Official Review: Reaper by Josh Price

kljrox · Post by **kljrox** » 03 Jun 2020, 21:18

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Reaper" by Josh Price.]

3 out of 4 stars

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Meet Aaron and Kyle, the newest Gatekeepers on the lower East Coast. They guard the gates between the living realms and the underworld from dark forces like ghouls, revenants, lich, and tricksters/imps among others. If you don’t know what some of those are, don’t worry, the author has an excellent appendix at the end of the book. Brace yourself for a mystical adventure full of humor and sorcery as they travel, literally to hell and back, to save the world from evil.

Aaron, former college student turned Undertaker/Gatekeeper teams up with post-lifer (zombie) Kyle who, after six years of “living” at the funeral home, finally found his calling as a Reaper. With a little help from their friends Alicia (Aaron’s long-time friend), Violet (a fortuneteller), and a host of otherworldly allies including the Grim Reaper, the guys set out to vanquish an evil revenant-lich hybrid being, called Lord of the Damned (Evil dude who is organizing the dead and attacking the living.)

Other than learning that Keith Richards is also a deadling (I mean WOW, now it all makes sense), my favorite part of the book is the sarcastic banter between the two heroes and Kyle's zest for ”life” so to speak. Take, for example, when he isn't allowed to go shopping anymore. ”Hey, all I wanted to do was have a little fun; how was I supposed to know they don’t like it when you take a bunch of canned goods and set up a drag racing track for shopping carts?” Or when Kyle begs to drive Aaron's 1968 Dodge Charger and Aaron is not about to let that happen. “Can I drive?” Kyle pleaded. “Pleeeassse? Come on, just for a little bit. Three blocks! Can I drive three blocks?” Aaron's more restrained personality definitely compliments Kyle's outrageous behavior.

The author does a splendid job blending folklore, mythology, sorcery, and a lot of humor into this fictional tale of ghosts and goblins. Reapers: Book one of the Gatekeepers by Josh Price was an enjoyable read, and I would recommend it to all who like a little humor with their mystical tales of sorcery and ancient myths. I only noticed two words that might be considered strong language. However, the battles fought with the evil forces do contain a little violence. The only thing I would improve is the editing. The authors use of hyphens in words like “determin-ation” or “search-ing” was a bit distracting and some wording out of sync in a few sentences could have been prevented by a more thorough edit.

I would love to give this book four stars, but because of the editing issues found, I will rate it 3 out of 4 stars. Overall, Josh Price has written a fantastic story in a third-person narrative with themes of friendship, hope, wonder, and beauty in nature. His fictional characters are well thought out and believable, and the ones based on mythology are in sync with familiar legends. The scene descriptions are complete down to the beading on the curtain in Violet’s library doorway. This is a book you can read in one sitting because you don’t want to put it down. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

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Reaper
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Nonso Samuelson · Post by **Nonso Samuelson** » 05 Jun 2020, 02:49

A Zombie (dead being) and an Undertaker (living being) are tasked with guarding the gates between the world of the living and the underworld. Weird premise, but unique and worth a try.

kljrox · Post by **kljrox** » 06 Jun 2020, 14:57

Jachike Samuelson wrote: ↑05 Jun 2020, 02:49 A Zombie (dead being) and an Undertaker (living being) are tasked with guarding the gates between the world of the living and the underworld. Weird premise, but unique and worth a try.

Yes, definitely worth a try. I enjoyed it. It was a fun diversion from reality.

Xenolyph · Post by **Xenolyph** » 08 Jun 2020, 16:39

This review had my attention as soon as it mentioned the supernatural beings. I've always been fascinated by the fantasy and sci-fi subjects. They are some of my favorite topics to read about. I will definitely put this on my to-read list. Thank you for the excellent review!

kljrox · Post by **kljrox** » 10 Jun 2020, 22:45

Xenolyph wrote: ↑08 Jun 2020, 16:39 This review had my attention as soon as it mentioned the supernatural beings. I've always been fascinated by the fantasy and sci-fi subjects. They are some of my favorite topics to read about. I will definitely put this on my to-read list. Thank you for the excellent review!

Some of my favorite topics also, especially when they're funny. Thank you for the comment. I hope you enjoy it also.