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Playlist of the Ancient Dead
Caroline discovers a doorway in a drab brick building in the middle of a park in Albuquerque where she walks her dog every day. A door had appeared where none had existed before. Murphy, a washed up government agent, contacts Caroline and tells her that the building is nicknamed the warehouse, and it's older than Albuquerque, older than recorded history. Murphy's team was lost inside thirty years ago.
He assembles a team of explorers: Erin, a young genius whose grandfather was on the lost team, Dr. Fourie, a South African doctor with a dark past, Rashid, a physicist by the age of twenty who falls in love with Erin, and Lucian, a hired thug who also happens to like musical theatre.
While they are bickering about how to open the entrance. Erin convinces Rashid to finish putting wireless transmitters around the door, so they can sneak off for a quickie in the bushes. Back in bicker land, Cody, Caroline's annoying ex, interrupts their gathering.
Rashid screams as he is being dragged into the warehouse by an unknown creature. They rush to save him, get pulled inside, and the door slams behind them. When they come to their senses, they find that they are in an infinite hallway.
He assembles a team of explorers: Erin, a young genius whose grandfather was on the lost team, Dr. Fourie, a South African doctor with a dark past, Rashid, a physicist by the age of twenty who falls in love with Erin, and Lucian, a hired thug who also happens to like musical theatre.
While they are bickering about how to open the entrance. Erin convinces Rashid to finish putting wireless transmitters around the door, so they can sneak off for a quickie in the bushes. Back in bicker land, Cody, Caroline's annoying ex, interrupts their gathering.
Rashid screams as he is being dragged into the warehouse by an unknown creature. They rush to save him, get pulled inside, and the door slams behind them. When they come to their senses, they find that they are in an infinite hallway.
361 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 26, 2015
10 people are currently reading
1923 people want to read
About the author
Aaron Frale
62 books121 followersAaron Frale writes Science Fiction, Horror, and Fantasy usually with a comedic twist. Time Burrito is the audience favorite. He also hosts the podcast Aaron’s Horror Show and screams and plays guitar for the prog/metal band Spiral. He lives with his wife, his son, and two cats in the mountains of Montana.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 4, 2015
Book: Playlist of the Ancient Dead
Author: Aaron Frale
Publication Date: 2/26/2015
Reviewed by: Tammy Payne- Book Nook Nuts
My Rating: 5 Stars
REVIEW
New to me author.
This is a combination of paranormal and sci-fi combined. It's one of those never expect the unexpected.
Caroline is out walking her dog only to experience what can only be called as strange. There is a group of scientists who are awaiting a door to another portal to open and it finally does when Caroline and her dog get near it.
Murphy talks her into working with them but what happens leaves her realizing things are not always what they seem.
Cody her exboyfriend is also pulled into this and although Caroline likes him she realizes why she left him.
Wow what an interesting read. I can't say I have ever read a book quite like this. You get talking dogs, you get bones that move, you get ghosts. If you like dark you get it, If you like paranormal you get it, If you like comedy well you get a bit of that too.
I was gifted this book for my honest review.
Playlist of the Ancient Dead
Author: Aaron Frale
Publication Date: 2/26/2015
Reviewed by: Tammy Payne- Book Nook Nuts
My Rating: 5 Stars
REVIEW
New to me author.
This is a combination of paranormal and sci-fi combined. It's one of those never expect the unexpected.
Caroline is out walking her dog only to experience what can only be called as strange. There is a group of scientists who are awaiting a door to another portal to open and it finally does when Caroline and her dog get near it.
Murphy talks her into working with them but what happens leaves her realizing things are not always what they seem.
Cody her exboyfriend is also pulled into this and although Caroline likes him she realizes why she left him.
Wow what an interesting read. I can't say I have ever read a book quite like this. You get talking dogs, you get bones that move, you get ghosts. If you like dark you get it, If you like paranormal you get it, If you like comedy well you get a bit of that too.
I was gifted this book for my honest review.
Playlist of the Ancient Dead
July 3, 2015
I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I can honestly say I’ve never read a book like this. When Caroline was walking her dog and he kept reacting strangely every time they got near a brick building I knew there was something to the building. The building has been there for years. When Caroline sees her ex-boyfriend coming down the sidewalk she turns and walks back toward the building. She sees a door, she had not seen before and opens it. Cody catches up with her and she ends up stepping back out, but not before she sees something. It seems that a government team had found a way in years before and disappeared and so they’ve been waiting all this time for another door to appear. Caroline and her dog are the key. Another thing that was strange, not in a bad way, but in a unique way was the use of music throughout the book. No I’m not going to tell you what I mean. I will tell you to expect all kinds of things. There are so many twists and turns in this book it will keep you reading from beginning to end. This was the first book I had read by this author and I was not disappointed.
