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mehsi's review against another edition
3.0
“”The dead,” she replied, her voice a breathy whisper. “If you sit and listen sometimes, you can hear the voices of the dead. They rise up from all around us, from cracks in the earth. That’s how the dead tell you their secrets.”
I wasn’t planning on writing a long review for this one… but after finishing it I just got many feelings and I do want to tell about them.
In this one we meet a newly started professor who gets roped into participating in a student club… one about ghosts and investigations in the beyond. I really loved that, that students made a club like that and that it was approved (at least I am guessing it is). I was curious to see what kind of things they would visit. Well… as you can see from the title, we knew it was going to be an asylum. I have to say that while I was liking the story, it took just way too damn long before we get to the asylum. Really, it wasn’t until 56% before we get to it. WAY TO DAMN LONG.
Elizabeth was the most horrendous character I have seen in a while. And I read a lot. Dang this girl was just horrible. She didn’t give a rats ass about anyone’s feelings. Kept stalking our professor and getting angry when he was doing something else with his life (oh no, heaven forbid that someone cares about something else or has a freaking life). I get that she is curious about the afterlife after what we learn has happened to her, but really? I was actually hoping a ghost would eat her. Later in the asylum bad things happen because this girl just wants to go her own way and fuck the rest of the people in her party. Her boyfriend is clearly uncomfortable about things but she doesn’t give a damn about that which just screams bad relationship to me. I could probably go on about this character, but frankly I am just tired of her. Yes, I am thinking of reading the next books, but only because I am curious about the thing from the asylum.
While I didn’t mind Stephen a whole lot… I did get tired of reading about his constant drinking (either coffee or alcohol), smoking, how he couldn’t really care for himself despite his age. I mean after the I don’t know how many night of alcohol I just was rolling my eyes. I am normally not that judging on people, but he kept talking how he had different jobs to be able to pay for his rent and such. Maybe he should cut back on alcohol and cigarettes? Make his own meals?
I wasn’t planning on writing a long review for this one… but after finishing it I just got many feelings and I do want to tell about them.
In this one we meet a newly started professor who gets roped into participating in a student club… one about ghosts and investigations in the beyond. I really loved that, that students made a club like that and that it was approved (at least I am guessing it is). I was curious to see what kind of things they would visit. Well… as you can see from the title, we knew it was going to be an asylum. I have to say that while I was liking the story, it took just way too damn long before we get to the asylum. Really, it wasn’t until 56% before we get to it. WAY TO DAMN LONG.
Elizabeth was the most horrendous character I have seen in a while. And I read a lot. Dang this girl was just horrible. She didn’t give a rats ass about anyone’s feelings. Kept stalking our professor and getting angry when he was doing something else with his life (oh no, heaven forbid that someone cares about something else or has a freaking life). I get that she is curious about the afterlife after what we learn has happened to her, but really? I was actually hoping a ghost would eat her. Later in the asylum bad things happen because this girl just wants to go her own way and fuck the rest of the people in her party. Her boyfriend is clearly uncomfortable about things but she doesn’t give a damn about that which just screams bad relationship to me. I could probably go on about this character, but frankly I am just tired of her. Yes, I am thinking of reading the next books, but only because I am curious about the thing from the asylum.
While I didn’t mind Stephen a whole lot… I did get tired of reading about his constant drinking (either coffee or alcohol), smoking, how he couldn’t really care for himself despite his age. I mean after the I don’t know how many night of alcohol I just was rolling my eyes. I am normally not that judging on people, but he kept talking how he had different jobs to be able to pay for his rent and such. Maybe he should cut back on alcohol and cigarettes? Make his own meals?
gatun's review against another edition
5.0
ABR received this audiobook for free from the Narrator, Submitted in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect our opinion of the audiobook or the content of our review.
Asylum: The Afterlife Investigations, Book 1 is a thriller, horror, paranormal story written by Ambrose Ibsen. I recently discovered Mr. Ibsen thanks to Audiobook Reviewer. I enjoyed the previous book by Mr. Ibsen I listen to so how could I pass up a creepy asylum story? Who doesn’t love an abandoned asylum with a macabre history?
Stephen Barlow is an adjunct professor at a college in Ohio. He is brand new on staff and only teaching one course. One day walking to campus he witnesses a student killed in a hit and run. The dying boy asks if Stephen can hear “them” and dies in his arms. While trying to avoid the nightmares that follow, Stephen gets talked into being the faculty advisor for the newly forming Spiritual Club. It is spiritual like paranormal not spiritual like kumbaya. The club has only two members, Elizabeth and her overprotective boyfriend Jake.
