Interference

By: Eric Luke

Narrated by: Eric Luke

Something wants in. To your head. Through this book.

Ethan, a digital sound engineer in Los Angeles, becomes aware that his life is unraveling when an audiobook reveals his deepest, darkest secrets, escalating until the narrator addresses him directly, threatening to destroy him from within. Vivian, a single mother running an antique store in San Francisco, listens to her audiobook to distract herself from missing her young daughter but is shaken when the narrative is interrupted by her daughter's voice, faintly calling for help.

Ethan and Vivian are drawn together as they fight to solve a generation-spanning conspiracy that begins with a boy listening to the Orson Welles broadcast of War of the Worlds in 1938 and evolves through the latest innovations in digital technology, unearthing the mind-bending concept of a possibility parasite bent on unleashing an explosion of apocalyptic meta horror.

Conceptually striking and intimately disturbing, Interference is a cutting-edge science fiction/horror thriller that will resonate with an audience acquainted with the paranoia inherent in the latest technology that pervades our lives.

©2012 Eric Luke (P)2015 Scribliotech, Inc

Whoa. Wow...whoa.

Just finished. I am so numb to reality right now - I feel like I need to be physically shocked into letting go of this book. Well written and exquisitely performed by the author. Anxious for more...in a day or two. EXCELLENT.

An important work of audio-art not to be missed

This is a most enjoyable example of an exceedingly creative groundbreaking concept in audio books. It is well executed with a preternatural talent and insight into how to launch such a new genre--perhaps at the same level as the 'found footage' genre in film. The story is gripping and the concepts transcendent--at multiple levels. The self-referential dimension is a great hook that keeps pulling the listener in through the entire work. Well done--bravo to the author-narrator: Eric Luke. Can't wait for more.

A wonderful book that surprises at every turn.

Would you listen to Interference again? Why?

I may have to listen again because the writing was so rich and detailed I may have missed some gems. There are specific chapters for sure that I want to revisit. Anything concerning Vivian or Ethan.

What did you like best about this story?

The surprise factor. To be clear, I started listening without any idea of what was to come. After a few chapters I wondered if I had downloaded a book of short stories because the tone and content of each new chapter was so radically different from the last. By the fourth though, I got it...the underlying thread that connected each character's story and by then I was hooked. In the wider sense, this is a genre book about something horrific and supernatural weaving itself into the lives of ordinary people. The payoff is a very, very long time coming, but along the way we're treated to some poetically humane glimpses into the lives and minds of quite ordinary people experiencing something extraordinary. And for this, the writer far surpasses genre to bring us wonderfully literate insights, turns of phrases, detours into highly complex deconstructions of sound editing, collecting, antiques, graphic novels etc. etc.

Have you listened to any of Eric Luke’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, this was my first time hearing Eric Luke. His delivery was excellent.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

My favorite characters were Vivian and Ethan, two very, very different people, doing their best to survive their broken hearts and lonely existences. Everything they thought and felt resonated with me emotionally and it was all of these touching reveals which really endeared the writing to me.

Any additional comments?

I should say more about the thrilling supernatural connective tissue infecting every character's life, forcing them into situations far outside the ordinary, in some cases compelling them to fight for their own life or that of a loved one or loved ones. But that is the beautifully scary twist of this novel story and all a prospective reader needs to know is that it is very much worth the suspenseful wait.

wow!

amazing! the author hooked me in when I had originally thought there was no way he could. dark and horrible and terrifying.

Gripping Story

What an interesting concept especially to us audiobook listeners to have the main characters being manipulated via the earbuds in their ears.

California Cosmic Horror at its Best!

Would you listen to Interference again? Why?

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Who was your favorite character and why?

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What about Eric Luke’s performance did you like?

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If you could rename Interference, what would you call it?

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Any additional comments?

