The nitty-gritty: This short novella was disappointing, unfortunately, due to a disjointed plot and bland characters.

I’m afraid this book just didn’t work for me at all, which is a shame because I loved the idea and I was looking forward to reading something from Jeffrey Ford. Unfortunately, this novella reads almost like a first draft, with a convoluted story, underdeveloped characters, and subpar writing. I hate to write negative reviews, and I always try to find the positive elements in every book I read, but there wasn’t much to like in this one, I’m sorry to say.

The story revolves around a lonely librarian named Owen who witnesses a convenience store shooting one day and later discovers he has the ability to leave his body at night. These out of body experiences, or OBE, give Owen the freedom to roam the neighborhood without anyone seeing him. At first his voyeuristic journeys are new and exciting, since he’s able to literally walk through walls into people’s homes and spy on them. But soon he meets another “sleeper,” a woman named Melody, who warns him about night time dangers, like a killer yellow mist called the miasma, or entities that try to cut the cord that connects sleepers to their bodies.

Owen and Melody find themselves in the middle of a mystery when they discover a reclusive painter who is killing people and drinking their blood. And how does this vampire-like creature relate to the strange tattoo that was found on the shooter?

Yeah, I’m confused too. This was an odd story, and maybe I just didn’t get it. At first I was drawn into the mystery of the strange tattoo—which appears on the convenience store shooter as well as several other characters in the story—and Owen seems to want to solve the mystery, although to be honest, Owen didn’t get excited about much in this story (more on that later). Then there’s the mystery of the painter/vampire and his connection to the people with the tattoos. Owen discovers that the painter is the very same artist who created the Sleeping Beauty mural at his library, which is fading and needs to be restored. To add even more confusion to this set-up, Owen visits the house of a different painter who doesn’t appear to be connected to anything else in the story.  All these disparate elements do come together, sort of, but the connections are tenuous at best. The main plot centers around Owen’s plan to destroy the vampire, and we do get a resolution at the end. But getting there was a confusing process, sort of like stepping off the trail and finding yourself wading through a bog by accident.

On top of this strange plot, I found all the characters to be rather bland and uninteresting. Owen plods through his days without much joy, and it’s only when he’s able to leave his body that he finally shows a glimmer of happiness. The other characters just weren’t developed enough to make an impression on me. And that’s really all I have to say about them.

And oh dear, the writing was so awkward. I’m not sure why, because Jeffrey Ford has quite a few books under his belt. But some of the writing needed serious editing, unfortunately. I also ran across a few sentences that made absolutely no sense: “Melody had been right; it stank like chopped meat gone bad, but on a supernatural level.” What? 

There were some exciting moments when Owen and Melody are in their sleeper bodies and are trying to avoid the miasma and the creatures who want to cut their cords, but while I enjoyed those moments, they felt oddly disconnected from the rest of the story. I would have preferred that the story focus more on the creepy twilight world of those out of body experiences, rather than the confusing cult/vampire story. But maybe that’s the whole point, that the story is about being disconnected. I don’t know. If anyone else has read this novella, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

With thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.

This book was super readable and interesting. Not at all what I thought it would be! I really enjoyed it but it wasn’t as impactful as I wanted. Maybe I just wanted it to be longer and more in depth? I would still suggest it to people!

I really wanted to love this one, it sounded like a short and interesting read, unfortunately, there was just a lot that didn’t work for me about it. I’m gonna try to keep this short, as I often do when a book just isn’t really for me.

First off, the protagonist was just… meh? Like he wasn’t particularly interesting, and honestly, there was a lot that he did that I just didn’t care about. It sorta felt like I was being dragged along as this milquetoast guy was goaded into an adventure. The last third of the book was probably the most interesting to me. And if the rest of the book had had a pace and action like that, I think I would’ve been more satisfied.

The other thing that really stands out to me is that it just felt like everything needed a little more. Like, the dream-realm was pretty interesting, and I think there’s a potential to have a lot there, but then Melody just felt like the end of it. I would’ve loved for that to be a little better fleshed out. Great idea, not so great execution in my opinion.

