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.
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.
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