Asylum

The Afterlife Investigations, Book 1

By: Ambrose Ibsen

Narrated by: Joe Hempel

Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's Summary

Winner of the 2018 Audiobook Reviewer Award for best horror!

What lurks within Chaythe Asylum? 

College professor Stephen Barlow needs cash. Badly. When a student asks him to head a new campus organization that centers around paranormal research, he puts his skepticism aside, and signs on in the hopes of scoring a fat bonus. 

Enter Chaythe Asylum - a long-shuttered and controversial institution where patients were allegedly subjected to unethical experiments. Stephen deems the old building, closed in 1989 after a series of grisly murders, as good a place as any to explore the possibility of the supernatural, and arranges to take a tour with his students.

But it turns out that the asylum is not as abandoned as it seems. There is something sinister in the building. It has watched and waited for nearly three decades, and when Stephen and his students enter, they find themselves at the center of a nightmare 28 years in the making. 

Asylum is the first novel in the Afterlife Investigations Trilogy. 

The Afterlife Investigations: 

• Asylum 
• Forest
• The Occupant 

©2017 Ambrose Ibsen (P)2017 Ambrose Ibsen

Asylum

Any additional comments?

Very interesting. This is a very fast paced good old fashion ghost story. I am going to download the next audiobook in this series when it is available.

Haunting!

This is my first book I've come across by Ambrose Ibsen. I loved it! Very creepy! A pair of college students and a professor start a paranormal research organization at their school. The professor doesn't believe in that nonsense but he could use the extra cash. The first call they get leads them to an abandoned asylum only to find it wasn't abandoned. There was something waiting there. It had been patiently waiting for 28 years planning for this night.

Excellent narration by Joe Hempel! He always does a great job and knows how to properly set the mood for the story he is telling.

I will be adding Ambrose Ibsen to my list of authors I'd love to read/listen to more of. I will definitely be check out the rest of this series when it is available!

Creepy!

I've read a lot by this author and he never fails to deliver a creepy and thrilling story, and this one is no different.

Stephen Barlow is a professor and is hoping to become full time, but at the moment he needs money! When a student of his comes to him after class and asks him to head a new organisation that she is creating, he is hesitant because it's to do with the paranormal. But once she tells him that just by being head of it, he is entitled to 1000$, he jumps at the chance. He finds out about a place called Chaythe Asylum and arranges a tour of it with his students. Little does he know that the Asylum isn't as abandoned as he thinks!

I really liked Stephen. He is a no nonsense professor who puts aside his skepticism to help his students (well the money helps too ;)). He is used to facts but even he can tell that the Asylum isn't a friendly place. He doesn't want to go in but can't let his students go without him. He was well written and developed and I look forward to more from him.

The plot was fast paced and creepy. An Asylum is an incredibly creepy place anyway, but add in a supernatural element and you have a home run. I know I wouldn't willingly walk into an abandoned Asylum, but I do love reading about them! The ending left me wanting more!! I can't wait to find out what happens next.

In all, an incredibly creepy read. I am so looking forward to book 2!!!

Joe Hempel reads these kind of books brilliantly. He knows how to bring the creepiness alive and how to keep us on the edge of our seats!! He is a narrator that is firmly on my favourite list.

I was voluntarily provided this audiobook for free from the author, narrator, or publisher. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.

Excellent ghost story. Very spooky

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

Ambrose Ibsen has managed to do something that no author has done in a long time, scare me. The darkness and cavernous space of the Asylum Is very creepy and conducive to let you imagination run wild.
Well crafted story and I definitely look forward to the next one.
The narrator, Joe Hempel, did an excellent job as well. He had unique voices for each character and helped the listener to embrace the story and put them selves right into it.

A ghost story

This is a good story. Nothing new. A cute summer read or listen. The audible recording is well done.

Ghost story worth its salt!

I've said it before and I will say it again Ambrose Ibsen is the master of the ghost story. I have read and listened to numerous stories and he delivers shivers and he-be-jee-be's on every one. I live in Florida and made the mistake of listening to this tonight during hurricane Irma with no power, raging storm and lots and lots of strange noises. I so cannot sleep at this point. Joe Hempel delivers an impeccable narration lending the story the edge it deserves and creating that creepy crawly feeling the author intends you to have. Can't wait for the next one!!I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Another great Ibsen/Hempel story

What made the experience of listening to Asylum the most enjoyable?

Joe Hempel. He really does a fantastic job narrating all of his stories. He definitely adds to the tension of the plot and truly perfected his craft.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Elizabeth, she was the only character who actually has a mission. Stephen is only doing this for money as he is broke and Jake is only doing it because I assume he loves his girlfriend. Why the story centers around Stephen, he was my least favorite character. I don't mean that as a bad thing, I just personally didn't like him and wouldn't want to be his friend.

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

Absolutely and as always he does not disappoint.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No extreme reactions but it definitely made me want to listen to the next story. I am happy to see that there is going to be more to the story than just a simple haunted asylum.

Any additional comments?

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

Great book for a night drive.