I can honestly say I’ve never read a book like this. When Caroline was walking her dog and he kept reacting strangely every time they got near a brick building I knew there was something to the building. The building has been there for years. When Caroline sees her ex-boyfriend coming down the sidewalk she turns and walks back toward the building. She sees a door, she had not seen before and opens it. Cody catches up with her and she ends up stepping back out, but not before she sees something. It seems that a government team had found a way in years before and disappeared and so they’ve been waiting all this time for another door to appear. Caroline and her dog are the key. Another thing that was strange, not in a bad way, but in a unique way was the use of music throughout the book. No I’m not going to tell you what I mean. I will tell you to expect all kinds of things. There are so many twists and turns in this book it will keep you reading from beginning to end. This was the first book I had read by this author and I was not disappointed.
July 6, 2015
Cover: Pretty, professional and original.
Editing/Proofing: Seems professionally done.
Formatting: It’s easy on the eyes.
This was a fun, fast read.
It’s full of mystery and doesn’t take long to get going. The first 10% I was engaged and intrigued and the rest was just a blur. Caroline is a fun character – I enjoy her general attitude/ outlook on life. I absolutely love everything about Jasputin – he’s a great, lovable character.
The book gets weird as in – paranormal activity, kind of weird but it eases into it so that it isn’t horribly far-fetched and even if it was – I’m already hooked and have to see how it plays out. While reading this, I realized I’d come to enjoy the sense of humor of some of the characters and the banter they exchanged – the book is full of mystery, humor and adventure and overall is fun.
This book is definitely original, unpredictable and it’s very trippy. I love that music plays a big part in the book, that animals are viewed equal to humans and I would likely read more from this author, based on this very interesting trip. SO much is ‘been done before’ and I get the feeling we’ll never run into that with Frale.
Editing/Proofing: Seems professionally done.
Formatting: It’s easy on the eyes.
This was a fun, fast read.
It’s full of mystery and doesn’t take long to get going. The first 10% I was engaged and intrigued and the rest was just a blur. Caroline is a fun character – I enjoy her general attitude/ outlook on life. I absolutely love everything about Jasputin – he’s a great, lovable character.
The book gets weird as in – paranormal activity, kind of weird but it eases into it so that it isn’t horribly far-fetched and even if it was – I’m already hooked and have to see how it plays out. While reading this, I realized I’d come to enjoy the sense of humor of some of the characters and the banter they exchanged – the book is full of mystery, humor and adventure and overall is fun.
This book is definitely original, unpredictable and it’s very trippy. I love that music plays a big part in the book, that animals are viewed equal to humans and I would likely read more from this author, based on this very interesting trip. SO much is ‘been done before’ and I get the feeling we’ll never run into that with Frale.
June 10, 2018
I've had Time Burrito in my Kindle for the past year and was just about to dig in, but thought I'd read Frale's newest. I had incorrectly assumed that since that book seemed to be a whimsical sci fi comedy, that this would be funny too. My mistake. It's more of a Twilight Zone/The Outer Limits style mindf***er. I mean, there's a talking dog. That should be funny, right? Nope. It quickly takes a grim turn where everyone is trapped in a nightmare world, and the dog's story turns into the Island Of Dr. Moreau meets werewolves. Conceptually it could still be an interesting story, but it's not. It becomes so claustrophobic and tiresome, that I don't care if all the characters die, I just wanted it to end.
I was tempted to just give it one star, but to be fair I've read worse writing, and it simply wasn't what I was in the mood for. I'll still check out Time Burrito, because reviews seem promising, and I just can't resist that incredibly ridiculous cover.
I was tempted to just give it one star, but to be fair I've read worse writing, and it simply wasn't what I was in the mood for. I'll still check out Time Burrito, because reviews seem promising, and I just can't resist that incredibly ridiculous cover.
Want to read
April 3, 2022It definitely wasn't to my taste, and that was pretty evident in the first few pages. I'm passing it along to a friend who may appreciate it more.
August 10, 2015
Playlist of the Dead is a little paranormal, a little sci-fi, and a whole lot of suspenseful adventure rolled into one. Caroline and her dog stumble upon a sealed door that leads to another realm. They are the key to opening the door and a series of odd events follows. Murphy is one of the scientists that was waiting for the door to appear. It’s difficult to summarize the story without giving anything away, so you’re going to have to read it for yourself to learn about that.
I will say that this book is one of the most unique and interesting stories I have read in a long time. The author does a great job of creating a situation where the reader can’t help but believe the world and plot actually exists. The things that happen kept me on my toes and made me want to keep reading. That’s the key to a good book. There is a lot of detail and not all of it is revealed at the same time. You have to keep going to unravel the rest of the plot. However, I found that I could not connect with any of the characters because of the oddities of the plot. They bickered and annoyed each other (and me) to the point that I wished I could knock all of their heads together and tell them to play nice. But, that didn’t take away from the plot or story line, for me.
