Ghost Radio: A Novel

In this chilling first novel by filmmaker, composer, and graphic novelist Leopoldo Gout, a ghost story call-in program opens a doorway into the paranormal.

Ghost Radio reminded me of early Stephen King. The story sticks with you long after you’ve finished the final page.” James Patterson

From the cramped bowels of a dimly lit radio station, Ghost Radio is beamed onto the airwaves. More than a call-in show to tell scary stories about vampires and poltergeists, Ghost Radio is a sanctuary for those sleepless denizens of the night, lost halfway between this world and the next.

Joaquin, the hip, melancholy host, sits deep in a fog of cigarette smoke, fielding calls from believers and detractors alike. He is joined in the booth by his darkly beautiful girlfriend, Alondra, and his engineer, Watts. Soon what began as an underground cult sensation is primed to break out to mainstream audiences. When a huge radio conglomerate offers to syndicate the show and Ghost Radio becomes a national hit with an expanding legion of hardcore fans, neither Joaquin, Alondra, nor Watts is remotely prepared for what is about to happen.

When Joaquin notices a curious and troubling phenomenon, he is inexplicably drawn further and further into the terrifying stories he solicits on the radio. As he slowly loses control over his reality and finds himself unable to distinguish between the real world and the world populated by the nightmares on Ghost Radio, he’s forced to confront his past and his own mortality in order to repair the crumbling wall between the living and the dead.

 

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368 pages

Average rating: 5.67

6 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

puntasticpaige
Jan 10, 2025
3/10 stars
I used the audio version and towards the middle I ended up speeding it up because I simply couldn’t take it anymore.. the POV switches were a little confusing, the actual ghost stories were fun to listen to, the plot was hard to keep up with, and overall the ending made me roll my eyes.

BUT, at first I didn’t really like the radio shows little intro music and towards the end, it ended up being my favorite part LOL. 2.5 stars
Codeliusthe2nd
Sep 04, 2024
2/10 stars
I don’t know y’all, this one just wasn’t for me.

I couldn’t relate to the lead, Joaquin, in any sense. I found his character to be completely one-note, not offering an interesting perspective on a subject that should have been highly engaging. Gout crafted an intriguing story, but ended up in a jumbled, convoluted mess that ends with the entire story unspooling, leaving you wondering what the point of the novel exactly was. I did listen to the audiobook, since it came highly suggested as being the best way to experience this story. While I found Pascal’s performance as the reader to be captivating, he was the only reason I continued to listen.

Unfortunately, I just found this to be a very boring story, one that became far too complex for what it needed to be. I desperately wanted to enjoy this one, and I’m sad that I didn’t see what many others have saw with this one. This may be one to read in a physical format in the future, but that will be a long, long time from now.

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