And then my final little nitpicky thing. So, the book opens in a pretty explosive way. It’s violent, it’s emotional, and if it had been done right, I think it would have made me connect better with the protagonist, but I think the big thing for me, is that while this event ultimately ties back to the plot, I just didn’t really feel him dealing with the trauma of what he saw? And honestly, I didn’t feel that there was much of a character arc for him. Like yeah, he’s a little more active in the end, but I really wanted him to deal with those emotions and… just grow a little.

Anyway, I’m not sure who to recommend this one too. It’s a good easy read if you’re looking for something quick.

The pacing in this one was... Off. There's a lot of immediate trust established between characters and a lot of time just spent wandering around. When there's a sudden shift at 60% it caught me totally off guard. I don't think we ever really got a handle on what kind of person Owen is. Nor do we get much explanation for the creatures of the night world - beyond the fact that they seem to be immune to rules.

It felt more like a cool idea being entertained than a story with beginning, middle, and end. The epilogue in particular, while rather cool, didn't fit with anything that came before it. This felt like a tiny piece of a much larger world-within-our-world rather than a story in its own right. I would have much rather been following along with Kiara in her quest to defeat the Ambrogio than watching Owen bounce around spying on people and feeling bad about it.

TL;DR cool concept but no logical flow and very little substance.

It feels weird saying that something from Tor felt too short, but here we are. It felt that this work didn't get a chance to feel attached to the characters or the plot because of how quickly the story needed to progress. That being said, the author does have a very enjoyable writing style that makes you want to keep reading.

<I>Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy in return for an honest review.</I>

This is a perfectly fine story. The plot, while a little slow, is interesting and it has a tight ending. There isn't much to the characters, but it is enough for the story which is more plot focused than anything else. My main reason for giving this book three stars is that, while there is nothing objectively wrong with the book, it was difficult to feel like you were actually engaged with anything that was happening. There isn't much depth to the characters and for much of the book the reader is "watching" the character(s) watching something happen to someone else, so it was easy to feel detached from what was taking place.

When the action did pick up in the last third of the story it was good and there were some genuinely creepy things that happened, especially the last line of the book. I probably would not re-read this, but I wouldn't hesitate to pick up another by Jeffrey Ford.

Sadly I didn't like this novella, not that it did anything wrong, just didn't hit right for me. It's really short and the plot moves quickly and I feel like I didn't have enough time or detail into the main characters to become attached or care about them enough for the spookiness to really have an impact on me. If that makes sense?

It's a fun and quick and page-turning read though with a really interesting concept so definitely check it out if the blurb has you gripped. I'd recommend this book to sci-fi and fantasy fans who are plot-driven readers and like fast punchy supernatural stories. Out soon from Tor!

Librarians, out of body experiences triggered by sleep paralysis, and strange vampire-like monsters? Out of Body by Jeffrey Ford had everything I wanted and more. Like many novellas from Tor, this one packs so much into so few pages.

The story follows Owen, a small town librarian who, in the first chapter, witnesses a murder at his local deli. This is obviously traumatizing, and Owen begins to feel mixed emotions: sadness, grief, and guilt, among others. He’s suffered bouts of sleep paralysis in the past, but after seeing a young girl killed, it becomes harder and harder for him to get a good night’s rest.

But this time, things are different.

Instead of normal episodes, his sleep paralysis turns into strange out of body experiences. When he leaves his body he is able to wander around his small town and observe whatever is happening. He can walk through houses and watch people live out their lives without anyone seeing him.

At first he thinks he’s having weird dreams, until he meets a woman who also has out of body experiences, and explains that Owen is, in fact, spending time in the night world. What is the night world? It’s pretty much the same as what you see during the day, expect there are strange, eerie things that want to kill you.

I didn’t know what to expect at all going into this short book and was pleasantly surprised. It’s a dark fantasy with some elements of horror sprinkled in. Not everything is explained in full, but I find that’s usually the case with novellas because they are short on space. However, everything made enough sense to be enjoyable, and there weren’t any glaring plot holes.

Personally, I enjoyed reading the unique take on sleep paralysis and how it served as a sort of portal into the night world. In order to have an out of body experience, Owen had to have an episode of sleep paralysis. I’ve had episodes of sleep paralysis somewhat regularly (once every few months) since my early 20s. It’s an absolutely terrifying feeling, waking up and not being able to move, and seeing it blend into an even more frightening out of body experience was unreal.

