Neon Lights

A Short Story

De: Manuel Gonzales

Narrado por: Timothy Andrés Pabon

A cinematic parable about love, desire, and vengeance, Neon Lights is a thrilling short story by award-winning author Manuel Gonzales.

Nicole has wanted to own a haunted car her entire teenaged life, and when she finally finds one - a junker of a Chrysler Neon with its own tragic backstory - her best friend, Johnny, has some serious doubts. Would a demon even want to possess a Chrysler Neon? But when the two of them take it for a test drive, Johnny’s doubts begin to fade: The steering wheel burns hot, the car traps Johnny in the back seat, and is Nicole even driving? Or is the car driving itself? They soon find themselves forced to face the potential evil controlling the car, and possibly even themselves.

Please note: This audio contains strong language and descriptions of violence that some listeners may find upsetting. Discretion is advised.

©2021 Manuel Gonzales (P)2021 Audible Originals, LLC.

Jimmy Fallon is that you?

So, the narrator’s rendition of Nicole is reminiscent of Jimmy Fallon’s portrayal of the girl with braces saying, “ew”. It was a little distracting and maybe slightly comical, but he tried. Fortunately the story was short while also managing to be a bit disjointed, the story line tried to piece together some historical aspects within the present time. The author was attempting to provide context but I’m not sure it was necessary.

Pretty good

I especially liked the part where he said kicked him in the nutsack. Narration was good

Really bad

This honestly sounds like the end result of a 10th grade writing assignment, but from the worst student in the class with a tenuous grasp of the English language. Yes, it’s really that bad.

Ghost in the machine

Candles, car parts, child ghost, back seat, hot steering wheel, ghost car parts that kills all who added to their cars.

It was...different...

Hard to differentiate reality from dram/imagination in the story. I gad to listen to it twice to grasp everything.

Erm, okay, I guess that’s it?

This seemed more like a draft of a work in progress than a finished piece ready for publication - ending needs some help, as well as the transitions between storyline, backstory, history...well, you get the point.

I also was not impressed by Pabon’s female character voice - sounded just like a man doing an impression of a teen girl, and not in a good way.

Just Ehh…

Not the worst thing I’ve ever read/listened to but not the best by a long shot.

It was free and that was its saving grace. If you can get it for free, pick it up. Give it a listen. I wouldn’t pay for it though. The story isn’t great. The performance is what I would call “bad”.

I didn’t turn it off though and I suppose that’s saying something. While I didn’t really like it, maybe someone else will. Who knows…

Very detailed

Haunted cars have always been a fascination of people. Regardless of the scary stories we’re told, we still find them so damn intriguing. So what would you do if you bought a car that turned out to be haunted? Are we responsible for the actions of the car? Would you keep it or sale it? The author did a wonderful job detailing this storyline. The images of blood splatter and sound of crushing metal is easy to bring to mind when listening to this book.

Wicked

I found this story to be intriguing especially with the mention of facts about other possessed cars. The book is decently written the only part of it that I didn't like was that it ended with so many unanswered questions.

No completion

I know that there's a warning about language. I was aware that they would cuss, but 17-year-olds cussing like that isnt realistic. Also there was no completion to the story. What happens to Nicole?!