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The Seances
Jon Olson wasn’t comfortable performing a high-stakes seance for his client, the wealthy Julia Marstead. Though Julia was willing to pay any price to contact her lost daughter, Jon felt she was not completely honest, concealing things from him. As the seance began, he sensed overwhelming danger. Suddenly, Julia dragged him into her twisted world, setting off a chain of events that would change Jon’s life forever. The Seances is an epic paranormal story, spanning the course of many seances and personal losses, where the terrifying mystery of the Marstead estate is revealed, along with the horrific destiny of Jon Olson.
372 pages, Paperback
Published May 8, 2020
35 people are currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
Michael Richan
55 books129 followersMichael Richan lives in Washington State. He has written horror fiction for over forty years.
He's the author of several best selling series, including "The River," 'The Downwinders," and "The Dark River." All are set within The River universe.
He's also the author of other best selling titles such as "The Haunting of Pitmon House", "The Coldwater Haunting", and "The Seances".
Visit michaelrichan.com to learn more about the series and to see a suggested reading order. Follow Michael via email and receive the free novella "Residual". You can also follow him via Twitter @michaelrichan.
He's the author of several best selling series, including "The River," 'The Downwinders," and "The Dark River." All are set within The River universe.
He's also the author of other best selling titles such as "The Haunting of Pitmon House", "The Coldwater Haunting", and "The Seances".
Visit michaelrichan.com to learn more about the series and to see a suggested reading order. Follow Michael via email and receive the free novella "Residual". You can also follow him via Twitter @michaelrichan.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
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March 9, 2025Well.......another one bites the dust.
I will put just a tiny backstory here to give you an idea of what the story is about:
Jon is a psychic medium who has the ability to enter into the other side when doing a seance. He is hired by a woman (Julia Marstead) to hold seances in her home as she has been dealing with horrific nightmares and wants a psychic to help her understand her horrible dreams. But Jon bites off more than he can chew when things go awry during one of the seance sessions and he wonders what is really behind Julia's nightmares.
Thoughts:
I have read a few books by this author and loved them and this book starts off great and creepy. There is a little bit of slow burn in the beginning with world building but then about 30% into the story the whole concept of the seances that the character is experiencing shifts and deviates into a dream world of sorts. I could not figure out while reading what was happening as far as if the character was really in a dream state or if he was experiencing what was happening to him at the seance.
I really read more than 30% of the book - I was actually up near the 45% mark but from the 30% mark to the 45% mark the story was being told within the dream state or at least I think it was because I couldn't figure out if the character was dreaming or not - that is how confusing the story becomes. The story shifts around too much within the dream world leaving not only the character confused but leaving the reader confused too.
So this book will be going on my "DNF" shelf and I will continue to read books by this author as he does have some creepy stuff out there but this one just did not work for me at all. There will be no rating on this book as I do not rate books I don't finish.
I will put just a tiny backstory here to give you an idea of what the story is about:
Jon is a psychic medium who has the ability to enter into the other side when doing a seance. He is hired by a woman (Julia Marstead) to hold seances in her home as she has been dealing with horrific nightmares and wants a psychic to help her understand her horrible dreams. But Jon bites off more than he can chew when things go awry during one of the seance sessions and he wonders what is really behind Julia's nightmares.
Thoughts:
I have read a few books by this author and loved them and this book starts off great and creepy. There is a little bit of slow burn in the beginning with world building but then about 30% into the story the whole concept of the seances that the character is experiencing shifts and deviates into a dream world of sorts. I could not figure out while reading what was happening as far as if the character was really in a dream state or if he was experiencing what was happening to him at the seance.
I really read more than 30% of the book - I was actually up near the 45% mark but from the 30% mark to the 45% mark the story was being told within the dream state or at least I think it was because I couldn't figure out if the character was dreaming or not - that is how confusing the story becomes. The story shifts around too much within the dream world leaving not only the character confused but leaving the reader confused too.
So this book will be going on my "DNF" shelf and I will continue to read books by this author as he does have some creepy stuff out there but this one just did not work for me at all. There will be no rating on this book as I do not rate books I don't finish.
January 16, 2021
Jon Olson and the NDA (Nondisclosure Agreement)...
No spoilers: 2 1/2 stars. This is the story of the Marstead family and their estate...
Julia Marstead has hired Jon Olson, a psychic medium, to find her long-lost 3 year old daughter who is presumed dead... but first Jon must...
...sign an NDA Stating he is forbidden to tell anything he sees or learns about the Marsteads to the outside world...
This story spans 3 generations with Jon Olson and the NDA being common threads throughout each generation...
First, what I liked about the story. The first generation and Jon Olson was somewhat interesting although clunky and confusing at times. I particularly liked the ghost of Oscaar.
What I didn't like was switching to an all new cast of characters just as I was getting into the old ones. This happens 3 times causing loss of interest each time.
Also, there were so many loose ends and unexplained things, such as Oscaar (who he was and how he got mixed up with the Marsteads) that, for me, this very long novel turned into giant waste of time.
