The Occupant is the third book in the Afterlife Investigation series by Ambrose Ibsen. It is a thriller, horror, paranormal and if you have not read or listen to the first two books, STOP reading now. It is impossible to write a review of the sequels without leaking spoilers from the previous books. The main character of all three books is Stephen Barlow is an adjunct professor at an Ohio college. In the first book Asylum, Barlow becomes involved with two students, Elizabeth and Jake who want to form a Spiritual Club ( paranormal not kumbaya). They investigate Chaythe Asylum and inadvertently release something evil that has been stuck there for 28 years. In the second book, Forest, Barlow is trying to stop the entity known as The Occupant. Elizabeth is possessed by the entity as Barlow tries to save her and kill The Occupant. In the third book, The Occupant, Barlow is now deep in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He and Jake are searching for the lost town that The Occupant was associated with. Elizabeth is somewhere in the unending dark woods, the body through which The Occupant was working to bring its full entry into our world. Jake and Barlow try to piece together the history of The Occupant through the history of the town which has disappeared. They are helped by Jane who was originally used by her uncle to bring The Occupant into the world from the pit where it dwelled. The pervading sense of dread is ratcheted up several notches in this book. It creates almost a sense of breathlessness. Even when the action is slowed down, there is still the feeling that something is circling ever closer. There are constantly large swatches of forest, trees blocking out the sun or the moon, swaying in the breeze, hiding anything moving slowly, carefully and quietly towards Barlow. The ending of the book really did not give me any sense of closure or peace. I am not sure if the series will continue with Barlow investigating other paranormal things or if this will be the end. Somehow I don’t think it is. “The door has been opened. It’s already too late.” Joe Hempel does as great job narrating all three books. He conveys the tension and fear just as well in this book as he did in the other Ibsen books I have listened to. While the story gets very intense, Mr.Hempel never veers in hysteria or yelling. I really enjoyed his narration. I will be looking for more books narrated by Mr. Hempel.
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A Pope and a President John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, and the Extraordinary Untold Story of the 20th Century Author Paul Kengor Narrated by James Anderson Foster Publication date Sep 20, 2017 Running time 23 hrs 21 min Courtesy Tantor Media I remember the spring of 1981 well. I was a freshmen in community college. I had turned eighteen the fall before and voted in my first election. The end of March my family, friends and classmates were all shocked by the assignation attempt on President Ronald Reagan. I was too young to remember the Kennedy assassination. Six weeks later, Reagan was back at the White House and finals were looming. The assignation attempt on Pope John Paul II really hit me as a Catholic. I really did not understand why someone would try to kill the Pope. Finally thirty-six years later, author Paul Kengor supplies the answer and how Reagan factors into the events of May 13, 1981. Kengor does a fantastic job of constructing the background that sets the stage for the partnership of President Reagan and Pope John Paul II. He explains the events of the history of the Catholic Church and Communism in Russia that are intertwined by the communist opposition to all religions. The author states that “Lenin ordered the shootings of an estimated 14,000 to 20,000 clergy and active laymen.” This book has much to offer even non-Christians or atheist. The religious content is important because it is what motivated those involved. The religious beliefs of President Reagan and Pope John Paul II are are central to the history as the communist antipathy to all religion. Would the USSR have fallen when it did without President Reagan or Pope John Paul II? I do not think it would have. I think it was the unique unofficial partnership and true respect between the two men that facilitated the events. Without the hope Pope John Paul II gave his countrymen in Poland and other communist bloc countries, without the pressure applied by the government of the United States under President Reagan’s direction, without the same message from two perspectives from two of the most powerful men in the world, the USSR had no reason to allow the changes to happen without bloodshed. Gorbachev is quoted in the book as stating that the Pope, “did a lot to prepare for the end of the Cold war.” The book is fascinating but the audiobook is even better. James Anderson Foster has been one of my favorite narrators for years. This is the first nonfiction I have heard him narrate. The book contains a number of names that I struggled to read and retain in the print book. With Foster narrating, I was easily able to keep the various people straight because of his clear pronunciations. His voice is easy to listen. I recommend listening to the audiobook over reading the book just for the pleasure of hearing Foster’s narration. Forest is the sequel to Asylum: The Afterlife Investigations, Book 1. It is a thriller, horror, paranormal story written by Ambrose Ibsen. If you have not read or listen to Asylum, STOP reading now. It is impossible to write a review of Forest without mentioning plot points from Asylum. Stephen Barlow is an adjunct professor