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Ghosting: A Novel
Dr. Jack Scales, a prominent neurosurgeon, is at the peak of his career. To celebrate, he decides to make up for lost time and buys a sailing yacht christened Slow Dance, for a family cruise to Bermuda. But the family is Jack's wife Arlen is secretly considering leaving the marriage; Rick, their bipolar twenty-year-old son, may need to be committed to a group home; Haley, a rebellious teenager, would rather be anywhere but trapped on a boat with her family; and Jack himself is not prepared for the challenge of the open sea. Day by day, the Scales face mounting dangers. A lightning storm nearly destroys the boat, Rick's unstable condition worsens, and both Arlen and Haley realize that Jack is in over his head. Still, emerging from the storm, they find a fragile unity…until a man adrift on a raft leads them into danger against a terrifying gang of smugglers, who will stop at nothing to gain control of Slow Dance. Filled with an expert seaman's knowledge and driven by conflicted characters, Ghosting is a new direction for an established a thrilling adventure as unpredictable as the sea itself.
305 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 2010
9 people are currently reading
72 people want to read
About the author
David Poyer
82 books240 followersAka D.C. Poyer.
DAVID C. POYER was born in DuBois, PA in 1949. He grew up in Brockway, Emlenton, and Bradford, in western Pennsylvania, and graduated from Bradford Area High School in 1967. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1971, and later received a master's degree from George Washington University.
Poyer's active and reserve naval service included sea duty in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, Arctic, Caribbean, and Pacific, and shore duty at the Pentagon, Surface Warfare Development Group, Joint Forces Command, and in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. He retired in July 2001.
Poyer began writing in 1976, and is the author of nearly fifty books, including THE MED, THE GULF, THE CIRCLE, THE PASSAGE, TOMAHAWK, CHINA SEA, BLACK STORM, THE COMMAND, THE THREAT, KOREA STRAIT, THE WEAPON, THE CRISIS, THE CRUISER, TIPPING POINT, HUNTER KILLER, DEEP WAR, OVERTHROW, VIOLENT PEACE, ARCTIC SEA, and THE ACADEMY, best-selling Navy novels; THE DEAD OF WINTER, WINTER IN THE HEART, AS THE WOLF LOVES WINTER, THUNDER ON THE MOUNTAIN, and THE HILL, set in Western Pennsylvania; and HATTERAS BLUE, BAHAMAS BLUE, LOUISIANA BLUE, and DOWN TO A SUNLESS SEA, underwater diving adventure.
Other noteworthy books are THE ONLY THING TO FEAR, a historical thriller, THE RETURN OF PHILO T. McGIFFIN, a comic novel of Annapolis, and the three volumes of The Civil War at Sea, FIRE ON THE WATERS, A COUNTRY OF OUR OWN, and THAT ANVIL OF OUR SOULS. He's also written two sailing thrillers, GHOSTING and THE WHITENESS OF THE WHALE. His work has been published in Britain, translated into Japanese, Dutch, Italian, Hugarian, and Serbo-Croatian; recorded for audiobooks, iPod downloads, and Kindle, and selected by the Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club and other book clubs. Rights to several properties have been sold or optioned for films, and two novellas appeared in the Night Bazaar series of fantasy anthologies.
Poyer has taught or lectured at Annapolis, Flagler College, University of Pittsburgh, Old Dominion University, the Armed Forces Staff College, the University of North Florida, Christopher Newport University, and other institutions. He has been a guest on PBS's "Writer to Writer" series and on Voice of America, and has appeared at the Southern Festival of Books and many other literary events. He taught in the MA/MFA in Creative Writing program at Wilkes University for sixteen years. He is currently core faculty at the Ossabaw Writers Retreat, a fellow of the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and a board member of the Northern Appalachia Review.
He lives on Virginia's Eastern Shore with novelist Lenore Hart.
DAVID C. POYER was born in DuBois, PA in 1949. He grew up in Brockway, Emlenton, and Bradford, in western Pennsylvania, and graduated from Bradford Area High School in 1967. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1971, and later received a master's degree from George Washington University.
Poyer's active and reserve naval service included sea duty in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, Arctic, Caribbean, and Pacific, and shore duty at the Pentagon, Surface Warfare Development Group, Joint Forces Command, and in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. He retired in July 2001.
