Anthony Hains
  • Home
  • Books & Novellas
    • Wrath of a Minor God
    • Terrain of Lost Souls
    • Sins of the Father
    • Nightshade's Requiem
    • Sleep in the Dust of the Earth
    • The Torment
    • Sweet Aswang
    • The Disembodied
    • Dead Works
    • Birth Offering
  • Bio
  • Blog

Ghosts of Eden: A review

11/20/2015

 
Picture
​Ghosts of Eden represents another foray into New Mexico dark fiction by Keith Deininger. This time around, nine-year old Kayla and college-dropout Garty are “sent” to live with their uncle for the summer in his isolated mansion outside of Los Alamos. Both had been experiencing horrifying events and strange nightmares. When things spiral out of control and separate tragedies strike them both, their only option is Uncle Xander’s place in the desert. As it turns out, it was no accident that the two end up there as Xander begins tutoring them about dark arts, string theory, and weird physics. Can this guy be up to no good? You bet. You see, Kayla and Garty have “abilities” of their own…
Keith Deininger has been tantalizing his readers with brief incursions into strange worlds and other dimensions across a number of his works. So far, only sections or pieces have been unveiled, the full scope of his alternative universe has yet to be portrayed (although, his just released Godgame trilogy may be what we’ve been looking for – and it is on my to-be-read pile at the moment). The glimpses have been enticing as the author’s imagination jumps into high gear. I find his presentations chilling and exciting. The story line can be baffling, if not confusing at times, but this is half the fun in reading his works. What the heck is going on? You have to keep reading to find out.
The descriptions provided a fine sense of place. I was in Los Alamos about fifteen years ago, and I felt Keith hit all the right notes. His short interludes into the city itself provided a great sense of other-worldliness which enhanced the story. Interestingly enough, I found the passages in the early half of the book in which we learned about Kayla and Garty (and their scary experiences) more gripping than when they meet up at Xander’s house. I’m not sure why that is; maybe the author had reached a plateau of sorts. Nonetheless, the passages in the laboratory and when the kids were creeping around the mansion were well written – due to Keith Deininger’s freaky imagination and tremendous speculative fiction skills. A solid four-star read.


Comments are closed.

    Author

    Anthony Hains is a horror & speculative fiction writer.

    Archives

    January 2020
    January 2018
    July 2017
    May 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013

    Categories

    All
    Academia
    Adolescents
    Apocalypse
    Birth Offering
    Birth Offering
    Dead Works
    Horror Authors
    Horror Fiction
    Horror Fiction
    Influences
    Psychology
    Real Life Horror
    Real-life Horror
    Reflections
    Reviews
    Ryan Braun

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.