Great book. Built up fast and ended abruptly, but now I understand why. Can't wait to listen to the sequels.

Great start to what looks to be a brilliant series!

I’ll be honest... I’m a total chicken when it comes to ghosts and possessions. But on the recommendation of a good friend I was willing to check this story out.

I’m so glad I did! The material was handled in such a way that all of the spooky elements were there, and you felt a real danger for the characters, but I’m not going to be up with nightmares for the next 3 weeks. I was intrigued, and wanted to know who and how the person was making phone calls, and then as “the plot thickened” (as they say) and I found out the who and hinted at how, I had more questions and wanted to know more about what was happening.

Great pacing, and well timed reveals, meant that I wasn’t drudging through hours of questions with a sudden and abrupt revelatory ending; neither were all the answers dumped into my lap with so much for shadowing that I had it all figured out, and was suck waiting for the characters to catch up (I hate that).

I was given information and revelations at a delectable rate - allowed to enjoy each morsel before moving on to the next with the sumptuous speed of a fine dining, 7 course meal.

Joe Hempel did a brilliant job of conveying the MCs skeptical reluctance - his irritation with being dragged into something that seemed “a total waste of time”, but he - believably - started to wonder what the hell was happening as the inexplainable continued around him.

Joe’s cadence and measured pace kept time with the tone of the story with the perfect precision of a metronome! He neither rushed nor dragged the plot along with his narration.

I believe a large part of my ability to make it through this book was due to ‘having Joe with me’ throughout the winding plot, it’s strangely comforting to feel a trust in the voice that at points is scaring you...

I have to thank them both for opening the door to this genre for me so that I can tentatively step in and experience something I never would have been willing to before now!

very creepy!

this is a very promising start to a new series. while not wholly original, there are enough new elements and interesting takes on genre convention to keep the story fresh. the characters are interesting and surprisingly multidimensional. The characters are also smart enough to arrive at the same conclusions as readers are likely to, which is a welcome departure from the numbskulls who seem to populate so much of supernatural horror.

Great start but buyer beware...

I thought I'd add this review so that it may help a prospective buyer ...
"Afterlife investigations" suggests more than one story in a trilogy... not so. There is just one story set over three short audiobooks, where it could have been delivered as one. The term Book 1, Book 2 etc., I feel are misleading.
I enjoyed 'book 1' and eagerly purchased 'book 2'. After book 2 ended abruptly, I then realised I would be spending 3 credits to get the full story.
I hope this helps.

Sounded Promising

Started off really good and I was hooked. Once it got to the main part the story fell apart. I was expecting more things to happen when they are in the Asylum as that was the whole idea of the story-line but very disappointing

Okay for a quick scare

I was dissappointed It took far too long to get going for me and by the time it did you knew it was going to be dragged out into other books. It was an okay story but I wont be following onto the next book

took some getting into

struggled to het into this one but I perceived and glad I did from halfway through I couldn't stop listening

A very slow burn

Too much time spent on the build up to entering the asylum. Once there the story held my interest, (just about), however it could have been so much better had the entity manifested sooner and with more super natural happenings.

This is good

The story is well written and the level of suspense is ratcheted up as you read on. There's a good number of plot twists and surprises but not enough to get you lost. I went straight into Book 2 of the series within minutes of finishing this one - something I don't usually do.

The ending sets the scene for book 2, so don't be surprised by the sudden ending. I enjoyed this; you will too, I'm sure.

I've listened to other books by this narrator before; he does a good job.

bit of an anticlimax

I did start to enjoy Asylum, however I felt the story dragged a little by the middle. very dissapointing at the ending which only seemed to finish abruptly with no proper conclusion. Enjoyed the narration but characters were a little bit cliche. didn't understand how the tragedy in the beginning really made up for the start of the story as you never found out more about the death at the beginning.

Very good

This really caught me off guard. I expected it to be good, but I didn’t want to turn it off. Ended up with the earplugs on all day.
Wondered where it was going to start with, but the story flows nicely, and found myself holding my breath near the end.
The book is a 3 part, but can be read alone. I have already downloaded the next one!
Worth a listen.

A creepy atmospheric and fast paced pageturner

Asylums have always been the abandoned buildings that are full of intrigue. Many years ago I was able to enter an asylum to photograph the disrepair and this is why after reading the brief I knew this book would be a great suit for me . It is the first time I have heard of the author and was eager to read this first book in the series. It didnt fail to deliver in building up the atmosphere and whilst it is quite slow at the start...it is much needed to draw the reader in. I loved the buildup and from this point it became quite apparant to me that it is definitely a page turner and I would be listening to it in one or two sittings. It is creepy and I was at the edge of my seat wanting to find out what would happen next . It is a strong start to what I feel will be an impressive collection . I was given this book by the author/narrator in return for an honest and unbiased review

Really enjoyed

The book was hard to stop listening to and had twists and turns throughout. The writer really set the scene for each place and definitely left you feeling uneasy as if you were there yourself. really enjoyed the narrator as he gave different voices for each character and ensured his reading gave the intended effects on the listener.