Poyer began writing in 1976, and is the author of nearly fifty books, including THE MED, THE GULF, THE CIRCLE, THE PASSAGE, TOMAHAWK, CHINA SEA, BLACK STORM, THE COMMAND, THE THREAT, KOREA STRAIT, THE WEAPON, THE CRISIS, THE CRUISER, TIPPING POINT, HUNTER KILLER, DEEP WAR, OVERTHROW, VIOLENT PEACE, ARCTIC SEA, and THE ACADEMY, best-selling Navy novels; THE DEAD OF WINTER, WINTER IN THE HEART, AS THE WOLF LOVES WINTER, THUNDER ON THE MOUNTAIN, and THE HILL, set in Western Pennsylvania; and HATTERAS BLUE, BAHAMAS BLUE, LOUISIANA BLUE, and DOWN TO A SUNLESS SEA, underwater diving adventure.
Other noteworthy books are THE ONLY THING TO FEAR, a historical thriller, THE RETURN OF PHILO T. McGIFFIN, a comic novel of Annapolis, and the three volumes of The Civil War at Sea, FIRE ON THE WATERS, A COUNTRY OF OUR OWN, and THAT ANVIL OF OUR SOULS. He's also written two sailing thrillers, GHOSTING and THE WHITENESS OF THE WHALE. His work has been published in Britain, translated into Japanese, Dutch, Italian, Hugarian, and Serbo-Croatian; recorded for audiobooks, iPod downloads, and Kindle, and selected by the Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club and other book clubs. Rights to several properties have been sold or optioned for films, and two novellas appeared in the Night Bazaar series of fantasy anthologies.
Poyer has taught or lectured at Annapolis, Flagler College, University of Pittsburgh, Old Dominion University, the Armed Forces Staff College, the University of North Florida, Christopher Newport University, and other institutions. He has been a guest on PBS's "Writer to Writer" series and on Voice of America, and has appeared at the Southern Festival of Books and many other literary events. He taught in the MA/MFA in Creative Writing program at Wilkes University for sixteen years. He is currently core faculty at the Ossabaw Writers Retreat, a fellow of the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and a board member of the Northern Appalachia Review.
He lives on Virginia's Eastern Shore with novelist Lenore Hart.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
March 22, 2024
OMG! What a voyage from hell!
May 9, 2018
I received this book in a cratejoy box I get monthly. I liked it more than I thought I would. I know nothing about sailing, so some of the story I got lost a bit. It really as worth the read and I enjoyed it very much.
January 21, 2011
This book looked intriguing as I read a bit of it before checking it out. The characters have purchased a new sailboat and off they go on their maiden voyage, soon to pick up what appears to be a shipwrecked creepy character. That's when this book turns dark and horrible. Senseless murder of family members and their friends. Repeated rape of the wife/mother and then the teenage daughter. Finally the murder of that mother and father. Attempted murder of the daughter. Why did I keep reading it? Because I kept thinking that maybe the son that the pirates shot wasn't really dead and he'd get revenge. I kept thinking that through the murder of the rest of the family and friends. THe book made me ill, but I was "Pollyanna" enough in my mindset to think that some good would come out of this situation. I was horribly wrong. I'm expecting nightmares.
January 31, 2022
Readers of David Poyer’s work know to expect adventure at sea when they dive into one of his stories. The Eastern Shore author is best known for his long-running series of best sellers about the modern Navy featuring Dan Lenson, but in Ghosting Poyer drifts away from those familiar waters and sails into unknown territory…literally. When the main character, Jack Scales, decides on a whim to take his family on a sailing trip from New York to Bermuda, he minimizes the fact that he’s never sailed before. He is a self-assured neurosurgeon with the money to purchase a top-of-the-line vessel and, after a couple of short sailing trips with the salesman, figures he knows all he needs to know.
“Most of my books are about competent people meeting extreme challenges,” Poyer says. “In this book, I wanted an incompetent, arrogant person who didn’t think it was important enough, or that he was above the need, to prepare to go to sea. As a result it’s sort of a classic tragedy: he has hubris and he defies the gods and so he is punished. Unfortunately, when you take your family along, they are punished, too.”
