Something strange happened on the day of Douglas Stanton’s birth.  A rift between life and death has opened causing a mass haunting at Oceanside Memorial Medical Center.  The haunting caused his mother to strangle him and the haunting revived his spirit in order to create a portal between the worlds, Earth and the Phantom Cabinet.  The spirits follow Douglas around for his entire life, earning him the nickname of Ghost Boy and a life of ostracization from fellow students.  As Douglas grows, more spirits filter through Douglas and the town, spreading their influence.  One spirit in particular needs Douglas for her own nefarious deeds.  Death spreads around Douglas, but when he finds out the spirit’s true purpose, he may not have the strength to do what he needs.
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This haunting story was a great blend of horror and science fiction, perfect for a Halloween time read.   At first, I wasn’t quite sure where the story was going; on a space mission a crew is tearing themselves to pieces in horrendous ways, committing suicide one by one.  This book does not lack gore for sure, it is not an all-out gore fest, but it is there.  Back on Earth, we meet Douglas the day of his birth, death and revival.  Even as a young child I was drawn into his story.  Douglas is constantly bombarded by ghosts, apparitions, reflections and simply seeing things that should not be there, yet he manages to carve out a life for himself.  As the malignant spirits grows in strength, a hidden horror unfolds leaving terror in its wake for anyone that Douglas cares for.  Through slowly unfolding drama, great characters and relationships, the dread of the Phantom Cabinet kept me reading and thoroughly interested.
 
This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

The Dead Survive
Ellen Hale is a graduate student in library science when the zombie apocalypse begins.  Things get even worse when a band of marauders kills her brother and captures Ellen.  Ellen is then subjected to torture and rape by the marauders, who are keeping girls as a commodity.  Ellen and her roommate, Mellissa are eventually freed by a group from a nearby compound.  Ellen’s scars from her capture run deep, though and she has a difficult time recovering even within the relative safety of the compound.  When a few guys from a nearby halfway house show up, Ellen begins to pull out of her funk and gets to know one of the men, Quinn.  However, just as her trust in men is returning, a zombie attack takes it all away.

This was an interesting and quick zombie read, perfect for Halloween time.  While the zombie threat is even present, the focus is more on the human threat and how people choose to act in times of crisis.  Ellen is an interesting character who goes through a lot of trauma in a very short time.  She deals with it all in a very realistic way, going through all the stages despite the zombies surrounding her.  Quinn seems like just the right person to pull her out of her downward spiral.  Watching their relationship grow is great.  Ellen will definitely be a character that is able to grow and transform over time.  What I liked best of all is that this book focused on the human aspect and not just the zombies, showing that other people can be the greatest monsters or your best allies. 

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

Fallback 
Ellen Hale is now a fighter, after surviving repeated traumas; she is now a master with a machete and can dispatch the undead with ease.  She is now a fully functioning, contributing and trustworthy member of her compound.  Along with her adopted sister, Mellissa, she has built up a life for herself.  So, of course a threat to their way of life is not far off.  However, the threat is not zombies.  The compound leader has overheard that a band of marauders is looking to take over their compound next.  He asks for volunteers to move to fallback positions so not all of their people and materials will be compromised.  Ellen and Mellissa join up and are chosen as assets to go.  On route, the fallback team picks up a stranger, Tyler, a blacksmith with skills the team could use.  Some of the team is wary, but Ellen’s first instinct is to trust him.   When a traitor is discovered within the ranks, Ellen’s trust will be tested.
Ellen has definitely grown by leaps and bounds in this book.  Now she is a strong female fighter who is able to protect herself and be an asset to her community.  I was really glad to see the logical thinking of the compound leader when trouble arrives; many times this goes by the wayside in times of panic.  As the team is on the move, there is a lot more action present than in the first book.  Ellen really gets to show off her new machete and survival skills.  Also, the behavior of the zombies is described a little more in this book and I think that there will be some interesting things with that.  Tyler is a nice addition to the team and his blacksmithing skills and a plus.  I really liked how he and Ellen are moving slowly and gaining trust.  I can’t wait to see where the story goes next.
 
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.