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wolverinefactor's review against another edition
2.0
Notice: I was given this book for free by the author for an honest review.
I would definitely give this a 2.5 but that isn't an option so I knocked it down to a 2. I'm also hard in books, I rarely hand out a 5. So this is probably a 3 or 3.5 for most.
The story was Intriguing enough to keep me going and ignoring the other book I was reading at the same time. The creepy scenes showed promise but they never really got to me like say Heartshaped Box did. There's a point near the end that just annoyed me for a few different reasons but I don't want to spoil it. The final pay off was a little underwhelming as well.
The writing is competent but just coming off reading Freedom it felt a bit lackluster but I can't blame the author for that. The characters are all interesting except the guy with Down syndrome whose written in a very peculiar manner.
If you like ghost stories this is pretty middle ground. Definitely would make a good beach read and the book flew by.
I would definitely give this a 2.5 but that isn't an option so I knocked it down to a 2. I'm also hard in books, I rarely hand out a 5. So this is probably a 3 or 3.5 for most.
The story was Intriguing enough to keep me going and ignoring the other book I was reading at the same time. The creepy scenes showed promise but they never really got to me like say Heartshaped Box did. There's a point near the end that just annoyed me for a few different reasons but I don't want to spoil it. The final pay off was a little underwhelming as well.
The writing is competent but just coming off reading Freedom it felt a bit lackluster but I can't blame the author for that. The characters are all interesting except the guy with Down syndrome whose written in a very peculiar manner.
If you like ghost stories this is pretty middle ground. Definitely would make a good beach read and the book flew by.
jessycat's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
bobbyg's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
sony08's review against another edition
4.0
When I read the synopsis for the book I wasn’t sure whether I’ll like this book. I get scared by just about anything, even my own shadow, however I still like to read stories with mystery and ghosts and supernatural events in them just for a little excitement.
I certainly wasn’t disappointed. The beginning of the book was slight slower for me than I expected but once the ghost of Lori, Owen’s recently deceased sister, appeared I was hooked.
Owen’s pure love for his sister is beautiful and it’s this love that leads him to Chapel Lake to discover and relive Lori’s last moments alive. He soon finds that Lori was on a mission to discover the childhood Owen has lost.
Owen goes on a journey of revelations about his own family, sinister past and the Mystery that is lurking under the water in the long-ago flooded Church.
When Owen meets ‘Crazy’ Jo and rekindles a long lost friendship, he realises that the only way to truly find out what happened to the religious flock and it’s devious Minister, is to go under the water, face his fears and risk his own life.
This book took me through a variety of emotions and I even shed a few tears. It is well written keeping the reader on their toes at all times.
I have received ARC of this book from Netgalley in return for this honest opinion.
http://noemptyshelveshere.blogspot.co.uk/
I certainly wasn’t disappointed. The beginning of the book was slight slower for me than I expected but once the ghost of Lori, Owen’s recently deceased sister, appeared I was hooked.
Owen’s pure love for his sister is beautiful and it’s this love that leads him to Chapel Lake to discover and relive Lori’s last moments alive. He soon finds that Lori was on a mission to discover the childhood Owen has lost.
Owen goes on a journey of revelations about his own family, sinister past and the Mystery that is lurking under the water in the long-ago flooded Church.
When Owen meets ‘Crazy’ Jo and rekindles a long lost friendship, he realises that the only way to truly find out what happened to the religious flock and it’s devious Minister, is to go under the water, face his fears and risk his own life.
This book took me through a variety of emotions and I even shed a few tears. It is well written keeping the reader on their toes at all times.
I have received ARC of this book from Netgalley in return for this honest opinion.
http://noemptyshelveshere.blogspot.co.uk/
the_epi_reader's review against another edition
4.0
In 1979, the town of Peace Falls was completely flooded to make way for a hydroelectric dam and now everything rests underneath Chapel Lake, except for the steeple of the Blessed Trinity church. Fast forward thirty years later - Owen’s sister, Lori, is found dead in Chapel Lake. Owen begins to think her death was not just an accident when he receives a postcard dated a few days prior to her death with the message “Come as soon you can, Owns. He’s here. Zip.” The town of Peace Falls hides more than just a submerged settlement beneath its waters, but history of religious delirium, and missing members of the Blessed Trinity church. What mysteries did Lori want to uncover in Chapel Lake?
Salvage is a mix of small town ghost story, religious/cult horror, grief and deep sea/diving horror. Going into this book I didn’t know what to expect after hearing so much about Ralston’s Woom novella but I was pleasantly surprised. Salvage was well written, and I wanted to know so badly about Chapel Lake, including its secrets, after reading the book’s synopsis. Ralston did not disappoint and incorporated a plethora of different horror elements to create one great story.
Salvage is a mix of small town ghost story, religious/cult horror, grief and deep sea/diving horror. Going into this book I didn’t know what to expect after hearing so much about Ralston’s Woom novella but I was pleasantly surprised. Salvage was well written, and I wanted to know so badly about Chapel Lake, including its secrets, after reading the book’s synopsis. Ralston did not disappoint and incorporated a plethora of different horror elements to create one great story.
chanteld's review against another edition
3.0
Salvage is the story of Owen Saddler who is haunted by his past and the lies, secrets of his family. A truly twisty ghost story, in a Stephen King sense, wherein the absurdities must be accepted because they are presented as fact. This book has so many heart pumping, creepy moments that are just good.
