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Shade | 
 enlarge | Author: John B. Olson
Publisher: B&H Fiction
Category: Book
List Price: $14.99
Buy New: $8.99
You Save: $6.00 (40%)
New (26) Used (7) from $8.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 320327
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 416
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.2
ISBN: 0805447342
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780805447347
ASIN: 0805447342
Publication Date: October 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New- Complete refund (including shipping) if not satisfied- We love the Lord, so we're feeding His sheep- A small donation made for each book sold.
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Product Description
"You will not fear the terror of the night." —Psalm 91 A monstrous waking nightmare is pursuing graduate student Hailey Maniates across San Francisco to Golden Gate Park where she is rescued by a towering homeless man. She seems able to read her rescuer’s mind, but is it just a delusion? Doctors diagnose her as a paranoid schizophrenic and attempt to prescribe away her alleged hallucinations. But too many questions remain around Hailey and the man who saved her. He appears to suffer from her same mental condition and is convinced that some type of Gypsy vampire is trying to kill them both. Against reason, Hailey finds herself more and more attracted to this strange man. But what if he is a fantasy? What if he is the monster? Endorsements: "From its stunning first scene to its heartwarming last, Shade is a striking tale of mystery and danger that kept me hooked. This is Olson’s finest work yet, and reading it, one gets the feeling he’s just getting warmed up."
Robin Parrish, author of Relentless and Merciless
"Unseen enemies. Questioned sanity. The weighing of reality. All the things I like in a book! The shadows are not silent. I lost sleep over this book. I got goose bumps from this book. The kind of scary that you crave and cringe at, Shade offers up a monster made more frightening by its originality. Thanks a lot, John Olson--because of you, I will not walk alone at night for a long time to come."
Tosca Lee, author of Demon: A Memoir and Havah: The Story of Eve
"John B. Olson is a seasoned storyteller, and Shade is quite a story! As the heat turns up, and as menacing tones and brooding characters abound, the theme of God's grace boils to the surface. A few years back, Olson gave us a new twist on Jekyll & Hyde; now he puts his own fast-paced spin on the Dracula story. I can only hope there's a sequel in the works!"
Eric Wilson, author of Field of Blood and A Shred of Truth
"Shade is a smart, gripping thriller. John B. Olson whips you along in a breakneck odyssey through a hellish paradise lost--and keeps you up all night doing it." Melanie Wells, author of My Soul to Keep and When the Day of Evil Comes"Things that go bump in the night are not all figments of overwrought imaginations or evidence of mental illness. As our heroine discovers, evil personified preys on the ignorance of its victims. Lock your doors and windows, leave the lights on, and hunker down for a splendid, spine-chilling read."Donita K. Paul, author of the DragonKeeper Chronicles
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| Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...
Who knows what shadows lurk in the mind of Hailey... December 1, 2008
This is an amazingly eerie book that makes you think and keeps your heart pounding through the entire book. What is Hailey experiencing? Is it vampires, hallucinations, mental illness? Who is the homeless giant? "Whom do you trust when you can't tell reality from fantasy?" I loved Hailey and Melchi, but spent the whole book trying to figure out if they were right for each other and who the bad guys were. Intriguing book and highly recommended for readers that love fantasy / sci-fi books. **** (4 stars) for originality
 Worth trying by fans of Christian fantasy/thrillers or those who enjoy Vampirish contemporary fiction November 21, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I really hesitated before writing this review. I don't like to give fewer than 4 stars to a book I found enjoyable, if flawed, because I know it skews readers' opinions to see those empty star slots at the top of the review. And in this case, I really did find this novel a page-turner, which made me consider a 4 rating on that basis alone. I did want to keep reading. Maybe you will, too.
The main reason I wanted to keep reading was to 1. see more of the hero, Melchi and 2. find out what was up. And I kept reading despite not liking the heroine much and finding some other characters not fully fleshed out or downright hollow.