A dysfunctional family drama lies at the heart of this story. In Jack’s mind, this will be the vacation where he and his family can reconnect after years of drifting apart. But it will take more than a week at sea to mend all that is wrong: his unfaithful wife, Arlen, is considering divorce; his schizophrenic son, Ric, is one pill away from a violent outburst; and his daughter, Haley, is fuming at being forced to go along on the trip. When things start to go wrong, everyone suspects everyone else of treachery. Jack wonders if Ric might attack them all while they sleep. Arlen wonders if her husband is capable of murder. And Ric strives to ignore the “Voices” in his head, which tell him that everyone is out to get him and that he would be wise to get them first.
As this incapable crew sets out to sea, savvy readers know what to expect: that the overconfident doctor will get his comeuppance on the water and count himself lucky to escape with his and his family’s lives. And though Poyer does, indeed, deliver the watery violence we expect, he continues to increase the peril and heap damage upon this poor family in a manner that leaves readers drained and breathless. The sea is not the only deadly thing they must face. A band of drug smugglers seize control of the boat and abuse the family horrifically, leaving their survival uncertain. The complexity of the family dynamic shifts from a fault-finding, self-destructive bond to an us-versus-them mentality. There are tender moments sprinkled sparingly amidst the carnage, such as Jack looking on admiringly as his son steers the boat or admiring his wife’s willingness to sacrifice herself to save their daughter, but there is nothing rosy about this book. As boating adventures go, it is more Heart of Darkness than Pirates of the Caribbean.
“I wanted to do something that departed from the light, feel-good, happy-ending type stuff,” Poyer says. “I like not allowing the reader to predict what is going to happen. I want to keep you guessing. I think that’s what a book should do. What’s the point of reading if you know what’s going to happen anyway?”
Red herrings might lead readers astray, but the nautical lingo, which is laced throughout the story, will not lose even the greenest landlubber. You might not understand exactly which sail is being hoisted or which line tied down, but you’ll follow the gist of things as Poyer eloquently describes action at sea. He writes in one passage: “She was picking up speed rapidly, and with each roll a hissing band of foam curved out from her side, occasionally lifting to eye level as a dark sea arched its back. He pressed a button on the chartplotter. Pulsating numerals informed him they were making thirteen knots. … A gust, a deeper roll, and through the open companionway he heard things clatter below. Okay, enough. He should reef. Pull the mainsail partway down, so less sail was exposed to the rising wind. Supposedly he could do that without leaving the cockpit. Unfortunately, he hadn’t paid a whole lot of attention when the salesman was explaining the reefing system.”
Beautiful passages such as that one clearly convey Poyer’s love for the sea. It should come as no surprise that Poyer is a retired Navy Captain or that he owns a sailboat, Frankly Scarlett, which he takes out every couple of weeks and once a summer for a long cruise. But it might be a shock to learn that some of the harrowing events that occurred in the novel came from his own experiences. “The whole lightning strike, the mast being blown off during the thunderstorm, those things actually happened,” he says. “I was sailing off the Outer Banks and there was a lightning strike. So that was all from actual cruises.”
With such life experience and knowledge, Poyer need not consult anyone else to achieve realism—yet he still does. “I had a couple of experienced sailors read behind me,” he says. “I also had a couple of neurosurgeons helping me out on the medical details and I had one person who is a coach on a swimming team for Haley’s swimming stuff… I believe in trying to make things as authentic as possible.”
The result is a story so real, so visceral, and so chilling that it may do for sailing enthusiasts what Jaws did to beachgoers: keep everyone as far away from the water as possible.
“Most of my books are about competent people meeting extreme challenges,” Poyer says. “In this book, I wanted an incompetent, arrogant person who didn’t think it was important enough, or that he was above the need, to prepare to go to sea. As a result it’s sort of a classic tragedy: he has hubris and he defies the gods and so he is punished. Unfortunately, when you take your family along, they are punished, too.”
A dysfunctional family drama lies at the heart of this story. In Jack’s mind, this will be the vacation where he and his family can reconnect after years of drifting apart. But it will take more than a week at sea to mend all that is wrong: his unfaithful wife, Arlen, is considering divorce; his schizophrenic son, Ric, is one pill away from a violent outburst; and his daughter, Haley, is fuming at being forced to go along on the trip. When things start to go wrong, everyone suspects everyone else of treachery. Jack wonders if Ric might attack them all while they sleep. Arlen wonders if her husband is capable of murder. And Ric strives to ignore the “Voices” in his head, which tell him that everyone is out to get him and that he would be wise to get them first.
