Ghost Band [Paperback]

John Wooley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 2006

Trumpeter Miles West only planned to tour with a dance band for a couple of years after college. Now middle-aged, he finds himself still riding a bus across the country with a group that plays under the name of a long-dead bandleader--in musical parlance, a Ghost Band. Playing music that revives long-forgotten memories and rekindles romances, the band is never far from the specters of the past. In a breathtaking moment during a special song for sweethearts, Miles is shocked to discover the link to the past is far more real than anyone ever dared to imagine... In Dark Within Wooley gave us a new way to view technology. His Awash in the Blood shed a new light on vampirism. Now, he has expertly conjured a fresh vision of the spirit world. Ghost Band is a rich, haunting exploration of murder, mystery, and music that will resonate with readers long after the last page is turned.

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Hawk Publishing Group (August 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193070951X
• ISBN-13: 978-1930709515
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,017,420 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Aghast from the past, May 23, 2008

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Ghost Band (Paperback)

In musical parlance, a ghost band is a band that plays the music of a long dead band leader. Miles West is a trumpeter in such a band, having started after college and now middle aged. Despite the horrendous travel schedule, odd hours and dwindling fan interest, he still likes what he is doing. Now, the band plays largely to aged crowds of people, who come out and dance in an attempt to be taken back to when they were young. As one of the band members puts it, they whisk their spirits back to a time when they were young, vigorous and had their whole lives ahead of them.
Suddenly, two unusual things happen. The first is that an apparently crazed fan accosts the band, complaining that they are not the real thing. After a physical altercation with the leader of the group (Duke), the fan tries to knock Duke out with a rock. Being fairly tough, Duke easily dispatches the (not so tough) man with a few well-aimed punches. The second thing is that Miles suddenly starts having visions of a female ghost at their concerts. She appears in pain but is also trying to tell Miles something.
After the first vision, one of the band members is killed by poison and then after Miles experiences another vision, a second member is stabbed. Since Miles finds the ghost familiar, he goes back into the past of the original band, looking for her. Simultaneously, he enlists the aid of a collector of movie memorabilia in an attempt to track down the culprit.
The primary reason why I liked this book was that it referenced the fading past in a way I have experienced. In the last six months, I attended a symphony pops concert where the theme was the decline of the dance hall. The music was of the late thirties and forties and there was a running skit about the changes in the tastes in music and the looming closure of a dance hall. Most of the audience was in their seventies and eighties and they were living out what is described in this book. We all have our dreams and demons to aspire to and overcome, in this case they are the premise for what is secondarily a murder mystery.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wooley has done it!, December 16, 2006

By 

Gary W. Campbell (Moore, Ok USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ghost Band (Paperback)

I've been reading John Wooley's work since his first published article in a fan magazine back in the late 60s. He has always been a good writer, an entertaining writer, and a thought-provoking writer. I had to read GHOST BAND twice before I could write this review. I just couldn't believe the depth and the artistry of the words coming out of John's pen. This is so far above his previoius works that I am just stunned.

I'm a literature major, Masters Degree in fact. I'm a published novelist myself, and I have to say that this is some of the best writing I have EVER read. The story is tight, the images clear and concise, the characters absolutely believeable. I am just overwhelmed. Wooley has taken a giant step forward. He has moved from being a VERY good writer to being a true literary artist. Wow!

Read this book. You are doing yourself a great injustice if you do not.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Old-time band haunted by its past, September 25, 2006

By 

Icepick "sir-critic" (Castroville, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ghost Band (Paperback)

I really enjoyed this novel. The "ghost band" in question is the Sammy Patrick Orchestra, journeyman musicians playing under the name of a Big Band era group whose original members have long since gone to dust. The ghost band is on the road all the time, playing small venues, keeping the old songs alive for people who remember the original and want to dance to youthful memories. In bringing the story to life, Wooley employs an intimate knowledge of the music business; there's plenty of authentic detail about this overlooked corner.

He uses the idea of the "ghost" in interesting ways, as a metaphor for the way figments of the past keep hanging around, and as a literal, supernatural manifestation that shows up just before a band member is cruelly murdered. It's interesting the way Wooley mingles past and present, painting the world as a place where the past is still alive, not only in a supernatural sense but in the way we absorb memories and culture. The ghost band really is haunted, in more ways than one!

This is a tight novel with a unique point of view and a strong sense of purpose. There is plenty of shock and surprise in an ending that accelerates as the forces at play come into collision. In addition to being a good thriller, it's a fascinating meditation on nostalgia and memory--what the past means to the present. Recommended!