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Loading... The Helios Syndromeby Vivian Shaw
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Devin Stacy works as a freelance necromancer for the National Transportation Safety Board, contacting deceased plane crash pilots to investigate why they crashed. He’s currently being haunted by the pilot of a crash he couldn’t solve and he doesn’t know why … until a lot of creepy plane stuff starts happening. I really loved this little novella! Devin is a great character, the mystery is very spooky, and it’s delightful to watch it be solved by some guys who are good at their jobs. I really hope she writes more about these characters. no reviews | add a review
When Devin Stacy, a freelance necromancer, though the National Transportation Safety Board considers him an insightful contingency communication specialist, investigates a plane gone missing under weird circumstances, he finds himself haunted by a dead pilot. Can Stacy figure out the mysteries of both the ghost and disappearance before another flight full of passengers faces peril? Vivian Shaw's new novella offers thrills and chills, cinematic and necromantic. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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First of all, the italics used in the book were just completely out of control. Kinda like in my opening paragraph. The following is an excerpt with italics true to the book. I understand italicizing to emphasize and italicizing to indicate internal thoughts, but this, to me, is excessive. And I swear there is not a single page in this book without two words italicized. I'm not going back and checking though.
"Dools," I say. "I know what has to happen. I know what we have to do."
"What the fuck are you talking about, we," Dooley demands. His voice has a weird wavering high note in it I don't remember hearing before. It's almost interesting , or it would be if I didn't feel so deadly fucking sick and scared and tired.
"Not you," I qualify, thinking again stapled, thinking linked. "But I think I do have to."
"Do what?"
I get it, the italics might be nitpicky. But for me it was just one more issue I had and frankly the easiest and quickest for me to point to in this evolving rant.
A more appropriate criticism and arguably a larger issue (although overusing italics is apparently a trigger for me) is that the narrative voice is annoying. Teal, another reviewer, made the comment "A glib, smart-alecky 1st-person male character who the author tries (but fails) to portray as cool and funny was the default narrator..." and I just can not help but emphasize how much the author failed in the attempt. The narrator wasn't the smart-alecky friend you roll your eyes at. The narrator was the person you stop inviting over because they're so annoyingly not funny (or cool). Is that harsh? That feels harsh. But true.
My last issue is going to be entirely hidden behind spoiler tags because it's a MAJOR SPOILER.