As this incapable crew sets out to sea, savvy readers know what to expect: that the overconfident doctor will get his comeuppance on the water and count himself lucky to escape with his and his family’s lives. And though Poyer does, indeed, deliver the watery violence we expect, he continues to increase the peril and heap damage upon this poor family in a manner that leaves readers drained and breathless. The sea is not the only deadly thing they must face. A band of drug smugglers seize control of the boat and abuse the family horrifically, leaving their survival uncertain. The complexity of the family dynamic shifts from a fault-finding, self-destructive bond to an us-versus-them mentality. There are tender moments sprinkled sparingly amidst the carnage, such as Jack looking on admiringly as his son steers the boat or admiring his wife’s willingness to sacrifice herself to save their daughter, but there is nothing rosy about this book. As boating adventures go, it is more Heart of Darkness than Pirates of the Caribbean.
“I wanted to do something that departed from the light, feel-good, happy-ending type stuff,” Poyer says. “I like not allowing the reader to predict what is going to happen. I want to keep you guessing. I think that’s what a book should do. What’s the point of reading if you know what’s going to happen anyway?”
Red herrings might lead readers astray, but the nautical lingo, which is laced throughout the story, will not lose even the greenest landlubber. You might not understand exactly which sail is being hoisted or which line tied down, but you’ll follow the gist of things as Poyer eloquently describes action at sea. He writes in one passage: “She was picking up speed rapidly, and with each roll a hissing band of foam curved out from her side, occasionally lifting to eye level as a dark sea arched its back. He pressed a button on the chartplotter. Pulsating numerals informed him they were making thirteen knots. … A gust, a deeper roll, and through the open companionway he heard things clatter below. Okay, enough. He should reef. Pull the mainsail partway down, so less sail was exposed to the rising wind. Supposedly he could do that without leaving the cockpit. Unfortunately, he hadn’t paid a whole lot of attention when the salesman was explaining the reefing system.”
Beautiful passages such as that one clearly convey Poyer’s love for the sea. It should come as no surprise that Poyer is a retired Navy Captain or that he owns a sailboat, Frankly Scarlett, which he takes out every couple of weeks and once a summer for a long cruise. But it might be a shock to learn that some of the harrowing events that occurred in the novel came from his own experiences. “The whole lightning strike, the mast being blown off during the thunderstorm, those things actually happened,” he says. “I was sailing off the Outer Banks and there was a lightning strike. So that was all from actual cruises.”
With such life experience and knowledge, Poyer need not consult anyone else to achieve realism—yet he still does. “I had a couple of experienced sailors read behind me,” he says. “I also had a couple of neurosurgeons helping me out on the medical details and I had one person who is a coach on a swimming team for Haley’s swimming stuff… I believe in trying to make things as authentic as possible.”
The result is a story so real, so visceral, and so chilling that it may do for sailing enthusiasts what Jaws did to beachgoers: keep everyone as far away from the water as possible.
September 11, 2018
3.5 Stars
POTENTIAL TRIGGER WARNING: This novel includes scenes of gang rape. Also within this book are intense, emotionally raw scenes with a character who is struggling with schizophrenia and suicidal thoughts.
Neurosurgeon Jack Scales may be riding a high professionally but over the years his personal life with the wife and kids has suffered. Now near the breaking point, with Jack's wife, Arlen, having an affair with a younger man, and his schizophrenic (or at least schizo-affective) son, Ric, hearing voices urging him to commit murder and self-mutilation, Jack thinks a family trip is long overdue. Also along for the journey is daughter Hailey, a dedicated swimmer who generally does what she can to avoid the whole family. Jack plans a family trip to Bermuda on the new sailboat he bought but has yet to actually sail. What could go wrong? Oooh, just wait, readers.
