Ashes [Kindle Edition]

Ashes is a book of ghosts, twelve short stories that almost all center around some interaction between the living and the dead. Ashes is a quick and decent read (especially for $1), consisting of twelve fairly short stories that vary in quality. These stories are not particularly scary - but they are haunting, contemplative, and generally very sad. In the afterward, Nicholson reveals that he wrote many of these stories while going through some tough times in his personal life, and it's pretty obvious from the subject matter.

I usually find it useful to give a quick rundown of each story in a collection, so here we go:

Homecoming - A farmer is visited by the ghost of his dead son, one last chance to say goodbye. Very reflective and haunting, one of the better stories in the collection.

Haunted - A family tries to keep the ghosts haunting their house a secret from their daughter. Decent twist ending, one of the highlights of this collection.

The Christening - A woman in a bad situation delivers her baby. Weird story, didn't resonate with me.

She Climbs a Winding Stair - A journalist visits a deserted island to write a story, and finds something unexpected. Solid story.

Must See to Appreciate - Interesting twist on the typical haunted house story.

Silver Run - Ghost-on-ghost jealousy/love. Didn't have a big payoff for me.

The Three-Dollar Corpse - A miserable Civil War prisoner camp sets the scene. Cool setting, straightforward ghost story.

The Night is an Ally - This story is about German soldiers slaughtering Jews during World War II. Very tough to read.

The Rocking Chair - Very creepy story about an adulteress, a haunted rocking chair, and a grandmother. Figure out which of those three is the creepiest!

Invisible Bullets - Ghostly vengeance. Not much more to say about this one.

The Endless Bivouac - An alternate telling of 'The Three-Dollar Corpse', and definitely the stronger and more interesting of the two.

In this collection, Scott Nicholson provides a good mixture of creepy, suspenseful, and thrilling tales. In this collection, you will meet...

- A funeral home owner who takes his job just a little too seriously.

- A snoopy journalist who begins to dig too deeply for his own good.

- An imaginary friend with a love of dangerous games.

- A man who finds much more than he bargained for when he explores a deserted island.

These, and many more will lead you on a journey through a desolate landscape of nightmares.

a great read! i bought this book thinking it would be great for those times when i didnt have enough time to read much but still wanted a quick story. i was wrong! i couldnt put it down and have now purchased another nicholson book.