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Title: Poltergeist (Greywalker | Book 2) |
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Review of Poltergeist (Greywalker, Book 2)
- Harper Blaine was your average small-time PI until she died-for two minutes. Now she's a Greywalker-walking the thin line between the living world and the paranormal realm. And she's discovering that her new abilities are landing her all sorts of "strange" cases.
In the days leading up to Halloween, Harper's been hired by a university research group that is attempting to create an artificial poltergeist. The head researcher suspects someone is faking the phenomena, but Harper's investigation reveals something else entirely-they've succeeded.
And when one of the group's members is killed in a brutal and inexplicable fashion, Harper must determine whether the killer is the ghost itself, or someone all too human.
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Comments for Poltergeist (Greywalker | Book 2)
- Posted on 2008-07-14
A Fast-Paced Mash Up of a P.I Novel and Urban Fantasy
Reviewed by Deb Gross
on 07/13/2008
In last year's GREYWALKER, Richardson introduced readers to Seattle P.I. Harper Blaine. After an attack leaves Harper clinically dead for several minutes, she finds herself a Greywalker: a dual citizen of both the normal world and the Grey, a shadow world hosting ghosts, vampires, and magic.
POLTERGEIST opens with Harper determined to manage the Grey. Her explorations into the nature of the Grey are cut short by an assignment. A university research group has attempted to create an artificial poltergeist. The head researcher hires Harper to prove the group is faking the phenomena. With enigmatic tech guru Quinton providing an assist, Harper learns the group has succeeded in their quest. `Celia' is quite real.
When one of the group's members is killed in a particularly brutal fashion, Harper feels obligated to learn whether `Celia' played any role in the man's death. Her search for the truth uncovers a number of nasty secrets among Celia's creators.
POLTERGEIST moves at a rapid pace, as Harper races to find a way to stop Celia, and the minds behind her, before the poltergeist kills again. Harper must use the Grey, a world she barely understands, if she is to have a chance at bringing Celia down.
Harper is not alone in her quest to understand the Grey and to track the poltergeist. Chaos, her ferret, delivers comic relief. Her friends Mara, the witch, and Ben, the scientist, provide critical assistance. Carlos the vampire also plays a pivotal role, but his assistance comes with a price.
POLTERGEIST provides a satisfying solution to Harper's latest case and builds nicely on the unique world Richardson unveiled in GREYWALKER. Additional books are planned in the series. Each new installment should be a treat as well.
Score: 4
- Posted on 2008-04-30
This book took me time to digest
I pre-ordered this book and read it as soon as it came out... I am just now writing a review because it has taken me this long to digest the story. To be honest, I struggled reading through this book. In one review someone suggested that the plotline moved very slowly; I second that!
I think that Ms. Richardson had some really great plot points, and I really did like her using a poltergeist study as the main point, but I would really like her to explain more about the "grey" and the strange things that happen to the main character, and this book really left me dangling. I feel like the Ms. Richardson got a bit lost when writing this story, and might have been thinking to bring more into it, but backed off at the last minute and edited a chunk of material out (or maybe the editor did that) anyway, the end result is that the reader is left feeling like something is missing, but really can't identify it.
Overall this series is still very readable and interesting. Ms. Richardson stays very true to her writing style which is very clean and strong. She is well researched and that really does stand out... in this book, it may have hindered her own story in an effort to stay true to life, but overall her sotry comes across as very plausible.
She has a very unique voice in this genre that is clear in both stories in the series. Even though there are still rough edges to work out, this book is a diamond in the rough.
Score: 4 - Posted on 2008-02-13
What if it's real?
It's been several months since the events in Greywalker, and Harper Blaine is learning to live with her ability to move into and out of the grey. She's got more control but she hasn't really learned any more about her ability. Now that she doesn't slip as much she's just trying to earn a living, and her newest client may be more trouble than the job's worth. Professor Gartner Tuckman, full name and bigger ego, wants Harper to find out who is cheating because he's getting better results than he should from his poltergeist experiment. Harper wonders how he'll take it if it turns out his results are due to the real thing. But then that was before one of the test subjects was killed and several others injured. Now she's got to learn as much as she can about the grey before anyone else is killed.
As the second book in the series, it brings the characters from the first book and adds some new ones, adding to depth to Harper's environment. I really like when authors give their main characters real lives. Harper Blaine has friends, enemies, clients (more than one at a time), problems with her house, her ferret, and her lover. In other words, she's believable so it's easier to accept the grey as well.