In the course of this short novel that clocks at just under 300 pages, we the readers witness: a stowaway that nearly dies, a lightning strike that damn near sinks the boat, Hailey walking in on brother Ric trying to shove a kitchen knife down his throat, a gang rape, AND the boat taken hostage by smugglers! Phew! At times it almost felt like some macabre, darkly comedic take on National Lampoon's Family Vacation, minus the scenes where I came to really feel for Ric with his dark episodes and internal struggles. Ric reminded me a bit of the character Andy Hoffstadt (the brother of Hank Azaria's character) on the short-lived tv drama, Huff.
No surprise, there is a healthy dose of medical and boating jargon scattered throughout the story (author David Poyer himself is a sailor with 30+ years experience). But I got a chuckle at one point when Jack insists to his family that any complaining is to be done using correct boating terminology. The sex scenes though... I'm talking about the consensual ones here --- not so sexy. Maybe it's just a matter of personal preference, but having a guy bust out one or more "kiddo" during bed dancing just weirds me out.
The plot, post-smugglers taking over the boat, gets incredibly intense. As noted in the trigger warning at the beginning of this review, this novel does include scenes of gang rape. Though painful to read, their existence within the story plays a powerful role in illustrating just how far a parent will go to protect their child, sacrificing themselves at all costs if it will me the offspring will stay safe.
Recommended for: Fans of Corban Addison's The Tears of Dark Water.
POTENTIAL TRIGGER WARNING: This novel includes scenes of gang rape. Also within this book are intense, emotionally raw scenes with a character who is struggling with schizophrenia and suicidal thoughts.
Neurosurgeon Jack Scales may be riding a high professionally but over the years his personal life with the wife and kids has suffered. Now near the breaking point, with Jack's wife, Arlen, having an affair with a younger man, and his schizophrenic (or at least schizo-affective) son, Ric, hearing voices urging him to commit murder and self-mutilation, Jack thinks a family trip is long overdue. Also along for the journey is daughter Hailey, a dedicated swimmer who generally does what she can to avoid the whole family. Jack plans a family trip to Bermuda on the new sailboat he bought but has yet to actually sail. What could go wrong? Oooh, just wait, readers.
In the course of this short novel that clocks at just under 300 pages, we the readers witness: a stowaway that nearly dies, a lightning strike that damn near sinks the boat, Hailey walking in on brother Ric trying to shove a kitchen knife down his throat, a gang rape, AND the boat taken hostage by smugglers! Phew! At times it almost felt like some macabre, darkly comedic take on National Lampoon's Family Vacation, minus the scenes where I came to really feel for Ric with his dark episodes and internal struggles. Ric reminded me a bit of the character Andy Hoffstadt (the brother of Hank Azaria's character) on the short-lived tv drama, Huff.
No surprise, there is a healthy dose of medical and boating jargon scattered throughout the story (author David Poyer himself is a sailor with 30+ years experience). But I got a chuckle at one point when Jack insists to his family that any complaining is to be done using correct boating terminology. The sex scenes though... I'm talking about the consensual ones here --- not so sexy. Maybe it's just a matter of personal preference, but having a guy bust out one or more "kiddo" during bed dancing just weirds me out.
The plot, post-smugglers taking over the boat, gets incredibly intense. As noted in the trigger warning at the beginning of this review, this novel does include scenes of gang rape. Though painful to read, their existence within the story plays a powerful role in illustrating just how far a parent will go to protect their child, sacrificing themselves at all costs if it will me the offspring will stay safe.
Recommended for: Fans of Corban Addison's The Tears of Dark Water.
June 5, 2022
This was a well written book but I didn't identify with any of the characters nor did I like them very much. The main protagonist is a prominent and supposedly intelligent neurosurgeon. I say supposedly because he takes his family on his "dream cruise" when none of them have a real knowledge of sailing or the sea. Their lack of preparation bites them in the butt when their vessel is hammered by a storm and then when they get overwhelmed by smugglers. Despite this, the book was believably written almost till the end and I did enjoy it. It's not a book for everyone. It has a lot of graphic violence and doesn't have the normal "happy ending".
July 13, 2017
Dysfunctional family at their finest. Kept me reading but unless you sail some of the details were confusing and long-winded.
July 24, 2017
This book was good and kept you on the edge of your seat, but it was quite disturbing and not for the faint of heart.
November 12, 2019
Brutal but fascinating tale of a family out of their depth!