at an Ohio college we met in Asylum. He witnesses a student being killed by a hit and run. Shortly afterward he becomes involved with two students, Elizabeth and Jake who want to form a Spiritual Club ( paranormal not kumbaya). They investigate Chaythe Asylum and inadvertently release something evil that has been stuck there for 28 years. As Forest begins, Stephen has decided since they released the evil from the asylum, they are responsible for trying to find and stop it. Elizabeth and Jake are significantly traumatized by the events at the asylum and refuse to help. As in the first book, Mr. Ibsen does a nice job of creating a pervading sense of dread. Each event from the first book connects neatly to Stephen navigating a dark forest with a shadowy figure that alternates leading and following. It undoubtedly figures that escaped the asylum. What Stephen finds in the forest is more horrifying than what was discovered at the asylum. As the story progresses, Stephen, Jake, and Elizabeth face a more dangerous evil. Forest does not have the same ending as Asylum. Forest literally leaves you dangling from the tree by your fingertips with the tiger walking around the base, patiently. It compels you to get to the next book in the series as soon as possible. Joe Hempel does a great job narrating Forest as he did Asylum. He conveys the tension and fear just as well in this book as he did in the two other Ibsen books I have listened to. While the story gets very intense, Mr.Hempel never veers in hysteria or yelling. I really enjoyed his narration. I am looking forward to hearing Mr. Hempel narrate the conclusion to this trilogy by Ibsen. ABR received this audiobook for free from the Narrator, Submitted in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect our opinion of the audiobook or the content of our review. Asylum: The Afterlife Investigations, Book 1 is a thriller, horror, paranormal story written by Ambrose Ibsen. I recently discovered Mr. Ibsen thanks to Audiobook Reviewer. I enjoyed the previous book by Mr. Ibsen I listen to so how could I pass up a creepy asylum story? Who doesn’t love an abandoned asylum with a macabre history? Stephen Barlow is an adjunct professor at a college in Ohio. He is brand new on staff and only teaching one course. One day walking to campus he witnesses a student killed in a hit and run. The dying boy asks if Stephen can hear “them” and dies in his arms. While trying to avoid the nightmares that follow, Stephen gets talked into being the faculty advisor for the newly forming Spiritual Club. It is spiritual like paranormal not spiritual like kumbaya. The club has only two members, Elizabeth and her overprotective boyfriend Jake. Chaythe Asylum has been closed for close to 28 years after years of decline and allegations of staff abuse of patients. A patient who escaped her room and killed several other patients and staff before she was killed herself was the final event in the asylum’s history. It was referred to as the 3rd Ward Incident. A strange series of events lead Stephen, Elizabeth and Jake to the tour the asylum, with the present owner’s consent, on the twenty-eighth anniversary of the murders. This was a fun, although scary, story. Mr. Ibsen does a nice job of creating a pervading sense of dread. Each event is part of a chain that leads to the asylum where things truly go to crap (insert stronger word here). There is no easy solution visible at any point in the book. This is the first book in a trilogy. There is a closure of sense to this book but the story does continue on in the next two books. Joe Hempel does a great job narrating Asylum. He conveys the tension and fear just as well in this book as he did in Stirrings in the Black House book. While the story gets very intense, Mr.Hempel never veers in hysteria or yelling. He maintains a consistent volume level. I really enjoyed his narration. Mr. Hempel and Mr. Ibsen are now on my list to check out whenever I come across their work. ABR received this audiobook for free from the Narrator, Submitted in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect our opinion of the audiobook or the content of our review. Anna is seventeen years old and absolutely stifled by her guardian Aunt Rachel. There are so many things proper ladies do not do. Anna repeatedly gets herself in trouble due to natural intelligence and curiosity. She has, fortunately, had her Uncle Silas, a co-conspirator in bending Aunt Rachel’s rules. Due to the time they spent together, Anna knew him better than anyone else in the family. When Silas died after an illness, Anna was not the least bit surprised that the last request of his will was to have his head cut off from his body. Silas had a horrible fear of claustrophobia due to a traumatic experience. He often told Anna if his head was cut off there would be no doubt he was dead and have nothing to fear. Anna’s family wail and scream at the family lawyer until he calmly tells them the request is not legally binding but it is considered something the family should do. As Anna’s family rages around her, she realizes the reason for the request and also realizes her family will not honor it. What is a well-bred young woman to do? Let her favorite uncle down and follow the strict etiquette of the time? Or maybe handle the last request herself without letting the family know but risk a world of trouble if they find out? Last Request is a short listen. Perfect for a shorter trip or sitting in a waiting room. The story is very well done. Short stories are difficult to write, more difficult than a novel. In a limited space, the author must tell his story, invest us in