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Unholy Ghosts
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Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane - Start Date February 10th
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I'll set a pace of approximately 110 pages a day and we can finish in three days. Sound good?
Day Chapters Pages
February 10 1 - 12 1 - 109
February 11 13 - 24 110 - 220
February 12 24 - 38 221 - 339
I absolutely love this series. :) I hope you guys do too.
I've heard so many good things about it.
I lurrrvvvvved this series. A few people have problems with the slang and drug use, but I absolutely loved it. Enjoy!!
Count me in, I have heard great things about this and the author is just super awesome too.
yep count me in too
Let's make this one February 10th?
That works for me.
Stephanie I love your picture. Oh how I love Dean Winchester. lol
I've got my book. I'll try to divide the reading. What pace would you like to read at?
I ll join in as well...been meaning to start this series
Lisarenee wrote: "I've got my book. I'll try to divide the reading. What pace would you like to read at?"I am good with whatever pace. But I think if it was anything less than 2-3 chapters a day I'd probably not be able to resist reading ahead :)
Stefani wrote: "Lisarenee wrote: "I've got my book. I'll try to divide the reading. What pace would you like to read at?"I am good with whatever pace. But I think if it was anything less than 2-3 chapters a day..."
Now you're just messing with me. lol
I'll set a pace of approximately 110 pages a day and we can finish in three days. Sound good?
Day Chapters Pages
February 10 1 - 12 1 - 109
February 11 13 - 24 110 - 220
February 12 24 - 38 221 - 339
Lisarenee wrote: "Now you're just messing with me. lol "Guilty :)
That looks perfect to me.
Looks good - I will be listening to this on audiobook so will probably go at a slightly slower pace.
I'm just starting & it's very late so I will probably do most of my reading tomorrow.
Comments/Thoughts on Chapter 1-12Warning, possible spoilers ahead...
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Chess is a very, messed up woman. The best Debunker in the Church but a horrible childhood has left her with a severe drug addiction. Also, she's in denial about her attraction to Terrible. Being caught between 2 drug dealers - who expect different results on the airport - is like being between a rock and a hard place.
Terrible is my favorite character so far. A "street rat" who grew up to be the most feared drug enforcer in Downside. I like the glimpses of his character that we've seen so far - we know he likes muscle cars and punk rock music and that he takes pride in the fact that he's gotten so good at his job that he doesn't have to fight anymore. We also get hints that he has a caring, protective nature.
These chapters had quite a bit of world-building too - which I'm a sucker for. I like that we got to see the rituals for a banishing and the equipment she needed to perform it.
The Church - I think this organization will end up being the true bad guys in the long run. I find it very suspicious that they were able to contain the ghosts from "Haunted Week" in 1997 so quickly considering they didn't seem to be in existence before the spirits rose. And that the Festival allows the ghosts to go out into the world again on the anniversary of Haunted Week but the church can easily recall the ghosts back to the City of Eternity. "Atmospheric and astrological conditions" - I don't think so. The Church has become a dictatorship - overpowering the government, banning all other religions and "forbidden literature" along with Reckonings and identification cards that monitor if you attend services = total tyrants.
The worms coming out of the cut on Chess's arm? Creepy and icky!
Thoughts/Comments on Chapters 13 - 24Warning, spoilers ahead...
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Chess continues to be in denial about her attraction to Terrible while being completely clueless about his feelings for her. Putting his hand on the blood book and tearing up the town when she went missing is not the actions of a man doing his job but a man in love. "Go back to the way you looked before"...Ouch! Chess was completely high so she wasn't in control of her mental faculties but for a man who is self-conscious about his looks that had to hurt. Too bad Chess wasn't sober enough to phrase it the way she meant too.
Terrible continues to be made of awesome from offering himself up to be the book's sacrifice to protecting the street children. Still my favorite character.
Lex isn't half bad for a drug dealer enforcer but Chess needs to leave him for Terrible ASAP.
Doyle - Obnoxious, self-centerd jerk.
The Church - I still think they are behind some of the ghosts' visciousness from Haunted Week to the present. The Air Force ghosts weren't violent and according to the Church all spirits are bloodthirty killers. The mention of POW ghosts during Haunted Week was interesting - I hope we get more details on that at a later date.
