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The Regulars
A man wakes to find himself dead and alone in a forest and soon realizes he has no memory of who he is or how he came to die there.
As he sets off to unravel the mystery of his past, he is pulled into a world stranger than death itself, where the struggle to balance good and evil lies behind the scenes, in the shadows.
On his journey, he encounters The Regulars, a self-proclaimed band of misfits whose sole purpose is to terrify the living.
Among them is Mr. Cage, a nefarious, dark jester who delights in causing havoc, misery and pain to all those whom he encounters.
What begins as a journey to uncover a brutal murder, soon unfolds into a race against malevolent forces, where not everything is as
it seems…
As he sets off to unravel the mystery of his past, he is pulled into a world stranger than death itself, where the struggle to balance good and evil lies behind the scenes, in the shadows.
On his journey, he encounters The Regulars, a self-proclaimed band of misfits whose sole purpose is to terrify the living.
Among them is Mr. Cage, a nefarious, dark jester who delights in causing havoc, misery and pain to all those whom he encounters.
What begins as a journey to uncover a brutal murder, soon unfolds into a race against malevolent forces, where not everything is as
it seems…
237 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 19, 2016
12 people are currently reading
676 people want to read
About the author
Paris Singer
6 books39 followersParis Singer lives in southern Spain with cats who run his life.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 28, 2016
What really happens after we die? Is there a stopover to re-evaluate our lives? Are we given passes for Heaven or Hell or must we first endure a test of spirit, of good versus evil? Imagine waking up “dead,” no memory, no idea where you are or who you are?
Follow along as one man experiences what death is when he meets upon a group called The Regulars who are anything BUT regular by living standards. From a young boy to a quietly beautiful young woman to the rather dark leader of their group, this journey is one of things that go bump in the shadows, to personal revelations and discoveries to doing the right thing for another lost and lonely soul.
There is something just wrong about “haunting” live humans at night, but Mr. Cage the leader insists. Is there more to him than meets the eye? As memories slowly return, there is both pain and joy, but what if you died a violent death? Would you re-live every moment of it? Would you want to find your murderers? What if you found loved ones who still live on? Would you find heartbreak or would you wish for them to have a good life no matter where it takes them? At what point do you let go of newfound friends who have found their way to the light? At what point do you let go and say, I am ready to go on to another plane of existence or should you stay to fight the evil that is all around?
Trust me, Paris Singer’s The Regulars is going to make you stop and think about the possibilities after death. He has created a world that feels shrouded in a mist, not quite clear around the edges and easy to get lost in, somewhere between the living plane and the eternal plane. There is a constant feeling of unease that the characters do not all belong where they are, and it makes this a magnetic read to follow, page after page. Brilliant writing, with just the right touch of the unknown. Characters that come alive (sort of) and a feeling of danger in every shadow. Take a walk on the "other side" and remember, the next time you feel a breeze for no apparent reason, you may not be alone...
I received an ARC edition from the author in exchange for my honest review.
Read in February 2016
Publisher: Forsaken
ISBN13: 9781513700861
Print length: 230 pages
Follow along as one man experiences what death is when he meets upon a group called The Regulars who are anything BUT regular by living standards. From a young boy to a quietly beautiful young woman to the rather dark leader of their group, this journey is one of things that go bump in the shadows, to personal revelations and discoveries to doing the right thing for another lost and lonely soul.
There is something just wrong about “haunting” live humans at night, but Mr. Cage the leader insists. Is there more to him than meets the eye? As memories slowly return, there is both pain and joy, but what if you died a violent death? Would you re-live every moment of it? Would you want to find your murderers? What if you found loved ones who still live on? Would you find heartbreak or would you wish for them to have a good life no matter where it takes them? At what point do you let go of newfound friends who have found their way to the light? At what point do you let go and say, I am ready to go on to another plane of existence or should you stay to fight the evil that is all around?
