The Spirit

By: Thomas Page

Narrated by: Matt Godfrey

Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's Summary

It has many names: Bigfoot...Yeti...Sasquatch.

But whatever it is, it’s out there in the woods and leaving a trail of blood and severed heads behind it.

For John Moon, a half-mad Indian, it is a spirit that holds the key to his inner self. He worships its power and he’ll kill to protect it. Desperate, exhausted, half-starved, Moon will follow it wherever it goes.

For Raymond Jason, killing it has become an obsession. He was the only survivor of a hunting trip to the Rockies where the hunters became the monster’s prey. Now, he is determined to track the creature down and destroy it.

But when the two men finally corner their quarry they set loose a flood of terror and destruction that may leave no survivors....

©2019 Thomas Page (P)2019 Valancourt Books LLC

Yeti-sploitation for the ages!

Matt Godfrey was absolutely fantastic as a narrator and kept me listening long after I would have put the book down. The actual writing here was just okay for me. John Moon in particular read like a caricature of a Native American while referencing the very tropes that make his character such a paper doll but in 1977 might have passed for thoughtful nuance. It's overall worth a listen if you enjoy 70's horror and appreciate a good scare.
Also ending your yeti-sploitation book with the strongly implied future bestiality is a hell of a power move.

Another Valancourt/Paperbacks from Hell Success

I can't say enough good things about Valancourt Books. For fans and students of horror, they've quickly become the premiere publishing house of forgotten classics of the genre, and this is particularly true of their Paperbacks from Hell line. THE SPIRIT is one of those pulpy potboilers that is smarter and better than it needs to be, painted with more intellectual and emotional colors than its Savaging Sasquatch Subgenre peers. Matt Godfrey is predictably excellent; he's fast becoming *the* voice of Valancourt, and his reads of other titles like THE NEST, BLACKWATER, THE HAPPY MAN, AUDREY ROSE, among many others, are also highly recommended. Honestly, I think that's the thing I love best about their reissues: each individual novel is at the very least entertaining and worthwhile (and oftentimes actually transcendent), but the mosaic of the genre they're creating as a whole is profound and a thing of beauty. On that spectrum, I think I'd rate THE SPIRIT as a solid 7.5.

I was provided a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Just what I'd hoped for

This would have been the perfect book for fifteen-year old me, and it was near perfect for the older version as well. In fact, from my current perspective I saw more of the craft and thought that went into this than I might have at a younger age. Sure, it's about a murderous bigfoot but there's also some psychological depth to it. And many of the scenes are quite visceral, visual and effective--I could easily imagine them in a movie, so clearly is the action drawn. The narrative is punctuated by several surprises and I honestly didn't know how it would turn out. My one quibble is that somehow the beginning started almost TOO much in the middle of the action, and it took me a few minutes to sort out what was happening and why we'd been plopped into the narrative where we were. But this was no great debit. There was, as they say, never a dull moment. Exciting and well worth a listen if rampaging ape-men are your cup of tea.

It’s prolly just a bear...

A schizophrenic American Indian in search of his spirit animal, a Sasquatch on a killing rampage and an attack survivor hell bent on revenge. It’s gonna be one hell of a party.

“It’s prolly just a bear.”

Bad Bigfoot!

Audiobook edition:
I can see why this book made it into paperbacks from hell. There is a lot going on in this story if you just stop and really think about it. John Moon was kinda sad for me. He’s got some problems but I don’t think he was so bad. I wonder how his character was viewed when this story first came out?Raymond James is such an ass. The story is good and sometimes really out there (the last bit). I like that Thomas Page clearly did his research into Bigfoot behavior... for some of it.
Matt Godfrey read this. He did a great job. There was many characters but he did great differentiating between all of them.

I requested a free audio version of this book and give this review voluntarily. Thank you Valancourt!

The Spirit

This is definitely the best “Bigfoot” book I’ll ever read. I actually listened to the Audible version put out by Valancourt, narrated by Matt Godfrey. Godfrey is an excellent narrator, not at all jarring or grating, and I knew immediately which character was speaking.

awesome bigfoot novel

Matt Godfrey makes everything sounds good!
I'm glad the Paperbacks from Hell series brought this book to my attention. I really enjoyed it.

definitely recommended.

