Title: Salvage
Author: Duncan Ralston
Type: Fiction
Page Count/Review Word Count: 348
Rating: 4/5
Duncan Ralston – Salvage
This is a book by an indie author friend of mine, although I guess he’s more of an acquaintance. I came across Ralston back in the day when we were both published by BookTrope, and even though we’ve since gone our separate ways, I still grab his books when I can because he’s a pretty decent horror writer. On a par with a lot of the professionals if you ask me, and that holds true from the quality of the writing to the editing, layout and cover design. When you buy this book, you’re getting the finished article from someone who’s done this before a bunch of times.
In this book, we’re basically dealing with a ghost story that’s set partially underwater. A dude has to look into the mysterious drowning death of his sister and figure out what she was looking for in a town that was buried by water after the construction of a hydroelectric dam. That’s really all I can tell you without spoilers, but what I will say is that if you’re looking for a decent indie horror then this is a good place to start. It’s spooky, the ghosts are downright sinister, and the little lick of religion gives it a sort of Biblical horror feel too, although I was getting kind of tired of that by the end of it. I don’t like religion.
Overall, Salvage isn’t the best book I’ve read this year but then I read a lot. It’s not the best ghost story either because it’s behind Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill, but only by half a rating point. For an indie book, it’s easily in the upper echelons and it can hold its own against a lot of the stuff coming out from major publishers. I enjoyed it for what it was and actually liked it more than I thought I was going to when I went into it. Good job, Duncan. Now which of your books shall I read next?
Duncan Ralston