The book tackles themes of mental illness, religious beliefs, religious freedoms, and fanaticism. It is also a tale of family, love, forgiveness and redemption.
I got this book from NetGalley so thanks so much to author and the publishers for allowing me access to this book.
The book tackles themes of mental illness, religious beliefs, religious freedoms, and fanaticism. It is also a tale of family, love, forgiveness and redemption.
I got this book from NetGalley so thanks so much to author and the publishers for allowing me access to this book.
zoe_e_w's review against another edition
2.0
When I bought Salvage, it was because the blurb made me think of Harbour, and I hoped it might carry some of the same elements of humor, charm, and dread. Unfortunately, this book never really appealed to me. It lacks any trace of charm, the dread found within has no sense of impact, and the humor is mocking derision of stereotypes. I stuck with it, but every few chapters, I'd put it down and look for something to distract me. I finally forced myself to finish it so I could move on to something else, but the ending was just as dissatisfying as the start.
I suppose my first and biggest problem is with Owen, the main character, who has no personality. He has a job, but that's about all there is to him, making his introduction flat and dull. His connection to his sister is supposed to be really important, but this isn't shown during the early chapters. In fact, the opposite is shown, that despite his sister's zeal for life, Owen himself is just going through the motions, waiting for old age to take him. Even her death is no catalyst for change. Rather it's the appearance of her ghost beckoning him to follow her to the scene of her death that incites him to action.
He's also got no sense of empathy, and this is a trait that seems to be shared by the narrator. Everyone else in the story is cast in suspicious shades by Owen and the narrator's shared scorn or derision, and while I admit it's a personal issue, that sense of cynicism kept me from getting into the story.
But there's other problems, like the narration being inconsistent. As an example, during one scene Owen is asked to close the blinds in a hospital room. But as he's leaving, the other character "looks out the window at the darkening sky." Right, through the closed blinds, huh? There's quite a lot of this, as if something that happened only a few pages before was already forgotten.
There's also a confusion in the story about what the real cause of these deaths is all about. Is it schizophrenia that creates the darker half of the villain? That really doesn't make sense. It's as if the author believes schizophrenia is the result of some internalized guilt over a childhood accident. That's not how it works. But then this seems to be a major problem for the author, having only the slimmest understanding of mental conditions. Another character supposedly has down syndrome, but they have none of the physical traits of the condition, and only an Elmer Fudd-type speech impediment which is mostly played up for laughs.
Even if I set that aside, there's no explanation for how this hallucination gives power to the villain and allows him to control water. It also doesn't make any sense that the deaths of these cult members is what creates the haunting, as the only flashback meant to bring clarity to the central mystery suggests that their leader had died forgiving the people who had wronged them. So what's going on? Did this figment of the villain's imagination decide after his death to go all fire and brimstone? And if that's the case, why did it wait a decade before beginning its "master plan"?
It's all a muddled mess, a bland and confused haunting story that tries to find a meaning to its own rambling far too late to let me feel invested in any of these people. It doesn't make much sense that Owen had to be the catalyst for these events, not with the deaths of several characters taking place many years before his attempt at an investigation. So this ghost just sat and waited for him to show up, murdered some random people who had nothing to do with the disaster, and then decided to go away? No, I'm not feeling it, any of it.
I'm giving Salvage 2 stars, and I can't recommend it to anyone except the most die hard ghost story fans.
I suppose my first and biggest problem is with Owen, the main character, who has no personality. He has a job, but that's about all there is to him, making his introduction flat and dull. His connection to his sister is supposed to be really important, but this isn't shown during the early chapters. In fact, the opposite is shown, that despite his sister's zeal for life, Owen himself is just going through the motions, waiting for old age to take him. Even her death is no catalyst for change. Rather it's the appearance of her ghost beckoning him to follow her to the scene of her death that incites him to action.
He's also got no sense of empathy, and this is a trait that seems to be shared by the narrator. Everyone else in the story is cast in suspicious shades by Owen and the narrator's shared scorn or derision, and while I admit it's a personal issue, that sense of cynicism kept me from getting into the story.
But there's other problems, like the narration being inconsistent. As an example, during one scene Owen is asked to close the blinds in a hospital room. But as he's leaving, the other character "looks out the window at the darkening sky." Right, through the closed blinds, huh? There's quite a lot of this, as if something that happened only a few pages before was already forgotten.
There's also a confusion in the story about what the real cause of these deaths is all about. Is it schizophrenia that creates the darker half of the villain? That really doesn't make sense. It's as if the author believes schizophrenia is the result of some internalized guilt over a childhood accident. That's not how it works. But then this seems to be a major problem for the author, having only the slimmest understanding of mental conditions. Another character supposedly has down syndrome, but they have none of the physical traits of the condition, and only an Elmer Fudd-type speech impediment which is mostly played up for laughs.
