Tag: Ghostland

Posted in Audiobooks, Book Reviews, Novels

REVIEW: Infinite (Ghostland #3) by Duncan Ralston

Posted on by elishasbookreview

*No Spoilers*

Ghosts wreak havoc in the streets of Duck Falls, and Lilian Roth has gone underground, hiding in the Laramies’ backyard bunker. With the town under military quarantine, the death toll continues to rise. And Hedgewood’s massive infrasound array stands to wipe out every “ethereal” within its radius, Ben Laramie and his friends at the Temple among them.

Setting the ethereals free from Ghostland was only the beginning for Rex Garrote. He’s returned to the remains of his house to tear open the Dark Rift – a realm of terrifying impossibilities between the living and ethereal planes – and unleash its nightmare creatures upon the world.

The End of Everything is on the horizon, and Lilian and Ben are humanity’s last hopes. Facing their greatest fears and insurmountable odds, they must return to Ghostland through the Dark Rift’s deadly, ever-changing landscape for a final confrontation between good and evil, to stop Rex Garrote once and for all.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I can’t begin to describe the exhilaration I felt when I started this audiobook. It is quite rare for me to finish a series/trilogy these days with books to distract me. So, let’s dive into the long-awaited Ghostland finale, Infinite.

One thing I’d like to mention, I would recommend reading Afterlife and Infinite back to back, or at least not a month apart like I did. This book picks up more or less where we left off, and it can be jarring at first. However, it didn’t take too long to get my sea legs back (or should I say my Ghost legs haha) and we’re off to the final battle between Rex Garrote, Ben and Lillian, and the Hedgewood Foundation.

I also advise note taking, not on the characters per say, but more of the rules of how this supernatural world works. I listened to Infinite on audio, and I suggest not multitasking while listening. This needs 100% of your attention.

Still more perplexing was that this cadaver smelled not of smoke but of the foulest stench of rot and putrescence I have ever borne witness to, as if his remains had been excreted from the very bowels of Hell.

Duncan Ralston, Infinite

But, I feel like I’m critiquing myself more than I am this novel. This novel is fast-paced, and rewards you for reading Afterlife. The dominos continue to fall as all the characters are seemingly and unknowingly playing right into Rex Garrote’s plan.

However, Ben, Lillian, and Ghosts are People Too aren’t going to take this laying down. Seeing everyone fight for what they perceive as right is moving. Seeing the leader of the Ghosts are People Too realize how much she messed up and how she was possibly betrayed was satisfying.

Overall, I enjoyed Infinite. The final battle is epic and the anticipation while getting there is palpable. I am thrilled to finally say I finished a trilogy! This has been an amazing ride, and I can’t wait to dive into Duncan Ralston’s other works *cough* Woom *cough*.

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Posted in Audiobooks, Book Reviews, Novels

REVIEW: Afterlife (Ghostland #2) by Duncan Ralston

Posted on by elishasbookreview

*Only Spoilers for Ghostland #1*

Six months after the “Ghostland Disaster,” Duck Falls has become a reluctant tourist trap, and a new home to the activist group Ghosts Are People Too. When the Return to Ghostland televised event ends in yet another tragedy, ghosts once again fall under scrutiny… along with the effectiveness of the Recurrence Field.

Away at college, survivor Lilian Roth has discovered she’s able to communicate with spirits. She and her best friend, Ben Laramie, use the skills they’ve acquired to free ghosts from their hauntings.

But Rex Garrote, the mastermind behind the Ghostland Disaster, is raising an army of ghosts to slaughter every living person on Earth. Left with no choice but to fight, Ben and Lilian must recruit their own army of freed ghosts, and prepare them for war.

Will it be enough to save the world?

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Last month, I reread Ghostland because I have been wanting to finish off the trilogy since the final book Infinite was released. I see Mr. Ralston’s other book Woom on TikTok and it’s encouraged me to try and finish this trilogy off. So let’s scare up this review of Afterlife.

Let me start off by saying that this is not as bloodbath driven as Ghostland. Afterlife takes more of a focus on the aftermath of the events of Ghostland and how some characters were affected by those events. A couple of characters, Lamb and Andy we meet through the events of the current story, not because of what happened at Ghostland.

One of the minor characters I really enjoyed from the first book was the detective Stan Beadle. He was at Ghostland because of a couple of cases he couldn’t close/solve. His daughter Sam, ends up following in her late father’s footsteps and chases down the clues that’s leading back to Garrote and the Ghostland park. Her story arc was my favorite besides the main characters Ben and Lilian.

Above them, Garrote’s massive face was displayed in mosaic over the entire wall of monitors, missing only the screens blacked out and cracked by the impact of Ms. Amblin’s body. He looked like a religious maniac who’d painted his face with a giant black crucifix from forehead to lips, the paint chipped and cracked. His dark grin filled the second row from the bottom.

Duncan Ralston; Afterlife

I feel the book takes more of a focus on the fact that famous/powerful psychics are committing suicide and that’s what catches Detective Sam Beadle’s attention to begin with. The ‘Ghost Brother’s’ TV show is just one of the nails in the coffin that kicks off the major event of Infinite.

I love how Ben ends up meeting Rex Garrote, and through bits and pieces of dialogue and minor characters we learn just how ambiguous Garrote actually is as a villain. I find it fascinating to try and figure out what is his master plan.