If you’re looking for a quick read that blends elements of fantasy and horror, check this book out.

Thank you to the publisher, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, for an electronic copy of this book via NetGalley. Out of Body comes out on May 26, 2020, and can be pre-ordered or purchased wherever books are sold.

I seen a few people receive an arc of this and became very intrigued so I decided to request it on Netgalley and got accepted for it. Ford's writing really sucked me in and I fell into this story. The main character was really bland and boring but had me intrigued due to him witnessing a murder. I wasn't sure on the actual premise of this story and was not expecting the turn it took which intrigued me a lot more.

Unfortunately, I felt like the tension and the stakes of this story were lacking. Once we come across the serial killer things moved way too quickly and I felt that it was very rushed.

Out of body was a really quick read and all in all a pretty okay read. Although this story was meh and not amazing but I definitely enjoyed Ford's writing style and would definitely pick up more from this author.

When I heard that someone else didn't necessarily like the paranormal aspect of this book, I was sold and needed to pick it up. However, I felt that the story was slow going (which is a feat when it's under 200 pages) and the 'action' didn't really get going until about 60% of the way through.
I felt like the dialogue was a bit stiff, and the wrap up of the main story and the epilogue was done so quickly that I didn't feel any sort of emotion towards it.
I did like the little paranormal aspect that there was, but I really wanted more. Like a-whole-nother 200 pages more.
This book was just the tip of the iceberg for a story that could have had a lot more substance to it.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I didn’t really enjoy this book that much. I found the dialogue unnatural and the narration stilted and awkward. The supernatural elements came out of nowhere and felt pretty unearned. At least it was short.

I finished the last page with tears welled in my eyes and goosebumps on my arms. Can a solid ending save a bad novella? No, probably not, but luckily that isn't the case here. Can a good second half save a slow first half? Yes. Yes it can.

This was the first story of Jeffrey Ford's that I've read and I have read a lot of great things about this writer. Someone wrote he's a literary genius. So naturally I had unfairly high expectations going into this story.

Genre
This novella could fall under the following categories:
- Paranormal Mystery (Is that a category? Well, it is now.)
- Urban Fantasy
- Horror

Pacing
The first chapter is exciting, and definitely makes a promise, after that the entire first half of this novella, up until chapter 10 is slow, but you can tell it was a lot of setup. I wanted to dnf it, but I noticed the author putting all these set pieces in place and I wanted to see where it went.

Here's a bad analogy, it's like if you're hungry and you go to this chef to make you a meal. You're really hungry, and you see this chef take his time and pull out all of the ingredients and start cooking, which is great, but you're hungry now. You ask for appetizer and the chef says no. You could leave and get something that's ready now, but you've already waited a while and the food is almost ready so you stick around because if you've waited this long and you might as well enjoy the meal. This novella is like that. If you wait patiently through the setup, you'll get to enjoy the meal and it's a satisfying meal. It's not that long of a wait anyways because this is a novella.

Is the main character easy to root for?
Yes. Owen the librarian is just a good dude. The man has a good heart. He's a loner who's passionate about books so he's relatable.

Is there a worthy Antagonist?
Yes. The antagonist is strong and significantly more violent than Owen. You're definitely concerned for Owen here.

Does it stick the landing?
Yes. All the set pieces come together in a neatly made meal.

Reasons to pick up this novella.
- If you're looking for a short paranormal mystery or horror novella.
- If you have a fascination with stories that have to do with sleep paralysis.
- If you're into small towns with dark secrets (Who isn't?).

Reasons not to pick up this novella.
- The entire first half (Excluding the first chapter). If you're an impatient reader, you might give up on the first half.
- If you're averse to blood and gore, there's a little, very little, but present amount of that here.

Rating
The first half was 2.5 stars, the second half was 4.5 stars, so overall, I'd have to give this book 3.5 stars.

This is an enjoyable read. Sometimes I am left disappointed by novellas because they end right when things are getting good, or they leave me feeling like there should have been more. This one was just right. The horror was tasty, the premise was cool, and I enjoyed it from beginning to end. And unlike with most novellas, I felt satisfied by the ending.

