New Book Alert: The Beached Ones by Colleen M. Story; Bizarre and Unique Life After Death Fantasy Reveals The Strength of Fraternal Love

 

New Book Alert: The Beached Ones by Colleen M. Story; Bizarre and Unique Life After Death Fantasy Reveals The Strength of Fraternal Love

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Some believe that ghosts become so because they have unfinished business. They have to send a message, look after someone living, or have to meet some goal or at least be told that the goal has been met before they can ascend in the spirit world. 

Colleen M. Story's fantasy, The Beached Ones, is about a man who has died but has an emotional connection that keeps him tied to the human world.

The man who has passed on, ceased to be, is no more, and gone up and joined the choir invisible (too much Monty Python sorry) is Daniel A. Shepherd, who is part of an Extreme Sports team. He remembers a show in L.A. in which he and others flew over the heads of the people watching, then nothing. Daniel is confused particularly why no one can see or hear him and why he can move quickly from one place to another. After Daniel manages to communicate with his former girlfriend, Jolene he learns that he died during that stunt in L.A. Daniel needs the help of Jolene and her current boyfriend, Brent, who can also see and hear him, to go to San Francisco where his younger brother, Tony, is waiting for him. 

The Beached Ones is a bizarre and at times beautiful book that explores life after death and the connections that the dead made with the living. 

Story's depiction of the Afterlife is deceptively normal at first. It takes a while for Daniel to realize that he's dead because things seem so normal but somehow are off. Daniel has form and substance. Jolene can even touch him. There appears to be no set patten over who can see him and who can't, so one could attribute the behavior of others as they are simply ignoring him. It's only after he sees the article online of his own death that he realizes the truth. Even then some things are kept from him until the time is right for him to remember them.

Once he starts to investigate the matter, Daniel's experience in the Afterlife has some interesting perspectives. He travels wherever he wants from state to state with only a thought. A supernatural creature appears to be stalking him and can take other forms. 

In one beautiful passage, Daniel appears on a beach and views a pod of whales. He sees a mother and her calf being beached and tries to free them. This moment serves as a reminder for those that he left behind.

This moment with the whales foreshadows the connections that Daniel left behind in the world of the living. He and Tony were abused by their mother. Daniel protected his younger brother and practically raised him by himself. Realizing that his brother is alone, propels Daniel to find and reunite with him. This fraternal love is lovingly  explored as Daniel worries that crossing over could mean leaving Tony behind. The whales symbolize Tony and Daniel's relationship and how Daniel cared for his brother and wants to return to him.

The afterlife portrayal in The Beached Ones is fantastic but it's the emotional bond between the two brothers that is the real heart of the story.