Book Review: The Ship

Finally, Cassandra slumped against the wooden rail and murmured, “It’s coming… we have maybe two hours to prepare…”

The Ship © 2014 Allan Krummenacker

Happy Monday! Hope you had an exciting 4th of July weekend. Now it’s time to get back into the swing of things. To help you out, I’m back with an all-new book to share with you. The Ship is the second book of the Para-Earth Series by Allan Krummenacker.

In the second book, we follow Cassandra “Cassie” Elliott, heiress to the Elliott family shipping fortune, and a family with a dark secret. Cassie is beginning to embrace her gift as a psychic, a gift that unbeknownst to her is putting her in danger.

Cassie is also learning to accept her sexual identity and is beginning a relationship with Julie Cloudfoot, a gifted woman of Seneca descent, who harbors her own personal demons as well. Little do the pair know that more than attraction binds to two together.

As the book opens, we find Cassie is hosting a memorial for Julie’s uncle Jason, a Seneca shaman, at her beach house in Santa Cruz, California. It’s at the beach where odd things begin to happen, and where her psychic abilities beacon a danger that has haunted the seas for centuries, and which puts her and her new lover in danger.

A ghost ship – an entity that hunts and absorbs into ships into it’s being, and captures her crew, absorbing them into it’s grotesque form, prolonging their lives in unimaginable suffering – is drawn to Cassie by her abilities. She has become it’s next target for assimilation.

Thus begins a race to find its weaknesses, to subdue this malevolent creature before it can take Cassie into itself. The heiress finds help in Julie, who is coming into her own as a shamaness, Julie’s parents and family, and an unknown alliance from the mysterious Z, a man who has his own nefarious plans for Cassie and her abilities. Can this other-worldly ship be destroyed? Can the group save Cassie and themselves from a fate worse than death?

First, I want to say that though this is the second book in the series, it is very much a stand-alone book. It’s not necessary to read the first, but if I were to be asked for my opinion, I would suggest read The Bridge first. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

Now for the book itself, I found myself engrossed by the telling. I could not guess as to what was coming next, which was a nice surprise. It is an original tale from a highly imaginative mind. I cannot wait for the next book in the series.

It would have been to easy to exploit the main character’s newfound sexual identity. Instead, Allan balances Cassie’s journey into her first lesbian experiences with the needs of the story. There’s nothing gratuitous or pornographic. We see glimpses of a tenderness and passion, enough to satisfy the readers while keeping the private act private.

The focus instead is placed in the characters as individuals, Cassie as a psychic, and Julie as a shamaness. It’s is their gifts as well as the affection for one another, that is their greatest asset. It is their reliance on their support group, a network of friends and family that is at the core of this story.

It is the uniqueness of the cast, their mutual respect and admiration that I found most appealing. There is love, both romantic and familial, that drives the story through is climax and to its conclusion.

My verdict? This is a great book, one that I have no qualms recommending to all readers. Please give The Ship a try. You won’t be disappointed. You can find the book on Amazon or on Smashwords.

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The Para-Earth Series
The Bridge
The Ship
TBA

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