Chaythe Asylum has been closed for close to 28 years after years of decline and allegations of staff abuse of patients. A patient who escaped her room and killed several other patients and staff before she was killed herself was the final event in the asylum’s history. It was referred to as the 3rd Ward Incident. A strange series of events lead Stephen, Elizabeth and Jake to the tour the asylum, with the present owner’s consent, on the twenty-eighth anniversary of the murders.
This was a fun, although scary, story. Mr. Ibsen does a nice job of creating a pervading sense of dread. Each event is part of a chain that leads to the asylum where things truly go to crap (insert stronger word here). There is no easy solution visible at any point in the book. This is the first book in a trilogy. There is a closure of sense to this book but the story does continue on in the next two books.
Joe Hempel does a great job narrating Asylum. He conveys the tension and fear just as well in this book as he did in Stirrings in the Black House book. While the story gets very intense, Mr.Hempel never veers in hysteria or yelling. He maintains a consistent volume level. I really enjoyed his narration. Mr. Hempel and Mr. Ibsen are now on my list to check out whenever I come across their work.
Asylum: The Afterlife Investigations, Book 1 is a thriller, horror, paranormal story written by Ambrose Ibsen. I recently discovered Mr. Ibsen thanks to Audiobook Reviewer. I enjoyed the previous book by Mr. Ibsen I listen to so how could I pass up a creepy asylum story? Who doesn’t love an abandoned asylum with a macabre history?
Stephen Barlow is an adjunct professor at a college in Ohio. He is brand new on staff and only teaching one course. One day walking to campus he witnesses a student killed in a hit and run. The dying boy asks if Stephen can hear “them” and dies in his arms. While trying to avoid the nightmares that follow, Stephen gets talked into being the faculty advisor for the newly forming Spiritual Club. It is spiritual like paranormal not spiritual like kumbaya. The club has only two members, Elizabeth and her overprotective boyfriend Jake.
Chaythe Asylum has been closed for close to 28 years after years of decline and allegations of staff abuse of patients. A patient who escaped her room and killed several other patients and staff before she was killed herself was the final event in the asylum’s history. It was referred to as the 3rd Ward Incident. A strange series of events lead Stephen, Elizabeth and Jake to the tour the asylum, with the present owner’s consent, on the twenty-eighth anniversary of the murders.
This was a fun, although scary, story. Mr. Ibsen does a nice job of creating a pervading sense of dread. Each event is part of a chain that leads to the asylum where things truly go to crap (insert stronger word here). There is no easy solution visible at any point in the book. This is the first book in a trilogy. There is a closure of sense to this book but the story does continue on in the next two books.
Joe Hempel does a great job narrating Asylum. He conveys the tension and fear just as well in this book as he did in Stirrings in the Black House book. While the story gets very intense, Mr.Hempel never veers in hysteria or yelling. He maintains a consistent volume level. I really enjoyed his narration. Mr. Hempel and Mr. Ibsen are now on my list to check out whenever I come across their work.
terminalfin's review against another edition
5.0
Man, I think Mr. Ibsen has easily cemented a new fan of his work. I finished Black Acres prior to Asylum and both stories kept me hooked. I quite enjoyed the build-up of Asylum and the development of Jake, Elizabeth, and Stephen. As an adjunct professor myself, I found myself on a roller coaster of feels in what he had to deal with. Elizabeth was annoying, although the character is believable because I can picture someone just like her, with her constant demand and pushing beyond the boundaries set for her.
Once the group was in the asylum, things really went into an even more eery place. Not that the entire story didn't already have an eery ambiance to it, but this was a major shift. What a fun journey through a building I would absolutely love to tour, as would my wife.
Like I said before, Mr. Ibsen has cemented me as a fan. I can't wait to move on to book two. Joe Hempel, as with Black Acres, was phenomenal in adding his skills to bring the written word to life.
5/5
Once the group was in the asylum, things really went into an even more eery place. Not that the entire story didn't already have an eery ambiance to it, but this was a major shift. What a fun journey through a building I would absolutely love to tour, as would my wife.
Like I said before, Mr. Ibsen has cemented me as a fan. I can't wait to move on to book two. Joe Hempel, as with Black Acres, was phenomenal in adding his skills to bring the written word to life.
5/5
alixplainlater's review against another edition
5.0
I rarely feel creeped out by books, but boy did Asylum deliver. The story has some typical themes like a murderous patient in an asylum, a smug skeptic who gets unsmug real quick, etc., but the reveal of the antagonist thoroughly shook me. It just happened to include a specific paranormal element that genuinely scares me and is something I hardly ever see in paranormal books, movies, etc. I'm looking forward to reading the sequels!
shespeakslyrics's review against another edition
4.0
Definitely got creeped out listening to this. The premise was interesting and the atmosphere was ideal. I do still have questions but I hope to have them answered in the following books in the series.
simi_r's review against another edition
4.0
Hooked!
An absolute gripping read! Kept me hooked all the way through. Cannot wait to continue the next instalment.
A must read!
An absolute gripping read! Kept me hooked all the way through. Cannot wait to continue the next instalment.
A must read!
angustiacosmica's review against another edition
2.0
I guess I unfairly put a lot of expectations on this book and its setting, so the disappointment was too big when all I got was a rather watered down experience with little to no spooks.
The book managed to be somewhat more interesting during the beginning and middle, crashing down by the end and not really delivering anything worth me remembering.
I enjoy asylums a lot as a setting for horrible stuff to go down, but this was rather vague all over so... What can I say other than "meh."
The main characters are unlikable, I couldn't connect to anyone. I was annoyed most of the time and, as much as it pains me to say it, the main girl was so damn annoying all the time. I was hoping she'd kick the bucket first, alas.
All in all, pretty unsatisfactory read.
The book managed to be somewhat more interesting during the beginning and middle, crashing down by the end and not really delivering anything worth me remembering.
I enjoy asylums a lot as a setting for horrible stuff to go down, but this was rather vague all over so... What can I say other than "meh."
The main characters are unlikable, I couldn't connect to anyone. I was annoyed most of the time and, as much as it pains me to say it, the main girl was so damn annoying all the time. I was hoping she'd kick the bucket first, alas.
All in all, pretty unsatisfactory read.
kermit_the_wrong's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Could not find it in me to care about this book at all and I essentially skimmed the last 20% just to get it over with. The main character feels like a self-insert of the author and is way too entertained by making his student's boyfriend jealous considering he seems to hold other boundaries with students to such high importance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Confinement, Mental illness, and Forced institutionalization
bookish_satty's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.0
An okay haunted asylum story that managed to keep my attention till the end.
I loved the narration which only added to my experience. I'm definitely adding Joe Hempel in my favorite Audiobook Narrators list and will check out other horror novels narrated by him.
I loved the starting as well as ending of the book the most which had some really creepy scenes and managed to capture the eerie feeling you get from reading/watching horror books/movies.
My top two favorite creepy scenes were
1. The phone call to the radio station one when Stephen answers the phone.
2. The subbasement experiment room scene
Characterization was good. Loved reading from Stephen Barlow's POV because he felt relatable to me and did not act as an horror B movie cliché character. Elizabeth was portrayed as the cliché though but it didn't annoy me because Stephen was irritated with her actions just as much as us readers were. Jake (Elizabeth's Boyfriend) was forgettable.
The ending managed to peak my curiosity so I'll read the next two books in this trilogy to know the identity of the Entity haunting the Chaythe Asylum as well as more about the sinister experiments that took place under Dr. Corvine and what actually were the Doctor's motives.
I loved the narration which only added to my experience. I'm definitely adding Joe Hempel in my favorite Audiobook Narrators list and will check out other horror novels narrated by him.
I loved the starting as well as ending of the book the most which had some really creepy scenes and managed to capture the eerie feeling you get from reading/watching horror books/movies.
My top two favorite creepy scenes were
2. The subbasement experiment room scene
Characterization was good. Loved reading from Stephen Barlow's POV because he felt relatable to me and did not act as an horror B movie cliché character. Elizabeth was portrayed as the cliché though but it didn't annoy me because Stephen was irritated with her actions just as much as us readers were. Jake (Elizabeth's Boyfriend) was forgettable.
The ending managed to peak my curiosity so I'll read the next two books in this trilogy
aly36's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this audio book very much. I have not listened to Joe Hempel before but I like his work. Usually I choose books with ladies voices, not sure why, but men reading the book books don't usually caught my interest very often but I didn't mind Joe telling me a story.
Enter Chaythe Asylum and that a look around! What a great story for me. I would think most old Asylums are pretty big and scary looking once they are old and run down. College professor Stephen Barlow was a very interesting character to me. I like him but not all the time. I think he is trying to be a good guy and a good teacher. I was drawn into this book with the story and all its character and I wanted to keep reading and this book didn't take me very long. "This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review."
Enter Chaythe Asylum and that a look around! What a great story for me. I would think most old Asylums are pretty big and scary looking once they are old and run down. College professor Stephen Barlow was a very interesting character to me. I like him but not all the time. I think he is trying to be a good guy and a good teacher. I was drawn into this book with the story and all its character and I wanted to keep reading and this book didn't take me very long. "This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review."