This book
review is provided as part of the A
Haunting Blue blog tour, however, the standards and scrutiny applied to
this review are no less than those given to any other work presented through
the views of The Rage Circus Vs. The
Soulless Void, your blog for all things horror!
Certain
elements must play together perfectly to make a good ghost story. Subtlety is vital for the effectiveness of
the later scares. We have to be given
characters with whom we can relate so that we have an emotional investment in
the story. A good, interesting back
story is essential so that we care about the gradual reveal of the purpose
behind the haunting. It is a very hard
balance to achieve without giving away things too early or drawing things out
too much. R.J. Sullivan achieves the
right amount of each piece of his ghost story in Haunting Blue so that by the end of the book your only complaint is
that it is over.
Punk, blue-haired “Blue” Shaefer, is
at odds with her workaholic single mother. Raised as a city girl in a suburb of
Indianapolis, Blue must abandon the life she knows when her unfeeling mother
moves them to a dreadful small town. Blue befriends the only student willing to
talk to her: computer nerd “Chip” Farren.
Chip knows the connection between the
rickety pirate boat ride at the local amusement park and the missing money from
an infamous bank heist the townspeople still talk about. When Blue helps him
recover the treasure, they awaken a vengeful ghost who’ll stop at nothing--not
even murder--to prevent them from exposing the truth behind his evil deeds.
How do you
stretch out the suspense of a ghost story while spending sufficient time
introducing characters without boring your audience or losing those who are not
willing to go on the ride with you until the “good stuff” starts? RJ Sullivan’s technique is not a new one, but
it is one he uses expertly. Sullivan
switches between scenes the provide the backstory of the infamous bank robber
with the present day scenes of Blue and her newly found friend, Chip. This allows us to experience some faster
paced story telling while we actually follow two stories at one time that will
eventually collide with each other. In
this way, Sullivan manages to provide us enough character development without
losing site of the thrilling aspects of the story. Once the real haunting action starts, we are
ready to hang on as Sullivan cranks up the speed and sends his roller coaster
of a story over the top of its big drop.
Once the two
lines of story start to come together and the motivation of the ghost to stop
his secrets from being discovered, the real fun begins. You may not feel the adventurous heat of this
story being slowly turned up as you go from one page on to the next, but you
can rest assured that when the climax comes about you will suddenly realize
that you have allowed yourself to be caught in a raging boil of ghost filled
action. This subtlety leading up to the
point where all is revealed is a much needed part of any ghost story and
Sullivan does not fail to please with his skill at blindsiding us with the
building suspense. When the body count
starts, you will find yourself shocked to see who lives and who dies as well as
discovering who was really carrying secrets all along.
Overall, I
found RJ Sullivan’s A Haunting Blue
to be a fantastic story with all the right elements required of a successful
and unforgettable ghost story. Even
better is the fact that Sullivan has not abandoned Blue, as he continues to
tell her tale in the sequel, Virtual Blue. If you are a fan of ghosts and things that go
bump in the night, A Haunting Blue is
just the thing to keep yourself up at night.
So let’s
take a look at The Rage Circus score!
Story
Concept - 4/5
Story
Execution - 5/5
Story Flow –
4/5
Character
Development (give-a-damn factor) - 5/5
Gripping
visuals/details - 5/5
Entertainment
Value/Story Engagement – 4.5/5
Editing
(including grammar and spelling) – 5/5
Overall –
4.6/5 – DON’T BE HAUNTED BY A MISSED OPPORTUNITY FOR A GREAT GHOST STORY! READ A
HAUNTING BLUE!
Kindle
Version:
Print
Version:
About RJ Sullivan:
Haunting Blue is the first book of the adventures of punk girl Fiona
“Blue” Shaefer. This is the 2014 revised edition by Seventh Star Press. Seventh
Star also released Haunting Obsession, a Rebecca Burton Novella, and Virtual
Blue, the second book in Fiona’s tale. R.J.’s short stories have been featured
in such acclaimed collections as Dark Faith: Invocations by Apex Books and
Vampires Don’t Sparkle. His newest project is the Red Lotus series of science
fiction novelettes.
R.J. resides
in Heartland Crossing, Indiana. He drinks coffee from a Little Mermaid mug and
is man enough to admit it. www.rjsullivanfiction.com
Author Links:
Website: http://rjsullivanfiction.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rjsullivanauthr
Want to
catch more of the A Haunting Blue
blog tour? Check out the blog schedule
at: http://www.tomorrowcomesmedia.com/r-j-sullivans-haunting-blue-virtual-tour/
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