When Conrad and Gwillam first meet in Terry Lamsley’s R.I.P., the two men find that they have a similar fascination with the supernatural and the possibility of life after death. While Conrad relies solely on his faith in their discussions, Gwillam becomes obsessed with finding out exactly what happens when someone dies. After years of research, Gwillam discovers the truth about the afterlife and succeeds in briefly crossing over to the land of the dead…but in doing so, creates a fissure in the boundaries between life and death. Soon after his findings, Gwillam vanishes without a trace. Worried about Gwillam and the weird goings-on in the wake of his disappearance, Conrad enlists the help of a private investigator to find out what happened to his friend. 
Unfortunately, R.I.P. fell a little flat for me. Lamsley attempted to build suspense at various points in the book (including the climax), but the scenes ended up being a letdown. Between these bouts of tension are lengthy conversations and verbose descriptions of Gwillam’s detailed research, which left me a bit bored at times. But the thing I wonder about the most is the inclusion of the private investigator. She doesn’t seem to add much value to the story in that Conrad already has all of the information and clues he needs; all she does is confirm everything he already knows. Her role feels tacked on and unnecessary (almost making R.I.P. feel like it was originally a short story instead of a novella, but was padded in certain spots to make it longer).
R.I.P. is scheduled to come out in “late 2009” from PS Publishing. The book will be available in two states – an unsigned hardcover with a price of $19.20 and a signed, jacketed hardcover with a price of $40. Also worth mentioning is that the book is relatively short (approximately 55-60 pages of actual story). If you’re in the market for a good novella, I’d recommend Rio Youers’ OLD MAN SCRATCH (another PS Publishing title we reviewed in early September) as a much better option.
(5 out of 10)
Unfortunately, R.I.P. fell a little flat for me. Lamsley attempted to build suspense at various points in the book (including the climax), but the scenes ended up being a letdown. Between these bouts of tension are lengthy conversations and verbose descriptions of Gwillam’s detailed research, which left me a bit bored at times. But the thing I wonder about the most is the inclusion of the private investigator. She doesn’t seem to add much value to the story in that Conrad already has all of the information and clues he needs; all she does is confirm everything he already knows. Her role feels tacked on and unnecessary (almost making R.I.P. feel like it was originally a short story instead of a novella, but was padded in certain spots to make it longer).
R.I.P. is scheduled to come out in “late 2009” from PS Publishing. The book will be available in two states – an unsigned hardcover with a price of $19.20 and a signed, jacketed hardcover with a price of $40. Also worth mentioning is that the book is relatively short (approximately 55-60 pages of actual story). If you’re in the market for a good novella, I’d recommend Rio Youers’ OLD MAN SCRATCH (another PS Publishing title we reviewed in early September) as a much better option.
(5 out of 10)
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