Trust me, Paris Singer’s The Regulars is going to make you stop and think about the possibilities after death. He has created a world that feels shrouded in a mist, not quite clear around the edges and easy to get lost in, somewhere between the living plane and the eternal plane. There is a constant feeling of unease that the characters do not all belong where they are, and it makes this a magnetic read to follow, page after page. Brilliant writing, with just the right touch of the unknown. Characters that come alive (sort of) and a feeling of danger in every shadow. Take a walk on the "other side" and remember, the next time you feel a breeze for no apparent reason, you may not be alone...
I received an ARC edition from the author in exchange for my honest review.
Read in February 2016
Publisher: Forsaken
ISBN13: 9781513700861
Print length: 230 pages
April 14, 2016
When a reader picks up a book and starts to read an unofficial contract is engaged by both the author and the reader. The author agrees to give the reader their best work to either entertain or educate them. The reader agrees to give the author the benefit of the doubt and enter into the reading of the book with an open mind. Most of the time if everyone fulfills their end of the contract, a reader will find themselves entertained or enlightened (sometimes both!) But occasionally even when everyone does it right, things just don’t work out. Unfortunately, I feel this happened with me and the novel The Regulars by Paris Singer, published by Forsaken.
Mr. Singer more than did his part. This novel was well written and the storyline was intriguing. The author put his best into this story. The characters in the story were well developed and empathetic to the reader. But for all that, reading this book felt like a chore to me. Finishing this book was a chore.
I DO NOT blame this on the author, as I said above, this was a very good novel, and once I started reading the story, I enjoyed it. The problem was, I could not finish the book in one setting and picking the book back up to continue to read it felt like picking up a required reading book for school.
This story tells the tale of what happens to a group of characters after their death. These spirits have to deal with “issues” before they are able to move on, and the story follows the character’s travel through the afterlife. The story runs the gambit of emotions there is mystery and horror, love and compassion, fear and anxiety. By the end, there is resolution of a kind, but this is obviously set up to be the first book in a series. In spite of how well it was written, I will not be reading the next book in this series, but would absolutely consider reading more from Paris Singer in the future.
Mr. Singer more than did his part. This novel was well written and the storyline was intriguing. The author put his best into this story. The characters in the story were well developed and empathetic to the reader. But for all that, reading this book felt like a chore to me. Finishing this book was a chore.
I DO NOT blame this on the author, as I said above, this was a very good novel, and once I started reading the story, I enjoyed it. The problem was, I could not finish the book in one setting and picking the book back up to continue to read it felt like picking up a required reading book for school.
This story tells the tale of what happens to a group of characters after their death. These spirits have to deal with “issues” before they are able to move on, and the story follows the character’s travel through the afterlife. The story runs the gambit of emotions there is mystery and horror, love and compassion, fear and anxiety. By the end, there is resolution of a kind, but this is obviously set up to be the first book in a series. In spite of how well it was written, I will not be reading the next book in this series, but would absolutely consider reading more from Paris Singer in the future.
November 2, 2016
This books starts off in a very abstract space. The narrator is a soul that has just regained consciousness in the afterlife. He has no idea who he is, where his is, or how the world around him works. So his experience is described as a series of emotions initially.
When you get into this book, don’t try to make sense of it right away, and do give it a chapter to grow on you. Like fog over a lake on a summer morning, the confusion and grief clears away. It turns into an adventure through the afterlife that is well worth reading.
Our narrator begins as a soul lost in a torrent of grief, and then one small set of eyes brings him back into an existence of understanding. That’s when he meets The Regulars.
I love this cast of misfit souls so much. There is River, a solemn woman who awoke in the after life at the edge of a river. (She’s the one who got the Horror Made fan art treatment today). There’s “The Boy” who takes a liking to our narrator and decides to train him in the ways of the Regulars. There’s the group’s leader, a massive bearded man called Louis. And then, there’s the one who gives you the heebie-jeebies right away, Mr. Cage. He seems more like a vicious spider than a man, and he’s quickly one you start to fear- although the reason why doesn’t become clear until the end.
This group has kind of a Beetlejucie vibe to them. As their main source of entertainment seems to be scaring the living daylights out of living people. We don’t linger in that routine too long though, because our narrator is a good soul. One that hungers for answers. How can I protect The Boy from The Regulars? What happened to me? How did I die? Was I killed?