I’m always so conflicted when it comes down to rating a novella. On the one hand, they’re almost always interesting stories and on the other… well, I am typically left wanting a little more. Out of Body managed to sort of balance out for me. It was a well written, contained story and while I’m always down for more detail, it had enough to satisfy my curiosity.

It starts out just as the synopsis describes – Owen (the town librarian) is on his way to work when he witnesses a murder and takes a nasty knock to the head. Obviously he’s quite disturbed by this and when he falls asleep that night he has an out of body experience. This recurs for some time and he sees other dreamwalkers and well, I’ll stop there. I shall refrain from giving you too much detail about the nitty-gritty of the plot because honestly it was so surprising I would hate to ruin that for you guys. Lets just say that dreamwalking is a little more perilous than our loner librarian would have guessed and he gets involved in something quite dangerous.

This was a good, quick read that kept me guessing and was a little creepy. I always feel like stand alone novellas are a quick snapshot into a really cool world. The surprising/dangerous part of the book (if you read it you know what I’m saying) sort of came out of nowhere and threw me for a loop. It wasn’t bad, but it was jarring and I had to pause and think for a second! Overall, not bad!

Out of Body by Jeffrey Ford
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I wanted to like this more than I did. After all, Jeffrey Ford has generally been a fantastic writer for me and I jumped on this ARC expecting some solid creepiness or twists or thoughtful fantasy.

But this one? Eh... it was fine for what it is, but it reads more like a snippet taken out of a White Wolf Mage CoreBook regarding astral projection and some of the dangers therein. Add a dash of normal, a bit of peeping tom, and a big bad with a penchant for paint, and the entire tale ends where it probably ought to have begun... with a bigger adventure. Or at least a convention-balking one.

*shrug* It was okay, but it wasn't anything special.

I have a lot of mixed thoughts on this book. On one hand I was intrigued and entertained enough to read this in one night, but at the same time it seemed like not a whole lot happened? The horror aspect wasn’t very spooky either, but that could just be me. If you go into it not knowing much about the book you’ll probably like it more.

Why have I not read more Jeffrey Ford books? I read The Shadow Years and loved it but for some reason, I never read anymore of his books. When my request for Out of Body was accepted on Netgalley I knew I had to read it.

The book gripped me from the opening chapter as we meet Owen, a shy librarian who is just ambling through life without purpose. After an accident, Owen starts having out of body experiences when he sleeps. (OBE’s) Now, this is when the story gets exciting. During these OBE’s, Owen can float into houses and wander the streets without being seen or heard.
The night world isn’t as straightforward as Owen first thought, as new horrors and challenges are revealed. I really don’t want to say more, just read this truly original book, you won’t be disappointed.
The only reason I didn’t give this book the full 5 stars, was I thought the end was a little rushed.
I’m now off to check out more of Jeffrey Ford’s books.

A great read! I was intrigued by the premise of this horror novella and my attention was held throughout. It had some creepy stuff going on and I loved it!

I gave this book a four out of five stars. I really enjoy Out of Body by Jeffrey Ford. It kept me interested, and just enough anxious that it made me not want to put the book down. I finished the book in two sittings. It's best if you go into the book not knowing anything about it especially since it's so short.

Despite my high hopes, Out of Body felt undercooked and underwhelming. The initial premise is intriguing (a main character who suffers from sleep paralysis takes a blow to the head begins to experience out-of-body experiences), but this was the rare book that manages to move incredibly quickly and somehow still feel tedious to read, largely because the plot, characters, and oddly straightforward fantasy elements never gel. A word on those fantastical elements: the magical nature of an out-of-body experience felt rather stilted and mundane due to the fact the very first character the protagonist meets is a housewife who, for poorly explained reasons, takes it upon herself to moonlight as a spiritual guru who more or less only speaks in expository infodumps about the rules of the out-of-body night world. Almost instantly, we learn there are two ways to die when untethered from your body; any sense of discovery or potential horror is utterly smothered by the flat delivery. "Hey, see that giant cloud thing? Don't touch it; it'll kill you." It will come as no surprise that the protagonist later uses these neatly described dangers to triumph over the weirdly uninspired villain who feels lifted from a different type of novel. At heart, and despite the excellent cover art and general reputation of the author, this is a fairly straightforward paranormal fantasy that never quite comes together.