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KnowBetter.com Review of

Laurance Pearsongreer's Through The Necromanteum: Project Far-Reach

By Jonathan H. Amsbary

Jonathan Howard Amsbary is an Associate Professor of communication studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He has authored and edited many academic works and has recently begun writing vampire novels. His first attempt: Cyber Blood is available at http://ebooksonthe.net and http://e-dition.net . He hopes more will follow soon. Read more about Cyber Blood at http://cyberblood.net

When I was a child I used to play a game with my friends called "One Wish".

You had to come up with a perfectly worded wish and your opponent had to

play the part of an evil genie that would try and subvert your wish. Thus

giving you what you want but harming you in the process. "I want eternal

life." "Zap! You're a vampire who has to drink blood to survive." "I want a

million dollars." "Zap! The person you love the most dies leaving you a

million dollars." You get the point. I've always had a special relation to

the old chestnut "Careful what you wish for, you just might get it."

I got the distinct feeling that Laurance Pearsongreer used to play a similar

game when he was a child as I read his latest horror/science fiction novel:

Through The Necromanteum: Project Far-Reach. Pearsongreer seems to have a

historian's love of the past and asks the genie for the power to speak to

the dead.

He does this with your typical blend of science-fiction techno babble and

fantasy imagination. He bends the laws of physics just enough to put his

characters into a truly fascinating universe. Many authors have reached

across to the beyond but it's interesting that Pearsongreer would use the

science fiction route. Just like many of Michael Crichton's novels,

Pearsongreer is able to populate his novel with military, scientific or

academic personnel that are wholly unprepared to cope with what they get

themselves into.

Interesting questions popped into my mind as I read this fascinating novel.

"Who would I want to talk to?" "What would I ask?" etc. But what fun is it

if the door swings only one way? If you can get through to the other side,

doesn't it make sense for the other side to get back? Trust me when I tell

you that Pearsongreer invites some very interesting characters to come play.

You can use your imagination, or better yet, read the book.

The other thing I really liked about this book was the insights I got into a

world I never knew directly. Pearsongreer provides some interesting insights

into the military from the enlisted man's point of view -- people who don't

get much in the way of autonomy, but are the first to pay the price for the

stupidity of others. Again like Crichton, I feel like I learned something

after reading this book.

The characters are interesting, and have depth. The story is snappy and

moves well. Once the action starts popping it's tough to put it down and do

more mundane things like eat or go to work. If I had one criticism about the

writing it's that Pearsongreer sometimes explains too much when he writes.

But tiz' a small thing and easily overlooked in the middle of an

otherworldly exploration like this.

So you have one wish. What would it be? Consider carefully.

Hold on it gets better….

Reviewed by Ken Mason

Author of Riley – Eye in the City

available at www.crossroadspub.com/RileyEye.htm

Ever thought of talking to your dear departed loved ones? Want to know if they are doing alright? How about finding out if God really exist? This is the purpose of the military experiment headed by the super brain Max in Through the Necromanteum: Project FAR-REACH, written by Laurance Pearsongreer

The premise is a simple one. Build a gate that would link the physical world to the spiritual world and try to communicate. It succeeded, but too well. When Max opens the portal, looking for his beloved Val, he is interrupted and leaves the portal open, just long enough for something to come through. The entity starts to create havoc, killing people in its wake while the army sends two men through the portal, seeking answers. As the men travel through the spiritual world, the entity continues its attack, until the surprise ending that will leave you on empty.

This novel is written in the style of a Stephen King, with the added influence of a Wes Craven. Laurance spends the first part of the book, setting up the series of events and fleshing out the characters for the reader. Then he rolls out the action, not stopping until the very end, leaving you breathless and searching for more.

What is incredible about this book is that while you are following the main story, Laurance creates an entirely different story, which is played out at the same time. Then he skillfully interweaves the two until both are one. So skillfully that you don't even see it happening until it does. It is skillfully written and fully entertaining work.

However, do not read this if you are squeamish about gore and violence. There is plenty to be had, but I feel that it is necessary to truly depict the evil that permeates the spiritual world. I also found some scenes lengthily, but the action scenes made me forget about those.

On a scale from 1 to 5 (5 being highly recommended) I would rate this book a 4.

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