So, what I'm saying is that for certain readers--those who like a faith component in their fantasy/spiritual warfare/thriller fiction, one that's not uber-preachy, those who like odd characters, those who have an affinity to vampirish fic or Goth elements--this novel may satisfy enough, push enough buttons, to let you overlook, as I did, the weaknesses and keep on reading.
Others have given summaries, but here's another:
~ Grad science student flips out when she experiences a psychic and physical attack (or does she?) and is diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic. But the homeless man who repeatedly saves her from her "episodes" may be proof she's not crazy (or that they both are). He believes they are playing out a prophesied scenario in a fight against a terrible evil. Well, our grad student is gonna have to find out which is which--madness or supernatural goings on-- because her life is becoming a mounting ruin and corpses are piling up around her. Plus, there's a too-too-seductive tycoon who has a whole lot of interest in both her and her homeless protector.
We follow four principal characters:
~~ Melchi, who is homeless, huge, frighteningly fast, agile and strong, and childlike in his sense of self and good/evil. He is the ascetic, the spiritual seeker mortifying flesh while enriching the mind with classics (John Milton's work plays a part, as does Bram Stoker's). He lives like a wildman, like a crazy man, uneducated and often hungry and thirsty; but he sees some things much more clearly than the sane and the educated and the well-fed and finely-housed.
~~Hailey, a grad student in biochemistry whose life spirals into a crazy whirlwind of violence and possible hallucinations. She doesn't know if she's mad or being initiated into something much more horrible than madness itself. She wants to be rational, but rising irrationality around her makes her the focal point of events that are beyond her control.
~~Athena, the Goth girl with street smarts and Gypsy heritage. Her Goth crew also falls into the darkness swirling in San Francisco, so that her path crisscrosses--and sometimes smashes--into that of Melchi and Hailey. Her cleverness and gumption are her major modes of survival when things go all to hell.
~~Sabazios Vladu, the guy you are going to inevitably compare to Vlad Dracul. But we guess he is more than a mysterious, suave, seductive, wealthy, dangerous pursuer in the vampire mode.
Those are the main players. Supporting we have a genius scientist named Boggs who, like Hailey and some other characters, have faith (at varying places and levels) and become part of the mess on the side of good. There's also a detective who from the start makes us want to ask for Columbo, instead. Homeless folks help out. And a bookstore owner (cause, yeah, we love books, so a bookstore lady has gotta be good, right?)
The strongest part of the story is Melchi. His character is always interesting when he's center stage. The prologue with him undergoing rigorous training against the foe is a great hook. Because we start in pretty much in the heat of action, the story's pace is fast. For those who like action/thrillers/zooming narrative, you can have that with Shade
The weakest is Hailey, who never lives up to the smarts we are set-up to expect. And a secondary character set-up as a "genius", never acts like any such thing. This is a problem.
Some characters drop off and aren't heard from again. And the ending leaves an open door for a sequel (while resolving some issues to satisfaction). I liked the ending (even though, as others I know who have read it said, it feels a bit rushed. The Bentley Little syndrome, I thought--a big bang finale that is just too fast to conclude.)
But the narrative drive is there. The story moves. Melchi makes it move. I love following this guy's more-than-mere-ordinary-man escapades in the treetops and rooftops of San Francisco. (Which reminds me that the setting is put to good use as part of the story.)
And the writing is quite strong in places, though this aspect is also uneven. I did savor the poetic bits here and the well-constructed passages depicting hypnotic confusion or drugged-out wackiness there.
I do not want to dissuade you from trying this novel by grading it at the middle of the star-scale. I fully intend to purchase a sequel to it if it manifests. I really found myself engaged with the hero's problem and personality and oddities. I want to see where he goes after this.
If you are at all into Christian fantasy/urban fantasy--give it a shot. You may find yourself up late, reading, like me.
Mir
Give us another one! November 10, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
In Shade John Olson has created a world in which nothing is as it seems, and where no answers are certain. As Hailey struggles to make sense of the battles raging around her she moves between belief and disbelief, struggling to set her feet on a firm ground that never quite materializes. Olson keeps certain aspects of his story amorphous, leaving room for reader interpretation and paving the way for future novels in this vein.
