those who are about to die. Using the coin which he received from Wilson, he is able to re-live Cyndi's last 24 hours.
As Cyndi dies, Jack finds himself able to forgive her and realises that he still loves her, despite her mistake. After all, on looking back on things, he was just as much to blame for their problems.

Having battled his way through his first collection, it's time for Jack to really get down to work. He has been assigned a trainer, Hauser who fills him in on the things that he is expected to do and accompanies him to some collections. As diverse as people are in life, so they also appear to be in death. The contrast between collecting the souls of teenage victims of a gang war could not be more different to the collection which then follows.

Although Jack is officially dead, this does not prevent him from experiencing real human emotions and feelings towards the dying. This complicates things as Jack becomes involved with the life of his next ‘collection’ and decides to try and help the victim continue living. He is able to use the rosary that he inherited from Wilson to look into the future, or the possible future of his clients, and thinks that he may be able to be at the right place at the right time to change things. But by doing something like this, is he then 'playing God'?

Add in various other elements such as a sort of ‘governing body’ called the Sentinel who oversee the activities of all the soul collectors, confrontations with a truly evil ‘bad guy’ and even some occasional light relief (Jack can not only be seen by the dying but also by animals), and you will understand that Paul Kohler has written a novel which is entertaining, thought provoking and easy to read. He is a consummate writer who understands his craft, reading his work is inevitably a pleasurable experience. Highly recommended!

[kathleen r. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wdll, this was new

This showed up in my recommendation list so I pretty my h just let it stay . Once I started I found the premise and storyline compelling enough to go ish. I liked the narrative style and thought it had genuine merit. It is so far from being another preachy born again as a necessity for being alive decidedly refreshing. I won't read a novel that depends solely upon demanding the whole Christianity take of born again as a condition for a life worth living as being specious beyond bearing. I read novels for entertainment not religious entitlement. This story borders just a bit on the bizarre.but I very much enjoyed the tongue-in-cheek cynicism the protagonist describes when be explains his point of view of what a shock he gets as he starts a second career as a soul collector. apparently it isn't exactly what he thought the job would entail! I liked his take on all the situations he never expected to have to confront in a job that he really didn't understand before he was "hired" and he found himself in the trenches without a chance to try it on first. He muddled his way through for the first few jobs until he finally comes up against the first soul he simply cannot allow to move forward untouched by his own personal opinions. Enter the Sentinel and his first taste of rebellion. How the tale moves from there to its unexpected conclusion is best left unexplained and possibly unexplored as well. I enjoyed the ending just as much as the beginning, and I hope the author has more for readers in the future. A solid 4/5 for pleasure, readability and a very interesting concept.

[Precious-Books.blog]

Have you ever wondered what happens next? Are there angels singing in the background as you ascend into heaven or do you cease to exist? In this newest release by Paul Kohler you meet Jack Duffy. A man struggling to live his life in New York City with his wife. No friends and a terrible boss, combined by the discovery of his wife's unfaithful behavior lead him to attempt suicide. While he is wavering between life and death, his grim reaper gives him a choice. Jack can either take his reapers' soul as well as his job or jack can give up his own soul and end his life for good. I found it hard to get into this book at first, but was sucked into his world by the fourth chapter. I would recommend giving this book a try.

**I was provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes**

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok book

Interesting premise, but the main character was rather wishy-washy, he floundered in life and the after life and (spoiler alert) still managed to to get a HEA....

[Deb · Rating 2 out of 5]

predictable

I was bored by this book, everything was obvious but the characters were obtuse. Underwhelming! Stereotypical bad guy and "management".

[Bullman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Great characters and story building

[Phil Morrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book that I got for cheap on Amazon through there daily deal, the story is well told from the main protagonist's point of view which is a plus as I like these type of books. Not going to give anything away about the story although it did remind me of a short story I read a while ago (There Will Be A Hallway - Gary A. Braunbeck) which is no bad thing as this was a great story. The Inner conflict of the main character Jack is dealt with quite well, although he does come across as a bit of a loser in the start but does seem to redeem himself quite well, and one complaint I would make is that there is a lot Jack is not told which is frustrating at times (Hauser i'm looking at you), and the motivation of the Villain seems never to be revealed (although he may just be a sociopath), this is maybe because there is going to be more books to come yet (I hope so :) the end of the book is done quite well making the book a standalone read but also open to more albeit from another perspective with a lot of the main players still intact to continue the story. All in All a great read from a new (I think and do apologise if not) Author.

[Colin Rowlands · Rating 3 out of 5]

There have been a number of takes on the Grim Reaper in books and other media with this one being a contemporary one somewhat along the lines of the tv show 'Dead like Me' where the role of grim reaper is basically treated like a job that some people get assigned at the point of their death.

This book differs from that series primarily in the way that the reaper of this book, Jack Duffy, could only interact with those people who had died or were near death, which obviously complicated some situations in the overall arc of this book as he struggled to combat a renegade former reaper who has his own nefarious purposes for reaped souls.

The narrator gave a strong performance, giving distinctive voices to Jack along with the main supporting cast to nicely enhance the story.

Overall, this was an interesting book and I will look out for further ones in the series.

[Note - I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.]

[Sharon Preator · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intriguing storyline, rudimentary writing

Interesting concept on the afterlife
Several supporting characters I had a difficult time caring about. In the grand story of good vs. evil, there is no resolution. Also, if you believe adultery is a mortal sin, you should avoid reading because this author tries to justify and forgive those in this book who make that choice.
If you do find this plot interesting, I recommend Dean Koontz’s Odd Thomas series instead.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would give this actually 4.5 stars. It was a very interesting book about what happens when we die in this case instead of the usual grim reaper we come to know there are those existing in a different plain that collect the souls as we die. Most souls have gone through several lifetimes very few are newer souls or virgin souls. It also battles with if you were personally this person what sort of challenges you would face. I do enjoy paranormal and this would count as this.

[Donna Burns · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

It had an interesting twist on "the grim reaper", but I was bored. I kept waiting for it to really capture my attention, but it didn't. However, it did pique my curiosity enough have me finish it. Thus 3 1/2 stars. This is a series but I don't think I will read the remaining books.

[Donna King · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rate the book!

I liked this book very much. I really enjoy these kids of stories even though I don't believe like that. I think it happens in a different way.

[Shirley Givens · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Borrowed Souls

I was so pleasantly surprised by this book. I was expecting something macabre and more in the horror genre, but it is a very sweet story. Although supernatural, it turns out to be a feel-good book.