Review: She Ain't Afraid O' Them Ghosts!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 16, 2014
T.M. Simmons' Ghost Hunting Diary Volume 1 is a mostly entertaining introduction to the author's storied career as a self styled "ghost hunter." Naturally, being a collection of diary entries, the book is somewhat brief, and perhaps a bit truncated - as well as somewhat anticlimactic overall. But then, I suppose, when reading a book with "Volume 1" tacked onto the title, that is to be expected.There were at least a half dozen or more typos and missing words, as well as quite a number of awkwardly composed sentences (with shifting tense within the same sentence) in the edition I purchased, but I usually don't put too much emphasis on such things when writing a review, since I sincerely believe that each and every book should be judged in its entirety, and not picked apart piece by piece for the trivial flaws that most books do tend to have. And quite honestly, I've found that reading critiques by people who get overly hung up on all the small stuff is often a demoralizing waste of time anyway. After all, spewing careless vitriol is easy enough for most disgruntled types, but finding real merit, or at the very least some truly positive points to make about the hard work of a published author, is something else entirely.Mind you, I only mention the mistakes in the manuscript, because even though this book is a more or less enjoyable read, there is a somewhat overbearing tinge to the author's views about ghost hunting in general. None of that is all that apparent until near the end of the book, however, so I was initially somewhat mystified when, looking over other reviews of this volume, I noticed that a lot of readers remarked that Ms. Simmons comes off as being rather "cocky."I would add "bossy" to that observation, actually, and although that kind of attitude might come in handy when dealing with your run of the mill scary and just plain overbearing paranormal entity, I'm not entirely sure it serves the book all that well. In fact, this first volume in the series is even buttressed with a rather demanding set of rules and strictures about what the author feels should or should not be done in her presence during paranormal outings. In other words, she and her ghost hunting partner/aunt get to call the shots, yet they were apparently unable to conjure up a single decent editor to straighten out the kinks in the manuscript! Hmm.Therefore, the overriding message here seems to be that the privilege of basking in the glow of the enlightened experiences of the author and her aunt are by invitation only, deserving of but the very privileged few. In other words, if you want to be included in their ghost hunting activities, you'd damn well better mind your Ps and Qs, buster! Okay. Point taken. But does an introductory diary of paranormal accounts really have to come off as being so... well... sort of domineering? I should certainly hope not.Having had more than a few ghostly encounters myself over the years, and being a self avowed paranormal junkie, it's not like I'm going to go out of my way to NOT read the subsequent volumes in this series. I enjoyed this book, so I'm definitely going to read on, but I really do hope that the overall writing style improves somewhat. Don't get me wrong though. This is NOT a bad little book. Not by any means. The author's paranormal chronicles are thoroughly interesting, entertaining and thrilling - though not nearly as much as many other ghost books currently on the market.So, besides some minor grammar faux pas here and there, my only real problem with the book was Ms. Simmons' repeated use of words like "recalcitrant" and "discipline." "As to Belle and I, we continue to be respectful of the ghosts we encounter, although we're firm about the discipline we mete out. The ghosts all have stories to tell, always interesting, but sometimes sad and tragic." That pretty much says it all for me, actually. 'Cause, okay... I suppose it's natural to come on so strong when dealing with naughty, terribly misbehaving ghosts who refuse to scurry on cue into "The Light" (that the author so oft refers to), but come on! Back off just a smidge, will ya? By all means, enlighten us poor dumb corporeal readers, but please don't feel the need to preach. Even if you are a self styled badass "senior-citizen-ghost hunter" and all.To summarize, T.M. Simmons' Ghost Hunting Diary Volume 1 is pretty decent book. It's actually a rather entertaining read, despite the fact that the manuscript really could have used a good thorough editing before its perhaps overly confident and somewhat hasty publication. Likewise, the tough old "senior-citizen-ghost hunter" routine is a bit off putting, but nothing that the vast majority of readers can't quite easily overlook. Truth be told, there's really not all that much objectionable about anything that Ms. Simmons has to say in her book, but rather, it's just sometimes... how she chooses to say it.  Nevertheless, I eagerly look forward to reading the next volume in the series.