Vintage: A Ghost Story

By: Steve Berman

Narrated by: Jason Frazier

Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

A lonely gay teen bides his time with trips to strangers' funerals and Ouija board sessions, desperately searching for someone to love - and a reason to live following a suicide attempt.

Walking an empty stretch of New Jersey highway on an autumn night, he meets a strange and beautiful boy who looks like he stepped out of a dream. But the vision becomes into a nightmare when the boy turns out to be the local urban legend, the ghost of a star athlete killed in 1957 - a ghost with a deadly secret and a dangerous obsession.

Vintage: A Ghost Story is an intense thriller that looks at the dark side of gay urban fantasy, where the dead can never rest and trapped spirits never find peace.

©2008 Steve Berman (P)2014 Steve Berman

Sorry I waited

I had this book in my "wish list," for years. I bought it on a whim and was pleasantly surprised at the narration, narrative, and story. The characters sounded one-note at first but in no way did any of them remain as much.

This is a wonderful piece of gay fiction, with a touch of romance, intrigue, danger, and many other elements that simply made it enjoyable.

Unlike many gay "romance," works this work is perfectly reasonable for listeners down to the age of perhaps twelve. After all, no one even blinks when Prince Charming kisses Snow White.

As with my other recent purchase, "Full Service," I listened to this work all the way through. It was highly engaging and did not follow any path I expected or anticipated.

Steve Berman, you are a talented story teller, my compliments.

Vintage: A Ghost Story

It's been a while since I read or listened to a ghost story. I'm glad I chose this one. Steve Berman weaves a wonderful tale with lots of well developed characters. And I have to add that Jason Frazier does an excellent job of bringing the story and the characters to life. I look forward to more works from both artists.

An Already Wonderful Tale Performed Phenomenally

I haven't done this before, but I had already read this book before purchasing it here on Audible. When I read Vintage, it stole all my attention over the three days I read it - I was captivated. Vintage and I were inseparable. I was sneaking a read on breaks and bus rides, at breakfast and dinner, and finally, the last few pages before bed.

I loved it.

It's not often I feel lucky enough to find a young adult book where the protagonist is a well-written gay teen, and it's even less often that teen isn't your typical example. The goth, vintage clothes-loving voice in this book was a delight.

And I say that - now - in two senses. Narratively, I adored the voice of this story. From a performance point of view, Jason Frazier blew it out of the park. He's talented and evokes the words he's reading. So, I had a kind of a repeat experience - I listened to this audiobook whenever I had a spare moment, between chores, walking the dog, until the last few words a few hours ago.

Having run away from parents who absolutely will not accept him, the young man in VINTAGE comes to live with his aunt in a small town in New Jersey. He's a little lost, though he has a good group of equally marginalized friends, and works at a vintage clothing store and tries to find a future for himself. He has tried to commit suicide, but has moved past this to some hesitant sense of finding a life for himself.

Enter Josh, who the narrator meets on a long walk home at night. A handsome young man in fifties wear, the clothes grant the main character just enough courage to speak, and the two connect.

Except Josh isn't a lover of fifties wear who enjoys a retro look; he's dead. Our narrator has just crushed out on a ghost.

In turns fun, moving, dark, and tense, VINTAGE belongs on the shelf of great young adult fiction. Connecting with the character is effortless, and the growing tension and worry you feel on his behalf will drag you in, moment after moment. Frazier delivers a phenomenal performance that brings an already wonderful story to one of the best audiobooks I've enjoyed. Grab it. You won't be sorry.

kept me captivated.

Well written. I like the characters well. The story is fascinating. I wish it focuses more on the ghost Josh though and the ambiguous ending left me yerning for more.

Jason Frazier brought this book to life

What made the experience of listening to Vintage: A Ghost Story the most enjoyable?

Jason Frazier's narration was so great! He put so much feeling into his performance. You feel like you're living the story.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved the evolving relationship between the MC and Second Mike.

What does Jason Frazier bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He really seems to care about making the story feel real. The emotion he brought to First Mike's death scene broke my heart.

Who was the most memorable character of Vintage: A Ghost Story and why?

I think Second Mike was the most memorable character. I can't even imagine what it would be like growing up named after a dead sibling. It's horrifying to even think about a parent doing that to a child.

MORE!!

This was the perfect book for me, I LOVED it from the narrator who got all the voices down including the girls, to the story itself, even before I had got halfway through I was thinking “PLEASE let this be a series”!!!!! All and all a great book, especially if u were that goth boy in school who was painfully shy:-)!

Haunting and sad.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

For people who like ghost stories and YA with a hint of MM, this is worth listening to if only because the narrator went the extra mile to bring the characters (and even the ghosts) to life.

What did you like best about this story?

The story is told entirely from the POV of the main character in first-person. You actually aren't ever given his first name so in a way this was almost like one of those role-playing games where you decide what to name the hero before going on your quest. Although in this case, since Jason Frazier once again made the character his own, might as well call him 'Jason'.The side characters were also likable. And the main ghost (Josh), even though he was somewhat of a jerk, was still sympathetic and I actually felt really bad about how he died. It's always so much sadder when young people lose their lives.I also liked how some aspects of this story was reminiscent of that Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode where Buffy and Angel were possessed by the ghosts of two lovers who died in a murder suicide. In the show, they kept playing "I only have eyes for you" and in 'Vintage', it was "bye, bye, love".

Have you listened to any of Jason Frazier’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I've listened to Blame It On The Mistletoe, Pray the Gay Away, Sending Jack Off to Jesus, As You Are, and The Full Ride. I actually bought 'Vintage' on a buying spree after I finished Blame It On The Mistletoe because I was so impressed by how Jason Frazier narrated that short story. And so far, I've been consistently impressed with each title he comes out with.In a way, I thought the production value of 'Vintage' was higher than every other audiobook I've listened to so far that has a single narrator and wasn't an outright radio drama production with a full cast (e.g. The Child by Sebastian Fitzek; BBC's Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, etc). The sound was crisp and clear, each character had a distinct voice, and the voices of the ghosts were given a suitably ghost-like timbre which set them apart from the human characters. If I wasn't already used to Jason's style, I would have thought there was more than one person narrating this story.

If you could take any character from Vintage: A Ghost Story out to dinner, who would it be and why?

The main character. If only so I could ask "What should I call you?"

Any additional comments?

I don't think I would have ever come across this story if it hadn't been narrated by Jason Frazier, but I'm glad I did because it reminded me of my love for ghost stories and the Christopher Pike books I used to devour in my teens. Will definitely be checking more stuff by Steve Berman.

Excellent

I loved this book it was not only a great ghost story but it was a good story.

Exceptional!

Super interesting and unique story with likable characters. Found this book because the narrator is one of my favorites. Highly recommended!

excellent ghost story!

this has got to be one of my favorite listening experiences of all time. It is a tight story, fast paced enough to keep you interested and anticipating. Narration matched the story perfectly. and the effects added t ok the eeriness. I would highly recommend this book.