Ghost Road Blues
by Jonathan Maberry
List Price:
Our Price: $3.77
You Save: $3.22 (46%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.14 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Jonathan MaberryEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-06-01
ISBN: 0786018151
Number of pages: 480
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
Book Reviews of Ghost Road Blues
Book Review: A Cracking Horror Novel; Move Over Mr. King
Summary: 4 Stars
Ghost Road Blues, the first of the Pine Deep Trilogy, has garnered a lot of attention and is the critically acclaimed novel of Jonathan Maberry who has also won the Bram Stoker Award. So with all this publicity and hype, I just had to check it out and Mr. Maberry was very kind enough to give me a review copy.
It's 1976 and something sinister is brewing in Pine Deep. A terrible evil lurks in this normally quiet town and the malevolent being is meticulously killing people faster than lightening. One man however, stands in the way of the ruthless, possessed murderer and squares off against him. That man is Oren Morse or as others call him, "The Bone Man", an African-American blues player with a guitar slung over his shoulder. With the wooden instrument, Morse beats down Ubel Griswold, the vicious murderer, and stops the evil...for now. But as Morse returns to his home, three men surround him and beat the Negro to death, committing a grave injustice. Thirty years on and October is approaching and for the Mayor of Pine Deep, Terry Wolfe, this worries him. Something peculiar yet chilling is dawdling in the air and when three wanted criminals arrive into town, it spells trouble for the inhabitants, especially the Guthries whose lives are torn apart after the encounter with one of the wanted men, Karl Ruger. Unknown to the dwellers of this quaint little town, the three criminals are the least of Pine Deep's problems however, as a ghastly old evil resurfaces and a ghostly figure with a guitar slung over his shoulder wanders the lonely roads in an attempt to help the people to fight the oncoming slaughter nicknamed, "The Red Wave".
It comes as no surprise that Mr. Maberry won the prestigious Bram Stoker award named after the famous Dublin man and the creator of Count Dracula. From start to finish Maberry entices the reader to venture further into the darkness that surrounds Pine Deep. There's a certain eeriness in the way the events unfold and you shiver as a chill crawls up and down your spine while reading the novel. The author succeeds in completing his objective in getting the reader to become emotionally involved by creating engaging characters that you'll either love or loath; the good guys are good and the bad guys are despicably bad. One character in particular, Vic Windgate, stood out for me. He is a vicious, nasty, S.O.B. who hits his wife and her young 14 year-old son and every time he slaps the kid around, you grit your teeth and just want to jump into the story and kick the living s**t out of him! Jonathan Maberry also describes a scene with creepy precision; "In the distance the thunder laughed again and there was a single flash of lightning that scratched a deep red vein in the darkness." His descriptions however are somewhat of a double-edged sword and he does occasionally go into overkill, sometimes painting a picture of a group of people or a town the length of half a page and this can be very off-putting. I found myself skipping certain passages that were over described and it's a shame because it can hinder the reader in enjoying what really is a great read that ends on a superb cliffhanger.
Ghost Road Blues is a terrific horror novel that is unfortunately hampered with overly descriptive passages. Make no mistake however, this will make you want to sleep with the light on and its author is every bit deserving of the award he received and could very well be the new king of horror. The sequel, Dead Man's Song is out now.
Rating: 4/5
Aidan Lucid
www.thelucidreview.com
Summary of Ghost Road Blues
Winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Best First NovelFrom a new master of horror comes an apocalyptic showdown between the residents of a secluded, rural town and the deadly evil that confronts them wherever they turn . . .
Evil Doesn't Die
The cozy little town of Pine Deep buried the horrors of its past a long time ago. Thirty years have gone by since the darkness descended and the Black Harvest began, a time when a serial killer sheared a bloody swath through the quiet Pennsylvania village. The evil that once coursed through Pine Deep has been replaced by cheerful tourists getting ready to enjoy the country's largest Halloween celebration in what is now called "The Spookiest Town in America."
It Just Grows Stronger
But then--a month before Halloween--it begins. Unspeakably desecrated bodies. Inexplicable insanity. And an ancient evil walking the streets, drawing in those who would fall to their own demons and seeking to shred the very soul of this rapidly fracturing community. Yes, the residents of Pine Deep have drawn together and faced a killer before. But this time, evil has many faces--and the lust and will to rule the earth. This struggle will be epic.
Horror Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Horror Books
Let the Right One In: A Novelby John Ajvide Lindqvist
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2008-10-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.99
Price in other shops:
Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus: The 1818 Textby Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
University Of Chicago Press; Published: 1982-03-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.00
Price in other shops:
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (Oxford Bookworms S, Stage 4)by Robert Louis Stevenson
Oxford Univ Pr (Sd); Published: 1991-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.79
Price in other shops:
The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales (Oxford Books of Prose)Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2001-11-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $50.00
The Waste Lands (The Dark Tower, Book 3)by Stephen King
Penguin Audio; Published: 2003-08-26; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $149.99
![Thinner [UNABRIDGED] Image](/images/Thinner-UNABRIDGED-0140862668-X.jpg){kind=small}
Thinner [UNABRIDGED]by Stephen King
Penguin Audio; Published: 1996-09-01; Audio Cassette; Book
Best price: $8.00
Price in other shops:
The Crow: Temple of Nightby S P. Somtow
Harper Paperbacks; Published: 1999-11-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops:
Brains: A Zombie Memoirby Robin Becker
Eos; Published: 2010-05-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.23
Price in other shops:
The Strain LP: Book One of The Strain Trilogyby Guillermo Del Toro, Chuck Hogan
HarperLuxe; Published: 2009-06-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.45
Price in other shops:
Prince of Darknessby Barbara Michaels
HarperTorch; Published: 2005-04-26; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.58
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Originby J.A. Konrath
CreateSpace; Published: 2010-11-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.75
Price in other shops:
Assassin's Code: A Joe Ledger Novelby Jonathan Maberry
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2012-04-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.19
Price in other shops:
Rot & Ruinby Jonathan Maberry
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; Published: 2011-05-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.92
Price in other shops:
The King of Plagues: A Joe Ledger Novel (Joe Ledger Novels)by Jonathan Maberry
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2011-03-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.72
Price in other shops:
Dead Man's Songby Jonathan Maberry
Pinnacle Books; Published: 2007-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.20
Price in other shops:
Bad Moon Risingby Jonathan Maberry
Pinnacle Books; Published: 2008-05-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.50
Price in other shops:
Patient Zero: A Joe Ledger Novelby Jonathan Maberry
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2009-03-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.99
Price in other shops:
Dust & Decayby Jonathan Maberry
Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers; Published: 2011-08-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.39
Price in other shops:
The Dragon Factoryby Jonathan Maberry
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2010-03-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops:
Dead of Night: A Zombie Novelby Jonathan Maberry
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2011-10-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.08
Price in other shops: