Voices Paperback – 28 July 2015

The perfect end to the trilogy.For me the whole saga from book one had me totally engrossed.The characters thru the entire series were so believable it seems I have lost some true friends.What a series.

Looking forward to another book in the series

Enjoyed the read.

REVIEWED BY CHADA copy of Voices was sent to Confessions of a Reviewer by the author, Michael Bray, in exchange for an honest review. This is said review. This book is published by Horrific Tales Publishing.I would like to think this goes without saying, but you never can tell anymore. So once again and for the record, this is a review of a book that happens to be the final part of a trilogy. As such, it isn’t really possible to engage in any kind of real discussion without running the risk of at least some kind of spoilage. I won’t reveal anything that you wouldn’t be able to find out by reading the description of the book, but by mere suggestion there will be some aspects of the previous two books which will undoubtedly be revealed by reading this review. There isn’t much I can do about that so consider yourself fairly warned if you have not read the previous books in this trilogy.I think writing the third part of any trilogy is the most challenging of all. It’s one thing to start a multipart story, to create engaging characters along with good pacing and tension throughout. It’s one thing to create intrigue and mystery and suspense. It’s another task entirely to bring it all to a strong concluding point. This is the time for the author to follow through on the promises he or she has made. This is the point where you have to take all the mystery and intrigue and questions and provide enough answers for the reader that they walk away from the trilogy feeling satisfied and happy with what you have delivered.Time to put up or shut up.Up until this point, we have seen an area of land that is clearly possessed by a dark vengeful spirit or spirits. We have seen, first a house, and then a hotel come under assault, and after two books, I found myself incredibly curious to see more of the history. As such, I was pleased to see Bray take so much time delving into the mythology and of the tribe that resided there. Where I felt there had been previously mystery and intrigue, I thought that we ended up getting some fairly concrete answers as to what was going on. With stories of this type that is always one of the hardest things to pull off in a credible way and I thought he did a great job.Building off of the story from the previous book, Bray introduces some yet new characters into the mix and manages to bring the story to a higher scope and magnitude. I thought this book was the one where the inherent tragedy of these characters’ lives was felt the heaviest. It had quite a few emotional moments throughout, including several that I responded to in particular, being a parent myself. Somehow this manages to both exist on an epic scale but also bring things back down to where it started in the first book.The heroes of our story are all being drawn back to the former town of Oakwell, where a reckoning will take place. The present experiences a collision from both the recent and ancient past. And it is in this book that we get the best and clearest view of the darkness which lies in and around this river and forest.The obvious question at this point would be, do I think Michael Bray pulls off an ending which the series deserves? I think I can safely say that he does a good job overall bringing everything to its conclusion. I will be honest and admit that getting down to the end of the book, I did wonder if he had time to pull everything together. There was a moment where he included a scene of fairly abrupt exposition that I wished could have been included a little bit more naturally in the flow of the story. But still, I was very satisfied with the amount of backstory and detail he gave into this place which has seen so much violence and destruction. Based on how the first book started, I thought he did a good job bringing things full circle and making the whole series feel like a unified piece. This legitimately had the feel of a very long novel that had been divided into three parts.On that note, I also wanted to address Bray’s afterword in which he states that there will likely not be more books in this series. I have a great deal of respect for a writer who knows the story they want to tell and when it’s done, they vacate the stage. The point where sequels and “franchises” fail is when it feels like storylines are being shoehorned in and slapped onto the structure with glue and duct tape.If I had any criticism of this book, it would be that in the end there are some aspects of the story that I thought were wrapped up a little bit too neatly and cleanly. This is just my personal sensibilities and preferences as a reader but I think that there were some moments where I kind of wish the ending had had a bit more of a sharp edge to it. I don’t think the book is disappointing as it was written, but I think it could have been a little bit more powerful, had some slightly different decisions been made. This is highly subjective and only my reaction, so take this for what it’s worth.I don’t generally read multi-book series anymore, mostly because I just don’t have the attention span anymore to stay engaged as I move from book to book. However, in this case I thought the overall construction of this narrative was very well done. I would highly recommend this trilogy as a concise, hard-hitting and at times frightening exploration of some dark supernatural fiction.Michael Bray has proven himself time and time again to be a wordsmith of the highest calibre and he definitely demonstrates these attributes in the Whisper trilogy. Check it out today.General rating:★★★★

Published by Horrific Tales Publishing, Voices is the final installment in the Whisper trilogy, written by the supremely talented Michael Bray. Although Voices stands well on its own, you will only really appreciate its continuity and nuances if you’ve read the first two books in the series. Although I maintain a relatively strict spoiler-free stance in most of my reviews, this review will assume you’ve read Whisper and Echoes and will include spoilers from the first two books, so beware.Voices takes place where Echoes leaves off. Steve is dead and Melody Samson is determined to put the horrors she and her son Isaac experienced in Oakwell to rest, for the last time. Diagnosed with PTSD, Isaac struggles with hellish nightmares and Melody has nothing else to live for but Isaac. What neither of them realise is that Isaac’s nightmares are not nightmares at all, but something far more terrifying.Those who read Echoes know that when we last saw Henry Marshall, he was safely tucked up in a mental institution and was no longer a threat to himself or anyone else. In Voices, Henry escapes and what he does when he gets out is bone-chilling, and more than a little disturbing.Often when I read, I find my mind wandering. Perhaps I’m thinking about what I have to do the next day, or maybe I’ve taken the characters off on a tangent, not written in the book I’m reading. This is a downfall of having ADD (Who can relate?) and something I’ve learned to live with. What’s unusual, is that while I was reading Voices, my mind didn’t wander – at all. I was plunged into the story on the first page and had to force myself to put it down. Unfortunately, it took me a couple of days to finish, but that is only because life and work got in the way.Although Michael Bray has worked on a number of different projects between Echoes and Voices, he picks up the flow and pacing in Voices perfectly, and it was as though he never quit. The characters were just as I remembered and the flow and pacing of this story is spot on with the others. The plot in Voices moves seamlessly as the story reaches its thrilling and completely satisfying conclusion.Like many of you, I love book series. I like to see the way things intertwine and wrap up, but more often than not, I’m either disappointed in the lackluster ending or am left with more questions than answers. Voices, however, provides the answers to all the questions readers are left with at the end of the Echoes, and provides an ending I was completely happy with. A fourth book in this series would be fluff and would ruin what is, in my opinion, a damn near perfect series.Before I go, let me give a shout out to Voices publisher, Horrific Tales Publishing. I have had the pleasure of reading most of the books this small press has released to date, and HTP deserve kudos for picking some of the best-written, most heart-pounding stories I have ever read. Besides that, the editing on every one of its books is stellar.

wowsers! reviewing the whole trilogy as I have just finished the third book and I am exhausted! These are not books you can put down easily and they are a good length too which makes a nice change :) The characters are ones which will stay with you long after you have finished reading the trilogy. The author really sucks you in to the world of the Whisper Trilogy, it is not only an innovative story, it is told perfectly, building through out each book leaving you grabbing for the next. I definitely have a book hangover after this series so an easy 5* for me to give here. Looking forward to more from this author :)

Though not quite as good (in my opinion) as the two preceding books this was still an enthralling tale. It was both creepy and gripping in equal measure. Yes, the trilogy was all wrapped up but, sometimes, I prefer a more ambiguous ending. Very enjoyable though.

Perfect ending to an amazing trilogy!All three books were amazingly written, I got to know all the characters and was taken on a roll coaster of emotions!All three books of the trilogy were read in a matter of days as I couldn’t put them down!Fantastic and defiantly a must read!