Even if I set that aside, there's no explanation for how this hallucination gives power to the villain and allows him to control water. It also doesn't make any sense that the deaths of these cult members is what creates the haunting, as the only flashback meant to bring clarity to the central mystery suggests that their leader had died forgiving the people who had wronged them. So what's going on? Did this figment of the villain's imagination decide after his death to go all fire and brimstone? And if that's the case, why did it wait a decade before beginning its "master plan"?
It's all a muddled mess, a bland and confused haunting story that tries to find a meaning to its own rambling far too late to let me feel invested in any of these people. It doesn't make much sense that Owen had to be the catalyst for these events, not with the deaths of several characters taking place many years before his attempt at an investigation. So this ghost just sat and waited for him to show up, murdered some random people who had nothing to do with the disaster, and then decided to go away? No, I'm not feeling it, any of it.
I'm giving Salvage 2 stars, and I can't recommend it to anyone except the most die hard ghost story fans.
silenttwg's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
When Owen's sister dies in Chapel Lake, he's overwhelmed with a need to follow her journey, find out what took her there, and underwater chapel holds. The chapel had a following in the 70s that drew similarities to other charismatic cults from that era.
I don't know that I can say Owen is a likeable character but the surrounding characters draw you in and the story is solid. I find the idea of diving to be claustrophobic so this definitely had some moments that made me want to nope out of there.
There were things that I didn't enjoy but overall, I would recommend it. Duncan Ralston never fails to provide a satisfying tale.
I don't know that I can say Owen is a likeable character but the surrounding characters draw you in and the story is solid. I find the idea of diving to be claustrophobic so this definitely had some moments that made me want to nope out of there.
There were things that I didn't enjoy but overall, I would recommend it. Duncan Ralston never fails to provide a satisfying tale.
corrint's review against another edition
2.0
From the beginning, the characters and the mystery pulled me in. But little details that just didn't make sense kept pulling me out.
If the town was covered in a planned flooding, why did so many people dive there looking for treasure? The inhabitants, knowing the place would be flooded, would have taken their treasures with them. Why would there be cars in the depths, when people could have driven them out before the flood?
Some of this is explained later, but while I was reading, it kept nagging at me, pulling me out of the story.
Also, some of the deaths didn't make sense once I got to the ending.
And then the whole book ended with some kind of religious-sermon feeling and a degree of ableism that soured even the parts of the book I had liked.
This one was definitely not for me.
If the town was covered in a planned flooding, why did so many people dive there looking for treasure? The inhabitants, knowing the place would be flooded, would have taken their treasures with them. Why would there be cars in the depths, when people could have driven them out before the flood?
Some of this is explained later, but while I was reading, it kept nagging at me, pulling me out of the story.
Also, some of the deaths didn't make sense once I got to the ending.
And then the whole book ended with some kind of religious-sermon feeling and a degree of ableism that soured even the parts of the book I had liked.
This one was definitely not for me.
gnashchick's review
4.0
I like ghost stories. Salvage, the debut novel from Duncan Ralston, is a family drama where the ghosts of the past could be hallucinations, or they could be very real.
It's hard not to be invested in Owen Saddler. He starts out as a withdrawn, standoffish man, reeling from the death of his beloved sister. As he investigates her death, he relies on her memory--or is it her ghost?--to give himself the courage to keep prying into the past.
The story is layered with mystery, untimely deaths, and family ties. The trauma of the loss of an entire town to a hydroelectric dam mirrors the project that Owen is currently overseeing, and I thought that was a nice touch. The author builds an atmosphere of fear from the first chapter, and nurtures it into an ending that was a genuine surprise.
My only complaint about the book is that it lags in places. The information in the slow spots is vital to the story, but it needs a little nudge to keep it interesting. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't a big enough deal to make me put the book down.
When it comes to horror, the author doesn't hold back. I don't want to spoil it, so I will just say that people die. Some of the deaths are heartbreakingly sad, others are downright gruesome.
Overall, I recommend this for people who enjoy mysteries, ghost stories, and emotional horror. This is a solid debut novel and I think Duncan Ralston will be an author to keep an eye on as he hones his already sharp storytelling skills.
It's hard not to be invested in Owen Saddler. He starts out as a withdrawn, standoffish man, reeling from the death of his beloved sister. As he investigates her death, he relies on her memory--or is it her ghost?--to give himself the courage to keep prying into the past.
The story is layered with mystery, untimely deaths, and family ties. The trauma of the loss of an entire town to a hydroelectric dam mirrors the project that Owen is currently overseeing, and I thought that was a nice touch. The author builds an atmosphere of fear from the first chapter, and nurtures it into an ending that was a genuine surprise.
My only complaint about the book is that it lags in places. The information in the slow spots is vital to the story, but it needs a little nudge to keep it interesting. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't a big enough deal to make me put the book down.
When it comes to horror, the author doesn't hold back. I don't want to spoil it, so I will just say that people die. Some of the deaths are heartbreakingly sad, others are downright gruesome.
Overall, I recommend this for people who enjoy mysteries, ghost stories, and emotional horror. This is a solid debut novel and I think Duncan Ralston will be an author to keep an eye on as he hones his already sharp storytelling skills.