Ravenous Books

Review by David Wilbanks

Want to have more fun than should be legal? Want to gasp in horror and shake your head in wonder? Then read Kealan Patrick Burke's new short story collection, RAVENOUS GHOSTS.

Each story wastes no time dropping you into the mix, and they don't release you until the end, when you're left wanting more, more, more. That's when your jaw drops and you wonder how he did it: how his characters could be so alive, how the frights could be so tangible and delicious.

Burke's writing is crisp and transparent, just the way I like it. To me, his writing suggests Richard Matheson, who also wrote gripping short stories and wasted no time placing you in the scene, as if you turned a corner and suddenly came upon a stranger, darker part of the world, whether you wanted to or not. If the television shows `Twilight Zone' or `Night Gallery' were still running, I have a feeling they'd want Burke for their main writer.

I haven't had this much reading enjoyment in a while, and there's not a weak spot in the lot. I predict this author will go places fast, leaving other writers coughing in his dust. Simply amazing. Let's hope there's more soon.

RAVENOUS GHOSTS is one of the most original collections I've read in a long time. The stories range from downright scary ("Haven" "Not While I'm Around") to comical ("Editor's Choice" "The Man Who Breaks The Bad News") to eerie Twilight Zone-ish ("The Binding" "Someone To Carve The Pumpkins"). I read this book over the course of a day and was only sorry (as another reviewer said), that it wasn't longer.

At the back of the book, the author's e-mail address is listed. I dropped him an e-mail saying much the same as I've said here and he wrote back almost immediately with a very kind e-mail. This guy is one to watch.

J.T.

Kealan Patrick Burke's "Ravenous Ghosts" is a must read. His writing brilliantly demonstrates that sheer terror is possible without gore. The impossible becomes probable. I found myself enthralled from start to finish, and I look forward to reading more titles by this author.

Ravenous Ghosts, I was looking for somthing quick to read, short stories that I could read one at a time. That was two days ago, I just couldn't put it down. Wow! it's different, dark, compelling. The stories draw you into the pages, the fear is at times palpable. These are no ordinary Ghost Stories, I read all 17, and then I read them again.
I'm not sure if I have a favourite story, perhaps "The Barbed Lady Wants for Nothing."
It's a good read, spine-tingling. A book worth having for those long, cold, winter evenings. A good scare for those special occasions. In no time at all, you'll have your own favourite Ravenous Ghost.

'You live in an age where television, books and computer games sell monsters to the imagination of children in staggering doses. There is not a doubt in my mind that I could convince you that I am one of those monsters. But I won't.' --Sparrow Man

If ever you doubted the direction of written horror, rest assured it's here and it's strong as ever! Few have the ability to make you feel uncomfortable about normal situations, Burke is one of those writers.

Ravenous Ghosts is a tautly written orchestra of the macabre that leaves the doors open for your imagination and hungers for you to fill in the blanks. The writing style is edgy yet comfortable, and doesn't insult the reader - but rather presumes their involvement. Each tale carefully designed to build the tension without your noticing, only to explode in a direction you hadn't expected.

16 tales to make you uneasy and happy about it, including:
- A man literally trapped with the ghosts of his childhood
- A zombie tale like no other! Intelligent zombies unaware of their condition...
- A prophetic comic book
- A sweet old man, dealing death and clensing evil
- Insanity trapped in the strangest of windows
- A ghost that reveals the true meaning of haunting

Perhaps the Afterword by Gary A Braunbeck said it best - "we need Burke's brand of so-so stories so so very much." [funniest afterword i've ever read!] Perhaps we could compare him to other great writers of the genre that deliver their tales with spit and vinegar. Or perhaps, just perhaps, we should just rejoice in the fact that we have a new face on the playing field - a face with hollow eyes, a forked tongue, and a typewriter!