By Peter Straub
Publisher: Pocket
Number Of Pages: 560
Publication Date: 1989-09-01
ISBN-10 / ASIN: 0671685635
ISBN-13 / EAN: 9780671685638
Product Description:
In life, not every sin goes unpunished.
GHOST STORY
For four aging men in the terror-stricken town of Milburn, New York, an act inadvertently carried out in their youth has come back to haunt them. Now they are about to learn what happens to those who believe they can bury the past -- and get away with murder.
Peter Straub's classic bestseller is a work of "superb horror" (The Washington Post Book World) that, like any good ghost story, stands the test of time -- and conjures our darkest fears and nightmares.
Summary: A masterpiece of literary horror
Rating: 5
I really credit my reading of Ghost Story in high school with getting me hooked on horror fiction beyond Stephen King, but I've always been reluctant to revisit it, fearing it wouldn't hold up. Turns out, I should have done this sooner; not only did the book hold up, it surpassed my memories of it by a long shot. What I remembered of Ghost Story was a book that took a while to get going, but really exploded into a massive nightmare by the end. However, what struck me as I reread the book was how masterfully Straub builds to the horrors of the book's final third. There's no doubt that Straub takes his time, building up Milburn and its characters patiently and only doling out unease in small doses, and I don't doubt that this pacing turns a lot of people off of the book. However, taking the book as a whole, it's a testament to Straub's skill how well he lays the foundation, setting up for long distant payoffs so subtly that you won't even notice until you think back. The other thing that struck me is how inventive the tale is. From the title onward, Ghost Story sets up the reader with certain expectations, but it finds joy in subverting them in every way possible, even upending your assumptions about the reason for everything that happens. From its opening pages, Ghost Story seems to be a tale of hidden sin and payback from beyond the grave, focusing around a group of old men known as the Chowder Society, but Straub has a lot more up his sleeve, and by the time you're into Act III, the horrors are everywhere, leading to some of the most unsettling and unnerving scenes in modern horror fiction (with my favorite being a showdown in an abandoned theater). Even all these years later, I've never read anything quite like Ghost Story, and its command of dread, unease, and ambiguity all combine to make it a masterpiece of the horror genre for those who want more than just gore.
Summary: Great and very scary ghost story book!
Rating: 5
This was one that kept me up all night - I had to keep the light on - I was so frighted! A really great ghost story! Many other reviewers have done a great job outlining the plot, I wont try my hand at that, I just wanted to say how really scary, and frightening Peter's book was. I would recommend this 100% - if you like scary ghost stories this is it! By the way, if I just read another scary ghost story book called Famous Modern Ghost Stories: Selected by Dr. Dorothy Scarborough of Columbia University No matter what, both of these books will keep you up all night long!
Summary: Tedious and boring all the way through
Rating: 2
I really had to force myself through each chapter of this so called horror masterpiece. Straub is a good writer in his own right but this book just didn't do it for me. It wasn't overly predictable but the character's actions were frustrating. I've never had such an incredibly difficult time finishing a book.
Summary: Scared the crap out of me!
Rating: 5
I read this book a few years ago. I'm not sure how Straub did it, but there were moments while reading this book that I was terrified. I gave it to my sister to read and she couldn't finish it because it scared her so badly. Something in this book works and is scary on a deep level. It is also well-written and much better than the movie version.
Summary: One of the eeriest novels ever written...
Rating: 4
This novel will haunt you for a long time. The suspense just boils over and I found myself racing through it to get to the next scene. So much so, that I had to go back and reread some passages for tiny details I had overlooked. The characters are so well drawn - even the secondary ones - that you feel like you know them (or knew them.) I finished this book in a marathon 200+ page session, and when I was done, I was drained. I will not outline the plot - that has been done to death. Straub sets up the story with surgical precision, and the ending is one of the best I have ever read. However, I found myself wondering about some loose ends in the story. But I guess that is a sign of any great book - you carry it with you even after you have put it down.
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