Sleepy Hollow: General of the Dead

Jason Crane, Book 3

By: Richard Gleaves

Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer

Length: 31 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's Summary

The exciting conclusion to Jason Crane's Sleepy Hollow adventure! General of the Dead is an epic work capping the first Jason Crane trilogy. The first two novels, Rise Headless and Ride and Bridge of Bones were only a prelude to this extraordinary work spanning 300 years of true Tarrytown history, interwoven with the legends, myths, and superstitions of the Dutch settlers. Impeccably researched, with absolute fidelity to the modern village, its sights, places, and byways. A brew of witches and headless horsemen, ghosts and necromancers, psychics, superheroes, Scooby-Doo, and a teen hero in a mess of trouble. A love letter to Halloween itself, to America's first literary master Washington Irving, and to the village he loved so well. A must for any fan of Irving's original, or anyone young or old who still has a pumpkin-carving kid inside them.

©2015 Richard Gleaves (P)2016 Richard Gleaves

Madcap fun, with winks and shivers throughout!

What did you love best about Sleepy Hollow: General of the Dead?

I thought the first two in this series were great fun to listen to, but General of the Dead was superb. My favorite part, other than the exceptionally engaging story, was that Gleaves took these wonderful characters and really fleshed them out in this story. I enjoyed it all the way through, and I didn't want it to end.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Sleepy Hollow: General of the Dead?

Agathe's Tale was particularly well done. It is a story within a story, and it is particularly long. It is a testament to Gleaves' maturing skills as a writer that the change in the continuity to his main story was smooth and painless. It added such a compelling layer to an enjoyably layered story.

Which character – as performed by Eric Michael Summerer – was your favorite?

Eric Michael Summerer's reading of Joey and Zef was perfect. Two well drawn characters to begin with, but his reading of them, with the emotional ups and downs that came with their stories, made me smile and tear up several times. Summerer, like Gleaves, has taken his art to a whole new level in General of the Dead.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Well, there was the part of the story toward the end that made me sincerely mad that Gleaves had chosen a particular outcome. And then he made it all better. These characters stay with you, they move you.

Any additional comments?

This book rockets the Sleepy Hollow/Jason Crane series into the ranks of first-rate literature. The depth of characterization here, the solid advancement of the always gripping plot, the locale descriptions which put you IN the story, the beautiful and wise observations about what it means to be alive and happy on planet Earth along the way -- they all combine into this wonderful reading/listening experience. Enjoy it for the adventure alone, or enjoy it for the masterfully crafted story it is, but go ahead and spend the credit because you will enjoy it.

Better than I could have ever imagined.

When I first discovered the Jason Crane books, I devoured books 1 & 2. Book 2 had left a really tall order for a fantastic and out of this world conclusion to the Sleepy Hollow arc. Book 3, General of the Dead, covered that order and left a very hefty tip.

One of the things that Richard Gleaves does exceedingly well, is paint a clear and vivid picture of the locations, his characters, their emotions, etc. Every sentence that you read, or that Eric Michael Summerer reads to you through Audible, glides through your mind as a movie would do.

This story, and series as a whole, is the combination of a genuinely interesting plot that is wrapped in mystery and suspense, wildly interesting characters, and a fantastic sense of story telling. This book is a fun and spooky read that will submerge you into a new world of literary fun, while adding a sense of nostalgia if you were ever a fan of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow growing up.

If you are reading this, specific, review, take this into consideration: Notice the hundreds and hundreds of 5 star reviews that ALL of the books in this series has. There's a reason for that. This series isn't just good. It's brilliant. Even though I am not a professional in the entertainment industry, I firmly believe that this series is the next big thing. Like Harry Potter & the Hunger Games were once it. Needless to say, I look forward to start reading book 4, and am so excited for the series to progress.

Nerdy, spooky, Halloween

Truly enjoyed the story that had a bit of historical fiction mixed with supernatural spook.

disappointing. .

