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Shade of Pale
When an Irish patient visits him complaining about the Banshee, a vengeful female ghost from the Old Country, Manhattan psychiatrist Jukes Wahler assumes he is dealing with a paranoid schizophrenic, but his opinions change as he realizes he is being followed by a mysterious red-haired woman. Reprint.
255 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
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About the author
Greg Kihn
16 books39 followersRock radio DJ, rock musician, songwriter, screenwriter, and novelist. Kihn is known as the pioneer of the rock thriller genre.
Kihn’s first novel, Horror Show, was a nominee for the 1997 Bram Stoker Award. Big Rock Beat is the sequel, and Mojo Hand is the sequel to Big Rock Beat.
In the early 1980’s The Greg Kihn Band had a top 20 Billboard hit with “The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)” and a top 10 Billboard hit “Jeopardy”. The music video for “Jeopardy” was a MTV favorite and showed his fascination with rock n’ roll and zany horror.
Kihn’s first novel, Horror Show, was a nominee for the 1997 Bram Stoker Award. Big Rock Beat is the sequel, and Mojo Hand is the sequel to Big Rock Beat.
In the early 1980’s The Greg Kihn Band had a top 20 Billboard hit with “The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)” and a top 10 Billboard hit “Jeopardy”. The music video for “Jeopardy” was a MTV favorite and showed his fascination with rock n’ roll and zany horror.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 29, 2015
I received an ARC copy of this book from the publisher, Open Road, through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Open Road for letting me read an advance copy and for publishing a ton of great books.
Shade of Pale was originally published in the 90’s---this is a re-issue. For those of us that enjoyed the horror of that decade, this book is a lot of fun and I heartily recommend it. No cell phones—which creates tension and plot twists that would be impossible today. Classic rock references. Even the title itself is a reference to the Procol Harum song “A Whiter Shade of Pale.”
The Banshee is a creature, mainly, of Irish legend. She is a curse on certain Irish families---specifically the “old” or “original” families. Considering that the “Mc” of my names means that I happen to belong to one of those old clans, I thought about taking notes, you know, just in case. The folkloric and historical aspects of the Banshee legend is explored in fascinating detail. The anthropological and psychological underpinning are also very interesting. Even Saint Patrick makes an (historical) appearance.
I don’t spend time in my reviews telling the plot but I will say that many authors could learn a few lessons on how to pace a thriller from reading Shade of Pale. Kihn weaves four exciting story lines, each of which is a race toward a predestined confrontation with the Banshee and each other, into a compelling and absorbing narrative. I read the entire book in one sitting because there wasn’t a suitable stopping point. I love it when that happens.
Four stars. Took off one point because I found 2 characters to be annoying and unrealistic. The New York cop and the Black Rain terrorist were fantastic, however. Oh, and the Banshee was every bit as dangerous and deadly as promised but a lot more complex and interesting than I realized.
Shade of Pale was a ton of fun and a great way to spend an evening.
Shade of Pale was originally published in the 90’s---this is a re-issue. For those of us that enjoyed the horror of that decade, this book is a lot of fun and I heartily recommend it. No cell phones—which creates tension and plot twists that would be impossible today. Classic rock references. Even the title itself is a reference to the Procol Harum song “A Whiter Shade of Pale.”
The Banshee is a creature, mainly, of Irish legend. She is a curse on certain Irish families---specifically the “old” or “original” families. Considering that the “Mc” of my names means that I happen to belong to one of those old clans, I thought about taking notes, you know, just in case. The folkloric and historical aspects of the Banshee legend is explored in fascinating detail. The anthropological and psychological underpinning are also very interesting. Even Saint Patrick makes an (historical) appearance.
I don’t spend time in my reviews telling the plot but I will say that many authors could learn a few lessons on how to pace a thriller from reading Shade of Pale. Kihn weaves four exciting story lines, each of which is a race toward a predestined confrontation with the Banshee and each other, into a compelling and absorbing narrative. I read the entire book in one sitting because there wasn’t a suitable stopping point. I love it when that happens.
Four stars. Took off one point because I found 2 characters to be annoying and unrealistic. The New York cop and the Black Rain terrorist were fantastic, however. Oh, and the Banshee was every bit as dangerous and deadly as promised but a lot more complex and interesting than I realized.
