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A review by bookwormbunny
Funeral Games by Colin Heintze
4.0
*** I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review of it. The opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s. ***
Funeral Games by Colin Heintze is an interesting paranormal/supernatural story set in a medieval time period surrounding the nobility of the people who when they die they return as ghosts and haunt the places of where they died. The nobility live their lives and then when they are ready (unless they die an untimely and unplanned death) they die and then return. The living seem to be the ones in control but it is their deceased ancestors who dictate the goings on between those of the living. Most of the ghosts are restricted to the specific places of where they died but there is one ghost…Chamberlain Vyter. He roams throughout the Old Palace and the current palace handling the affairs of both the living and the dead. Things of the nobility seem to be in order until the day that the King decides that he is ready to die and two of his wives go with him. They all three die but only the wives return as ghosts…the King…does not…so does that mean that he was not truly one of the nobility? Let the Games…begin…
When I first started reading this book I was very much engaged and interested in the descriptions of the land and the people and how the nobility differ from the peasants…how the nobility are called the Undying and the peasants die true death when they die. Some people fear the nobility because of the fact that they come back as ghosts after they die but others want the chance at having some part of them live on as one of the Undying. The story focuses mostly on Prince Syphax, whose mother is one of the King’s three wives. Prince Syphax really doesn’t fit in with the rest of the nobility. He’s not one for palace politics and the games and manipulations that the rest seem to thrive and love doing. But when things don’t go as they should have at the King’s funeral…Syphax is the one who not only questions but immediately goes into action to discover the truth.
Now for me as I was reading this book I always like for the reason behind the title of the book to present itself so that it all comes together for me. For a while I was worried that this wouldn’t be the case but about halfway through the story I will gladly say I was not disappointed. There is some mystery in this book: who is the little ghost girl who died in the courtyard, who is Milda and the baby that she takes care? There is suspense as you wonder…what will happen to the various characters…will Syphax find out the truth and expose it or will he die before he gets the chance? There are lots of supernatural elements of course with the ancestral ghosts who hold sway over all and the ghosts who interact with our hero. There is even a hint of romance but mind you only a hint, and there is even some humor too that will make you giggle and laugh though you may try not to.
This book has a nice mix of various elements and I really did enjoy reading it. It ebbs and flows a bit in the beginning but once the games really start then it gets hold of you and becomes a real page turner. So if you’re like me a enjoy a good supernatural story that’s set in medieval times with a hint of necromancy, suspense and thriller then this is a good book that I think you’ll really enjoy. I give this book 4.5 out 5 stars. This is an author I hope to read more of in the future.
Funeral Games by Colin Heintze is an interesting paranormal/supernatural story set in a medieval time period surrounding the nobility of the people who when they die they return as ghosts and haunt the places of where they died. The nobility live their lives and then when they are ready (unless they die an untimely and unplanned death) they die and then return. The living seem to be the ones in control but it is their deceased ancestors who dictate the goings on between those of the living. Most of the ghosts are restricted to the specific places of where they died but there is one ghost…Chamberlain Vyter. He roams throughout the Old Palace and the current palace handling the affairs of both the living and the dead. Things of the nobility seem to be in order until the day that the King decides that he is ready to die and two of his wives go with him. They all three die but only the wives return as ghosts…the King…does not…so does that mean that he was not truly one of the nobility? Let the Games…begin…
When I first started reading this book I was very much engaged and interested in the descriptions of the land and the people and how the nobility differ from the peasants…how the nobility are called the Undying and the peasants die true death when they die. Some people fear the nobility because of the fact that they come back as ghosts after they die but others want the chance at having some part of them live on as one of the Undying. The story focuses mostly on Prince Syphax, whose mother is one of the King’s three wives. Prince Syphax really doesn’t fit in with the rest of the nobility. He’s not one for palace politics and the games and manipulations that the rest seem to thrive and love doing. But when things don’t go as they should have at the King’s funeral…Syphax is the one who not only questions but immediately goes into action to discover the truth.
Now for me as I was reading this book I always like for the reason behind the title of the book to present itself so that it all comes together for me. For a while I was worried that this wouldn’t be the case but about halfway through the story I will gladly say I was not disappointed. There is some mystery in this book: who is the little ghost girl who died in the courtyard, who is Milda and the baby that she takes care? There is suspense as you wonder…what will happen to the various characters…will Syphax find out the truth and expose it or will he die before he gets the chance? There are lots of supernatural elements of course with the ancestral ghosts who hold sway over all and the ghosts who interact with our hero. There is even a hint of romance but mind you only a hint, and there is even some humor too that will make you giggle and laugh though you may try not to.
This book has a nice mix of various elements and I really did enjoy reading it. It ebbs and flows a bit in the beginning but once the games really start then it gets hold of you and becomes a real page turner. So if you’re like me a enjoy a good supernatural story that’s set in medieval times with a hint of necromancy, suspense and thriller then this is a good book that I think you’ll really enjoy. I give this book 4.5 out 5 stars. This is an author I hope to read more of in the future.