Beware the Terrors You Can’t See: What Lies Unseen is a chilling ghost story of revenge and redemption

 

 

What Lies Unseen

S.E. Howard

Wicked House Publishing, 2026

Ebook, 180 ppg.

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NOTE: This review is based on an advanced review copy (ARC). This book is scheduled for release on March 10. The buy link is a pre-order link.

 

 

For the people who are able to see and hear ghosts, it can be scary anytime it happens. For Sam Avery, it’s terrifying. Most of the ghosts he encounters are malevolent, some of them even attacking him. In this novel of paranormal suspense and horror, What Lies Unseen by S.E. Howard explores the world of parapsychic abilities. Sam’s gift of being able to see and hear ghosts is more of a nightmare for him, but when he gets involved with a group of people with similar abilities, he feels that he may finally be able to understand his ability better and learn how to control it. What Sam doesn’t realize is that this particular group has other plans, ones which could cost him his life.

 

Some people believe in ghosts and some people don’t. For this reason, Sam doesn’t talk much about his ability to see ghosts. He’s had this gift his whole life, but as a kid, it terrified him. The only person he ever told about it was his older brother, Michael. Michael seemed to understand Sam’s ability, and handled his younger brother’s terror-stricken episodes of seeing and hearing scary ghosts really well. At 24, Sam meets someone who can hear ghosts, and it opens up a whole new world to him. Suddenly, he doesn’t feel so alone. Suddenly, he learns that there are other people like him – that they can hear and see ghosts like he does, only hear ghosts, only sense their presence, etc. There are others who can do things like remote viewing, an ability which is put to use in a horrifying way in this story.

 

The characters in this book are so well-rounded. I loved how the characters at the “paranormal meeting” shared their knowledge. I could tell the author did her homework and took the time to do research for the characters. They really know their stuff!

 

This is a story of many twists and surprises. It is told from Sam’s POV, giving the reader first-hand experience about what happens when he has encounters with the paranormal. It is written so well and I was hooked on this story. It was hard to stop reading it! The scares were very real, keeping me on the edge of my seat, and I was constantly reading chapters wanting to know what happens next.

 

I also loved how the author describes the ghosts so well. The ghosts in this story are definitely frightening! One ghost is described in this way: “I felt hands pulling against me, and when I looked down, I saw the emaciated corpse of a girl, arms around my waist. She wore a tattered white dress, and the skirt ballooned up around her like a spent tulip blossom. Her eyes were gone, her sockets sunken and dark, her nose caved in, her lips receding. Her skin looked desiccated, with only the stark outline of bones beneath, yet there was terrifying, impossible strength in her grip as she clung to me.” (Page 106)

 

In addition to the ghost story that takes place in this novel, we see Sam experiencing a relationship with an older woman – a fellow employee at his job (though she is in a senior position). Everything happens so fast in this relationship, and while she tells Sam that she loves him, he feels more like a “fuck buddy” than a partner in a committed relationship. His insecurities are strengthened when she is going through a difficult situation, and when he tries to offer her comfort, she screams at him, “You’re just a kid!” Still, Sam tries to believe that his relationship with her is the real deal – until he discovers that she has lied to him about certain things. The HUGE thing he learns about her having lied to him about drives him to the breaking point, but it also opens up a new level of horrors for Sam that he must try to face.

 

I loved how this novel shares the dark side of the paranormal. It doesn’t just show the negative things that can happen, but also the negative people who not only abuse their abilities but put them to use in horrifying ways. This novel also explores topics of grief, protection of Indigenous land, and friendship. It was certainly an unforgettable and unique story that lingered in my mind long after I finished reading the last page.

 

What Lies Unseen is a chilling tale of communication with the dead as well as the secrets of a centuries-old power hidden within a most unlikely location. Filled with terrifying paranormal encounters, surprises, and unexpected twists, this novel is a must-read for fans of horror and for anyone who enjoys reading scary ghost stories.

 

 

 

Five stars

 

 

 

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rebellions in Space: The Dominion series is a trilogy of a galactic uprising against tyranny

 

 

The Dominion Trilogy: Nemesis (November 2019), Liberty (July 2020) and Echo (July 2020) by John Arkham

John Arkham

Independently Published

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This is a review of The Dominion trilogy by John Arkham. The books in this series are: Nemesis, Liberty and Echo.

 

Thousands of years ago, humans left a dying Earth, referred to as Old Terra, in search of a more sustainable planet to live on. The various shuttles settled on various planets in this distant system and the first book takes place about ten thousand years later.

