Unholy Ghosts [Mass Market Paperback]

I wanted this book for quite some time now. I read Stacia's Megan Chase books last summer and I knew the moment I finished book 2, Demon Inside, I wanted the Downside books. Stacia's writing is so captivating I knew she could make me read anything, or nearly anything.

Unholy Ghosts is a really dark urban fantasy and I was a bit unsettled at the start. I like UF most of the times but I don't like these overly dark and brooding books because I always feel down after finishing them. It was totally different in this case. Yes, Unholy Ghosts is a dark book but it worked around my prejudices and sneaked into my heart.

In 1997 the whole world changed. Earth was overrun with ghosts and nearly didn't survive this attack. They were saved by the Church of Truth but they are paying for that now. The old religions died and the new and only one is a religion without believe, there is only Fact and Truth. It is a hopeless world because there is no place left for hope without something to believe in. Their new religion is based on the Truth and they practice it every day with magical rites like banishing and warding spells. Most of the magic is only allowed for church employees and one of those is our heroine Chess Putnam.

Chess is a broken woman with many flaws, one of them being a drug addict of the worst kind. I would have never thought that I could feel much for this type of heroine but again Ms. Kane proved me wrong. Chess had a rough life- she can't remember her parents and was brought up by the social system of her time. You can imagine that this was not a lovely experience. She lived though hell more times than anyone on earth should and she is still here. She is strong in her own way even if she is weak concerning the drugs.

Chess lives in the Downside, a district of Triumph city and probably the worst part, too. It's full of pimps,drug dealers and aggressive gangs. I was highly confused with the way these people spoke at first but after reading a few pages I got a hold of the slang and finally understood what they meant. That could be a problem with me being a German and English only being a secondary language for me. I never heard English slang in real life but nevertheless I got it, probably a bit later than most of the other readers though. It's one of these things that makes this book special to me: the voices of the characters and the way they speak are so individual you know immediately who speaks.

One other character I just have to mention is Terrible. He's the hired muscle of one of the drug lords and he is one kind of character I would have never thought I could like. At first he seems to be not much more than a bulk of muscle-mass who knows how to crush your bones but nothing more. But over time you a get a glimpse into his mind and life and I was captivated. I admit: I'm a total Terrible fan girl now and I really want to see more of him in the next books.

I loved how throughout Ms. Kane build her world. At the start of each chapter we get a few lines out of the "common" literature of that time, be at an expert of a religious book or out of a life guide. These snippets made the world so much more real for me and I savored each one of them.

The pace of the book was wonderful and the story gripped me ASAP and didn't let me go till the last word. I loved how Ms. Kane shows us that looks are deceiving and we should never judge a person just with taking one glance at him or her. A highly recommended read not only for Urban Fantasy lovers, but for anyone who likes a good story.

Review courtesy of [...]

I had serious reservations about UNHOLY GHOSTS after I learned that the main character was a junkie. I feared she would be such a pathetic do-absolutely-anything-for-my-next-high kind of character that she would be completely unlikeable. I was wrong on both accounts.

Had the man in front of her not already been dead, Chess probably would have tried to kill him. Damned ghosts. A year and a half she'd gone without having to deal with one--the best Debunking record in the Church. -Opening from UNHOLY GHOSTS

Yes, ghost hunter/witch Chess Putnam has a serious drug problem that only escalates throughout UNHOLY GHOSTS, but pathetic is the last thing I'd call her. Jaded, broken, determined, and relentless, but never pathetic. And if I had to live in the desolate slum of Downside, ruled over by a totalitarian non-religious Church government full of beings who can literally rip the soul from your body, I'd probably escape to drugs too.

And I have to say the romance elements caught me (and Chess) totally by surprise. I didn't expect anything sweet in a world like this and yet that's exactly how I'd describe it...in a violent, junkie kind of way. I mean how does a drug lord's thug named Terrible endear himself so much that I was rooting for him by the end of the book? I don't know but there it is. I'm definitely eager to see what happens between them in Unholy Magic.

Any series that is described as "a cross between Ghostbusters and Escape From New York" is going to get my attention, big time. Of course that also means said series is going to have a lot to live up to. And in one of the wonderfully rare cases, UNHOLY GHOSTS does exactly that. It's cool and twisted, just the way I like my urban fantasy. The second Chess Putnam book, Unholy Magic comes out on July 6, 2010, and then City of Ghosts just three weeks later on July 27th.

Sexual Content: References to sex. References to rape. References to molestation. A scene of sensuality. A semi graphic sex scene.

Imagine a world without gods. There is no god. There is only the Fact and the Truth of the Church of the Real Truth - an organization that has ruled the world absolutely since they were able to stop the murderous ghosts from killing all of humanity. Chess Putnam is a Debunker for the Church; she travels around disproving citizens made-up claims of hauntings, or banishing the ghosts if they're real.

Chess has a secret though - a big drug problem which has gotten her in deep with her dealer, Bump. And now he's calling in his debt. All she has to do is banish some nasty ghosts from an abandoned airstrip for him and they'll be settled straight up. Simple.

Or maybe not. Because what Chess thinks will be a simple debunking soon becomes mired in black magic, human sacrifice, corruption within the Church, attraction to Bump's top enforcer, and a sexy rival drug lord vying for Chess' loyalty and time. Will Chess be able to banish the demonic ghost, protect the Church that she loves, keep her balance between two sexy men and not reveal her addiction?

