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Where There's Smoke
The Department of Historical Significance is the smallest, most poorly funded State Agency in Georgia. The DHS was chartered by the State of Georgia to protect and identify areas and objects of historical significance and value from Georgia’s past. Unfortunately that includes ghosts, demons, and other paranormal beings. It is Randel Rodney Behl’s job to identify and protect those ghosts, demons, and other paranormal beings. He wishes they would all die.
225 pages, Paperback
Published March 11, 2021
About the author
Joel Byers
5 books3 followersJoel Byers has been described by the industry as the laziest, most brilliant, unpublished talent currently pretending to write. He has vigorously protested this appellation, as he claims he was dead all those years and has the paperwork to prove it. Since regaining his corporeal form he has promised to write more, as writing is the second most fun thing he can do with his his clothes off.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 9, 2021
First of all, I want to apologize for how long it took to get this dang book review out. It is NOT AT ALL because of the author or his book — 2021 started out total shit and my mental health has just spiraled since. I had to reduce my reading goal on Goodreads for the first time in the 5 years I’ve used the site. 😭
Moving! On!
I think my favorite thing about this book was ABSOLUTELY the different paranormal legends that were used throughout. One of the legends in particular reminded me of the short story, “Wait ‘Til Martin Comes,” from one of the Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark books. I’m not sure if that story was taken as inspiration, but, if so, I can definitely see the parallels.
My favorite legend, though, was the classic, “Ghost dies in a tragic accident and doesn’t realize they’re dead.” In the case of this story, that was Missy. Of all of the legends and paranormal situations in this book, I think Missy’s story was written the best and made the most sense. She had a very nice introduction and wrap-up and, overall, just felt, to me, the most “complete” of all of the investigations.
I do think some of the investigations could have been... expanded a little more in the amount of detail that was used. I saw a review of this book that said that they thought the characters’ dialogue was a little unrealistic, but they liked the writing style outside of the dialogue, but I’m actually the opposite. I think the dialogue was fine — but, a lot of the writing and the details of the investigations and such felt like the author was “telling” instead of “showing.” I think there were a lot of aspects of the plot that would have been a lot cooler had they been fleshened out a little more. Most things just felt... slightly skimmed over. Which was fairly disappointing, because I remember reading Byers’ short story “Abaddon,” and I don’t think the detail in *that* story was skimmed over at all.
This was a very easy read, though, and I think it could especially appeal to fans of the show Supernatural. I haven’t seen the few most recent seasons of the show, but this book feels very reminiscent of Supernatural’s older seasons. The characters, in particular, remind me of early-season Sam and Dean and Bobby.
Overall... I’m sorry, again, that this took forever to get out. Ugh. But, even though there were some things that could have been expanded upon, I think this book could largely appeal to fans of paranormal legends who just want quick, easy reads! If you like Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, I think you should consider giving this book a go!
Moving! On!
I think my favorite thing about this book was ABSOLUTELY the different paranormal legends that were used throughout. One of the legends in particular reminded me of the short story, “Wait ‘Til Martin Comes,” from one of the Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark books. I’m not sure if that story was taken as inspiration, but, if so, I can definitely see the parallels.
My favorite legend, though, was the classic, “Ghost dies in a tragic accident and doesn’t realize they’re dead.” In the case of this story, that was Missy. Of all of the legends and paranormal situations in this book, I think Missy’s story was written the best and made the most sense. She had a very nice introduction and wrap-up and, overall, just felt, to me, the most “complete” of all of the investigations.
I do think some of the investigations could have been... expanded a little more in the amount of detail that was used. I saw a review of this book that said that they thought the characters’ dialogue was a little unrealistic, but they liked the writing style outside of the dialogue, but I’m actually the opposite. I think the dialogue was fine — but, a lot of the writing and the details of the investigations and such felt like the author was “telling” instead of “showing.” I think there were a lot of aspects of the plot that would have been a lot cooler had they been fleshened out a little more. Most things just felt... slightly skimmed over. Which was fairly disappointing, because I remember reading Byers’ short story “Abaddon,” and I don’t think the detail in *that* story was skimmed over at all.
This was a very easy read, though, and I think it could especially appeal to fans of the show Supernatural. I haven’t seen the few most recent seasons of the show, but this book feels very reminiscent of Supernatural’s older seasons. The characters, in particular, remind me of early-season Sam and Dean and Bobby.
Overall... I’m sorry, again, that this took forever to get out. Ugh. But, even though there were some things that could have been expanded upon, I think this book could largely appeal to fans of paranormal legends who just want quick, easy reads! If you like Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, I think you should consider giving this book a go!
February 25, 2024
Video review found here: https://youtu.be/YW5rUjKdfYk?si=6eX4f...
The action and adventures of Sean and Randal, are really fun for those who like light reading that involves a supernatural element. It’s a quick read that’s fast paced, with clean humor. Despite the subject matter, this was a light hearted read. Not as heavy as one would expect considering the chaos our characters encounter. I got a bit of Warehouse 13 TV show vibes in this piece and I think it’s a great quick read for people who enjoy that sort of entertainment in book form.