his characters, and ultimately fulfill our need for a good story with a satisfactory ending. Mr. Chapman does it so well I would like to read more stories involving Anna and the trouble she finds. The narration by Caprisha Page was excellent. She handled the different accents from Anna’s educated one to the sexton’s lower class words equally well. The male versus female characters was also well done. I highly recommend Last Request as an enjoyable yet thrilling story, perfect for Halloween moods. ABR received this audiobook for free from the Author, Submitted in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect our opinion of the audiobook or the content of our review. Monsterland by Michael Phillip Cash was an enjoyable read. It is the story of an amusement park. It is not so much Walt Disney World as it is Jurassic Park. No dinosaurs though, just vampires, werewolves and zombies. The back story how how the three species of legend come to public attention is well done. The main character is a teen boy dealing with the wreckage in the wake of his parent's divorce. Moving from upscale LA to middle of nowhere, losing the financial support of his inattentive father and his mother's remarriage have given Wyatt a larger than normal dose of teenage angst. The girl, Jade, he likes is the football hero's girl. Wyatt's best friends are on the far end of the socially acceptable scale. Wyatt plods through each day with his irritating little brother Josh nipping at his heels adding another layer of misery to his life. Shortly before the simultaneous world wide openings of all the Monsterland Parks, Wyatt's luck changes. He uses his own money to buy food for a seemingly homeless man at the fast food restaurant he works for. The man is not homeless, just eccentric and the owner of all the Monsterland Parks. Wyatt is given four VIP tickets for the opening while Jade,her boyfriend and two other friends are given regular tickets. Wyatt, his brother, two best friends and the President of the United States are all headed for the opening night of Monsterland. An amusement park that features real werewolves, vampires and zombies. What can possibly go wrong? The book is really an enjoyable read. Wyatt is a likable kid. The vampires, werewolves and zombie are real, not guys in masks as in Scooby Doo. There is a nice build up to the action. Once the action does start, it does not stop. For anyone who grew up reading Famous Monsters Magazines or the like, Monsterland will be childhood dreams come true, including the running and screaming. I received a free copy of Monsterland from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. Recently I received an email through Goodreads that the author was republishing the book under his name instead of his pen name and he had made a few changes. I was offered a free copy of the revised book in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed the book just as much with the changes. The changes are very subtle. Josh is renamed Sean. The spelling of one character’s last name changes. There was only one change that I actually caught. All the other changes just made the book flow better or the story more intense. I highly recommend Monsterland to anyone who enjoys a good monster filled book. There is a sequel in the works which I am greatly looking forward to. Elizabeth Bear creates a complex world in The Stone in the Skull. There are different civilizations, different gods, different magics, different forms of life and different skies, all on the same planet. The story is good. It draws you in and slowly reveals secrets in a way that keeps you turning pages.
The book opens in Steles of the Sky with a brass man, The Gage, hauling pulling a ship over a mountain pass as it ported between rivers. The Gage is not really a man, anymore, and is so much more than a man in strength and intelligence. I liked him immediately. There was something about him, a sense of honesty and/or decency, that came through early in the book and never left. Traveling with The Gage is the Dead Man. He is not really dead. The name is a job title that related to his former profession. The Dead Man and The Gage have worked together for years and have a fondness for each other. This unique friendship formed, in my opinion, the spine of the story. Everything was some how related to the two friends. The other main characters in the book live in the Lotus Kingdoms on the other side of the mountains that The Gage and the Dead Man were crossing. Several kingdoms, all related by blood and formerly one kingdom, jostle for power. The gods are different in the southern and the customs are different. Mrithuri, 24 years old and unmarried, rules one of the kingdoms. Her cousin and uncles circle her waiting for the first sign of weakness to steal her kingdom for themselves. Mrithuri, the Dead Man and The Gage are bound together, although they do not know each other, by the secret entrusted to the two friends to be delivered to Mrithuri’s kingdom. The universe The Stone in the Skull takes place in is complex. I read the ARC in an ebook format. I think it would have been helpful to have access to basic maps, a glossary and maybe a cast of characters listing. Other readers may not have the same issue I did. I plan on rereading the book in a few months and I am sure it will flow better for me then. The Stone in the Skull is the first in a planned trilogy. It does end with a cliffhanger. This is the second book by Elizabeth Bear I have read, the first being the fantastic Karen Memory. I recommend The Stone in the Skull for all fans of fantasy. |
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