I guess I'm going to just get the drug thing out of the way. I didn't like it. I see drug use, the way it was portrayed in Unholy Ghosts, as a weakness. While I like characters that are not perfect, making them more like the rest of us I like to see something along with it, additional depth. Chess can't function without her drugs. In the beginning chapter she starts getting the shakes until she can swallow her `Cepts' and get that sweet relief flowing through her system. This continues throughout the book, and not just with that single drug but many different drugs.

And just what are Cepts? At one time in the book they're referred back to as speed, but at other times it seems like they're something different. Perhaps I misunderstood in my reading, but often she referred to letting up off the speed and yet the drug I saw her take most was the Cepts. Not a huge point, but it's been bugging me with the confusion.

Not only can Chess not function without the drugs, everything she does is to gain more drugs. She agrees to Bump's deal so that she can continue to get drugs. She agrees, by lack of response and a sort of physical arrangement, to help a rival drug lord in order to get free drugs. She continues to work for the Church, hoping to get a case she can debunk and thus get a bonus so she can spend a few days in the smoke room. Okay, truth be told, Chess truly believes in the Church. She follows them (mostly) and believes in them....almost blindly.

Honestly, the drug use wasn't what bugged me most. I didn't like it, but I do look forward to seeing growth - even if I haven't seen any in that particular area at this point in time.

I felt no sense of empathy, or compassion on Chess' part. No real sense of right and wrong. She loves the Church, which she feels saved her. She's loyal to it. And yet she disregards the very base of one of their tenets - which is that she is to represent all that is right and holy in the world. Clearly the drugs she has to hide from the Church would go head-on against that. To me that's a conflict that's never really examined or thought about. She goes so far as to asking another character to clean her apartment of them if she should die, before the Church gets there. Moral ambiguity can be interesting, but I don't feel that this was fleshed out enough. Granted it is the first book in the series of three planned (at this time) so perhaps it will be better explored later.

I did see a very little bit of growth as a character comes to mean something to Chess, she cares about him and his safety, but it seems almost an after thought. And it doesn't stop her from doing what she wants to do - which is to run off to get high. I see most of her relationships by the end of the book to be mostly measured in this light - what they can do for her.

My biggest problem with Chess is the lack of growth and depth added to the lack of explanation for why she is the way she is and does what she does. If I could have had some understanding of why she chooses drugs, or why she chooses to have no close connections with other people, then maybe I could have empathized myself with her. But she gave me nothing to work with. Chess came across as an unrepentant drug addict that had no real care for anything other than what she needed and wanted. Whatever that happened to be at the moment.

Onto the good stuff.

I didn't hate Chess - despite what you may think from the above. I think there's a great deal going on underneath that we didn't see in Unholy Ghosts, and that is what I'd truly love to read more about. Or maybe I just hope there is. Seeing her gain personal relationships and begin to think beyond what she had is definitely a change for her. I'm interested in seeing how those things affect her going forward and what reactions they cause.

The world that Stacia Kane has built is fascinating, fully fleshed out, and intriguing. I like how she built the Church of the Real Truth, and it's `rules' for living life. I actually hate the Church quite a lot, because I'd never want to live in such a society. Their way is The Way. There is only Truth. Right and wrong are based on the facts of truth and determined by the Church. They bid people to watch their family, friends and neighbors for signs of them committing crimes which they can then be punished for by the Church. For only through debasement can redemption and forgiveness come. Blegh. What a society. And yet they apparently care nothing for those less fortunate that live in areas like Downside.

The magic and the ghosts, their history and use, was interesting and well thought out. I liked how many different aspects of the world we experienced in the short time we were with Chess. Possession. Blood, earth, spirit and dream magic. Objects that require sacrifice to use. Others that will bring about wanted results - from protective to very dangerous. I especially loved the Hand of Glory - because it's one of my favorite occult objects in stories.

I admit, the character I enjoyed the most was Terrible - Bump's top enforcer. He had a depth to him that I didn't see in a lot of the other characters. He had interests outside of his job, educated himself on things that intrigued him, even without the benefit of a public education, and he surprised me more than once - not something easy to do I have to say. I found him to have an unselfish sort of sweetness and protectiveness which only served to add to his appeal. There also seemed to be a bit of insecurity there that I'd love to see further explored. All in all, I'd definitely love to see more of Terrible.

Ms. Kane touches on a lot of hot button topics and doesn't pull her punches in Unholy Ghosts. She pushes boundaries, and shows a different side of the world than we usually see - even in our urban fantasy. Obviously the book made me think and brought out some strong responses in me. The pacing was superb, the plot interesting and it was a good introduction to the world without having information just dumped on me. I especially loved the little quotes at the beginning of each chapter. The mystery didn't really intrigue me as much as the details and intricacy of the world, the spirit world and the tools used for magic.

Unholy Ghosts was a rollercoaster of a ride that I read in a three hour flight. It was vivid and set in a beautifully dark world. I'm very glad I read it and experienced it for myself and I will probably be picking up at least the next novel in the series, Unholy Magic (with City of Ghosts to follow that). I'd love to see Chess pull herself out of the life she's created for herself and become something more. I want to see the growth. I would like to see what happens to the Church, and to Chess and definitely to Terrible.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 101 reviews  4.3 out of 5 stars