Reviewed by Mick
Journey into the Unknown
Reviewed by Mick
Jim and Ruby start out with an innocent game with a Ouija board that soon turns into an unhealthy obsession for Jim. Immediately the board starts to call on spirits and some spirits just won't leave the living alone.
In this tale of horror the reader lives the obsession that Jim is drawn into. We feel his fears and share his compulsive curiosity. The author has written a strong story here which threatened from the very first line to decline into a formula-type horror story without much substance - yet remained true. The spirits and their motives are curious and compelling. I particularly like the sexual overtones in this story.
The only thing that I found curious was the way that Ruby and Jim so easily accepted the phenomenal success of the Ouija board. I played with it a couple of times as a child but never found the sort of success that Jim encountered!
Apart from the apparent complicity of the protagonist, the action is smooth. The interaction of the spirits with the living is written with style, care and originality. I'm sure that anyone who reads this story and still has an Ouija board somewhere in their cupboard might soon be doing a bit of spring cleaning.
The highlights in this story were the possessed cockroach and the clever little puzzles poised by the spirits and resolved by the protagonist. As one comment in the guest book has already observed, the author interrupted comments could disappear.
A good read.
Reviewed by © Mick
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