May 17, 2020
An outstanding thriller with characters who are not just good guys and bad guys. It definitely made me think and reflect about life and family. A good read for a thriller.
June 20, 2020
Terrifying
Having sailed the Atlantic to and from Bermuda, I can imagine everything in this book as reality. Well written, descriptive and grotesque in its horror a great tale.
Having sailed the Atlantic to and from Bermuda, I can imagine everything in this book as reality. Well written, descriptive and grotesque in its horror a great tale.
September 19, 2021
Wow. Talk about a page turner. David Poyer writes in a way that allows your mind fills in the best and worst details of each scene. Though a little over the top in certain aspects, it was one of the most intense dramas I've read in years. The ending... that ending!
August 22, 2015
It's fascinating that this book received so many one and two star ratings, accompanied by reviews like, "I found it terribly disturbing, but I couldn't put it down because I had to see how it ended..." Guess what, folks? That means it's a great book! Yes, it is terribly disturbing; Mr. Poyer's darkest book by far. However, it's typical of his excellent writing. The story is gripping, the characters have depth, the dialogue is credible. The reader simultaneously hates Jack Scales and roots for him to succeed. (Spoiler: he does not. He fails miserably. Over and over and over again.) The story unfolds with one layer of horror after another as the protagonists descend further into hell.
Frankly I hated the book at times, but I stayed up half the night finishing it; and I think that was probably the author's goal. I can't give such a gripping story a poor review, no matter how disturbing the subject matter. OK, Mr. Poyer, I hope you have that out of your system. Now, how about a few feel-good Dan Lenson stories?
Frankly I hated the book at times, but I stayed up half the night finishing it; and I think that was probably the author's goal. I can't give such a gripping story a poor review, no matter how disturbing the subject matter. OK, Mr. Poyer, I hope you have that out of your system. Now, how about a few feel-good Dan Lenson stories?
February 10, 2017
Blind date with a book from my library. Wasn't too bad had a good story line was a bit dry in places. Would recommend to anyone that I know that would enjoy this type of book
February 21, 2011
The first book I have read by David Poyer who specialises in nautical thrillers. He definitely knows his stuff and this is a thoroughly well informed story. Jack Scales, successful neurosurgeon, takes his family on his new yacht to Bermuda. It is a belated attempt to bring the strained family back together. His wife is beginning an affair, his son is bipolar and may need to go to a group home, and his daughter would sooner be hanging out with her friends. On top of that his lack of marine experience is brutally exposed. The book is not a comfortable read and at one point I wondered if it could get any more grim as the family enter a relentless nightmare. But it is certainly engrossing and there is a reassuring sense of hope in the book's final pages.
January 6, 2011
PROTAGONIST: Dr. Jack Scales, neurosurgeon
SETTING: The sea
RATING: 2.25
WHY: Dr. Jack Scales is a neurosurgeon who buys a boat and plans to sail to Bermuda with his wife and 2 teenagers. Never mind the fact that he is not an experienced sailor or makes zero preparation for the trip. There's a horrendous storm, invasion by some rogues, murders, rapes. I grew to despise the protagonist over the course of the book. He was arrogant and behaved reprehensibly, doing nothing while his wife is repeatedly raped and his children and friends endangered. Characters return from the dead and direct the action. On the plus side, it was very suspenseful. Overall, yucka mucka.
SETTING: The sea
RATING: 2.25
WHY: Dr. Jack Scales is a neurosurgeon who buys a boat and plans to sail to Bermuda with his wife and 2 teenagers. Never mind the fact that he is not an experienced sailor or makes zero preparation for the trip. There's a horrendous storm, invasion by some rogues, murders, rapes. I grew to despise the protagonist over the course of the book. He was arrogant and behaved reprehensibly, doing nothing while his wife is repeatedly raped and his children and friends endangered. Characters return from the dead and direct the action. On the plus side, it was very suspenseful. Overall, yucka mucka.
December 25, 2010
This book had me thoroughly enthralled until the psychotic son died with no apparent attempt to integrate his personality quirk into the remainder of the book. This should have been a pivotal point in the novel, but wasn't.
There were other loose ends as well, such as the menacing shark that failed to have more than a cameo role. There was also the jarring intrusion of magical realism via the ghost of the old man in novel of harsh brutality on the high seas.
