Unholy Ghosts

Downside Ghosts, Book 1

By: Stacia Kane

Narrated by: Bahni Turpin

Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

The world is not the way it was. The dead have risen, and the living are under attack.

In a future world under attack from the undead, the powerful Church of Real Truth, in charge since the government fell, has sworn to reimburse citizens being harassed by the deceased. Consequently, there are many false claims of hauntings from those hoping to profit. Enter Chess Putnam, a fully-tattooed witch and freewheeling ghost hunter. She’s got a real talent for nailing human liars and banishing the wicked dead. But she’s keeping a dark secret from the Church: a little drug problem that’s landed her in hot water.

Chess owes a lot of money to a dangerous drug lord who wants immediate payback. All Chess has to do is dispatch a very nasty species of undead from an old airport. But the job involves black magic, human sacrifice, a nefarious demonic creature, and crossing swords with enough wicked energy to wipe out a city of souls. Toss in a dangerous attraction to the drug lord’s ruthless enforcer, and Chess begins to wonder if the rush is really worth it. Hell, yeah.

©2009 Stacey Fackler (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“[A] dark futuristic urban fantasy….atmospheric and well written.” ( Publishers Weekly)

“Gripping….Vivid characters and a wonderful sense of place….I was enthralled.” (Charlaine Harris, New York Times best-selling author of the Sookie Stackhouse novels)

“ Unholy Ghosts is a wonderful, weird, wild tale filled with gritty magic, punk rock, and macabre spirits. Kane’s world is dark, dangerous, and haunted, populated by hustlers, junkies and exorcists…and you’ll never want to leave. Simply the best book I’ve read this year.” (Caitlin Kittredge, author of Street Magic)

Intriguing Premise

I really like the world that Stacia Kane has built here. There are interesting political and philosophical considerations built inherently into the world here that add a depth not always seen in an urban fantasy novel.

Besides that the main character Chess is an interesting mixture of vulnerable and competent. She's smart, which I appreciate, but still makes mistakes.

I also appreciated that I was totally wrong about my predictions of the plot. I have read several urban fantasy mysteries that have completely failed to surprise me lately, and it was nice to be surprised again!

Beware of "unholy ghosts"! Seriously

What did you like best about Unholy Ghosts? What did you like least?

The story was simple and relatively easy to follow and there was enough there to keep me engaged with what was happening

Would you be willing to try another book from Stacia Kane? Why or why not?

Not sure what else is out there from this author, but she could have potential in the future. This felt like a first effort and easy way to make a series, but it read as very "first time" to me. That aside, I'd probably look for something else from her to see if this is newness or just not my kind of author.

What didn’t you like about Bahni Turpin’s performance?

The performance was flat and one dimensional. The ability to give a character an identity other than just a higher or lower voice was lacking. That said, I do think she did a passable job voicing the main character.

Could you see Unholy Ghosts being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

I could see this as a TV series on Sci-fi or something like that with the typical new hot female lead and over muscled unknown male supporting cast.

Bahni Turpin ups the ante on this series

The first time I read this book, I immediately wanted to tell people how amzing it was. The problem was that I didn't think it would have universal appeal due to a lead character who some may find unlikeable and who is a drug addict. Then there is the whole premise of the world being set in a setting where religion is turned on it's head --- while I found the Church of Truth to be interesting and the world that Kane has created to be both highly imaginative and original--- I know some folks might be uncomfortable with it.

The second and third time I read and/or listened to the story, I loved it more and more. I'm no longer timid about who I recommend this book/series to --- I think it will win everyone over in the end. This is definitely a Credit Worthy series. It might take some people a little bit of time to get used to the language (both Church speak and the Downside Slang) and a bit of time for some to fall in love with Chess (who is by all accounts a flawed character), but she'll win you over in the end.

THE NARRATION IS AMAZING!!!! Bahni Turpin - whose narration you might recognize from The Help - is TOP NOTCH. She really breathes life into the story by giving every character his/her unique voice. You can tell she's a trained actor because she isn't merely reading well-crafted words, she playing every part --- and skillfully.

If you are a fan of Urban Fantasy, you won't be sorry you picked up this refreshingly original series. And if you've already read this series, you will enjoy HEARING it performed.

Pleasantly Surprised

Not just another witch story. I love stories set in the supernatural world with strong, powerful female leads, but with such a flooded market it can be difficult to find story lines that are unique enough to set themselves apart. So it was such a relief & pleasant surprise to find this series. I can't wait to read the rest of her books!

unique and intriguing

very different world and protagonist. looking forward to more of this storyline in the future

caution in reading

I enjoyed this story alot BUT; I give you a word of caution. There is lots and I mean LOTS of drug use. the names of the drugs have been renamed but they are used lots in this series. So if you have a history of drug use in your past you may be triggered.

great narrator, exciting story

well developed world, loved the slang and patois. everything fit, and i was excited gor more. also i have to mention how great the narrator was. this book was a pleasure, and i cant wait to read book 2.

Give it a chance, it's worth it!

Ok to me it starts slow as most good stories turn out to do. The narrator was awesome with the characters and different speech types. Jumping from blue collar types to the street speak thugs. made the story for me. The story itself is such a great idea, and I have a picture in my mind from the first description of the leaders that stuck throughout the entire listen. Looking for more to the series.

Not impressed

After reading some of the early reviews I gave this book a chance anyway the new narrator did a decent job but the slang was a little over the top and I agree with Manny about the drug use of the so-called heroine of this story this story would be more for younger people but I wouldn’t recommend it for younger people due to so much drug use I will not be continuing with this story it was hard to get through the beginning and some parts were better than others overall I did get to the end and that is why I gave it a three overall

Yay! It's A Series!

Any additional comments?

This was a very enjoyable story, and the narrator was incredible! It was slightly predictable, and the "F" word was used in abundance... If you're sensitive to that kind of language, this book is probably not for you... But over all, the story drew me in. The author and narrator had me in the first chapter, which for me, rarely happens. This is one of those rare series I will buy all at once and listen to back-to-back. Usually I like to space them out so I don't get bored with the characters, but usually I don't bother writing reviews, either. It's a good "future earth" or "dystopian" or "urban fantasy" type story. Can't wait for my credits so I can get the next in the series!