Shade (Paperback)

by John B. Olson (Author)
Key Phrases: sudden onset dementia, model murderer, Holy One, Golden Gate Park, Detective Smiley (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Christy Award–winner for Oxygen, Olson, a biochemist-turned-novelist, keeps pace with a page-turning thriller that will please fans of paranormal spiritual battle tales. In a goth-vampire–infused mind-bending race through the streets and underworld of San Francisco, Hailey Maniates discovers a deeper diagnosis than paranoid schizophrenia for her hallucinations. One man wants her as bait in a cosmic duel, and another—Melchi, the child of prophecy—wants to save her life. With the help of her graduate school friends and Melchi, Hailey turns from victim to fellow soldier with Melchi in the battle against the evil Mulo, the spirits of the dead who act like vampires. With breathless pacing, a sharp sense of suspense, memorable descriptions and a churning plot, this novel is a must-read for those who enjoy such authors as Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti. Readers will appreciate carefully woven themes from Dracula, science, faith, conspiracy theory and divine battle. Christian themes surface in the supernatural warfare, and a Christian character, Susan Boggs, helps Hailey see beyond the physical world to a deeper reality. (Oct.)
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Product Description

"You will not fear the terror of the night." —Psalm 91

A monstrous waking nightmare is pursuing graduate student Hailey Maniates across San Francisco to Golden Gate Park where she is rescued by a towering homeless man. She seems able to read her rescuer’s mind, but is it just a delusion? Doctors diagnose her as a paranoid schizophrenic and attempt to prescribe away her alleged hallucinations. But too many questions remain around Hailey and the man who saved her. He appears to suffer from her same mental condition and is convinced that some type of Gypsy vampire is trying to kill them both.

Against reason, Hailey finds herself more and more attracted to this strange man. But what if he is a fantasy? What if he is the monster?

Endorsements:

"From its stunning first scene to its heartwarming last, Shade is a striking tale of mystery and danger that kept me hooked. This is Olson’s finest work yet, and reading it, one gets the feeling he’s just getting warmed up."

Robin Parrish, author of Relentless and Merciless

"Unseen enemies. Questioned sanity. The weighing of reality. All the things I like in a book! The shadows are not silent. I lost sleep over this book. I got goose bumps from this book. The kind of scary that you crave and cringe at, Shade offers up a monster made more frightening by its originality. Thanks a lot, John Olson--because of you, I will not walk alone at night for a long time to come."

Tosca Lee, author of Demon: A Memoir and Havah: The Story of Eve

"John B. Olson is a seasoned storyteller, and Shade is quite a story! As the heat turns up, and as menacing tones and brooding characters abound, the theme of God's grace boils to the surface. A few years back, Olson gave us a new twist on Jekyll & Hyde; now he puts his own fast-paced spin on the Dracula story. I can only hope there's a sequel in the works!"

Eric Wilson, author of Field of Blood and A Shred of Truth

"Shade is a smart, gripping thriller. John B. Olson whips you along in a breakneck odyssey through a hellish paradise lost--and keeps you up all night doing it."

Melanie Wells, author of My Soul to Keep and When the Day of Evil Comes

"Things that go bump in the night are not all figments of overwrought imaginations or evidence of mental illness. As our heroine discovers, evil personified preys on the ignorance of its victims. Lock your doors and windows, leave the lights on, and hunker down for a splendid, spine-chilling read."

Donita K. Paul, author of the DragonKeeper Chronicles

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: B&H Fiction (October 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805447342
• ISBN-13: 978-0805447347
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #322,435 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Shade, September 8, 2008

By	K. Larsen "klarsenmd" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I really wanted to like this book much more than I actually did. I loved the basic plot, a grad student being pursued by an unknown enemy only to be saved by a heroic homeless man. Along the way both seem completely delusional, to the point where Hailey, the grad student, is treated for schizophrenia and believes the diagnosis herself. Despite this, they grow more attracted to one another and Hailey learns to reluctantly trust her hero, Melchi, and he spins a tale full of the evil Mulo, or gypsy vampire that he must destroy in order to save our world. This is a great plot with exceptional characters that were easy to like and sympathize with.

