The Ancestors (Thorndike African-American) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

L. A. Banks (Author), Tananarive Due (Author), Brandon Massey (Author)

Book Description

Series: Thorndike African-American | Publication Date: March 2009

Dead.

Some evils are so great that they transcend death. In Brandon Massey's "The Patriarch," a young writer travels to the hushed backwoods of Mississippi, where dangerous secrets surface as a generations-old feud comes to bone-chilling new life...

Buried.

The souls of the mistreated always find a way to be heard. In L.A. Banks's "Ev'ry Shut Eye Ain't Sleep," violent visions haunt a man--until he's handed an opportunity to right the wrongs of the past and prevent unspeakable acts from occurring once again...

Forgotten.

When horrors are covered up and lost, our ancestors must find a way--even in death--to tell their tales. In Tananarive Due's "Ghost Summer," ancestors haunt the nights of two children. And when a grisly discovery is made, these ancestors will make their mark on both the dead and the living...

"Massey ventures into areas unexplored by most other black novelists. The result is artful and stunning." --Chicago Tribune

"Tananarive Due is creating classics." --Tina McElroy Ansa

"Banks's writing is lush and detailed, fully bringing her characters to life (or unlife), weaving a complex world of Good vs. Evil with its own intricate hierarchy." --Fangoria Magazine

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Talented African-American authors Banks (The Shadows), Massey (Don't Ever Tell) and Due (Blood Colony) explore ancestral roots in intriguing horror novellas. Banks puts a time-travel twist into Ev'ry Shut Eye Ain't Sleep, in which antique dealer Abe Morgan helps a friend, Rashid Jackson, protect Aziza, Rashid's granddaughter, from the shades after Aziza inherits her grandmother's house. In Massey's The Patriarch, a crime novelist brings his fiancée to Coldwater, Miss., to introduce her to his mom's kinfolk, but runs afoul of a powerful family secret. Due's Ghost Summer, the best of the trio, also works as a YA novel. Davie Stephens, who's determined to become a 12-year-old ghost buster, and various family members find themselves haunted by a 1909 cold case in Graceville, Fla. All three contributors successfully combine scary themes with rich historical detail. (Dec.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Booklist

Three well-known thriller writers employ the novella to depict people learning more about their roots than any sane person would want to know. The undertone all three share is cautionary: listen to your elders before you try anything to the slightest degree dubious. In Banks’ Ev’ry Shut Eye Ain’t Sleep, a young attorney prepares to dispose of his grandmother’s property, only to discover that it was much more valuable and necessary than she could have imagined. In Brandon’s Massey’s Patriarch, a young writer returns to the family home in Mississippi to find an old feud coming back to life and to learn that not all of his forebears were fully human. In Tananarive Due’s Ghost Summer, ancestors haunt the nights of two children, which leads to the revelation of an old wrong. Fun to read and good models for nascent genre practitioners. --Frieda Murray --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 435 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press; Lrg edition (March 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1410414086
• ISBN-13: 978-1410414083
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,107,010 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful and bone chilling!, January 24, 2009

By 

Sheryl D. Mills "Kemitgoddess" (Washington DC Area) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ancestors (Paperback)

I loved this book, I am already an avid fan of LA Banks & Tananarive Due and read almost everything they write. I have recently begun reading selections by Brandon Massey. These three writer epitomize the Black experience in this book with their influences of African American folk beliefs. Plus, they were damn good stories. I appreciate a good sci fi/fantasy/horror story that doesn't insult my intelligence and makes me want to do research on folk religions & past beliefs.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Greedy Reader, December 15, 2008

By 

Rochelle Mckinney "Greedy Reader" (Maryland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ancestors (Paperback)

I enjoyed all three stories in the book and found myself wishing each story was a novel on its own. I would ask each author to please expand on these stories.

I know I am not giving anything away when I say that one of the lines in Brandon Massey's story had me on the floor laughing. The line goes, "I prefer my poster pedic."

Give these stories a try, you will be glad you did.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down!, November 14, 2009

By 

Carmel "4theloveofbooks" (Las Vegas, NV) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ancestors (Paperback)

I learned of this book by searching for something by one of my favorite authors, Tananarive Due. I had never been exposed to L.A. Banks or Brandon Massey. This book was incredible! I loved all 3 stories and in the process I found 2 new authors (Banks & Massey). I can't wait to read their other books.