The pace moved along rapidly, though, and I had to see what else would happen, much like gawking at a horrific accident.
There were other loose ends as well, such as the menacing shark that failed to have more than a cameo role. There was also the jarring intrusion of magical realism via the ghost of the old man in novel of harsh brutality on the high seas.
The pace moved along rapidly, though, and I had to see what else would happen, much like gawking at a horrific accident.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 22, 2011
AUTHOR: Poyer, David
TITLE: Ghosting
DATE READ: 02/20/11
RATING: 3/c
GENRE/PUB DATE/PUBLISHER/# OF PGS: Suspense/2010/St. Martins Press/293 pgs
SERIES/STAND ALONE: SA
TIME/PLACE: Present/ The Atlantic
CHARACTERS: Dr. Jack Scales neurosurgeon & his family
FIRST LINES: The clubhouse had looked out over Manhassatt Bay for a hundered years.
COMMENTS: Dr, Jack Scales, buys a large expensive sailboat & decides it would be a nice family-bonding trip to sail to Bermuda. He is not an experienced sailor. This is a brutal, violent tale.
TITLE: Ghosting
DATE READ: 02/20/11
RATING: 3/c
GENRE/PUB DATE/PUBLISHER/# OF PGS: Suspense/2010/St. Martins Press/293 pgs
SERIES/STAND ALONE: SA
TIME/PLACE: Present/ The Atlantic
CHARACTERS: Dr. Jack Scales neurosurgeon & his family
FIRST LINES: The clubhouse had looked out over Manhassatt Bay for a hundered years.
COMMENTS: Dr, Jack Scales, buys a large expensive sailboat & decides it would be a nice family-bonding trip to sail to Bermuda. He is not an experienced sailor. This is a brutal, violent tale.
February 11, 2011
Interesting characterization. I see parallels between the characters of Jack Scales and Barack Obama. Certainly hope the future of the country turns out better under the stewardship of Obama than the future of Scales' family turned out under his stewardship. The book was worth reading I think. Beware of letting your ego become overly inflated and beware of people you do not know (especially if you are out in a boat in the middle of a big ocean :))
May 30, 2011
I rarely ever don't finish a book but I couldn't finish this one. It contains quite a bit of technical sailing/boat information. I didn't find it interesting and the story of the characters wasn't good enough to keep me interested. I rarely write reviews but wanted to say why I disliked he book so much.
April 20, 2012
Couldn't write reviews and not include one of my teacher's books. Tells the story of what can go wrong when sailing the unfamiliar seas. Goes from a storm of waves to a storm of violent drug-smugglers who take control of the boat. Violent, gritty, yet wonderfully written. Poetic even. I couldn't put her down.
December 13, 2010
This is a chilling tale of evil. Mr. Poyer has the family in this story subjected to incredible experiences while they each were trying to restore their messed up relationships by taking a sailing trip together. Too bad Dad is a totally unprepared sailor.
December 17, 2010
I haven't read such a "downer" novel in a long, long time. At the risk of playing "spoiler", nothing good happens to anybody in Mr. Poyer's tale of piracy and family terror on the high seas.
If you're looking for the cavalry to arrive, it doesn't.
If you're looking for the cavalry to arrive, it doesn't.
February 1, 2011
The Scales family sets sail for Bermuda, but what should have been an idyllic family vacation turns violent after smugglers take over their boat. Had a little bit of Stephen King going, and good writing, but very, very bad editing which distracted from the book in the end.
November 9, 2011
Wow. If I'd known how much violence was in this book I never would have read it. Of course once I got part way through I had to keep going to see how it ended. I learned one thing: ocean sailing is OFF my bucket list for good.
July 14, 2013
I am a great fan of David Poyer's Dan Lenson books on naval warfare in the modern era. This book is about a private sailing yacht in a weathy family's first trip out. We learn a lot about sailing and the perils of an ocean voyage. Great read.
January 4, 2011
Gripping ... page-turner ... couldn't put it down and read it in one sitting.
May 22, 2011
Hmmmm.... I'm a bit at a loss for words. When you think things can't get much worse.... they do.
August 13, 2011
Depressing
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September 19, 2011family on sailboat going to bermunda incounter problems with lone survior
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews