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jonathan_von 's review for:
Ghost Eaters
by Clay McLeod Chapman
2.5 Ghost Eaters is a pretty solid haunted addiction novel. There’s a ghost pill you can take to talk to the dead but it makes you start seeing ghosts everywhere. I think the idea is explored in an interesting way, it almost feels like an addiction recovery book which is probably its biggest strength. But it has two core problems that it can’t overcome. There’s a good idea, but the book’s not great.
The first issue is that the novel only really has one character, and she’s a spoiled marketing undergrad in Richmond, VA. She’s in love with a romantic junkie loser who coasts through life on his looks, when he inevitably overdoses, she wants to take the ghost pill to talk to him. The idea is fine, but I hated her. I hated Silas, I don’t even know who the f-k Tobias is. There are no other characters. They’re less than cliche’s, they are cardboard cutouts. Why would you hang out with these people? IN FAIRNESS, I live in northern VA and studied communications. The amount of people I knew who pretty much did this exact thing (ghosts optional) is a lot higher than I’d like.
The second issue, the back half of the book is a mess. Why would anyone want this? Once she becomes a ghost pill addict, she resorts to a lot of junkie behavior. But there’s no real threat! It’s not scary to just describe a ghost standing there. It’s not doing anything! Her love is self-destructive. Silas is a two-dimensional creep, it’s just something to die for. Good addiction book, pretty wimpy horror novel. Is this a paranormal romance too? Why does this keep happening?
The first issue is that the novel only really has one character, and she’s a spoiled marketing undergrad in Richmond, VA. She’s in love with a romantic junkie loser who coasts through life on his looks, when he inevitably overdoses, she wants to take the ghost pill to talk to him. The idea is fine, but I hated her. I hated Silas, I don’t even know who the f-k Tobias is. There are no other characters. They’re less than cliche’s, they are cardboard cutouts. Why would you hang out with these people? IN FAIRNESS, I live in northern VA and studied communications. The amount of people I knew who pretty much did this exact thing (ghosts optional) is a lot higher than I’d like.
The second issue, the back half of the book is a mess. Why would anyone want this? Once she becomes a ghost pill addict, she resorts to a lot of junkie behavior. But there’s no real threat! It’s not scary to just describe a ghost standing there. It’s not doing anything! Her love is self-destructive. Silas is a two-dimensional creep, it’s just something to die for. Good addiction book, pretty wimpy horror novel. Is this a paranormal romance too? Why does this keep happening?