This book was dragged on for so long!! it was overly flowery and descriptive and way more dramatic in spots than it should have been. the author tried much to hard to write lines that are supposed to be "profound" or emotional. and instead of being so, it fell flat and was almost comical at times. this style of writing is the same as in the previous books but this was by far the most dramatic and really pulled out to be extra long. there were also a few key details that seemed missing from the plot. overall it is still entertaining but I was disappointed by it.

A very nice conclusion

I was a little reluctant with this series after the first novel, the second rolled around and it got better, along comes the third. While being the longest in the series, I believe it was the best. Focusing more on Agatha and less on the horseman was a refreshing change in the second but amazing in the third.

Epic resolution to the series

This was an epic finish to an amazing series!
I absolutely loved these books. They were so much fun! Ghosts, magic, witches, history, hidden tunnels and lost documents. Lots of action, a bit of romance and an amazing resolution to the story. I just loved it.
There are a couple of things that I didn't love about it, but since I loved the series so much and I loved the ending, it still gets 5 stars.
Now I know I'm going to get people calling me a bigot and whatever else, but I didn't love the gay romance in this book. People can love who they want to love, I don't care, it's not my cup of tea and I don't relish reading about guys kissing and holding hands and calling each other "baby." This book has a lot more of that than the previous one.
Like I said, I loved how everything resolves in this book, but the ending itself did seem to drag out a bit. The big climax of the story happened and I think there was about 1 hour of listening left. It kinda felt like the author went back through his trilogy and found any possible loose end there was and spent the rest of his book tying them all up. The ends do get tied up nicely, but it feels a little like watching the Extended Version of Return of the King. I love it, but when will it end?
The last thing I didn't love is a little spoiler here:

Kate and Jason, and Joey and Zeph both loose their virginity to each other near the end of the book. It's not explicitly described, but the pretty awkward foreplay for both couples is. I kind of wish if it had to happen it could have been a little more implied. And like I said about the ending, it felt like a weird loose end the author felt he needed to tie and it felt a little out of place.

Anyways, I know I talked a lot about what I didn't like about the book. I've gushed plenty about the previous two books and the same applies here.
One of my favorite things about this book was the person who read the audiobook. His performance is absolutely amazing! Listen to the audiobook! It is one of the best performed series I've ever listened to, and I've listened to a lot of audiobooks.

Almost Great

I loved this series. The story was engaging and was never boring... almost. While General of the Dead was exciting, the book could have been shorter. There several times at the end of a chapter I thought, "That's a good ending" but then "Chapter 72". Guess the story is going to continue. Still, a well-written book and worth a listen.

Eric Summerer did an AMAZING job at narration. I thought Ride Headless and Ride was his best work. And then I listened to Bridge of Bones and thought that was his best. Now I think General of the Dead is his best.

Absolutely loved it!

Kept Me on the edge of my seat the whole time! Read the series four times and I'll read it again and a again!

What a great ending to a fantastic tale!

I am so in love with this trilogy, and I highly recommend it. It's well-written, captivating and the narrator was spot on.

Dragged on and on

This was a long book.... way too long. I was disappointed in how the author made the characters too fickle. The teenagers far too strong, then weak, then joking in horrible situations... it was just too disconnected from an emotional standpoint. Not only that, but the author pushed a homosexual teenage relationship between two characters that was just ridiculous. These two things alone completely ruined the story for me. The voice actor was excellent.

really liked the while series. a

well read and well writen, a nice twist to the tale fun and freaky all at the same time.

A Great Ride to the end of the Series

Brilliant third book of the Jason Crane trilogy. Richard Gleaves has done it again. Brilliantly read by Eric Michael Summerer who makes the action come to life. Funny in parts and nail biting in others. A great read. My only gripe is I think it could have done without the last few chapters. The story ended on a high and slowly came down. I think it should have ended when Jason's grandma said goodbye to him. From there is just seemed a bit like padding, the steam had dissipated. Before that point I hated to turn off the book at night when I had to go to bed as I could have listened to it all night. Unfortunately I lost interest in the last chapters regarding what happened to the "friends" afterwards, anyone with an once of imagination could predict what happened to them all. Having said that I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would also recommend the the 1st & 2nd books in the trilogy as well.