Shade of Pale was a ton of fun and a great way to spend an evening.
July 6, 2012
This is a much more subtle book than Kihn's other three novels, though it's as enjoyable in a different way. There's no off-the-wall zany craziness; it's more a straight-forward traditional horror novel, well worth reading.
March 6, 2011
It is downright criminal that Greg Kihn doesn't write more. He's musician, DJ, busy otherwise surely, but the guy's got major writing talent. I loved Horror Show year ago and Shade of Pale was just as good, though very different, much more straight forward of a story. Monsters are terribly overdone nowadays and frequently too unoriginal, but Kihn goes for a very different monster, one I've never read about in a fiction book before. I liked the legend behind the story, the pacing, the characters. The book was an exceptionally quick read. I highly recommend it and sincerely hope Greg Kihn writes another horror book sometime soon.
August 27, 2015
I enjoy stories based on mythology, and Greg Kihn's Shade of Pale was no exception. The mythical creature at the center of this novel is the Irish Banshee, who traditionally wails in grief over a person's impending death, thereby allowing both friends and family to say goodbye and otherwise prepare for the loss of their loved one. Kihn's Banshee, however, is much more aggressive; her wail actually kills the men at which it is directed, in fairly gruesome ways. Not surprisingly, this ability makes her a formidable weapon, which some would like to control and wield against their enemies.
The Banshee is the common factor linking three main plot lines: the disappearance of a psychiatrist's sister; the strangling murders of several prostitutes; and the unexplained violent deaths of two men in New York City, whose only connection appears to be that they are both Irish. Kihn does a fine job at maintaining the suspense in all three plots while simultaneously weaving them together to create a satisfying finale. My only real complaint was his introduction of the "Banshee as weapon" idea, which provided some well-deserved gore at the end of the book but otherwise felt tacked on to the overall explanation for the Banshee's appearance in the New World. (Traditionally, the Banshee grieves for Irish emigrants at their ancestral family seat.)
There are a couple of minor factual gaffes, including a psychiatrist without a cell phone in 1997 and a battery-powered hand drill which is fully charged after the power to its charging cradle has been turned off for months, if not years. These glitches occur in the last 50 pages, though, so they do not significantly disrupt the reader's immersion in the narrative.
Verdict: Recommended for paranormal fantasy fans and crime thriller fans who don't mind a supernatural element.
I received a free copy of Shade of Pale through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Banshee is the common factor linking three main plot lines: the disappearance of a psychiatrist's sister; the strangling murders of several prostitutes; and the unexplained violent deaths of two men in New York City, whose only connection appears to be that they are both Irish. Kihn does a fine job at maintaining the suspense in all three plots while simultaneously weaving them together to create a satisfying finale. My only real complaint was his introduction of the "Banshee as weapon" idea, which provided some well-deserved gore at the end of the book but otherwise felt tacked on to the overall explanation for the Banshee's appearance in the New World. (Traditionally, the Banshee grieves for Irish emigrants at their ancestral family seat.)
There are a couple of minor factual gaffes, including a psychiatrist without a cell phone in 1997 and a battery-powered hand drill which is fully charged after the power to its charging cradle has been turned off for months, if not years. These glitches occur in the last 50 pages, though, so they do not significantly disrupt the reader's immersion in the narrative.
Verdict: Recommended for paranormal fantasy fans and crime thriller fans who don't mind a supernatural element.
I received a free copy of Shade of Pale through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 25, 2009
Shade of Pale, written by a San Jose D.J. (whom I've never heard on the radio) takes place in New York but starts with the thesis: the banshee is real. It then carefully melds modern horror (a la Ringu or The Grudge) with a New York City based detective story. It has a few distractions in the form of an IRA subplot that can be skipped without losing anything from the overall flow of the story.
August 29, 2022
This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 3.0 of 5
Jukes Wahler is a psychiatrist working in Manhattan - a city filled with people who could use his services, but is he soon to be in need of a psychiatrist himself?
One day, while looking out through a deli window, Jukes sees a tremendously beautiful redheaded woman walking past. She turn to look at him and then continues on down the block, disappearing in the crowd of people. It is a memorable moment, but it will become a bit more.
