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Review: The Ghost Line by Andrew Neil Gray and J.S. Herbison

Summary

The luxury cruise ship the Martian Queen was decommissioned years ago, set to drift back and forth between Earth and Mars on the off-chance that reclaiming it ever became profitable for the owners. For Saga and her husband Michel the cruise ship represents a massive payday. Hacking and stealing the ship could earn them enough to settle down, have children, and pay for the treatments to save Saga’s mother’s life.

But the Martian Queen is much more than their employer has told them. In the twenty years since it was abandoned, something strange and dangerous has come to reside in the decadent vessel. Saga feels herself being drawn into a spider’s web, and must navigate the traps and lures of an awakening intelligence if she wants to go home again.

My thoughts

When I started reading The Ghost Line, it had been a while since I last read its summary and I didn’t remember a lot beside this being about a ghost ship. And going in pretty much blind, not knowing what these scavengers are going to expect and have to deal with, made this an excellent read. I was glued to the pages and read the whole thing in one sitting, not wanting to stop until I found out what was going on on this ship.

With Ghost Ship being on of my favorite horror movies, I couldn’t have been more excited about a story of the same idea, but set in space, and was all too happy to find out that The Ghost Line came close to my favorite movie, being less bloody but more weird and definitely on the same level of eerie.

This being a novella, I was impressed by how the authors were able to not only create a great atmosphere with the perfect amount of weird but also made room to get to know the characters with enough background story to get invested in their story and delivered more than just a horror story but also a story about love and sacrifices.

Having a character who knows a lot more about a situation than the POV character, one who is keeping secrets from them, isn’t usually my favorite way to be kept in suspense but in The Ghost Line it worked out for me. With the right amount of clues and the palpable tension, the authors did a great job on keeping me at the edge of my seat.

Last but not least, The Ghost Line totally got me with its ending. Besides finding out what exactly is happening on this ship, an idea that I was fascinated by and almost wished to explore more, I also didn’t expect it to end the way it did.

Andrew Neil Gray and J.S. Herbison wrote an atmospheric novella reminiscent of one of my favorite horror movies, Ghost Ship. The Ghost Line is a lot more than just a horror story though. It’s also a story about love and loss, perfectly integrated in this ominous adventure.

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Jun 26, 2017