"I believe that if we are to make any real progress in the psychic investigation, we must do it with scientific apparatus and in a scientific manner, just as we do in medicine, electricity, chemistry and other fields." -Thomas A. Edison, Interview with "Scientific American," 1920
Old Tom Edison would be proud, then, what with the popularity of "ghost hunting" shows such as "Ghost Adventures," the spinoff "Paranormal Lockdown," and the newest entry, "Ghost Hunters." It seems that a new one of these shows pops up just about every season, but most don't last all that long, because nothing really ever happens, so I think the audience, as noted in this fictional novel, gets bored with them pretty quickly. I think more successful is the proliferation of "paranormal investigators" who have started their own podcasts and shows on YouTube and other media sites, which have a lot lower production cost.
They also each feature their own unique approach, but the common denominator is that most seem to be in competition with one another to employ the newest gadgets and electronic devices intended to prove the existence of paranormal phenomena. Hell, there's apparently even a convention, now, which caters to the manufacturers of these devices! Honestly, I believe that paranormal investigation is a legitimate field of inquiry, even if there is not much consensus on how to go about conducting systematic investigations and studies, but no one can claim that they're doing it right, or that someone else is doing it wrong. Some even favor investigating people rather than places, as it often seems that the affected individuals are more haunted than their houses.
As for the book: it's at least an interesting take on the TV-ghost-hunting phenomenon. The premise here is that a team of paranormal investigators, led by a veritable odd couple - a true believer and a Ph.D.-bearing physicist, venture to a notorious mansion - a former plantation, of course - where a strange event occurred in 1972. An entire team of renowned scientists making up the Paranormal Research Foundation who were conducting questionable human experiments on unsuspecting subjects went missing, and no one ever learned what became of them. As the house is about to be demolished to make way for a hotel, the owners agree to allow this team onto the grounds to investigate the disappearance, before the evidence is gone forever.
What follows is a series of bizarre events, resulting in catastrophe. The book is also unique as it's written from the perspective of yet another investigator who has now taken up the case and has assembled something of a narrative of events leading up to the tragedy from the remnants left behind, a series of journals, correspondence, documents, records and tapes, that tell the story of what occurred to the intrepid explorers who ventured where few had dared. So, like many, many feature-film predecessors (the whole "Paranormal Activity" franchise, "The Blair Witch Project," etc.), this is the novel version of a "found-footage" romp that itself almost reads like a script. I won't give away too many spoilers here, but there are many twists and turns which leave you guessing until the very end.
It's a creative novel which I enjoyed overall, but my one major critique is that it moves at a snail's pace for literally about a third of the 400-some-odd pages. I can't fathom a couple of the reviewers who call it "fast-paced." Literally NOTHING happens for the first hundred pages, other than some trigger objects moving around on a table - maybe. I get that the author needs to set the scene, introduce the characters, provide some historical context and, in this case, scientific background and whatnot, but that could have been accomplished easily in less than half of the space it took. I read this one in fits and starts because, honestly, much of it was just boring. It goes pretty quickly, as there's a lot of void space in the text, but my mind started to wander about every 50 pages or so, as I just kept waiting for something to happen. Once it does, things escalate fairly quickly, which was what kept me reading.
Generally recommended, but don't expect it to be full of thrills and chills right out of the gate. Fairly well-written, from the different perspectives of the various characters, in a creative way. Not my favorite, mostly because of the lag in the plot, but at least an admirable effort.
Old Tom Edison would be proud, then, what with the popularity of "ghost hunting" shows such as "Ghost Adventures," the spinoff "Paranormal Lockdown," and the newest entry, "Ghost Hunters." It seems that a new one of these shows pops up just about every season, but most don't last all that long, because nothing really ever happens, so I think the audience, as noted in this fictional novel, gets bored with them pretty quickly. I think more successful is the proliferation of "paranormal investigators" who have started their own podcasts and shows on YouTube and other media sites, which have a lot lower production cost.
They also each feature their own unique approach, but the common denominator is that most seem to be in competition with one another to employ the newest gadgets and electronic devices intended to prove the existence of paranormal phenomena. Hell, there's apparently even a convention, now, which caters to the manufacturers of these devices! Honestly, I believe that paranormal investigation is a legitimate field of inquiry, even if there is not much consensus on how to go about conducting systematic investigations and studies, but no one can claim that they're doing it right, or that someone else is doing it wrong. Some even favor investigating people rather than places, as it often seems that the affected individuals are more haunted than their houses.
As for the book: it's at least an interesting take on the TV-ghost-hunting phenomenon. The premise here is that a team of paranormal investigators, led by a veritable odd couple - a true believer and a Ph.D.-bearing physicist, venture to a notorious mansion - a former plantation, of course - where a strange event occurred in 1972. An entire team of renowned scientists making up the Paranormal Research Foundation who were conducting questionable human experiments on unsuspecting subjects went missing, and no one ever learned what became of them. As the house is about to be demolished to make way for a hotel, the owners agree to allow this team onto the grounds to investigate the disappearance, before the evidence is gone forever.
What follows is a series of bizarre events, resulting in catastrophe. The book is also unique as it's written from the perspective of yet another investigator who has now taken up the case and has assembled something of a narrative of events leading up to the tragedy from the remnants left behind, a series of journals, correspondence, documents, records and tapes, that tell the story of what occurred to the intrepid explorers who ventured where few had dared. So, like many, many feature-film predecessors (the whole "Paranormal Activity" franchise, "The Blair Witch Project," etc.), this is the novel version of a "found-footage" romp that itself almost reads like a script. I won't give away too many spoilers here, but there are many twists and turns which leave you guessing until the very end.
It's a creative novel which I enjoyed overall, but my one major critique is that it moves at a snail's pace for literally about a third of the 400-some-odd pages. I can't fathom a couple of the reviewers who call it "fast-paced." Literally NOTHING happens for the first hundred pages, other than some trigger objects moving around on a table - maybe. I get that the author needs to set the scene, introduce the characters, provide some historical context and, in this case, scientific background and whatnot, but that could have been accomplished easily in less than half of the space it took. I read this one in fits and starts because, honestly, much of it was just boring. It goes pretty quickly, as there's a lot of void space in the text, but my mind started to wander about every 50 pages or so, as I just kept waiting for something to happen. Once it does, things escalate fairly quickly, which was what kept me reading.
Generally recommended, but don't expect it to be full of thrills and chills right out of the gate. Fairly well-written, from the different perspectives of the various characters, in a creative way. Not my favorite, mostly because of the lag in the plot, but at least an admirable effort.