Through his journey to protect his new young friend, he finds his path. One little breadcrumb of a clue at a time that leads him down a spiraling rabbit hole of the recently deceased, and the clues that lead him to the final answers.
As I enjoyed with Paris’s “The Skull Collector” the narrator’s journey through the world feels surreal and abstract in a poetic way. Where this book differs is that, as time goes on, we get a clearer and more concrete understanding of the world by the end. My one criticism is that in that last few pages there’s a character that spells everything that happened out, clearing up most of the lingering questions. I didn’t like that because it felt a little pandering after all of the faith the reader was given along the way to piece together the clues. However– it was also nice to have some of those big “what the heck?!” questions explained plainly- in particular what the deal was with Mr. Cage.
Now that’s a character I’d love to read more about. He’s one freeeeeaaaaaaky dude.
What I loved most about this book was the mystery of our narrator’s death and how the clues unfolded. The journey surprised me, kept me guessing, and kept me incredibly entertained the whole way through.
I think anyone who enjoyed the show Dead Like Me, or the movie Beetlejuice will really enjoy the mystery and adventure of this book.
When you get into this book, don’t try to make sense of it right away, and do give it a chapter to grow on you. Like fog over a lake on a summer morning, the confusion and grief clears away. It turns into an adventure through the afterlife that is well worth reading.
Our narrator begins as a soul lost in a torrent of grief, and then one small set of eyes brings him back into an existence of understanding. That’s when he meets The Regulars.
I love this cast of misfit souls so much. There is River, a solemn woman who awoke in the after life at the edge of a river. (She’s the one who got the Horror Made fan art treatment today). There’s “The Boy” who takes a liking to our narrator and decides to train him in the ways of the Regulars. There’s the group’s leader, a massive bearded man called Louis. And then, there’s the one who gives you the heebie-jeebies right away, Mr. Cage. He seems more like a vicious spider than a man, and he’s quickly one you start to fear- although the reason why doesn’t become clear until the end.
This group has kind of a Beetlejucie vibe to them. As their main source of entertainment seems to be scaring the living daylights out of living people. We don’t linger in that routine too long though, because our narrator is a good soul. One that hungers for answers. How can I protect The Boy from The Regulars? What happened to me? How did I die? Was I killed?
Through his journey to protect his new young friend, he finds his path. One little breadcrumb of a clue at a time that leads him down a spiraling rabbit hole of the recently deceased, and the clues that lead him to the final answers.
As I enjoyed with Paris’s “The Skull Collector” the narrator’s journey through the world feels surreal and abstract in a poetic way. Where this book differs is that, as time goes on, we get a clearer and more concrete understanding of the world by the end. My one criticism is that in that last few pages there’s a character that spells everything that happened out, clearing up most of the lingering questions. I didn’t like that because it felt a little pandering after all of the faith the reader was given along the way to piece together the clues. However– it was also nice to have some of those big “what the heck?!” questions explained plainly- in particular what the deal was with Mr. Cage.
Now that’s a character I’d love to read more about. He’s one freeeeeaaaaaaky dude.
What I loved most about this book was the mystery of our narrator’s death and how the clues unfolded. The journey surprised me, kept me guessing, and kept me incredibly entertained the whole way through.
I think anyone who enjoyed the show Dead Like Me, or the movie Beetlejuice will really enjoy the mystery and adventure of this book.
July 26, 2017
Actual rating: 3.5
REVIEW ORIGINALLY POSTED https://roamingreadersite.wordpress.c...
INTRO
First! I must mention that I received a copy of this book for review but that has not affected my opinion in any way. I picked this one up because I love a good ghost story. The element of a ghost searching for answers: why they died or who they were is nothing new, but it is always exciting to see different author’s take on this idea and how they make it their own.
THE GOOD
Murder Mystery: this element of the plot was BY FAR my favorite! I loved when the narrator met Peters and began really trying to understand what happened to the two of them. The mystery was well done. They were the main characters I was interested in and wanted to know how they died and how the two of them were connected
River: I liked her mysterious nature and want to know more about her.
