Samyann
The Elementals is a ghost story about three large estate homes on a beachfront. A family of quirky, diverse characters takes up residence in two of the homes, planning to dry out an alcoholic matriarch, “Big Barbara”, and enjoy the sun and beach. The third house is unoccupied, being swallowed by encroaching dunes – the haunted house! The basic thrust of The Elementals.
Liked. Every reader likes a good ghost story – so, this will do. Floors creak, dusky faces fade from view in dirty windows, images appear in sand, footprints disappear into darkness – all cool, ghostly stuff. Nice character building of some unusual people. Narration is great.
Not so hot. Would have been better if shortened by a couple of hours. In my opinion, there are a few irrelevant passages. The book has a few gripping scenes in the first two-thirds – but, the final one-third is much better. In fact, we don’t get a definition of “the elementals”, what they actually are, until the beginning of part three. Long build-up.
The book isn’t up to the ghost stories of say, Wendy Webb or Stephen King … but, if you’re a fan of the genre, you’ll enjoy.
Narrated by R.C. Bray, eight hours in length in unabridged audiobook format, released in June 2016 by Valancourt Books.