Often referred to as a Christian vampire novel, I would not assign Shade this label. While the determinedly stalking antagonist -- the Mulo -- is given his name from the term for a Gyspy vampire, this isn't precisely what he is. Certainly there are vampire-like aspects to his character, but he is not entirely one of them, an example of the vague and undetermined nature of this work. However, the emotional tenor created, the fear of the chase and the ever present night hunter create a dark world of fear similar to that found in vampire-genre novels.
Olson does not rely upon the elements of fear and danger to drive his novel alone; he has populated this dark, mysterious world with characters whose emotions are authentic and ring true. In the unlikeliest romantic pairing Olsen brings together a huge, odorous homeless man who is either brainwashed, insane, or an unlikely hero figure with a brainy, emotionally recalcitrant heroine who may not have it all together mentally and sparks a tender flame between them. This thread of storyline is beautifully touching, and it works; a feat traditionally considered difficult for male authors - congratulations John.
The only weakness worth mentioning is the somewhat contrived presentation of the gospel message. Rather than being woven throughout the text it pops up unexpectedly, thrown into the middle of the story like a heavy rock that makes a large splash before sinking to the bottom of the pool. Flashy and obvious, the message of Christ's forgiveness is included but affects little of the story.
Providing a more integrated, realistic element of faith in this title are the ongoing references to God and the Holy One from the main characters. References to Biblical history and early members of the human family also serve to establish a Christian worldview. It's obvious that Melchi and Hailey are seeking to serve the Lord, though Melchi struggles under the weight of the Law.
Shade is the first novel that Olson set out to write (though not the first published), and of the two I've read I think it's the best to date. The uncertainty, suspense, and driving need to solve the mysteries woven throughout had me through the novel in two sittings. Olson skillfully raised questions and dangled answers like bait before jerking them away again, leaving readers delightfully agitated and striving onward. While we aren't presented with a cliff-hanger ending and a sense of closure is provided, there are enough open ends and future adventures sensed to leave readers crying, "Give us another one John!"
 Thrill ride from page 1 November 2, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
From page one you are on a wild chase through San Francisco. This is my first John B. Olson book and I'm glad I picked it up. Very detailed and emotionally gripping. I finished it within 2 evenings as I did not want to put it down. Mr. Olson does a great job of creating characters that you really care about what happens to them.
The ending was satisfying but I was so engrossed with the characters, I want to know where -is- the- sequel?? No, really, I really want to know what happens to Hailey. I will definitely look for future books by this author. You are most likey to stay up later at night to finish the next chapter, it is really hard to put down. Great Read.
Smart Christian Thriller! October 24, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Hailey Maniates is a San Francisco graduate student in biochemistry. She is a scientist who trusts in data that can be observed with her senses but she is shaken one night when she is attacked in her laboratory by a supernatural force that causes her to question her own sanity. She is rescued by a homeless giant named Melchi and though she finds herself drawn to the stranger by an unexplainable attraction, he is just as confusing to her as the attacking force, as she seems to be able to read his emotions.
As the story progresses, Hailey enters even more confusing situations and constantly questions what is real around her. Doctors want to diagnose her with paranoid schizophrenia; her friends warn her of a plague of Sudden Onset Dementia that has been sweeping the city; and stranger still is Melchi's explanation of a spiritual war between an evil vampirish being known as The Mulo and a mysterious force for good called The Standing. The real answer lies somewhere between faith and science and it is up to Hailey to discover the truth in time to save several lives - including her own.
Combining faith, mystery, science, and suspense, with a dash of romance, John B. Olson has crafted one of the most intelligent works of Christian fiction on the market today. Fans of Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti will not want to miss this book - but be assured that Olson's style and voice are unique and original. Shade is a fast paced and suspenseful thriller yet even with all the action, it manages to deliver well-developed characters with plenty of heart. Olson does a great job of engaging the reader in Hailey's struggles and the challenge is on to distinguish reality from hallucination alongside the protagonist. Thought-provoking as well as entertaining, Shade is truly a book that shines!
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