Top 3 Creepy Things in these chapters:
Ereshdiran, the Dream Thief - Creepy bad guy - the thought of someone watching you as you sleep, invading your dreams, and stealing your soul...spooky.
The blood book - In order to gain knowledge, you have to put your hand on a book that absorbs your blood, sucks the life out of you, and forces you to relieve your worst memories...disturbing.
The Lamaru - I could get behind an overthrow of the Church but not by a black-magic group who practices soul slavery.
*closing eyes and not peeking* Sara you are a fast reader. Will be starting this one shortly.:)
Comments/Thoughts on Chapters 25-38Warning, Spoilers Ahead...
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The creepy worms bursting out of veins are back. Chess was way more calmer than I would ever be in that situation.
Bump the Abominable Snowpimp - I totally want that action figure!
Tulip tattoo - Nice to see that Chess had at least one decent foster parent. It would be interesting to see how Chess would have turned out with a loving, safe childhood. Would she have still turned to the Church?
Saving and sharing your menstrual blood? Eww.
More signs of the dubious morality of the Church with certain tattoos being illegal unless your a Church employee. If the ghosts are uncontrollabe psychos, wouldn't it be safer to tattoo all citizens with Banishing and Protection sigils as a cautionary measure. Sort of like the car/bike equivalent of seat belts, helmets, and air bags?
I can get behind Randy wanting to overthrow the Church but not the methods he used - no one likes an extremist.
Air Force ghosts and drug-dealing thugs to the rescue!
Poor Chess and Terrible - if they had more confidence in themselves they could be pursuing a relationship by now.
I could almost - but not quite - feel sorry for Doyle. Terrible one day and Lex the next? That boy is going to be hurting for a month!
Unholy Ghost was a very gritty, dark urban fantasy and I loved it. I never thought the #1 enforcer of a drug lord would be my favorite character in a book. Terrible is a bad boy with a heart of gold and I will be rooting for Chess and him to become a couple. I also hope Chess is able to straighten herself out eventually.
My doctor says I suffer for the so called "weekend migraine". True to be told, is not every weekend, but close... I'll be start my reading now, just to say I started today, but will catch up tomorrow.
Thoughts for Chapters 1-12***Spoilers ahead***
I can't help but really like Chess. She is totally screwed up and a complete mess but can anyone really blame her? She's seen hell and beyond since she was a little girl, trying to escape is only normal.
Not sure what I think about Terrible yet. He seems like a nice guy but obviously is also a pretty scary guy. I am interested to know why he has such a reputation when he seems very tame thus far.
The language and the dialect is giving me a little trouble. I understand it but it seems a little simpleton to me. This is the future and we've devolved to that? Course looking at the slang that kids are using now, maybe it's more accurate than I want to believe.
The story is interesting to me. I like that Chess has several things going on at once, and at least one of them might be more than she bargained for. I can't wait to see what happens with the ritual circle and the body in the well.
************ SPOILERS for Chapters 1 - 12 *****************This first section of reading didn't really hook me in. We're just dropped into the middle of a world we know nothing about and expected to keep up with what's going on. I was confused as to if this was the past, future, or present time. The accent some of the characters displayed for some reason reminded me a little of a cockney accent of England. I don't think they're extremely alike, but for some reason I kept picturing the streets to look like something out of Oliver Twist.
I don't have a really good picture of the state of the world or how the "Church" functions. We're getting bits and pieces but not a really good overall view. So witches have become the equivalent of exorcists?
So Chess is being manipulated between two Drug dealers? Do all witches have a drug habit? I'm still not quite sure why she needs the drugs. Is she haunted by what she's seen, what was done to her, or is there something else going on? Was she addicted when she was a novice?
Sonia wrote: "My doctor says I suffer for the so called "weekend migraine". True to be told, is not every weekend, but close... I'll be start my reading now, just to say I started today, but will catch up tomorrow."Hope you're feeling better Sonia.
Actually, I'm feeling worse today - maybe because I had to come to work despite of taking the day off - It's Carnaval week on Portugal - but I had some urgent deadlines, so my extra day in bed went puffff... *urges clock to speed one more hour*
So I guess I'll have to skip this one... I'll pop in if/when I read it to leave my 2 cents.
