Stephen King meets Dr. Who

This was a good story, and I kept imagining it as an episode of Dr. Who, or maybe Supernatural. I would like to have more options for rating this, because I definitely thought it was better than just "Pretty Good" (which Amazon says is 3 stars) and "Great" (which Amazon says is 4 stars). I think I would call it Good.

The story was exciting, but I was confused at the start. Trying to figure out who the characters were and how they were related, then discovering that two characters that I had just gotten to the point of remembering their name were killed off, nothing more than cannon fodder for the story. Overall, it took about a third of the story before things started coming together for me. There were some wonderful additions to the story...I loved the Catalysts, that were worthy of Stephen King, but many others were just sort of half formed.

One of the high points was the narration...Hannibal Hills has a wide range of voices, and is able to voice both men and women without causing the distraction of "wow, there goes a man trying to sound like a woman."

Overall, this is a good scare and fun with some clever ideas.

6 people found this helpful

Crazy train

As a fan of 80s horror novels I would have to put this near the top
Excellent narration from Hannibal proving he’s one of the best
A classic novel that stands the test of time highly recommended
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review

4 people found this helpful

You lost me at train exorcism...

Let me preface my review by stating that I love horror fiction, and I usually have no problem with the suspension of disbelief. I thought the synopsis of Ghost Train sounded intriguing, and I read several positive reviews and listened to a sample of the book before requesting a free code for an honest review. I really wanted to like this book, and I will say that I did listen as long as I possibly could (10+ hours) before finally giving up.

The beginning of the book is a confusing mess of different storylines. It wasn’t until much later when I realized that many of the characters introduced at the start of the novel had absolutely no bearing on the overall narrative. There was a tenuous connection mentioned often throughout the story between Druidry and the maleficent deity. Druidism is framed as something evil, while Christianity is referred to as the hero religion for causing its downfall. I finally threw in the towel when the two main characters decided to appoint a priest to perform an exorcism on the devil train, since the Christian faith was apparently the only way to cast out the Druidic demon. Ugh.

I found the main protagonist, Mark, to be wholly unlikable, and felt little sympathy for what he was experiencing. I became quite annoyed by his constant fear and inability to do anything to better his situation. I also found the thought processes and actions of the characters to be so unbelievable that I often caught myself rolling my eyes as events unfolded. The author over-explained even the smallest details, and I feel like many paragraphs in this novel could have been shortened to single sentences.

The book wasn’t all bad. First, I didn’t realize this book was originally written in the 1980s until sitting down to write my review. I believe this proves that the story has aged well, even if I didn’t care for the composition. Second, I thought Mr. Hills was a good fit as narrator. I enjoyed listening to his voice, especially during the times when he wasn’t using exaggerated tones for certain characters. There was also a part of the novel where different standing stones (like Stonehenge) were discussed at length, which I found interesting and entertaining.

While I can’t personally recommend Ghost Train, there are many reviewers that seem to love both this book and the author. Part of me feels guilty for writing such a negative review after seeking out a free download through Audiobook Boom. The other part of me knows that if I had paid for this book, I would have requested my money back from Audible.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

4 people found this helpful

“Crazy, but that’s how it goes…”

Ghost Train is one of those horror tales that it’s best not to slow down and think too heavily on, and instead just enjoy the ride. Its premise is slightly bonkers, in a way that only 1970’s-1980’s horror can be. The pacing is good, the story is entertaining, and the narration by Hannibal Hills is especially good.
Is it fine literature? No. But it never claims to be. It’s a creepy thrill ride, with its own style, that is never predictable. It has me curious about what else Stephen Laws has written (sadly, this is his only book on Audible, as of this writing).
I received a free copy of this from Audiobook Boom, in exchange for an honest review.

1 person found this helpful

Meandering and Hard to Follow

I received this book for free. I am voluntarily posting this review and all opinions expressed herein are my own.

After reading the blurb, I wanted to love this book. Instead, I kept getting a bit lost throughout. I eventually realized that the characters from the beginning of the book had no bearing on the rest of the book. The story was meandering and hard to follow. I found it tough to get to the end.

The narrator, Hannibal Hills, is a favorite of mine. And, as always, he was fantastic. However, even he could not save this book.

1 person found this helpful

quietly brilliant

An understated supernatural horror. Tension builds to a crescendo of horror mixed with action.
A great read. and a superb narration.
I received a free copy of this audio book at my own request and voluntarily left this honest review.

loved it!

I would highly recommend this book! it is a wonderful thriller! the characters were well made and the narration was wonderful. the only issue I had was that I had trouble at first understanding what was going on because the switch in characters was not easily perceived.

Ghost Train

This was a decent story. I really liked the ending. Leading up to the finale, there were times that I just got lost and was not able to really track where it was going. Some really good action and dialog in the book. I thought that Hannibal Hills did a pretty good job narrating. I think I may have enjoyed this more as a short story than a full-length novel. Regardless, it was an interesting story with a strong ending.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

not bad

I had a bit of a hard time with this one, it took a while to get through as I kept loosing focus on the story. I liked it, it was written well enough but maybe the narrator? I have enjoyed Hannibal Hills narration on other books but this one felt constantly over dramatic even when not necessary. I still enjoyed it but it took me longer than normal to make my way through it.

WOW!

I don't know what this author has been smoking but this was a pretty good book. The narrator was awesome. He did a great job. Cool voice, fit well with the story.