Ancient Illusions

Ancient Secrets, Book 3

By: Joanne Pence

Narrated by: Tim Paige

Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's Summary

A long-lost diary, a rare book of ghost stories, and unrelenting nightmares combine to send archeologist Michael Rempart on a forbidden journey into the occult and his own past.

When Michael returns to his family home after more than a decade-long absence, he is rocked by the emotion and intensity of the memories it awakens. His father is reclusive, secretive, and obsessed with alchemy and its secrets - secrets that Michael possesses. He believes the way to end this sudden onslaught of nightmares is to confront his disturbing past.

But he soon learns he isn't the only one under attack. Others in his life are also being tormented by demonic nightmares that turn into a deadly reality. Forces from this world and other realms threaten madness and death unless they obtain the powerful, ancient secrets in Michael's possession. Their violence creates an urgency Michael cannot ignore. The key to defeating them seems to lie in a land of dreams inhabited by ghosts...and demons.

From the windswept shores of Cape Cod to a mystical land where samurai and daimyo once walked, now filled with the eerie ghost stories of the strange author, Lafcadio Hearn, and the frightening "suicide forest", Michael must find a way to stop not only the demons, but his own father. Yet, doing so, he fears may unleash an ancient evil upon the world that he will be powerless to contain.

©2018 Joanne Pence (P)2019 Joanne Pence

Not as good as book 1, better than book 2:)

In the third installment of Ancient Secrets we finally meet Michael's father and find out quite a lot about their family secrets.

This time the story takes us to Japan, giving us a chance to learn a few Japanese legends and bits of its culture and heritage. As a background for the story it turns out to be intriguing and more than scary at times.
The plot, however, revolves around Michael's relationship with his father and his father's obsession with the philosopher's stone and gaining immortality. And that's a really scary path to follow... It's dark, full of deceit and hatred...
The plot is fast, definitely faster than in book two. There's also a new female character, much stronger this time, an equal partner for Michael again, maybe not in scholarly terms, but when it comes to character and decision making. There are still some slower parts which may feel a bit lengthy but these are few and far between, luckily.

As a whole, it's a book that keeps you listen on, again very well interpreted by Tim Paige, who does male voices excellently, doesn't overdo female ones and keeps the tension in narrative parts at the right level:)

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

Dark Fantasy Mystery/Thriller

This was a really interesting fantasy, mystery, and thriller all in one story. I would like to say it was intriguing and had my attention. I did enjoy the story but it was a bit darker than expected, it shows the darker side of alchemy (almost more on the voodoo side of magic) and then throws in the demon element to boot. I think it's a high school level read and up due to the language and violence throughout.

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

Alchemy & the supernatural combined in a thriller

*This book was given to me by the author at my request, and I provided this voluntary review.*

4 / 5

I enjoyed this book not only for the story, but also for the accurate portrayal of Japanese culture. The Japanese lore and supernatural forces in the story was spooky and it added a nice touch of flair! The main character is flawed in a good way, but felt the father was a bit over the top with being good at everything. I was questioning the absence of the different people in the story; though they were unreachable, I felt it was strange that they went very long periods of time without contacting others (such as family, friends, etc). The alchemy angle was interesting, but I felt that I should have read the other 2 books first. This book was good as a starting point in the series too, because it reflected on the events of books 1 and 2, so really, I didnt feel that left out at all. I would be interested in reading more in this series.

Awesome

Ancient Illusions. .. A superb story, complex storyline and well written with many twists and turns. The series keeps getting stronger.
Tim Paige s narration is excellent and is so easy to listen to.
I received a free copy of this audio book at my own request and voluntarily leave this review.

Ancient Illusions

I think this was my favorite story in the series until about 75% through. I really liked it for the most part because of the way it carried the characters toward each other and then, well, something unexpected happens. In a way, at some point, it sort of went off the rails for me and Michael’s father was both a great antagonist and a frustrating piece of the puzzle. There is a lot to unpack in this series and overall I am really glad I have had the chance to read/listen.
I am certainly curious to see where the series goes from here.

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

Author ran out new ideas

This book is not fun. just rehashes material from previous books. I never felt the adventure, just dark and oppressive. I stopped half way. could not take anymore.

Decent Story - Sappy Romance

Of the three books in this series, I liked this one best. Would like it better if there were less sappy romance.

Just not good

This book is really not good. Just a ridiculous story line that is so contrived and ludicrous. I listened to the end but doubt I'll read any more from this author.

Ugh

The first book was pretty good. The second was okay, but sort of weird. This book I can live without. The overall plot was seemingly dull. Some of the plot developments were there to relay to you that the author has spent some time researching information on the subject of Japanese demons and the suicide forest. Which for all of its contributions to this story could have been left out. I was not overly impressed by this story.