Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #495460 in Books
• Published on: 2004-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 355 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780843954234
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Stoker-winner Ketchum isn't known for novels dealing with the supernatural, but in this revised edition of a 1989 paperback, he demonstrates that this has nothing to do with lack of ability. Ketchum does here for Greece what Lovecraft did for New England and Stoker did for Transylvania, creating a landscape imbued with a numinous quality that's simultaneously beautiful and terrible. Jordan Chase owes his success as a businessman to his sensitivity to ancient sacred places. When he visits the tomb of Agamemnon, he experiences a prophetic vision. Simultaneously, an attractive but disturbed woman, Lelia, begins to insinuate herself into the lives of a group of tourists. At first her presence is merely disruptive, but it later becomes destructive. Unknown perhaps even to herself, Lelia has tapped into the mystical energy of Greece and has become an avatar of the goddess known variously as Selene, Artemis-and Hecate. When she dies accidentally, her full potential is unleashed as she strides forth, resurrected and transformed. Ketchum reveals a real understanding of the mysteries of Greek mythology, including the bloodthirstiness that Bullfinch underplayed, and he builds to a climax that's both logical and exciting. Fans of contemporary horror and of the classic supernatural novel will be pleased.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Ketchum Goes Supernatural
Jack Ketchum has quickly become one of my favorite authors, one of the few writers who pulls no punches and consistently manages to truly horrify. In "She Wakes", Ketchum delves into the realm of the supernatural, taking the reader to the Greek Isles and immersing him in a world of ancient goddesses and unearthly power.

Most of Ketchum's other work deals with real-life horrors, no ghosts or spirits (or Greek goddesses)and I think that's where his strength lies. I found the cave-dwelling cannibals in "Off Season", the creepy couple and their dog in "Hide and Seek", and the evil, sadistic aunt in "The Girl Next Door" to be far more terrifying than anything Ketchum concocts in this novel.

It has its moments, for sure (undead rape, hordes of shambling, burnt corpses committing various atrocities) but for the most part this book never gets past "ok". Ketchum's reality-based horrors are where his strength lies and I reccommend "Off Season", "Offspring", "The Girl Next Door", "Hide and Seek" and the short story collection "Peaceable Kingdom" over "She Wakes" any day.

Has its moments--3.5

In their original forms, the ancient Greek myths were not bedtime stories or pretty tales for poets. Rather, the gods and goddesses embodied primal forces, and those who encountered them had reason to fear their power. Awe, terror, and brutality were what the gods were about. Jack Ketchum's "She Wakes" follows this tradition., with a reborn goddess making her sexual, bloody way through modern Greece. The characters were annoying at times, which definitely detracted from by enjoyment of the book, but the supernatural elements were intriguing enough to keep me reading.

Horror Comes to the Greek Islands
Jack Ketchum has written some very good horror books but they are not supernatural in nature. This one is and unfortunately it seems to miss the mark. The story concerns a group of characters, locals and tourists, in the Greek islands. While they interact with one another they get caught up in a series of supernatural events including, but not limited to, the dead beginning to walk and kill.

This is all tied in to local myth and legend as the characters first confront what is going on and then have to find a way to deal with it. Multiple islands and viewpoints come into play until they finally guess what must be happening and how to solve it.

The author paints a very good picture of the Greek islands, the residents, and the people who visit. Ketchum's skill as a writer is very evident here. It is not badly written in any way but it seems to lack something his other novels have. It might be the lack of frightening reality or it might be something else. It is not a bad book, just not like Ketchum's others so if you are looking for more of his signature style then you will not find it her. If you are looking for a good and subtle supernatural thriller then check it out.