Dead Eye: Pennies for the Ferryman

By: Jim Bernheimer

Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer

Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

"My name is Mike Ross. I'm a Ferryman. I help people with ghost problems, or ghosts with people problems. Funny thing, no one ever helps me with my problems. Civil War ghosts bent on killing me, Skinwalkers who just want my body, and a vindictive spirit linked both to my bloodline and my destiny.... It turns out the dead still hold a good deal of influence over the world, and they don't want to give it up. I'm in way over my head. Fortunately, I'm too stubborn to quit."

©2009 David Wood- Gryphonwood Press (P)2012 David Wood- Gryphonwood Press

Not a typical ghost story

I am not normally into ghost stories. What caught my interest in this book was the summary and listening to the sample. I was immediately hooked.

A fast-paced, well-written, and captivating story. I listened to this on veterans day... Good timing! Realistic issues facing returning vets as well as a believable cast of characters are expertly woven into an intriguing & witty story of now and then and the Ferryman who walks in the balance. Humor, history, and humanity - I am in love! This skillfully written story is enhanced by Jeffrey Kafer's superb and well-matched performance and I can't wait for the next book. Until then, I will listen to this one again!

"I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.”

Dead Eye

I liked this book.Jeffrey Kafer was at his best narrating Mike Ross.Mike received a cornea transplant after war injuries.The 'gift' of seeing ghosts, and then negotiating on their part, came with the new cornea.Mike is not thrilled with the gift, but he deals with it in fun ways.I was given this book free by the author, narrator or publisher.

DEALING WITH A NEW GIFT AND THE POLITICS OF GHOSTS

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

YES, BECAUSE IT'S FUNNY ACTION PACKED AND HAS A LIKABLE MAIN CHARACTER

What other book might you compare Dead Eye: Pennies for the Ferryman to and why?

THE NEXT DEAD EYE BOOK

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

NO

Casual fun story

There's noting to impress with the story. But I can definitely say I had a good time listening to the story. The performance is very good.

Really Enjoyable

Jim Bernheimer is as very talented writer incase you did not know by now. You money is well spent on any of his titles. "Dead Eye - Pennies for the Ferryman" is no exception as this story lays the foundation for a great new series coming from a fun and talented mind.

Pretty Good

I enjoyed this book for the most part. The thing I like the most about this book is its unconventional protagonist. He is a partially disabled war veteran who lives at home with his mother. Hes fairly young and decided to go back to school when he was medically discharged/retired from the military. He just happens to see dead people with his new eye. Sometimes those dead people and being able to communicate with them puts him in precarious situations. That's the premise of the book. I did enjoy the narration by Kafer. The only thing that I would change or didn't too much care for was the pace. Imagine playing a video game and beating the big boss then realizing that wasn't the big boss there's another stage or two to complete with an even bigger boss. I believe the 1st big boss was the natural ending and everything that came after that could have been the beginning of a different book and elaborate upon. But I'm not a writer so I could be completely wrong. I might have the unpopular opinion. anyway, the book is pretty good and an easy listen. I would not mind looking into other works by this author.

It's not you, it's me, but really it's you

I had to use this line from the book as the title of my review because, a. it's funny and will give you an idea of the ironic/sardonic tone of the book, b. it conveys the "every man" status of the protagonist, Mike Ross, who recognizes this sentiment when he gets the brush-off.. Mike acquires a "gift" to see ghosts and interact with them via a cornea transplant following major injuries in the Iraq war. Mike not only has war wounds to overcome, but he's short, broke, and uneducated. He'd like to use his new abilities to make some money, but his efforts, while useful in protecting the living and assisting the dead, almost never pan out with much moolah. And Mike's new talents greatly hamper his love life and family relationships (see title above) so ultimately, this guy is no Gary Stu! After listening 1/2 way to two books (one sci-fi, one fantasy) in a row where the primary protagonist was all that and a bag of chips (Atlas/Adonis rolled into one, every woman falls at his feet, yada, yada), I was thrilled to pieces to meet Mike Ross; a guy who doesn't get anything for free and yet keeps trying - my kind of hero.

In this urban noir fantasy, Jim Bernheimer not only provides some realistic living men and women, he borrows from the gangster and Civil War eras to populate the world with some memorable ghostly characters. This is a fast paced adventure that stands well on it's own, but definitely made me want to read the sequels.

Jeffrey Kafer does a great job at invoking the dry, wry tone of the noir story and provides good characters voices as well. Nice performance!

Some reviewers have compared this to Dresden, but Dead Eye actually reminded me more of the nicely done Felix Castor series by Mike Carey. If you like urban noir, if you enjoy a hero who's only human, if you like your ghosts to have a bit of moxie, and if you like a bit of history thrown into your fantasy fiction, you'll like Dead Eye.

Amazing!!!

This book was awesome!!!!

I decided to listen to a small 30 minute piece and I couldn't stop!!!!

PS
I already bought the second book and I'm just waiting for the weekend.

Keep your iron tools handy.

A funny story about a guy who becomes a ferry man and helps souls cross over. Unfortunately he has to make a living somehow and ghost don't make a lot of money. In the meantime he is having problems with girls, ghost, skin walkers, soldiers and even mobsters. He never seems to get a break. It is not a book for deep thinking and some of the points of views are stereo typical but I enjoyed the story and will be getting the next one. The narrator was good, but dry and I can't help but think it would have been funnier if it had a different narrator. The story picks up the second half of the book. I happened to pick this up because a guy who likes Monster Hunter International recommended this book and was glad I read the reviewers other books.

Definitely No Dresden

There are some strong similarities to the Dresden Files series, however, Pennies for the Ferryman is no where near the same level of quality. The protagonist, Mike Ross, is similar to Dresden in that he is dirt poor and is an investigator of paranormal situations. Mike Ross is more like Mortimer from Dresden Files. He can see and talk to ghosts and help them move on. The exception is that Mike Ross is more aggressive and a little bit of a smart aleck. He is also a bit of a juvenile and lives at his moms place. He is an Afghanistan war veteran who had injured his eye during his service requiring him to get a new eye implant that allows him to see ghosts. This upsets the ghost community and soon finds that life at home is as dangerous as life was over seas. The style felt a little military oriented. There were some issues with the writing and I was up in the air as to whether I care much for the characters. Mostly I felt the writing lacked originality. You might think an author named Jim B. would want and try to separate his writing from other known writers in his category of work. Overall, it was a decent enough one time listen. Maybe some day I will will pick up the sequel, but this one isn't very high on my list.