Ashes [Paperback]

H.R. Howland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 7, 2005

An unimaginable evil has burned its way across the globe in search of a kindred spirit, leaving in its wake the ashes of its victims. Now, in a small Pennsylvania town with a dark history of its own, it's found what it has been looking for.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (June 7, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425203530
• ISBN-13: 978-0425203538
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,940,036 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

H.R. Howland is Holly Newstein and Ralph Bieber. They have collaborated on ASHES and THE EPICURE, and a number of short stories that have appeared in EXTREMES 3, IN LAYMON'S TERMS, and a number of small press magazines. Look for their solo work in GRAVE TALES, BORDERLANDS 5, and CEMETERY DANCE.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent but not great horror novel, June 21, 2005

By 

J. Foster (bellmawr, nj United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ashes (Paperback)

This novel centers around a force that is unwittingly unleashed on the world via a archaelogical dig. This force has the ability to possess certain hosts and reduce anything in it's path to cinders. What exactly this being is unfortunately is never explained at all. It is one one of the major downfalls of this book.

After the force is unleashed it makes a journey via boat to a town in PA where it finds a more permanent host and things get more interesting. This small town in PA has a interesting past all it's own that ties in with the entity but why is another reason not explained. There also is apparently a love story here that is not neccessary and just make's the story seem more muddled.

All this being said it is a decent book. The characters are well developed and you'll find yourself genuinely caring about them and what happens. The story is also fast paced and has a very crisp style.I did enjoy it for the most part but in the long run it is nothing too special and there are much better books out there that i would reccommend.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Worth the read, July 11, 2005

By 

Dena M. Martin "Dena" (Pasadena, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ashes (Paperback)

Like J.Foster in the review before mine, I found that some things were not explained well enough. There were enough gaps in the explanations of why certain things happened in the book to leave me scratching my head and wondering. The attempts to interweave various stories and historical sequences were pretty well done, but did leave me thinking that some of the plot intricacies were just not necessary to the story.

However, there were some unique plot points and situations and vivid and interesting characters. The style is fast-paced and readable and the story did keep my interest throughout. Over all, I'd say this is worth the read. I didn't feel like I wasted my money and I'll definitely give any upcoming books a try!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Potential but falls down, August 5, 2005

By 

R. Howell "boriskhan" (Medford, OR) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ashes (Paperback)

An archeological dig in Honduras reveals an ancient Mayan burial pot that contains the remains of an evil chieftan Chac Mol and his bride Xochitl. The pot is opened and unleashes the evil spirit which begins jumping into bodies of living creatures and killing the others, leaving behind piles of ash. The spirit eventually makes its way to PA and the little town of Aronston.

The town has its own history with its founder Aaron Moyer who was a little wacky in the noggin himself, having beaten his wife and was killed by her brothers. The spirit of Chac Mol has come to inhabit the body of Roger Phillips, descendant of the evil Aaron Moyer.

The story then begins its journey to completion when Roger/Chac Mol/Aaron Moyer thinks that local girl Collette Walls is Xochitl. The fun then begins with mysterious fires, ash piles, and introductions of characters that have no real purpose in the story (namely the playwright, the old man, the newspaper woman, the mentally challenged Byron). Throw in the Founder's Day events which only serve to acknowledge Aaron's role in the town (why the town celebrates an despicable person was beyond me). We also have Darrin, Colette's boss with whom she's having an affair, for a love interest plot that goes nowhere. I won't reveal the ending cuz I don't enjoy spoilers either.

All in all it had some potential but too many ingredients. The author should have run with one story or the other, either Chac Mol reincarnation or the ghost of Aaron Moyer re-establishing himself through a descendant. Both presences just convoluted the story and made it a bit sloppy.

None-the-less, it is worth the read and as others have mentioned, it's not a waste of money to buy the book but if you can get it at the library, you'll be just as well off. With proper treatment, this could make a decent movie.