 

In Nemesis, we are introduced to the Saturnines: Young Rex and his parents. The father, Augustine, has been at odds with the Dominion for months, which is the government body that has a sort of fascist approach to governing the citizens of the planets in that System (the galaxy of planets they are in). The leader of the Dominion, Gaius Marius, rules with an iron fist, and Saturnine is determined to overthrow him. Unfortunately, his political revolution forced him to take his family into hiding, or face death. The story picks up on when he has been in hiding for his ideas and cries for resistance, and he fears being discovered. His is not an army of one; many of his followers, called Saturninists, have taken upon themselves his crusade against the oppressive Dominion. This is one of the reasons why the Dominion wants Saturnine dead.

 

Meanwhile, young Rex Saturnine has been receiving strange coordinates his entire life, though at the young age of twelve, he has no idea what they mean, nor does his father. The family is eventually found, yet they escape to a mysterious red planet. After Rex survives an ambush by the Dominion’s police force, the Dragoons, he is taken in by a mysterious figure, who is known as a Sorcerer. Rex becomes this Sorcerer’s student, learning fascinating powers.

 

In this book, we are also introduced to Raven Tiburine, a professor of biology on the planet Metropolis, who is on an investigative study with a team when she is rescued from carnivorous plants by a mysterious figure identifying himself as Ghost. Here, Raven also discovers a monolith with strange writing on it, but with Ghost’s help, she is able to read it. The message she reads is a warning of ancient doom, and after she returns to the university to share what she has discovered, she is mocked and ostracized by her peers. It doesn’t help when Raven later returns to this same area of the planet and discovers the writing on the stone is gone.

 

Another character who plays a major role in this series is Cruz Petroize, a renegade soldier who is against the Saturnine movement yet also is no friend of the Dominion. The Dominion is constantly hunting him down, and on another occasion where he escapes, a mysterious force keeps him from falling several feet to his death. Cruz is determined to find out what it is.

 

The second book in this series is titled after a spacecraft in this story named Liberty. However, the space vessel doesn’t make an appearance until much later in the book. The first book ended with a cliffhanger that involves Raven, and the beginning of the story picks up where it left off. However, one of Raven’s students who observes her leaving the class, Maximian Rhodes, becomes concerned about what is going on. He tries to push these concerns aside and focus more on his life as a college student, but he gets into trouble with the Dragoons and is arrested. Max eventually escapes and learns about a secret community of rebels living on the ground who are loyal to the Saturnine cause. Max is not just your ordinary college student; he practices the secular art of bio-kinesis that enables him to tap within his inner powers. This ability helps him learn he actually has special powers that are equivalent to the Sorcerers.

 

Meanwhile, Raven’s associations with Ghost gets her into trouble once she discovers his real identity, and she is charged with treason. The Saturninists whisk her off to another planet to keep her from being arrested and sent off to certain death at the prison planet known as Carceri.

 

The character, Cruz, also returns to the story. After being betrayed, he joins the Saturnine cause, fast transitioning to one of the leading members of the group.

 

Max must come to terms with his gifts and adapt to a new identity, which will help him in the fight against the evil force known as the Nemesis, doomed to destroy all of humanity and the System along with it.

 

This book ended on a cliffhanger and I was sad to see one of the major characters murdered in this story. At least this character's death is not in vain and the other characters honored this character's legacy.

 

The final book in this series, Echo, wraps everything up. Although the story is a little rushed and, in some cases, things happen too easily, it offers a logical and satisfying conclusion to ongoing struggles.

 

Unlike the two previous books, the story in the third book unfolds quickly, with a lot of action and suspense. It mostly centers on the character Max, now known as Iratus, who has been chosen to fight the Nemesis that threatens all life. The characters Raven and Cruz are also in this story, with Raven taking on the role as a form of guidance and support for her former student. There is another character in this story who is a surprise to readers of the first book. This particular character is the one who must face the Dominion and challenge Gaius Marius for the seat of power.

 

I sincerely enjoyed reading the three books in this series. The entire series tells a story of rising up against authoritarian power and saving humanity from an evil threat bent on destruction. The phrase “Long Live Saturnine,” often phrased as LLS, became catchy and one which became an inspirational force in this series. I will certainly be reading these books again. 

 

 

Five stars  

 

 

Disclaimer: I downloaded these books to read as part of my Kindle Unlimited subscription and this review is entirely voluntary.