Playlist of the Dead is a unique story that sci fi readers should give a try. Even though I didn’t like the actual characters, I did really enjoy the overall story.
*Copy provided for review
I will say that this book is one of the most unique and interesting stories I have read in a long time. The author does a great job of creating a situation where the reader can’t help but believe the world and plot actually exists. The things that happen kept me on my toes and made me want to keep reading. That’s the key to a good book. There is a lot of detail and not all of it is revealed at the same time. You have to keep going to unravel the rest of the plot. However, I found that I could not connect with any of the characters because of the oddities of the plot. They bickered and annoyed each other (and me) to the point that I wished I could knock all of their heads together and tell them to play nice. But, that didn’t take away from the plot or story line, for me.
Playlist of the Dead is a unique story that sci fi readers should give a try. Even though I didn’t like the actual characters, I did really enjoy the overall story.
*Copy provided for review
December 18, 2015
I received this book as a free give away in exchange for an honest review, so here it goes.
I haven't heard of the author before, so I had a completely empty slate going in and did not know what to expect.
I'm not going to get into plot details here, but will simply state a few facts. I really enjoyed the story. The whole idea felt fresh and interesting and was just enough to keep me going to the very end and feel satisfied with the experience after I've reached the end. That was the 'good' about the book.
Alas, there was a 'bad' side to this book too. Here I must state that English isn't my native language, and thus I might not be the best person to judge the matter and only do this subjectively from my very own perspective. So back to the 'bad', the wording sometimes felt very awkward to me and somewhat forced. Like as if instead of making a story just flow easily, the author struggled with finding the right words, and ended up in times with the 'wrong' words which once in awhile made the story feel 'dead'. If not for this awkwardness this book would've got a 4 star rating from me.
On the off side - awesome book cover
I haven't heard of the author before, so I had a completely empty slate going in and did not know what to expect.
I'm not going to get into plot details here, but will simply state a few facts. I really enjoyed the story. The whole idea felt fresh and interesting and was just enough to keep me going to the very end and feel satisfied with the experience after I've reached the end. That was the 'good' about the book.
Alas, there was a 'bad' side to this book too. Here I must state that English isn't my native language, and thus I might not be the best person to judge the matter and only do this subjectively from my very own perspective. So back to the 'bad', the wording sometimes felt very awkward to me and somewhat forced. Like as if instead of making a story just flow easily, the author struggled with finding the right words, and ended up in times with the 'wrong' words which once in awhile made the story feel 'dead'. If not for this awkwardness this book would've got a 4 star rating from me.
On the off side - awesome book cover
Read
July 15, 2015When I saw the cover and title of PLAYLIST OF THE ANCIENT DEAD, it immediately brought thoughts of this being a vampire novel. However, PLAYLIST OF THE ANCIENT DEAD is as far from a vampire novel as you can get. Caroline and her dog, Jasputin Trotsky (best dog name ever!), find a doorway into a building which has remained sealed for years. This doorway leads to alternate realm, which Agent Murphy has been trying to access since it closed the last time, and he now knows Caroline is the key. It is very hard to describe or even categorize PLAYLIST OF THE ANCIENT DEAD, but I can see elements of Burton and Gaiman within the labyrinthine tale. As the title suggests, music does play an important role in the story and there are very distinct rules for navigating this alternate realm. I don’t want to give too much away, but I hope you give PLAYLIST OF THE ANCIENT DEAD a try. You may be surprised with how much it speaks to you.
July 23, 2015
4 stars for good writing (with few errors), good characters, and an original story. I won't even start trying to explain the plot. It's just... different. Well, it's kind of a horror/action/adventure so those elements were predictable. Most of the characters started out annoying and grew on me. I'd normally give a book like this 3 stars but this one was different enough, and while the main character is idealistic I didn't feel the author tried to convert me to her or anyone else's beliefs.
February 6, 2016
Honestly, this was a not book that I found enjoyable at all. There were way to many characters for me, and that impeded with their development of being well rounded. The plot wasn't predictable, which I did enjoy, and it read somewhat smoothly. This just wasn't my cup of tea, and not what the title suggested the book was about. 3/5
March 26, 2015
A sci-fi horror with enough dark twists to make it interesting, intriguing and strange. A wonderful evening read.
I received this book through Good Reads.
I received this book through Good Reads.
dnf
September 7, 2016The beginning had a little promise, but it was far too much on the interior monologues and exposition and not enough dialogue or intrigue. Boring and slow. DNF 7%
June 8, 2015
This is a wonderfully well written book that I have won here!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews