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menfrommarrs's review against another edition
4.0
Unusual story. Twilight Zonesque! Kealan Patrick Burke has an unusal flare for horrific never ending drama, where no one is innocent and no one escapes! Will read more of his.
paulataua's review against another edition
3.0
I always have difficulty with books that start in the middle of the story, especially when they are quite chaotic and you find yourself desperately trying to make sense of what is happening. By the time things started to come together, I had pretty much lost interest in the characters and the story. I usually like KPB, but then maybe it’s possibly the more linear KPB I like.
myweereads's review against another edition
4.0
“This is where I come to try to forget my pain. There’s so much of it here that isn’t mine, it should make me feel better, but it doesn’t.”
The story takes place in the grim town of Milestone. Populated by the worst of the worst, the bar Eddie’s Tavern is home to a group of misfits every night. Each person has come to their own form of purgatory here and the Reverend like clockwork will decide who stays and who goes.
I enjoy stories which emanate shock and horror. This is one of those ones which does that with every turn of the page. Every character has a dark past and although appear twisted their true self is revealed.
The imagery begins to feel all too real the more you read on. What I liked about this book was the horror is present not only through language, its also about the reality of what is happening and what the truth really is. It’s the kind of stories I enjoy the most by Kealan Patrick Burke.
It had been while since I last read a book by this author and this was a good one to get back into his works
The story takes place in the grim town of Milestone. Populated by the worst of the worst, the bar Eddie’s Tavern is home to a group of misfits every night. Each person has come to their own form of purgatory here and the Reverend like clockwork will decide who stays and who goes.
I enjoy stories which emanate shock and horror. This is one of those ones which does that with every turn of the page. Every character has a dark past and although appear twisted their true self is revealed.
The imagery begins to feel all too real the more you read on. What I liked about this book was the horror is present not only through language, its also about the reality of what is happening and what the truth really is. It’s the kind of stories I enjoy the most by Kealan Patrick Burke.
It had been while since I last read a book by this author and this was a good one to get back into his works
roxiethebookslayer's review against another edition
4.0
Milestone just shifted into 5th gear. Full review to come.
andreablythe's review against another edition
4.0
Currency of Souls puts its own unique spin on the idea of making deals with the devil. A motley group of people living in a near-dead town meet every week at Eddie's Tavern, where a preacher gives them instructions by the local preacher to drive and kill sinners in order to make up for their own sins. But when the usual plan goes wrong, and the group tries to break free of their burden, events quickly spiral out of control.
This is a fast paced read and while each character might not be likeable, at least they are interesting. The sheriff, Tom, is the main focus and he's troubled by his inability to handle much of anything and his general feeling of helplessness. But as he tries to fight his own way free, while also saving his son, he begins to take necessary action.
The devil character is interesting, because he is not really a devil and religiously speaking it's hard to tell where he stands, though he does make deals and more often than not the deals are not to the benefit of those who come to him.
As I said, this was a fast read and I enjoyed it. Though there were aspects that I'm still not clear on and I'm uncomfortable with an aspect of the story that I can't really talk about without giving anything away. Regardless, it's worth a read.
This is a fast paced read and while each character might not be likeable, at least they are interesting. The sheriff, Tom, is the main focus and he's troubled by his inability to handle much of anything and his general feeling of helplessness. But as he tries to fight his own way free, while also saving his son, he begins to take necessary action.
The devil character is interesting, because he is not really a devil and religiously speaking it's hard to tell where he stands, though he does make deals and more often than not the deals are not to the benefit of those who come to him.
As I said, this was a fast read and I enjoyed it. Though there were aspects that I'm still not clear on and I'm uncomfortable with an aspect of the story that I can't really talk about without giving anything away. Regardless, it's worth a read.
0hfortheloveofbooks's review
5.0
“All of us have been, and will continue to be, slaves, not to God or the Devil, but to ourselves, to our innate need to make things right, to attain what our lives tell us we cannot have, and do not deserve.”
Reading Kealan Patrick Burke is like snuggling in a warm, cozy blanket. Granted, that blanket may come alive and strangle me to death but that's really a chance I'm willing to take. His writing is so familiar, so beautiful, so haunting. He may be categorized as a horror author but he is so much more than that. Currency of Souls is much more than horror; it is an exploration of sin, forgiveness of sin, love, grief, and sacrifice.
I had previously read Saturday Night at Eddie's in Burke's collection of novellas, Milestone, (if you haven't read it, please do. It's amazing) and fell in love with this dying town full of dirty little secrets. I was ecstatic to read Currency of Souls and find my way back to Milestone (as you won't find it on any map). Milestone might just be more messed up than Derry, Maine. It felt like a homecoming to be back at Eddie's with Tom and the gang; given the events that transpired at Eddie's and the train wreck after train wreck that occurred after Eddie's, that may be a weird thing to say. But that's Burke's writing for you - gripping, engaging, it draws you in and doesn't let go nor do you want it to. Throughout the novel, my mind was trying to come to terms with how something can be so beautiful yet so horrific.
There are a lot of moving parts and a fairly large cast of characters but the plot never became muddled and everyone had their place. I honestly don't think the story would have been the same had one character been omitted. I felt the most sympathetic towards Tom and was really rooting for him. However, overall I fell in love with Iris. She has her own story to tell and I'd love for Burke to write it for her!
I would love for there to be more Milestone stories! I really can't get enough of this horrible little town.
YOU ARE LEAVING MILESTONE! HOPE YOU ENJOYED YOUR STAY! ...IN HELL
Reading Kealan Patrick Burke is like snuggling in a warm, cozy blanket. Granted, that blanket may come alive and strangle me to death but that's really a chance I'm willing to take. His writing is so familiar, so beautiful, so haunting. He may be categorized as a horror author but he is so much more than that. Currency of Souls is much more than horror; it is an exploration of sin, forgiveness of sin, love, grief, and sacrifice.
I had previously read Saturday Night at Eddie's in Burke's collection of novellas, Milestone, (if you haven't read it, please do. It's amazing) and fell in love with this dying town full of dirty little secrets. I was ecstatic to read Currency of Souls and find my way back to Milestone (as you won't find it on any map). Milestone might just be more messed up than Derry, Maine. It felt like a homecoming to be back at Eddie's with Tom and the gang; given the events that transpired at Eddie's and the train wreck after train wreck that occurred after Eddie's, that may be a weird thing to say. But that's Burke's writing for you - gripping, engaging, it draws you in and doesn't let go nor do you want it to. Throughout the novel, my mind was trying to come to terms with how something can be so beautiful yet so horrific.
There are a lot of moving parts and a fairly large cast of characters but the plot never became muddled and everyone had their place. I honestly don't think the story would have been the same had one character been omitted. I felt the most sympathetic towards Tom and was really rooting for him. However, overall I fell in love with Iris. She has her own story to tell and I'd love for Burke to write it for her!
I would love for there to be more Milestone stories! I really can't get enough of this horrible little town.
YOU ARE LEAVING MILESTONE! HOPE YOU ENJOYED YOUR STAY! ...IN HELL
xterminal's review
4.0
Kealan Patrick Burke, Currency of Souls (Subterranean, 2007)
I think there's a town like Milestone in every area of the United States, though typically, in books and movies, they seem to be placed in the American southwest. (With the wonderful exception, which I plug every chance I get, of Michael Paine's Steel Ghosts.) Milestone is a ghost town that doesn't quite know it's a ghost town yet. A core of individuals still inhabit it, refusing to die off out of stubbornness, perhaps. But Milestone is like no other town of its type in at least one way.
There's a bar in Milestone. Like most bars, it's got its regulars. Eight of them, actually. There are seven who go there to drink, and one who goes there each Saturday night to pick one of those seven, take him out to the parking lot, and put him behind the wheel. Okay, this is strange enough (especially in the current American anti-drinking-and-driving climate), but trust me when I tell you it gets a whole lot stranger. After all, one of the regulars is the town sheriff. And the eighth guy? He's the town preacher. But that's nothing compared to what happens when the pattern is interrupted.
An associate of mine has been bugging me to read Kealan Patrick Burke for years, and now I know why. This slim (two hundred pages) novel is a whirlwind of unusual-yet-compelling characters, ludicrous-yet-plausible situations (wait till you meet the ghost of Dean Martin!), and a plot that's straight out of the oldest books on record, and yet still feels fresh. It has a few problems, most notably that the southern drawl the narrator affects in the first-person bits topples (no, leaps) over the line between necessity and outright corniness one too many times for my taste, but I certainly can't fault Burke for plot, characters, theme, or any of the other things we're taught are the building blocks of writing when we're in high school. This one grabs you by the cojones during the first chapter and doesn't let go until you're singing like Maria Callas when you turn the last page. Fantastic. ****
I think there's a town like Milestone in every area of the United States, though typically, in books and movies, they seem to be placed in the American southwest. (With the wonderful exception, which I plug every chance I get, of Michael Paine's Steel Ghosts.) Milestone is a ghost town that doesn't quite know it's a ghost town yet. A core of individuals still inhabit it, refusing to die off out of stubbornness, perhaps. But Milestone is like no other town of its type in at least one way.
There's a bar in Milestone. Like most bars, it's got its regulars. Eight of them, actually. There are seven who go there to drink, and one who goes there each Saturday night to pick one of those seven, take him out to the parking lot, and put him behind the wheel. Okay, this is strange enough (especially in the current American anti-drinking-and-driving climate), but trust me when I tell you it gets a whole lot stranger. After all, one of the regulars is the town sheriff. And the eighth guy? He's the town preacher. But that's nothing compared to what happens when the pattern is interrupted.
An associate of mine has been bugging me to read Kealan Patrick Burke for years, and now I know why. This slim (two hundred pages) novel is a whirlwind of unusual-yet-compelling characters, ludicrous-yet-plausible situations (wait till you meet the ghost of Dean Martin!), and a plot that's straight out of the oldest books on record, and yet still feels fresh. It has a few problems, most notably that the southern drawl the narrator affects in the first-person bits topples (no, leaps) over the line between necessity and outright corniness one too many times for my taste, but I certainly can't fault Burke for plot, characters, theme, or any of the other things we're taught are the building blocks of writing when we're in high school. This one grabs you by the cojones during the first chapter and doesn't let go until you're singing like Maria Callas when you turn the last page. Fantastic. ****
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