************ SPOILERS FOR Chapters 13 - 24 *************This second part finally got me hooked. Perhaps it's because the action picked up at this point and all the information started to pull together.
Stefani, I agree Chess is quite a wreck and appears to have had a bad life prior to the Church taking her in. I have to wonder if she was recruited when she was 15 and trained with them until she was 21 why she didn't try to keep her nose clean. Perhaps not feeling like she fit in and nightmares took their toll? Did the story start right at the beginning of her downward spiral into addiction?
Lisarenee wrote: "************ SPOILERS FOR Chapters 13 - 24 *************I have to wonder if she was recruited when she was 15 and trained with them until she was 21 why she didn't try to keep her nose clean. Perhaps not feeling like she fit in and nightmares took their toll? Did the story start right at the beginning of her downward spiral into addiction? "
You would think that she might try, but I have a feeling that her addictions started long before 15. If she followed the path of so many abused children, then she just wanted to escape. She didn't want to feel, she didn't want to think, she just wanted it all to disappear and discovered that drugs could do that temporarily. And once the drugs had their hooks in here, she doesn't think she can stop anymore even if she wanted to.
***Spoilers for Chapters 12-24***This section really drew me more into the story a lot. I like Chess a ton, no matter how damaged she is. Though I do keep wondering why she keeps going places alone. Every time she's alone we have ghosts coming after her, people coming after her, people breaking into her house....you'd think she'd get the idea and STOP BEING ALONE!
Terrible is really growing on me, we've seen a little more of his mean streak but he still strikes me as a huge teddy bear.
These lamaru folks sound like really bad news. I hope Chess doesn't go off and handle it all alone and asks other people for help, but I doubt she will logically. Also, I am hoping beyond all hope that Doyle is a red herring. I thought in the first section, I wonder if Doyle is really a bad guy. If that turns out true I will be so disappointed. I am praying he's a red herring!
Was I the only one who found that sex scene anti-climactic (pun intended)? Everything was "somehow this happened" and "somehow I took off his pants." No it didn't just magically happen, you did it!
Stefani wrote: "***Spoilers for Chapters 12-24***Terrible is really growing on me, we've seen a little more of his mean streak but he still strikes me as a huge teddy bear.
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I thought so to. lol
"These lamaru folks sound like really bad news."
Yes, they do. I'd like to know more about them.
I wonder if Doyle is really a bad guy. If that turns out true I will be so disappointed. I am praying he's a red herring!
I hope so too.
Was I the only one who found that sex scene anti-climactic (pun intended)? Everything was "somehow this happened" and "somehow I took off his pants." No it didn't just magically happen, you did it!
Well, in her defense her mind was riddled with drugs so perhaps "somehow" she couldn't keep track of how things happened. Obviously not mind shattering Lovin or maybe it was? I think not.
@SaraTop 3 Creepy Things in these chapters:
Ereshdiran, the Dream Thief - Creepy bad guy - the thought of someone watching you as you sleep, invading your dreams, and stealing your soul...spooky.
Reminded me of Nightmare on Elmstreet.
The blood book - In order to gain knowledge, you have to put your hand on a book that absorbs your blood, sucks the life out of you, and forces you to relieve your worst memories...disturbing.
Very creepy and I agree disturbing. I guess it's one of those 'magic has a price' kind of things and this one is a doozy. I can't imagine what Terrible saw.
The Lamaru - I could get behind an overthrow of the Church but not by a black-magic group who practices soul slavery.
Very scary and wish we knew more about this group.
*********** SPOILERS for Chapter 24 - end *************Sara, The creepy worms were very weird.
Sara asid, "Saving and sharing your menstrual blood? Eww."
My thoughts exactly. Eww!!!!! Just Ewwwww!!!
Sara said, "I can get behind Randy wanting to overthrow the Church but not the methods he used - no one likes an extremist."
He did sound like he was a few nuts short of a fruit cake. I think he wasn't one to think things out fully. Lured by what they could do for him not what they were doing.
Sara said, "I could almost - but not quite - feel sorry for Doyle. Terrible one day and Lex the next? That boy is going to be hurting for a month!
