Customer Reviews

The Ancestors (Thorndike African-American)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I primarily read this book because Tananarive Due was a part of the project. She is one of my favorite speculative and non speculative fiction writers.

The stories were all excellent. However, I must stay I enjoyed Ms. Banks story the most. I have a compulsion to read it again. That says alot for me as a reader, considering all the books waiting on my desk for attention. I have known of her for years, but did not believe she wrote the kind of books that interested me. I may consider reading a book of hers. I would love to see this short story become a book. She left a great cliff hanger.

I love all the stories. I highly recommend that folks support this book and authors.

This is a great audio book. Having the stories told to you adds so much to these characters, you will visualize the grandfathers in all three stories. I've read all of T. Dues books and will read more of Massey and Banks after reading The Ancestors.

I have been a long time fan of Steven King, Dean Koontz and Peter Straub, but being African-American, I could never really find myself in the heart of the story. I have often felt separated from their paranormal world. This is not a bad thing, it just is. Massey, Banks and Due have come together brilliantly in the tasty appetizer The Ancestors and finally there I am. For those who have never read Massey, Banks or Due The Ancestors is the perfect first course.

I don't typically find time to read, but I didn't want to put this one down. I love supernatural thrillers and The Ancestors was a great read.

The Ancestors is a trio of short stories all revolving around the theme of ancestry. The fist story by LA Banks, Ev'ry Shut Eye Ain't Sleep is the story of a man who seems to be traumatized by what he's seen in war, but we come to find out that the war he's been involved in is one of the supernatural nature and that he is the protector of the woman who is the granddaughter of a spiritual elder who has given him shelter and board in return for work at his antiques store. The young man is taught spiritual warfare from the elder and discover his true mission in this life as well as his past lives. This story had a great premise and would have probably made a great novel, but the beginning was long and involved and the ending felt rushed. This did not have the pacing of a short story and the epilogue felt like a deus ex machina in order to wrap up loose ends. I would love to have read the filled in story of how they got to that point.

The second story by Brandon Massey, The Patriarch, was great. A mystery writer from the city of Atlanta goes to visit his ancestral home in the backwoods of Mississippi with his girlfriend. He feels that there are unanswered questions about his past that he must find before he can move to the next step of his relationship and ask her to marry him. Once they journey to the "homeland" his great aunt relates to him their family history, but leaves out the story about an ancestor who could be his twin. While there he feels s if he's being called to the woods, where he meets this mysterious ancestor and finds out the truth about who he is. I thought the pacing and foreshadowing in this story was excellent, it kept me on my toes and wanting to read more. This is the first work I've read from Brandon Massey, but I downloaded two of his novels and can't wait to read them if they're anything like this.

The last story by Tananarive Due (one of my favorite authors), Ghost Summer, tells the story of a twelve year old boy who goes to visit his father's parents in the South because of his previous experiences of seeing ghosts on their land. In the midst of his ghost hunt he finds out about his parents impending divorce, as well as the existence of an unmarked burial ground. He searches with his younger sister to find the ghosts that live on this land and ends up getting more than he bargained for when he becomes a part of the ghost story. This was a riveting tale and the story of the mass graves and particularly the ghosts that the boy learns about was moving and did not end in an expected way. I really enjoyed this story and it solidified why Tananarive Due is one of my favorite authors.

Far too many details and over the top tales w/poor closure. You had to read nearly 100 pages of the first story to get to the plot. The ending was absolutely ridiculous. Definitely not a book I'd recommend anyone to read.

I love short stories. However, this book left me disappointed. In each of the stories none of the charters were developed. I know that can be hard to do in a short story but I should get what I pay for. All of the stories are very long winded. How can a short story be long winded? I'll tell, unnecessary details. Then when you near the end the author sum the whole thing up in a page or two. That's IT? I wasted my time and money on that? WoW. I know J.C.Cooper short stories are not since fiction but they are fast passed and entertaining. What I love in short stories.