Decent story lacking direction

Holy shit, this story is all over the place. A mad Indian, an obsessed hunter, both chasing a creature that may be a spirit, a Sasquatch, a product of evolution gone wrong, maybe a result of cross-species breading, all converging on a lodge in the forest that results in a final battle to the death. I eventually just wished the author would stick to one explanation and settle there, but nope, maybe there was yet another explanation to what the creature is. Overall, the action kept me intrigued enough to follow the story thru to the end, but unfortunately I don't think this is a book that I'll be revisiting anytime soon. One of the Paperbacks From Hell that just did not work for me.

Matt Godfrey's narration is good. He keeps the story moving and makes the action feel palpable. His performance is probably what kept me vested in listening to the end.

I would like to thank Valancourt Books for providing a free audio download of THE SPIRIT in exchange for a fair and honest review.

neat beginning, terrible ending

narration was good, but a couple of characters sounded similar. story tho, started ok but ended really dumb. not much resolution

a cryptic tale

not very factual but interesting read and very imaginary not quite as good. Thank you

Just The Spirit!

Take a truckload of anger and repression, a helicopter, a Vietnam Vet, throw in some archery lessons and a ski resort and you've created a dream recipe for a meditation on obsession and spirituality.

Add Raymond Jason (a man so manly he has two first names) and a guy called John Moon (a Native American who doesn't so much avoid a stereotype as much as hit it square on and stare it down) and you're just asking for trouble.

Throw Bigfoot into this potent mix and you have 'The Spirit' by Thomas Page.

A novel of it's time (Translation: stereotypes ahoy and paper-thin females characters) The Spirit's cocktail of testosterone, violence and fun, shallow pyschological insights unravels at a swift pace and builds to several impressive action set-pieces. What it lacks in depth it makes up for in the thrill of the ride - the sheer joy of realising that this story exists in the universe is only matched by the knowledge that in the world of The Spirit your head could be torn from your body by a frustrated vegetarian.

This excellent audiobook adaptation read by Matt Godfrey manages to capture the growling, broody characters and matches the intensity of the slightly mad action scenes. The Spirit is a little bonkers but a lot of fun.

Quite a Twist

I thought it was interesting that the author clearly makes reference to the cultural assimilation of Native Americans which was rampant across America, with regards to the character John Moon. It is very common for Native people to be misdiagnosed with mental illness because there is no understanding or interest in their normal cultural behaviour/spirituality, hence why Moon was labeled schizophrenic, was subjected to horrible ECT treatment, and had Christianity enforced upon him in order to remove his cultural connections. Moon came across as a likable, polite, sweet but justifiably sad character, despite the things he was led to do during his spiritual journey. The author makes a point of Moon continuously trying to reconnect with his culture which forms the foundations of this story. I also wasn't surprised at the author highlighting the subtle racism he was subjected to throughout i.e, going in a store to buy food and the owner automatically putting her hand on her gun while having a non-threatening polite conversation with Moon, or having a number of men placed around him just in case he got violent despite having no evidence of this.

Soon after Moon connects with his Spirit, it quickly moves into an action packed storyline. The antagonizer Jason becomes the hunter after some of his friends come face to face with the Bigfoot, leaving him alone to take revenge. When you mention the word 'Bigfoot' you think such stories run a common sequence, this book does not. It had a twist I wasn't expecting, or rather it kept hinting at it every time Bigfoot was physically described but I didn't want to acknowledge it. When the 'twist' was finally revealed, unwanted images of Mountain Men popped into my consciousness and wouldn't go away!

This book is very male dominant. Other than the shopkeeper, there was only one other female character introduced later on in the book, but her part was so insubstantial it really wasn't worth her input. She had the promise of being a strong character with special insight into the Bigfoot sightings, but just ended up falling flat.

The book is well written, kept my interest and the narrator did a great job at bringing the characters to life. I was given a copy of this book for free of my own choosing and have voluntarily left this review.

Classic '70s Bigfoot Horror

I love that Valencourt Books have been rereleasing classic horror stories from the '70s and '80s as part of their Paperbacks from Hell line. It's a great way of checking out books that - until now - have been long out of print.
The Spirit is an absolute gem. Written by Thomas Page, it was originally released in 1977. The story follows the adventures of a native American by the name of John Moon, and Raymond Jason - a millionaire with anger issues - as they desperately search for the mythical bigfoot.
Matt Godfrey's narration is a pleasure to listen to. He does a great job of differentiating between characters.
Loads of fun! Highly recommended!