However, while this book could be read as a stand alone, I think you'll want to have the background and learn about the grey. One of the amazing things about this series is how much Seattle is a character. The stories don't just take place in Seattle. Seattle, its history and geography, is an integral part of the grey and Harper's interactions with it. Richardson drops in short, concise references to historical events and people as needed to advance the plot and Harper's skills. This adds an interesting bit of texture to the story.
Harper Blaine is a greywalker; she can move in and out of the between area of now/past, dead/alive, magic/non-magic. She gained these powers in the last book but she's only been learning to protect herself from slipping unexpectedly and to ignore it when she doesn't need it. However, with this new case, someone has learned to use the grey without being a greywalker, they have more skill than she does, and if she can't figure out what that person is doing, more test subjects could be killed. It seems this is going to be the pivotal event that forces Harper to claim her new powers.
Richardson is really striking out in new territory with this series. It's not the same old same old. Are there vampires -- yeah and they're the usual power-hungry control freaks but they're just another group to Harper and she prefers to ignore them unless one is a client. This is urban fantasy at its best with new ideas, crisp dialogue, great characters, and exciting stories.
Score: 3
- Posted on 2007-10-31
Great book, GREAT job on historical research and details!!!!
_Poltergeist_ is about the latest case taken on by Seattle private investigator Harper Blaine. As detailed in the first book of the series, _Greywalker_, Harper is that rare person who can move between the material world and the Grey, a world inhabited by the ghosts and memories of people from the past.
After a brief visit with Ben and Mara Danziger, Harper's friends and occasional mentors, Harper has her first consultation with her newest client, Professor Tuckman, and the story is off and running. The case moves from being a very interesting attempt to prove fraud during a parapsychology experiment, to a murder investigation, and then to a thriller as the murderer becomes aware of Harper and she becomes a target herself.
It is difficult to add much more detail about the plot without spoiling it, so I'll talk about the characters and background instead. Harper FINALLY gets a cell phone (yay!!!), and also becomes more pro-active in her interactions with and use of the Grey. That is a huge plus for me, as I was very irritated with her determined disbelief in the first book. The discussions with Ben, Mara, and Carlos about how time and space work in the Grey were sometimes a bit technical, but very interesting, and I am interested to see how this further develops in the later books. Harper's control of the Grey increases by leaps and bounds during _Poltergeist_.
Harper's boyfriend currently lives over in England, and the only slow parts of the book are scenes that revolve around the long-distance relationship.
Ben and Mara are charming as ever, and their son Brian is a very good example of how terrible the "terrible two's" can be. There are strong hints that the family ghost Albert is not entirely the good friend he seems to be.
We also get to see Quinton, Carlos, and Cameron from the first book. Quinton especially develops a lot more character interest. In _Greywalker_, Quinton was a mysterious appear-from-nowhere make-or-fix-anything uber-geek, but in _Poltergeist_ we get to see more of his personality and get a better appreciation of just how aware and observant he really is. His observations about Professor Tuckman and the equipment being used provide a major clue to Harper at one point.
Richardson does a great job showing the pettiness and stupid jealousies that can consume people operating in an artificially closed environment -- both the research subjects, and the university professors and students. Professor Tuckman, his grad student, his secretary, and the subjects of his psychological experiments are all complete characters, and in many cases not very likable characters.
Finally, I was THRILLED with Richardson's historical research!!!! I had heard about the Philip experiments before, and it was a joy to see Richardson's skillful integration of those experiments into her story (both the results and faults of the initial experiments, AND ongoing problems with the documentation). Also, her detailed description of the geography and history of Seattle's Chinatown was great, as was her research into World War II female military pilots.
Since I was pretty unhappy with the characters, descriptions, writing style, and pacing of _Greywalker_, I wasn't sure what to expect from _Poltergeist_. I am very happy to say that _Poltergeist_ is a great mystery novel with some really interesting supernatural twists. I had a hard time putting it down.
Score: 5
- Posted on 2007-10-16
Disappointing Sophomore Book
I expected so much more for Richardson's sophomore book. Greywalker had a unique premise and when this was coupled with the fact that it was her first book I enjoyed it quite a bit. Poltergeist, on the other hand, did not live up to my expectations for the expected improvement in writing coupled with the storyline.
The storyline was stretched and thin, as though a short story was forced into a book. Add to that all the interesting parts from the first book were virtually missing, leaving this read a semi dull read.
Additionally, and I didn't notice this too much in Greywalker, although it was probably there as well, Richardson's writing was flat and lifeless. At times it felt as though she was talking/writing at the reader, rather than the reader becoming involved and invested in the characters.
Not sure if I will read Richardson's next one in the series when it comes out.
2.5 stars.
Score: 2