I also felt like the characters did a good job of explaining or hinting at lore of certain beings they encountered. They gave you enough information for you to have some understanding and empathy towards the beings they had to interact with. I enjoyed that aspect, and I enjoyed some of the more creative liberties that the author took involving such lore. That was well done.
I know I gave this only 3 stars, but it’s a really solid three stars. The adventure and action makes this a really good story that’s fun to tag along with, but the character building and dialog leave something to be desired.
The emotions of the characters didn’t balance well with the situations. A lot more POV from the characters and some more character background/development (like flashbacks instead of just quick dialogs between characters in the heat-of-the-moment) could have helped to remedy this. A quote from “20 Master Plots and How to Build Them” by Tobias sums up this critique concisely:
“Once a plot action takes over character, you lose proportion. If you want to be sincere and deal with complicated emotions, you must spend the time it takes to develop a character who is strong enough to carry those emotions. Otherwise, all you’re trying to do is glue feelings onto a cardboard cutout of a character. “
There also wasn’t good rationale behind actions given by the characters. For example why is Randal an atheist despite all he has seen instead of an agnostic? Not well explained. Why is Sean able to rationalized keeping an absurdly disturbing job that could kill him because....the health insurance was good? Especially since he’s away from home and his fiancé constantly, but wants to be a family man? Doesn’t add up very well, and this leaves the reader to heavily lean on plausible deniability....an absurd amount. I found this very difficult to overlook.
Lastly, some of the dialog felt too...perfect. It was as if the dialog was too grammatically correct for how normal people actually talk. This made a lot of it feel forced and it affected how unrealistic social situations seemed for the circumstances.
Fun and quick read for the lovers of the paranormal. Again, a solid three stars.
The action and adventures of Sean and Randal, are really fun for those who like light reading that involves a supernatural element. It’s a quick read that’s fast paced, with clean humor. Despite the subject matter, this was a light hearted read. Not as heavy as one would expect considering the chaos our characters encounter. I got a bit of Warehouse 13 TV show vibes in this piece and I think it’s a great quick read for people who enjoy that sort of entertainment in book form.
I also felt like the characters did a good job of explaining or hinting at lore of certain beings they encountered. They gave you enough information for you to have some understanding and empathy towards the beings they had to interact with. I enjoyed that aspect, and I enjoyed some of the more creative liberties that the author took involving such lore. That was well done.
I know I gave this only 3 stars, but it’s a really solid three stars. The adventure and action makes this a really good story that’s fun to tag along with, but the character building and dialog leave something to be desired.
The emotions of the characters didn’t balance well with the situations. A lot more POV from the characters and some more character background/development (like flashbacks instead of just quick dialogs between characters in the heat-of-the-moment) could have helped to remedy this. A quote from “20 Master Plots and How to Build Them” by Tobias sums up this critique concisely:
“Once a plot action takes over character, you lose proportion. If you want to be sincere and deal with complicated emotions, you must spend the time it takes to develop a character who is strong enough to carry those emotions. Otherwise, all you’re trying to do is glue feelings onto a cardboard cutout of a character. “
There also wasn’t good rationale behind actions given by the characters. For example why is Randal an atheist despite all he has seen instead of an agnostic? Not well explained. Why is Sean able to rationalized keeping an absurdly disturbing job that could kill him because....the health insurance was good? Especially since he’s away from home and his fiancé constantly, but wants to be a family man? Doesn’t add up very well, and this leaves the reader to heavily lean on plausible deniability....an absurd amount. I found this very difficult to overlook.
Lastly, some of the dialog felt too...perfect. It was as if the dialog was too grammatically correct for how normal people actually talk. This made a lot of it feel forced and it affected how unrealistic social situations seemed for the circumstances.
Fun and quick read for the lovers of the paranormal. Again, a solid three stars.
July 3, 2023
My mom loaned me this book - she knows I love books set in Georgia. This one was funny, very creative, entertaining and I really enjoyed it! Can't wait to read more of his books.
December 24, 2021
This book reminds me of Fredric Brown. You probably don’t know of Fredric Brown, but he was an excellent SF and Mystery writer in the 1940s. He was noted for his humor, though his most famous story, Arena, is serious. Anyway, this novel is a light comedy-horror-supernatural novel. You won’t find any deep philosophy here, or extensive world building, or complex characterization. It’s not about that. It’s about being entertaining and fun. And it succeeds very well on that level. Humor is the most difficult thing to write well. It is very easy to have all of your jokes just not be that funny. I think Joel avoids this and wrote a fairly funny book. Not side-splitting all the way through, but still funny. While I won’t call this Great like I did “The Infernal Ratio” in Critical Mass, if you are just looking for light, entertaining reading, this is your book.
-Emily Schmidt & Gregory Kerkman
-Emily Schmidt & Gregory Kerkman
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews