Giveaway: Shades Quadrilogy

A random person who pre-orders the deluxe hardcover edition of Peripheral Visions: The Collected Ghost Stories by Robert, will be chosen to win a complete set of Robert Hood’s four-book supernatural series, Shades. The draw will be made at 8pm on 25th April (AEST).

The books are in mint condition and unread. Robert will, of course, sign them for you.

The Shades series was published by Hodder Headline in 2001. It is composed of four inter-related short novels (ranging from 35,000 to 40,000 words each): Shadow Dance, Night Beast, Ancient Light and Black Sun Rising. Each book is told in first-person narration by a different character. They are separate but sequential.

In effect the novels are ghost stories, but ghost stories with a difference. The main characters are 16-17 year-old teenagers who died, and were taken to a lightless shadow realm. For reasons they don’t totally understand, they have been returned to this world, where they appear as corporeal ghosts – most ghost-like when in the presence of light, but solid in darkness and shadows. Light causes them to become transparent and incorporeal, and they can transport from place to place by stepping into one shadow and re-appearing another.

The oldest of these “Shades” died over 100 years ago (though Shades exist that date back thousands of years). Our protagonists are trying not only to survive against assorted monstrous creatures and human ghost-hunters, but also are struggling with their own sense of purpose and searching for the truth that lies behind their very existence. You can read more about the series here: http://www.roberthood.net/shades/

Though written for a young adult audience, the Shades books are neither simplistic nor condescending. They have been described as “an extremely absorbing and satisfying read, which should please readers of all ages” (Chuck McKenzie) and “definitely not to be missed” (Courier Mail). Said one reviewer: “As with his more adult-orientated fiction Robert Hood has the ability to cast a spell over the reader and drag him/her into the narrative and force you to keep reading right to the final page.” (Scary Minds)

The books are currently unavailable, but the author has resurrected a full set of these rare novels for a lucky reader who pre-orders his current collection of ghost stories. The series represents another spectacular example of the author’s inventive approach to a time-honoured trope: the ghost, and as such are a fitting companion to Peripheral Visions.