Author: Ron Ripley
Ghost Stories is a collection of 8 stories. I would classify them as more supernatural horror than ghost stories, although there are ghosts in them. A creepy bed and breakfast. Grave robbers. Spirits who want to be left alone or love their dogs. A poor choice of shelter. The stories are varied and all very short. Most are pretty basic....and formula. Person enters ghost's domain....person does something stupid....person gets schooled. The sort of story that's fun to tell around a campfire. More horror than specter. And, I'm ok with that. These are short horror snippets....the tales build fast and then have a final twist stabby moment before moving on to a fresh story. Character development isn't necessary, except for what pertains directly to the plot.
I listened to the audio book version of this story collection. I think I would have enjoyed the experience more with a better narrator. Jack Nolan has a pleasant enough voice, but his acting performance is below average. Pacing could have been better. At key points in the stories, he would start rushing, as if he felt reading at double pace builds horror tension. Mispronunciations, awkward pauses (like he lost his place in the script), strange emphasis on words in sentences, and weird choices for character accents. I got the impression that he was maybe new to voice acting or was having an off day. The stories are still enjoyable....and it's a quick listen. Poor narration.
Nice quick intro to Ron Ripley. The stories are interesting and entertaining. Very short. Sometimes a bit too short. Narration needs some work. I will give this collection a solid 3 stars. And I'm definitely going to read/listen to more of Ron's writing.
**I received a free copy of this audio book from the author. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**
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