The Soft Whisper of the Dead

The Universe of Horror Trilogy, Book 1

By: Charles L. Grant

Narrated by: Samuel E. Hoke

Multiple award winner Charles L. Grant has written a vampire novel set in the author's distressing little town of Oxrun Station. It is a region to be found on the same maps as Lovecraft's Arkham and King's Castle Rock.

The Soft Whisper of the Dead is the first of the Oxrun tales to be placed in other than a contemporary setting. The first in a trilogy of historical horror novels, it is the account of the evil Count Braslov's attempt to subjugate the Oxrun population to his vampiric will.

This first novel of a fast-paced trilogy is fraught with gas-light atmosphere, plucky women, a befuddled constabulary and is filled with the excitement of the classic vampire tale. Great fun!

©1983 Kathryn Ptacek (P)2022 David N. WIlson

Classic Monsters - Fresh Tales

The first in a trilogy of classic monster tales, this vampire period piece is both superbly written and skillfully narrated. If you think you've read/seen all the monster stories, give this one a shot, too ... you won't be disappointed.

Ok. Has the merit of brevity.

Tried this mainly due to being in the “Universal Monster-verse” genre. Might try the next 2 (wolf man & mummy) but though it has its moments it’s really rather simply constructed & written with nothing that greatly stands out nor that does anything surprising. Has the merit of brevity & quick pacing with a surprisingly quick wrap up. In all seriousness, why some of these types & this one is considered “classic” is beyond me. Grant’s writing style is rather pedestrian actually, at lest in this one, & if this is representative then, well, I think I’m not missing much.

Standard vampire tale

This is the story you want if you are looking for the stereotypical vampire tale. It’s not bad but there isn’t anything that stands out to make it unique

Campy Bit of Charles Grant Fun

While "Soft Whisper" lacks some of the complexity of other Oxrun Station books, it retains the schlocky fun of Charles Grant. Performance is solid and the story is continually entertaining and punchy. If it veers into camp frequently, it was entertaining enough to motivate me to read the next book in the trilogy.

Story with some bite

My man Grant has a great love affair with 50's movies, see some of his other book series and Universal Monsters. He gets goofy, but at the same time, it is often a homage with love. The main MC of this book is obvious, and even though it is not a hyper serious tone it plays out well. The narration is great. Give it a chance, you'll have fun.