Quick read: once you hit about 20% the novel goes by quickly and always leaves you wanting to read so you can learn more about the characters
The Man in the Suit: He has a name but I don’t remember it (opps) but he was a good villain! He was scary and mysterious– everything a good villain should be! Around when he was introduced was when I really started caring about the plot and wanting to learn more about him.
THE BAD
Mr. Cage: He was a pretty weak villain. I didn’t really care for him when he was introduced in the beginning and I hardly feared him or the safety of the characters around him. I found the man in the suit to be a much better and more fear inducing villain.
OVERALL
The Regulars was a fine read. I enjoyed the mystery aspect of it and think it’s a good read for anyone who is curious. I’ll probably never pick it up again but I might keep an eye out for anything else the author does since the novel showed lots of promise with his writing and ideas!
REVIEW ORIGINALLY POSTED https://roamingreadersite.wordpress.c...
INTRO
First! I must mention that I received a copy of this book for review but that has not affected my opinion in any way. I picked this one up because I love a good ghost story. The element of a ghost searching for answers: why they died or who they were is nothing new, but it is always exciting to see different author’s take on this idea and how they make it their own.
THE GOOD
Murder Mystery: this element of the plot was BY FAR my favorite! I loved when the narrator met Peters and began really trying to understand what happened to the two of them. The mystery was well done. They were the main characters I was interested in and wanted to know how they died and how the two of them were connected
River: I liked her mysterious nature and want to know more about her.
Quick read: once you hit about 20% the novel goes by quickly and always leaves you wanting to read so you can learn more about the characters
The Man in the Suit: He has a name but I don’t remember it (opps) but he was a good villain! He was scary and mysterious– everything a good villain should be! Around when he was introduced was when I really started caring about the plot and wanting to learn more about him.
THE BAD
Mr. Cage: He was a pretty weak villain. I didn’t really care for him when he was introduced in the beginning and I hardly feared him or the safety of the characters around him. I found the man in the suit to be a much better and more fear inducing villain.
OVERALL
The Regulars was a fine read. I enjoyed the mystery aspect of it and think it’s a good read for anyone who is curious. I’ll probably never pick it up again but I might keep an eye out for anything else the author does since the novel showed lots of promise with his writing and ideas!
July 18, 2013
*First reads*
When I read the synopsis of "Shadow of Perception", I knew instintly that it would be a book I wanted to read and (thank goodness) I wasn't disappointed.
Please forgive this review, as I have only just finished the book, so I'm still, for want of a better word, "buzzing" from the final showdown and conclusion. (You see, that's what a good book should do...)
I hold my hands up. When I first started reading and some guy "wakes up" only to discover he is actually dead, I couldn't help but wonder if this would be another blah, blah, blah, find the reason why etc.
Oh no. This was buckle your seat belt, the author has other plans...
Okay, lets get the negative nigglies out of the way first... (that's the other point to a good book, niggly bits that you can chew/reflect on after...) There were points when the main character came off as a bit annoying and weak and all I wanted to do was kick him up the back side, but on reflection maybe this was actually a good point? A human point. A "how would someone really react to this situation?!" If he had been written confident and knew what he was doing/what things were about, I doubt it would come off believable... It was frustrating at points when the story wouldn't reveal what was really going on, but, as the reader, you are veiwing things from dead, murdered guys point of view. So you are unraveling things at his pace. A bit of patience and the conclusion is worth the wait.
The story is a very clever take on the space in between dying and passing over. The characters all have their own voice and dimnensions... and linked. I can't say much more in fear of the review becoming one big spoiler however, I thoroughly enjoyed how the author linked his characters. Didn't see it coming.
Look out for Mr Cage, he is one creepy "dark jester"... The stuff of nightmares and the one you would check under the bed for as a child before your parents switched off the lights.
The character becomes more twisted and frightful as the tale progresses. Deliciously evil. But what I think was more surprising was how this character came to be. But that's for you to read about...
What gave "Shadows of Perception" a high rating for me, was the authors style. Many times I was surprised at some of the more tender, emotional scenes between characters. Which was refreshing in a novel in this genre.