Overall, I really enjoyed Afterlife. I can’t wait to see how this series will be wrapping up. I know there’s going to be a lot of scares and trauma for all characters involved. If you enjoyed Ghostland I would highly recommend you continue the series. I wouldn’t recommend reading it out of order, although I guess you could if you wanted to.

Posted in Author Q&A

Author Q&A: Duncan Ralston

Posted on by elishasbookreview

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*No Spoilers for Ghostland by Duncan Ralston*

Who do you relate to more, Ben or Lillian? If so in what way(s)?

Mr. Ralston: I relate a bit to both of them for different reasons. With Ben, it’s his childhood illness and love of horror novels. With Lilian, it’s her sarcasm and needs to present a tough, seen-it-all exterior, which I remember trying to project when I was her age.

Was it difficult creating the world of Ghostland?

Mr. Ralston: It was pretty difficult but also a lot of fun. There were really no limits as to where I could take the technology of the park – the biggest hurdle was trying to reign it all in to make for a cohesive story rather than a bunch of random incidents and set pieces strung together.

Did you base some of the ghosts on real-life events?

Mr. Ralston: Not that I can recall. There may be some that were unintentionally inspired by other stories or real-life events, mostly I took the standard tropes and tried to put a fresh spin on them.

What are your thoughts on Halloween in this politically correct society?

Mr. Ralston: It seems like much of the pushback against Halloween comes from the folks who aren’t so interested in political correctness.

Do you have a favorite non-Horror movie/book/tv show?

Mr. Ralston: Favorite non-horror book: Perfume: Story of a Murderer. Movie: currently, Interstellar. TV Show: all-time, LOST.

Would you be surprised if one day we had the technology where everyone could experience hauntings for themselves?

Mr. Ralston: It would surprise me very much as I don’t believe in the existence of ghosts – and the idea of them disturbs me deeply. That we would go on, trapped here on Earth without our bodies. Stuck re”living” past events. Is it purgatory? A way station between life and death? I’d much rather believe in reincarnation, or Heaven or just life being the end of everything. That said, if life after death was ever proven, I’d be all in. Though like some of the characters in Ghostland, I would have moral issues with exploiting them.

Is there any other Paranormal phenomenon you’d be interested in writing about in the future?

Mr. Ralston: I’m interested in just about every possible paranormal phenomenon you can think of – from TK [telekinetic] to UFOs. The second Ghostland book will feature psychic phenomena more directly than the first, exploring some of the powers displayed by ghosts at Ghostland.

Thanks, Mr. Ralston for answering my questions, and I can’t wait to read the next installment of the Ghostland series!

You can read my review of Ghostland here!

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Posted in Book Reviews, Novels

REVIEW: Ghostland by Duncan Ralston

Posted on by elishasbookreview

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*No Spoilers*

After a near-death experience caused by the park’s star haunted attraction, Ben has come to Ghostland seeking to reconnect with his former best friend Lilian, whose post-traumatic stress won’t let her live life to the fullest. She’s come at the insistence of her therapist, Dr. Allison Wexler, who tags along out of professional curiosity, eager to study the new tech’s psychological effect on the user.

But when a computer virus sets the ghosts free and the park goes into lockdown, the trio finds themselves trapped in an endless nightmare.

With time running short and the dead quickly outnumbering the living, the survivors must tap into their knowledge of horror and video games to escape… or become Ghostland’s newest exhibits.

”If they didn’t get out of there soon, they would all die at the hands of the exhibits, then they too would become a part of Ghostland, a part of Garrote’s ghost army.” – Ghostland

I found this novel when I renewed my Kindle Unlimited subscription. I found the concept of a haunted amusement park to be intriguing and exciting. The thought of ghosts being the museum exhibits instead of the objects or buildings being the exhibits.

I will warn you upfront, this novel gets to be a gorefest at points. So if you are the squeamish type, I’d pass on this one. Otherwise, it is clearly a love letter to the classic horror movies that weren’t afraid of showing blood and letting out curse words.

I love how the author built this universe from the ground up. He even included footnotes for the ghosts and exhibits in case you wanted to know more about these fictional ghosts. Even though you learned about the barebones of the universe through dialogue and the main characters’ knowledge of the exhibits, it was nice to read more into each of the famous attractions. I think my favorite one was about a guy who got lost in his own mirror maze and ended up cutting off pieces of himself to try and keep from going around in circles.

I don’t want to spoil too much, but each character has depth and personality. Both Ben and Lillian change throughout the novel. Not only through witnessing so much trauma and horror, but just by trying to survive the murderous park. Lillian was so affected by Ben’s near-death that she stopped living life.

I was gripped to the edge of my seat until the epilogue. The anticipation of wanting to know who was going to survive, and who was going to have a gruesome demise kept me guessing until the end. One thing I did like was that the author wasn’t afraid to kill any characters. I often wondered if no one was safe.

I often found myself forgetting that Ben and Lillian were only able to see the ghosts through the artificial reality headsets they wore throughout the majority of the story. I kept forgetting about this and was amazed at how the fictional technology seamlessly blended into the background.

Overall, I really enjoyed Ghostland it was a breath of fresh air to the horror genre for me, the author wasn’t afraid to kill off characters, and even though the story is from the perspective of two teenagers, I feel like it was written for adults. If you are looking for a novel to help with your horror genre burnout, then I would highly recommend Ghostland.

Click here to read an interview I did with Duncan Ralston.

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