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)

Great new (to me) series

I really enjoyed this series.

The narrator does a fantastic job and the story is very compelling. Can wait to hear more about Chess and Terrible.

A STEP ABOVE THE REST!!!!!

Any additional comments?

If you have ever read or listen to a story that has you talking to, laughing at, or shaking your head at the characters, then that story has engulfed you and pulled you into their world. And for me, that’s the best natural high a book reader can achieve. And seriously if you think about it, it’s the only reason to read a book. This is by far one of best series of urban fantasy that I have had the privilege of listening to.

Stacia Kane's delivered a spellbinding and very unique story. Scary at times, dangerous at times, over the top at times, however brought together through life trails, love and hope. The characters are well developed and very interesting.

Although at times, I thought Chess needed to rein in the insecure emotional drama, I can’t wait for the saga to continue.

Bahni Tupin brings each character to life with his/her own distinct personalities. Tupin is one of the best narrators on Audible.

Different kind of urban fantasy- great

What made the experience of listening to Unholy Ghosts the most enjoyable?

This narrator ads to an already fresh take on this genre

What did you like best about this story?

This is a great alternative world and a sadly dark "real" kind of hero

Which scene was your favorite?

Any with Terrible and Chess

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Surprisingly it was

Any additional comments?

The main character is dark in a way that is sad and entralling. The story is mysterious and intriguing.

Awesome futuristic fantasy!

Unholy Ghosts
Downside Ghosts, Book 1
By: Stacia Kane
Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
This is an amazing book! A strange future where the government has collapsed, ghosts have risen, the Church of Real Truth is a church that preaches that there's no gods! Our gal of the story works for them. She is a witch. That makes her feared by most. Her many tattoos give her away. She has a secret too, she's a drug addict. The church doesn't know.
She is wanted by both drug lords, she owes one a lot of money. She hears of a blood sacrifice, human, it will bring about more than she can handle. She has to try to stop it. She has one of the tough drug Lord's enforcer with her to keep an eye on her.
This book is fast paced, gritty, vivid details, it's unpredictable, wild, characters are tough and hardened, and the world building is superb.
The narration is excellent! Just right for this book!

If you are a drug addict, you’ll love this book

Great mystery, however, the main character is obsessed with pills, any kind. Every other paragraph is about her popping pills or dreaming about them. It’s actually disgusting. I’m not against drugs, she’s just gross about how much she needs them. If you can get past that, story is good, sad mostly.

Excited to start this series!

Pleasantly surprised at how awesome this book is. Just started getting in to paranormal fiction, breaking from my comfort zone. when I first heard the narrator in the preview her voice wasn't appealing but I took the risk and am so glad, I'm picky with my narrator's. the main character is strong, beautiful and flawed. the story is actually pretty powerful and the details make you feel like you're in this crazy post apocalyptic world with them. on to the next! listen to this book. you'll be glad you did!

WONDERFULLY SURPRISED

To be honest I didn't think I was going to like this book, but I was DEFINITELY surprised, you want to route for Chess but at the same time you want her to fail and get her crap together, her drug use is constant in the story line and very repetitive which gets annoying, If you are part of the Proper English and Grammer police this is not the book for you, narration was extremely good and moved perfectly with the storyline definitely will be getting the second book

Unique urban fantasy

Listened to the audio version years ago, still love Bahni Turpin's performance.
Chess is a drugged-out witch, employed by the Church of Truth to banish ghosts in this new version of the world, after everything else collapsed. Unfortunately, her addiction means heavy debt, making her prey for all the drug lords in need of magical expertise. As a result, Chess is plagued with problems, while trying to maintain her regular job and keeping her supplier happy, when both worlds collide. A different kind of urban fantasy, with a very imperfect main character making her way through life.

Pleasant surprise!

I began this book because it was included in my membership. I was interested by the idea and thought I had nothing to lose even if the global rating was medium. It was worth it! The univers is dark and deep, the characters are great and there’s a good blend of action, mystery and not exactly romance, but certainly emotions. I am really looking forward to the next book and I’ll probably download it right after I send this review. My only down point is that since English isn’t my first language, I sometimes had a bit of a hard time understanding the slang and it took me some time to get used to the way most characters talk. The narrator was great and I really enjoyed listening to her. This is definitely an excellent read and a good story.

Strange, dark & entertaining

I really enjoyed the main character, flaws and all. She was decidedly unrepentant of her vices and very strong willed. The storyline overall is different from anything I've read as far as ghosts, religion and other paranormal based books. Bahni Turpin does such a great job with the story and all of its colloquialisms that I can't even imagine having tried to read it myself. She does it better.