I loved this part and laughed. She tried not to tell Lex his name. This kind of endeared both Lex and Terrible to me.
I have to confess that I went out and snagged the next book in the series and read it in one sitting. I enjoyed this book. I will probably give this one a 3 1/2 or 4 stars.
I really like Terrible and am not sure what to think of Lex. Both are rather surprising and neither truly seems like an out and out jerk. Lex seemed to approach the relationship rather cautiously while Terrible is more worried about scaring Chess away. He seems to really care about her and has her pegged.
The whole airport scene was rather interesting and I liked how everything tied together. Stefani, you got your red herring. :) The only thing i would have liked more of was world building and a better explanation of how the new church came into being. I wanted more background on that and the Lamaru.
*********** SPOILERS for Chapter 24 - end *************I am so beyond happy Doyle was a red herring! Turns out he's just kind of a pompous jerk. I have to admit I was rather surprised at who it really was. I had initially thought perhaps Robert was a good suspect but discarded him when the Goody Tremmell thing happened. So I fell for one red herring, hook, line, sinker.
I would have liked more world building and history, but I did love the bits of church rules or information at the beginning of every chapter. The ending really creeped me out. You could tell that the author did her homework on how pagan rituals work, she did a great job on the steps and process...as a pagan, I was impressed. The Dreamthief was really creepy and scared me pretty good. I know it's a good monster when I'm alone in a house at 4:30a and think back to that monster and feel a need to turn on all the lights lol. Which I did this morning!
Then the worms and the blood and just *shudder*. Although the menstruation thing is common in pagan circles. Not saving the blood, icky. But that your personal power is at it's highest when you're menstruating...so I liked that connection a lot.
I will probably end up giving this a 4. Overall, I really loved it and will be buying the next book asap.
I have to give Stacia Kane a lot of credit - she truly brings the creepy/ick factor to the urban fantasy genre. A lot of authors bring the vicious, the funny, and the sexy but the skin-crawling disturbing effect isn't found as often. I never would have thought that drug-dealing enforcer characters (Terrible, Lex) would be romantic leads that you cheer on either.
Sara wrote: "I have to give Stacia Kane a lot of credit - she truly brings the creepy/ick factor to the urban fantasy genre. A lot of authors bring the vicious, the funny, and the sexy but the skin-crawling di..."I'm not sure about her choice of names. lol Terrible and Bump???? Terrible is iffy, but Bump??? Wouldn't have been my choice.
Forgot to mention I did like how different her book was from others. Plus, I can't wait for the third books since I inhaled the second.
Stefani said, "I know it's a good monster when I'm alone in a house at 4:30a and think back to that monster and feel a need to turn on all the lights lol. Which I did this morning!":)
Sefani said Then the worms and the blood and just *shudder*. Although the menstruation thing is common in pagan circles. Not saving the blood, icky. But that your personal power is at it's highest when you're menstruating...so I liked that connection a lot.
Worms pretty creepy, but felt perhaps a little more explanation as to how they manifested in her open wound would have been nice. Interesting to learn about the power surge during menstruation. Have to admit though thinking of how they'd collect the blood creeped me out. lol I guess this would go along with what Sara was saying. Kane manages to trip your uncomfortable button in more ways than one.
Yeah, I'm not sure how Bump has any street cred with that name. I bought the next few books in the series too.
This topic is open for discussion of Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane. Be prepared for SPOILERS.
Book Synopsis:
THE DEPARTED HAVE ARRIVED.
The world is not the way it was. The dead have risen, and the living are under attack. The powerful Church of Real Truth, in charge since the government fell, has sworn to reimburse citizens being harassed by the deceased. Enter Chess Putnam, a fully tattooed witch and freewheeling ghost hunter. She’s got a real talent for banishing the wicked dead. But Chess is keeping a dark secret: She owes a lot of money to a murderous drug lord named Bump, who wants immediate payback in the form of a dangerous job that involves black magic, human sacrifice, a nefarious demonic creature, and enough wicked energy to wipe out a city of souls. Toss in lust for a rival gang leader and a dangerous attraction to Bump’s ruthless enforcer, and Chess begins to wonder if the rush is really worth it. Hell, yeah.