Shortly after seeing the stunning beauty, a patient tells Jukes that a woman has been stalking him - not an ordinary woman, but a banshee (an Irish angel of death) - a beautiful redhead. It's probably just coincidence since the patient is generally quite delusional.
Jukes will forget about this when something more immediate gets his attention - his sister and her abusive boyfriend have gone missing. One man has offered to help find them ... an ex-IRA commando who is the leader of a radical terrorist group in Ireland.
This book is part horror novel, part detective mystery, and part supernatural fantasy. Each of these is a high-selling category, so this should be a clear hit with a lot of different readers, but it doesn't always work out that way.
I love using classic mythology in modern fiction and we haven't seen a lot of Irish spirits or creatures, so this may have been my favorite part of this book.
The detective mystery aspect is also quite nicely done. I do like the classic, hard-boiled-style detective, and we get that here in spades with our New York cop. I think that a straight-forward mystery with this cop would have a good deal of appeal to readers such as myself.
While I like a good horror novel (and I'm okay with splatterpunk as horror), the horror doesn't work too well here. It's extraneous and just doesn't add anything to the story.
For a hard-boiled detective story, this moves along just right. But for a supernatural thriller/horror novel, the pace is too slow.
Looking for a good book? Shade of Pale by Greg Kihn has just about everything ... a New York cop, Irish IRA fighters, and even a banshee, but the various storylines move at an uneven pace, bringing the enjoyment level down a notch.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Jukes Wahler is a psychiatrist working in Manhattan - a city filled with people who could use his services, but is he soon to be in need of a psychiatrist himself?
One day, while looking out through a deli window, Jukes sees a tremendously beautiful redheaded woman walking past. She turn to look at him and then continues on down the block, disappearing in the crowd of people. It is a memorable moment, but it will become a bit more.
Shortly after seeing the stunning beauty, a patient tells Jukes that a woman has been stalking him - not an ordinary woman, but a banshee (an Irish angel of death) - a beautiful redhead. It's probably just coincidence since the patient is generally quite delusional.
Jukes will forget about this when something more immediate gets his attention - his sister and her abusive boyfriend have gone missing. One man has offered to help find them ... an ex-IRA commando who is the leader of a radical terrorist group in Ireland.
This book is part horror novel, part detective mystery, and part supernatural fantasy. Each of these is a high-selling category, so this should be a clear hit with a lot of different readers, but it doesn't always work out that way.
I love using classic mythology in modern fiction and we haven't seen a lot of Irish spirits or creatures, so this may have been my favorite part of this book.
The detective mystery aspect is also quite nicely done. I do like the classic, hard-boiled-style detective, and we get that here in spades with our New York cop. I think that a straight-forward mystery with this cop would have a good deal of appeal to readers such as myself.
While I like a good horror novel (and I'm okay with splatterpunk as horror), the horror doesn't work too well here. It's extraneous and just doesn't add anything to the story.
For a hard-boiled detective story, this moves along just right. But for a supernatural thriller/horror novel, the pace is too slow.
Looking for a good book? Shade of Pale by Greg Kihn has just about everything ... a New York cop, Irish IRA fighters, and even a banshee, but the various storylines move at an uneven pace, bringing the enjoyment level down a notch.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
December 28, 2019
What a fun nostalgic read. I read most of Mr. Kihn's horror novels when they first came out but seemed to have missed this one. I enjoyed the Irish mythology and thought the police character George Jones was a hoot. Those looking for the truly horrific will be disappointed but this is a good title to while away an afternoon.
January 27, 2018
Neither horrible nor brilliant, Shade of Pale is no literary masterpiece by any means; but it is a bit of easy to read fun that grips you and makes you want to know what happens next.
January 25, 2018
After reading Horror Show, this book seemed weak by comparison. The story was rather predictable.
December 26, 2021
A little graphic but overall was explosive with great twists.
March 6, 2017
chills...seriously
January 2, 2012
Definitely an interesting read about Banshees, which I knew nothing about prior to reading. Can't wait to see how it ends.
February 6, 2016
Yes, it is by that Greg Kihn and hence the musical reference....a bit spooky with banshees and all.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews