The Apparition Phase
by Will Maclean (William Heinemann, 2020); audiobook read by Theo Solomon (Penguin Audio, 2020)
The first few chapters promise gothic horror and suspense. Then Abi disappears and we’re left with gormless Tim plodding through a paranormal scenario that is all setup, no delivery. A long novel whose plot might just about have sustained a short story.
The Men Who Stare at Goats
by Jon Ronson (Simon & Schuster, 2004); audiobook read by Sean Mangan (Bolinda, 2005)
Ronson’s exposé on the US military’s attempts to develop paranormal regiments after the Vietnam War is so outrageous yet somehow so plausible, it reads half as absurd fiction, half as laugh-out-loud scary fact. Mangan treads the perfect line between deadpan and disbelief.