Eric Luke's Interference is the kind of gem that is all the more bright for its unprepossessing scope. A self-published audio-book singularly obsessed with self-published audiobooks, the fleet, meticulously paced narrative is as much a love letter to the aforementioned form as it is to California and Lovecraftian horror.

Unlike most of the entries in that overstuffed category, Interference throws off the usual crutches of the Cthulhu mythos (save in playful reference), and spends the majority of its pages focused, not on the arcane and interchangeable lore of horrors-from-beyond-the stars, but on our world, lovingly drawing on everything from Marvel comics, to Bollywood, to Norteño music and the most obscure of John Carpenter films (not to mention a significant portion of the novel devoted to Orson Welles broadcast of "War of the Worlds"). Each of these and more is explored with an attention to detail that makes the world of the novel feel grounded, familiar and chock full of little pleasures; all the more distressing then when it is infected by a cruel entity equal parts Nyarlathotep and Mephistopheles.

If there is one subject that unifies Interference, however, it is a sharp and reverent depiction of California. Its intricate sketches of San Francisco, San Diego and (especially) Los Angeles are both affectionate and keenly observant, but it has a special obsession with the Central Valley, here rendered as a post-agricultural wasteland that never truly escaped the Great Depression. It serves as a worthy backdrop to American Gothic in much the way that the rural South served Flannery O'Connor or small town Maine served Stephen King.

The comparison to King is apt, insofar as Luke's prose is simple without being terse or amateurish and finds footholds for its reader in a clear, cinematic style. Where Luke really shines, however, is as an actor. He has a clear talent for voice work, but the most interesting aspects of the performance come in the subtle nuances of his 3rd person prose, where it is never entirely clear if one is hearing an omniscient narrator or the malevolent intelligence that haunts the recordings within the world of the novel.

All in all, Interference is a first novel that shows great promise in the way it economizes its giant scope, and finely-tunes its balance of cosmic horror and California noir.

Different, Heart Racing, Terrifying!

What did you love best about Interference?

The terror. It was unlike anything I've ever read. I happened upon this treasure, and did not regret one second. Within the first 10 minutes, I jumped up out of horror! I am a die hard Clive Barker fan and must admit, nothing he's written (but for Pig Blood Blues) has ever caused such a reaction. Relatable characters, adventurous, and unlike anything you will EVER read.

Who was your favorite character and why?

All of them have a persona in which you can find yourself looking back into and finding well, yourself.

Which scene was your favorite?

Radio station, production starting, Sh$t hits the fan. A town melee!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I managed it in 2 sittings! I savored the end.

An amazing book in the top 1%

This book has a bit of a horror theme, so those who are revolted by horror stories should avoid this. The book is so much more than horror and is one on the best audio books I can recall in years. It seems to have been written as an audio book rather than a normal book turned into an audiobook. It's primary themes involves audio books and the great radio plays of the past mainly war of the worlds.

The narration is superb, the best author narration performance I have heard by a significant margin, I was shocked when I discovered it was read by the author. The narration is in the top 5% as well!

Wonderful twist on older story.

Any additional comments?

Always loved H.G. Wells and very much enjoyed the Orson Welleses' dramatization of War of the Worlds. Very cool book Mr. Luke...your first novel and my first Audible audiobook review!

Neat story concept, not sure about the characters

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I got through this book rather quickly, due to a work schedule change. I think it helped keep me on track, to keep all the elements and characters straight. It's a fairly quick read so, if the reviews and the subject matter interest you, the story in pretty good, albeit predictable.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I felt the characters were a little too shallow. Perhaps a bit more time spent on their development might've helped me care about them more.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Done by a good director, Interference has the possibility of being an entrancing film; yes, I'd see it. By the same token, it could become War of the Worlds revisited...

Any additional comments?

For a first effort, this book was good. I don't regret getting it, especially since it was on special. Enough people said they enjoyed it and, as far as reviews go, I tend to read them all and decide based on overall. The writer did do quite a good job narrating.