The problem was in the actual story telling. Too much was thrown into the mix. The backstory was confusing and often made me feel like the schizophrenic one, wondering what could possible be added next. The beginning of the story was chaotic and jumbled and the ending felt rushed and thrown together with random bits of story that seemed placed just to make the whole thing wrap up nice and tidy, while having nothing to do with other parts of the book. I appreciated the faith based aspects of the story and characters, especially set against the basic science, but I just felt it could have been much clearer to enable the reader to enjoy without having to scratch my head every few pages. I do however look forward to a sequel, in the hopes of shedding more light on the general plot line.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, Another Can't Put It Down Novel, September 19, 2008

By	James L. Rubart (Woodinville, WA. USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I don't find many novels I'm sucked into, where most waking moments are devoted to finishing the book. Shade is one of the rare ones. Vivid characters, great foreshadowing that kept me guessing and intrigued, great pacing, and room for a sequel. Next book soon, please.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Worth trying by fans of Christian fantasy/thrillers or those who enjoy Vampirish contemporary fiction, November 21, 2008

By	Mir (North Miami Beach, FL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

I really hesitated before writing this review. I don't like to give fewer than 4 stars to a book I found enjoyable, if flawed, because I know it skews readers' opinions to see those empty star slots at the top of the review. And in this case, I really did find this novel a page-turner, which made me consider a 4 rating on that basis alone. I did want to keep reading. Maybe you will, too.

The main reason I wanted to keep reading was to 1. see more of the hero, Melchi and 2. find out what was up. And I kept reading despite not liking the heroine much and finding some other characters not fully fleshed out or downright hollow.

So, what I'm saying is that for certain readers--those who like a faith component in their fantasy/spiritual warfare/thriller fiction, one that's not uber-preachy, those who like odd characters, those who have an affinity to vampirish fic or Goth elements--this novel may satisfy enough, push enough buttons, to let you overlook, as I did, the weaknesses and keep on reading.

Others have given summaries, but here's another:

~ Grad science student flips out when she experiences a psychic and physical attack (or does she?) and is diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic. But the homeless man who repeatedly saves her from her "episodes" may be proof she's not crazy (or that they both are). He believes they are playing out a prophesied scenario in a fight against a terrible evil. Well, our grad student is gonna have to find out which is which--madness or supernatural goings on-- because her life is becoming a mounting ruin and corpses are piling up around her. Plus, there's a too-too-seductive tycoon who has a whole lot of interest in both her and her homeless protector.

We follow four principal characters:

~~ Melchi, who is homeless, huge, frighteningly fast, agile and strong, and childlike in his sense of self and good/evil. He is the ascetic, the spiritual seeker mortifying flesh while enriching the mind with classics (John Milton's work plays a part, as does Bram Stoker's). He lives like a wildman, like a crazy man, uneducated and often hungry and thirsty; but he sees some things much more clearly than the sane and the educated and the well-fed and finely-housed.

~~Hailey, a grad student in biochemistry whose life spirals into a crazy whirlwind of violence and possible hallucinations. She doesn't know if she's mad or being initiated into something much more horrible than madness itself. She wants to be rational, but rising irrationality around her makes her the focal point of events that are beyond her control.

~~Athena, the Goth girl with street smarts and Gypsy heritage. Her Goth crew also falls into the darkness swirling in San Francisco, so that her path crisscrosses--and sometimes smashes--into that of Melchi and Hailey. Her cleverness and gumption are her major modes of survival when things go all to hell.

~~Sabazios Vladu, the guy you are going to inevitably compare to Vlad Dracul. But we guess he is more than a mysterious, suave, seductive, wealthy, dangerous pursuer in the vampire mode.

Those are the main players. Supporting we have a genius scientist named Boggs who, like Hailey and some other characters, have faith (at varying places and levels) and become part of the mess on the side of good. There's also a detective who from the start makes us want to ask for Columbo, instead. Homeless folks help out. And a bookstore owner (cause, yeah, we love books, so a bookstore lady has gotta be good, right?)

The strongest part of the story is Melchi. His character is always interesting when he's center stage. The prologue with him undergoing rigorous training against the foe is a great hook. Because we start in pretty much in the heat of action, the story's pace is fast. For those who like action/thrillers/zooming narrative, you can have that with Shade

The weakest is Hailey, who never lives up to the smarts we are set-up to expect. And a secondary character set-up as a "genius", never acts like any such thing. This is a problem.

Some characters drop off and aren't heard from again. And the ending leaves an open door for a sequel (while resolving some issues to satisfaction). I liked the ending (even though, as others I know who have read it said, it feels a bit rushed. The Bentley Little syndrome, I thought--a big bang finale that is just too fast to conclude.)

But the narrative drive is there. The story moves. Melchi makes it move. I love following this guy's more-than-mere-ordinary-man escapades in the treetops and rooftops of San Francisco. (Which reminds me that the setting is put to good use as part of the story.)

And the writing is quite strong in places, though this aspect is also uneven. I did savor the poetic bits here and the well-constructed passages depicting hypnotic confusion or drugged-out wackiness there.

I do not want to dissuade you from trying this novel by grading it at the middle of the star-scale. I fully intend to purchase a sequel to it if it manifests. I really found myself engaged with the hero's problem and personality and oddities. I want to see where he goes after this.

If you are at all into Christian fantasy/urban fantasy--give it a shot. You may find yourself up late, reading, like me.

Mir