Good Reads Challenge Book Review: Ghost Radio
Another Friday…
BOOK QUOTE:
“I could touch and hear the whole world, while no one could be sure of my existence;”– Ghost Radio by Leopoldo Gout
What’s up, friends? and how are you? It seems like all the weeks are blurring together, and August is almost gone. However, we do have Fall to look forward to so good times. I hope you’re staying hydrated, checking in with friends and family, and giving yourself some grace.
I’m excited about catching up with my posts (sorta), and I’m also jazzed about building my Good Reads challenge for 2024, browsing some creepy titles, and continuing with “Summer-ween.” with that, let’s get into the review.
The Review
Title | Ghost Radio
Author | Leopoldo Gout
Pages | 353
Published | January 2008
Genre | Fiction, Horror, Paranormal
GR Rating | 3.12
Purchase | Amazon
Synopsis
From the cramped bowels of a dimly lit radio station, Ghost Radio is beamed onto the airwaves. More than a call-in show to tell scary stories about vampires and poltergeists, Ghost Radio is a sanctuary for those sleepless denizens of the night, lost halfway between this world and the next.
My Rating (2.00)
This novel missed the mark with me. I’m into thrillers, mysteries, and horror, and when books promise to be (as the description states) “a terrifying novel about a ghost-story call-in radio show that inadvertently opens a doorway into the paranormal, giving voice to the dead and instigating an epic battle for the souls of the living” I expect them to deliver, but this novel fell short.
from Ghost Radio
“It was almost like death, floating aimlessly at night, listening to spectral voices that in turn spoke about specters, indifferent to their own condition.”
The audiobook was entertaining, with music intervals and haunted radio static. Listeners would call in with their ghost or weird stories, and the host would praise or antagonize the caller deeming the story legit or just something repeated to the masses like an urban legend.
It gets confusing as the [protagonist] Joaquin, the creator, and host of Ghost Radio, starts to hear and see his dead friend Gabriel. Gabriel would lead him back through how they met to reveal that Ghost Radio was not his original idea and that the program had happened long before Joaquin created it.
from Ghost Radio
“It was a protective bubble where nothing and no one could touch me.”
Even more confusing is I don’t know if I’m listening to a caller or Joaquin recalling his past with his Gabriel (who haunts him regularly) as this story dips from that period to the present. There’s also his girlfriend, Alondra (I’m still not sure if she was a ghost or a real person).
The story climaxes as Joaquin learns the truth about the Ghost Radio of the past, and it’s at this point that I don’t know if Joaquin is actually a ghost in an ending that left me scratching my head.
If you decide to check this out, I would seriously recommend the audiobook version because it’s more entertaining.
My Good Reads Progress
Starting back with rounding out my Good Reads Challenge list, and I have about 4 more books to go. Originally I started out with only 15 books for the year, but with the ease of audiobooks, I added more, and I wanted to read more, so I upped my list to 30, and now I’m on track to finish 35. I’m proud of myself.
What books are you anticipating reading this Fall? Share them in the comments.
Thanks so much for visiting the blog today. Don’t forget to follow and subscribe, as I really appreciate the support. — Peace
