Playlist of the Ancient Dead

"One of the best fictional plot hooks I know of, when done well, is what I call the "what's going on" theme. In this type of book, the characters find themselves in a situation that doesn't seem to make sense and they (and the readers) try to figure out what's really going on. When done well it can keep readers fascinated for a long time, as indicated by the success of some of the best known examples, like the TV series "Lost" or Blake Crouch's "Wayward Pines" novels. When done poorly, however, the ultimate reveal can leave a very bad taste in readers' mouths. Fortunately, Aaron Frale avoids that trap in his novel "Playlist of the Ancient Dead," a book that succeeds just as well, or better, for its character development as for its fascinatingly bizarre premise. Obviously, half the fun in a book like this is for readers to try to figure it out for themselves, so the synopsis will have to be a bit vague. A seemingly ordinary building in the middle of a public park in Albuquerque, NM, is not merely a power company facility, as it appears on the outside. Instead, the building has been there for at least hundreds of years as the city grew up around it. The building usually has no doors, but some 30 years ago, a door mysteriously appeared and opened. and a government team went inside and was never heard from again when the door disappeared. Now, the door has reappeared and another team goes in, led by a government intelligence official who was at the facility 30 years earlier. Once inside, the investigators discover that they are in a corridor that goes on seemingly forever, even though the building seems small from the outside. The more they explore, the more they learn about the secrets of the place, including some interior doors that take them into even more bizarre, and dangerous, environments. Further, the title "Playlist of the Ancient Dead" wasn't chosen by author Frale at random. Music plays a very important role in the story. "Playlist of the Ancient Dead" is a difficult novel to categorize. It has elements of science fiction, horror, mystery, and action, and, quite frankly, fans of any of those genres will probably find a lot to like here. More important, it is a character-driven novel. Frale doesn't just send people willy nilly into the building. All the main characters have a role to play and what happens to them, and what they do, all flows out of their personalities. And, like the mystery of the building itself, Frale reveals the characters gradually, with the readers filling in some of the blanks themselves. The result is that, by the end of the book, readers have an interest not just in figuring out the mystery, but in seeing the characters safely through. Amazon categorizes "Playlist" as a dark comedy, but, frankly, the comic elements are the weakest part of the book. Some of the humor works but Frale tries too hard to insert humor into parts of the book in which characters are in deadly peril and the result is disconcerting and not all that funny either. The humor works better in some of the less tense moments of the book, but, even there, the characters who are making jokes won't be doing gigs at comedy clubs any time soon. Joking aside(in more ways than one), "Playlist" holds up well all the way through. Frale does not hit readers with the big reveals all at once; instead he gradually reveals what's going on, and the book actually gets more interesting, and complex, the more readers and characters know. The story didn't make perfect sense (you have to swallow a lot of disbelief here), but it is satisfying for all except those who want every single detail laid out by the end of the book. In musical terms, "Playlist" has quite a catchy melody, even if you don't pick up all the lyrics. Overall, it's a gold record. The author graciously gave me a copy of this book. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of that review are entirely my own."