I thoroughly enjoyed the authors attention to detail and the world he created for his "lost souls". I also liked how our "normal" hum-drum world ran along side it. As the story picked up, the charcters found themselves in a race to find out the truth before a terrifying Mr Cage caught up with them, threatening to throw them into the abyss... That, or something else tried to...
Shadows of Perception has it all. Love, betrayal, friendhip, suspence, horror, forgiveness, scary Mr Cage and characters who you can't help but care about. It keeps you guessing and nothing is as it seeems.
If you don't like horror, or don't enjoy concepts of what happens when you die... Then this probably won't be your book. Forget it. But, if you enjoy horror with a twist and something that gets the grey matter between the ears working then give this book a go - it might just rock. :0)
When I read the synopsis of "Shadow of Perception", I knew instintly that it would be a book I wanted to read and (thank goodness) I wasn't disappointed.
Please forgive this review, as I have only just finished the book, so I'm still, for want of a better word, "buzzing" from the final showdown and conclusion. (You see, that's what a good book should do...)
I hold my hands up. When I first started reading and some guy "wakes up" only to discover he is actually dead, I couldn't help but wonder if this would be another blah, blah, blah, find the reason why etc.
Oh no. This was buckle your seat belt, the author has other plans...
Okay, lets get the negative nigglies out of the way first... (that's the other point to a good book, niggly bits that you can chew/reflect on after...) There were points when the main character came off as a bit annoying and weak and all I wanted to do was kick him up the back side, but on reflection maybe this was actually a good point? A human point. A "how would someone really react to this situation?!" If he had been written confident and knew what he was doing/what things were about, I doubt it would come off believable... It was frustrating at points when the story wouldn't reveal what was really going on, but, as the reader, you are veiwing things from dead, murdered guys point of view. So you are unraveling things at his pace. A bit of patience and the conclusion is worth the wait.
The story is a very clever take on the space in between dying and passing over. The characters all have their own voice and dimnensions... and linked. I can't say much more in fear of the review becoming one big spoiler however, I thoroughly enjoyed how the author linked his characters. Didn't see it coming.
Look out for Mr Cage, he is one creepy "dark jester"... The stuff of nightmares and the one you would check under the bed for as a child before your parents switched off the lights.
The character becomes more twisted and frightful as the tale progresses. Deliciously evil. But what I think was more surprising was how this character came to be. But that's for you to read about...
What gave "Shadows of Perception" a high rating for me, was the authors style. Many times I was surprised at some of the more tender, emotional scenes between characters. Which was refreshing in a novel in this genre.
I thoroughly enjoyed the authors attention to detail and the world he created for his "lost souls". I also liked how our "normal" hum-drum world ran along side it. As the story picked up, the charcters found themselves in a race to find out the truth before a terrifying Mr Cage caught up with them, threatening to throw them into the abyss... That, or something else tried to...
Shadows of Perception has it all. Love, betrayal, friendhip, suspence, horror, forgiveness, scary Mr Cage and characters who you can't help but care about. It keeps you guessing and nothing is as it seeems.
If you don't like horror, or don't enjoy concepts of what happens when you die... Then this probably won't be your book. Forget it. But, if you enjoy horror with a twist and something that gets the grey matter between the ears working then give this book a go - it might just rock. :0)
March 29, 2016
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I thoroughly enjoyed the misty, almost unreal feeling of this short book. What really does happen after we die, and if we could control things in that time, would we? Or should we? These characters really give a feeling of unease, you can almost feel the coldness coming from them. Very well written and thought-provoking!
I thoroughly enjoyed the misty, almost unreal feeling of this short book. What really does happen after we die, and if we could control things in that time, would we? Or should we? These characters really give a feeling of unease, you can almost feel the coldness coming from them. Very well written and thought-provoking!
July 29, 2013
Loved enough to read it twice... own a copy... can't think of anything better to say about this book, other than waiting for the sequel and desperately wanting a copy of that prequel featuring Mr Cage
June 23, 2013
An amazing read. This after-death fantasy is one of the most original and memorable books I have read.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews