Beyond the Shroud, a Wraith: The Oblivion novel

Classic World of Darkness Fiction

by Rick Hautala

It doesn't end with death. David Robinson's life has taken several turns for the worse: his daughter is dead, his marriage is over and his career has fallen apart. But after he dies in a hit-and-run accident, David learns that he faces his most harrowing challenges as a wraith. David must fight the deadliest battle of his life -- in death.

Genres: Horror

295 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

AKA A.J. Matthews

Rick Hautala has more than thirty published books to his credit, including the million copy, international best-seller Nightstone, as well as Twilight Time, Little Brothers, Cold Whisper, Impulse, and The Wildman. He has also published four novels—The White Room, Looking Glass, Unbroken, and Follow—using the pseudonym A. J. Matthews. His more than sixty published short stories have appeared in national and international anthologies and magazines. His short story collection Bedbugs was selected as one of the best horror books of the year in 2003.

A novella titled Reunion was published by PS Publications in December, 2009; and Occasional Demons, a short story collection, is due in 2010 from CD Publications. He wrote the screenplays for several short films, including the multiple award-winning The Ugly Film, based on the short story by Ed Gorman, as well as Peekers, based on a short story by Kealan Patrick Burke, and Dead @ 17, based on the graphic novel by Josh Howard.

A graduate of the University of Maine in Orono with a Master of Art in English Literature (Renaissance and Medieval Literature), Hautala lives in southern Maine with author Holly Newstein. His three sons have all grown up and (mostly) moved out of the house. He served terms as Vice President and Trustee for the Horror Writers Association.

Sadly, Rick died on March 21, 2013.

Reviews

[Poppy Reynolds · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not bad, it kept me interested, but lacked scope. Not a nail-biter by any means; I certainly saw the end coming from about page 50, and the characters are not terribly engaging. I'm certainly not upset that I read it, however if this had been my first jaunt into the Dark World I would have simply found it...whelming.

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of Rick Hautala. This book was not Rick's finest hour. This claustrophobic story deals with the main character's afterlife after he's killed in an accident on the way to committing suicide. Throw in the grim reaper, assorted wraiths, a pack of hellhounds and an evil relic that had belonged to Jack the Ripper. It's a true mishmash of darkness.

[Todd R · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a great book even when considering that it's White Wolf rpg fiction meant to sell a product line.
The Death and Damnation Wraith anthology is by far the best Wraith based fiction.
An easy paycheck was earned for this one...Nothing any writer should be ashamed of...But it shows.

[Batjutsu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the new audio version of this old story, which was a great audio performance. As a story set in the Wraith TTRPG it is worth a read to anyone who is a fan of the World of Darkness and especially Wraith. A criticism is, I found the book was often repetitive, I guess partly an attempt to emphasise things, an attempt to add tension, but at times I found it slow and even annoying. Maybe book ratings should have a caveat, as I am definitely more willing to persevere with game fiction. Thankfully, I enjoyed the overall story, the characters, and their re-examination of their existence. As I’m also playing Wraith currently, It was definitely fun to return to this book, and I plan to reread the others.

[Seth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was decent, but it sort of depends on why you read it. As a stand alone horror novel, it's just kind of "meh", but as a supplement for a table-top role playing game, it's actually quite good. It does an excellent job of incorporating the game ideas into the story, but you'd have to know all of this to get the most of out of the novel. I'd recommend this book to fans of role-playing games, and to a lesser extent horror buffs. Honestly though, this one has limited appeal. (I enjoyed it, FWIW)

[Hex · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story concept was a good one, but would have been better served as a novella or extended short story. Too much repetitive nothingness, whining, and pointless rambling by the characters. It was hard to feel anything for the characters other than an overwhelming desire for them to "get on with it already".

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it. Atmospheric and narratively strong. Reviewed at:


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