User:JoshEnte/Ghost Radio

Ghost Radio
Ghost Radio is the debut novel from author Leopoldo Gout, a film producer, film director, graphic novelist, writer, and composer. Ghost Radio was published in 2008 by HarperCollins to rave reviews.

Book Description
Ghost Radio is a terrifying novel about a ghost-story call-in radio show that inadvertently opens a doorway into the paranormal, giving voice to the dead and instigating an epic battle for the souls of the living...

From the cramped bowels of a dimly lit radio station, Ghost Radio is beamed onto the airwaves. More than a call-in show to tell scary stories about vampires and poltergeists, Ghost Radio is a sanctuary for those sleepless denizens of the night, lost halfway between this world and the next.

Joaquin, the hip, melancholy host, sits deep in a fog of cigarette smoke, fielding calls from believers and detractors alike. He is joined in the booth by his darkly beautiful girlfriend, Alondra, and his engineer, Watt. Soon what began as an underground cult sensation is primed to break out to mainstream audiences. When a huge radio conglomerate offers to syndicate the show and Ghost Radio becomes a national hit with an expanding legion of hardcore fans, neither Joaquin, Alondra, nor Watt is remotely prepared for what is about to happen.

Though a charismatic host, Joaquin remains a skeptic even as he begins to notice a curious and troubling phenomenon—he feels himself drawn further and further into the terrifying stories he solicits on the radio. Slowly he loses control over his reality and finds himself unable to distinguish between the real world and the world populated by the nightmares on Ghost Radio. He is forced to confront his past and his own mortality in order to save that which is most precious to him and repair the crumbling wall between the living and the dead.

Reception
Critics responded with great enthusiasm for Gout's debut. James Patterson remarked, “Ghost Radio reminded me of early Stephen King — Carrie and Pet Sematary and The Dead Zone]]. The story sticks with you long after you’ve finished the final page.” Other positive reviews followed: “A first novel that moves with deserved confidence into Stephen King territory … Palpable, almost visible cross-cultural creepiness that never lets up: very smart thrills,” ([[Kirkus Reviews)..."“A thrilling literary and visual experience, this contemporary ghost story set in Mexico is a fast-moving and enjoyable read. The story and writing style recall early Stephen King and Joe Hill’s Heart-Shaped Box,” (Library Journal)