This story was somewhat similar to SLADE HOUSE by David Mitchell but Mitchell's novel had a better execution.
Try THE COLDWATER HAUNTING by this author for a better, more cohesive story.
No spoilers: 2 1/2 stars. This is the story of the Marstead family and their estate...
Julia Marstead has hired Jon Olson, a psychic medium, to find her long-lost 3 year old daughter who is presumed dead... but first Jon must...
...sign an NDA Stating he is forbidden to tell anything he sees or learns about the Marsteads to the outside world...
This story spans 3 generations with Jon Olson and the NDA being common threads throughout each generation...
First, what I liked about the story. The first generation and Jon Olson was somewhat interesting although clunky and confusing at times. I particularly liked the ghost of Oscaar.
What I didn't like was switching to an all new cast of characters just as I was getting into the old ones. This happens 3 times causing loss of interest each time.
Also, there were so many loose ends and unexplained things, such as Oscaar (who he was and how he got mixed up with the Marsteads) that, for me, this very long novel turned into giant waste of time.
This story was somewhat similar to SLADE HOUSE by David Mitchell but Mitchell's novel had a better execution.
Try THE COLDWATER HAUNTING by this author for a better, more cohesive story.
July 5, 2020
NDA or a Non-Disclosure Agreement is needed when Julia, with psychic medium Jon reaches across paranormal boundaries to find her daughter. Some interesting characters with an interesting premise. Most the book is dialogue.
May 22, 2020
Not my favorite Michael Richan book. Didn't have a good flow and seemed to jump around a lot without explanation.
May 23, 2020
Just how much power can 1 dead person have.
In life, Jon Olsen was an all around nice guy - focused on raising money to pay the hospital bill for bringing his new daughter into this world. Being a back room medium was not cutting it. Then the golden goose promised to lay several golden eggs in his lap. Sadly, he ended up paying with more than just his life. Tricked and controlled by his murderer, Jon’s revenge went far
beyond what you can ever imagine. For Jon there was very little rest after death. His bizarre acts were focused, evil and deadly - but the strangest and most unique was finding a way to possess a baby not yet conceived!
The author has a fascinating mind, and here as is in other novels - he forces the reader to think, many times turning us in to a Sherlock of the paranormal adventures. This is one of the reasons I am so intrigued by his work. I have read each and everyone of his books at least a couple times. So I am always excited searching for the mysteries waiting for me. This book just happens to have more than usual. The well crafted tale covers several generations of humans and how the lives of each character is affected by one ghost and a nasty lady.
In life, Jon Olsen was an all around nice guy - focused on raising money to pay the hospital bill for bringing his new daughter into this world. Being a back room medium was not cutting it. Then the golden goose promised to lay several golden eggs in his lap. Sadly, he ended up paying with more than just his life. Tricked and controlled by his murderer, Jon’s revenge went far
beyond what you can ever imagine. For Jon there was very little rest after death. His bizarre acts were focused, evil and deadly - but the strangest and most unique was finding a way to possess a baby not yet conceived!
The author has a fascinating mind, and here as is in other novels - he forces the reader to think, many times turning us in to a Sherlock of the paranormal adventures. This is one of the reasons I am so intrigued by his work. I have read each and everyone of his books at least a couple times. So I am always excited searching for the mysteries waiting for me. This book just happens to have more than usual. The well crafted tale covers several generations of humans and how the lives of each character is affected by one ghost and a nasty lady.
June 1, 2020
Unexpected prognosticators, great book, sad endings
This is not your typical haunted house story. There is much more depth to it. You start with one prognosticator only for his story to be moved to the background as you meet someone new. It is a multi generational story. Absolutely fascinating from start to finish but also incredibly sad with so many sad endings for the characters in the story. I’ve never read anything quite like it.
This is not your typical haunted house story. There is much more depth to it. You start with one prognosticator only for his story to be moved to the background as you meet someone new. It is a multi generational story. Absolutely fascinating from start to finish but also incredibly sad with so many sad endings for the characters in the story. I’ve never read anything quite like it.
June 3, 2020
Hauntingly great story!
For those into paranormal stories, this one was pretty good. It starts out a bit confusing, but clears up at a decent rate, then takes off! It's about love and hate, revenge, and finality. So, it's a great one off with leaving no questions to be answered, in my opinion.
For those into paranormal stories, this one was pretty good. It starts out a bit confusing, but clears up at a decent rate, then takes off! It's about love and hate, revenge, and finality. So, it's a great one off with leaving no questions to be answered, in my opinion.
May 24, 2020
I don't know what to say. I love Michael Richans, but I just couldn't get in to this book. There was too much to keep track of. The story to me was not stream line. I read mostly horror and this just didn't do it for me. Maybe next time. Three stars for the story, five stars for effort
September 19, 2020
Truly Scary Book
This book was a real page turner! The characters were well written and developed. So many generations of people were haunted. I will definitely read another of his books!
This book was a real page turner! The characters were well written and developed. So many generations of people were haunted. I will definitely read another of his books!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews