Haunted: Hotel
Haunted: Hotel
By Lee Mountford
The Sexton’s musings (spoilers are likely):
So we land right where we left off. David is hell-bent on rescuing Sarah. And rightfully so. If she’s turned, then the whole worlds goes to hell. Some very interesting developments occur in this one; particularly with the council. We know that there is a cult member within the ranks. The church has still not clicked this fact. Seems that they are behind on most things which is really not all that surprising. Which is why, them getting disbanded is also, not that big of a surprise. I’ve been saying all along that they have really messed up things. Everything they have done has actually furthered the agenda of the Order, and they didn’t even realize it.
With the death of Father Luca they have sucked the poor Reverend Quinn into the mess. She seems like a nice enough, see reason, kind of person. She obviously has got a decent brain on her since she is the researcher and scholar. Because she is the one who is most familiar with the book she is called upon to be that holy person to close the gates. An important role but not one that she was really prepared for. Surprisingly I was impressed with how she handled things. Demons and corrupt spirits are not your everyday experience.
I love that we get to see more of Ralph here. He is the great guy that I knew he was. Even though he is really a secondary character he has the makings of a great main character. He is very passionate about the cause and has a good head on his shoulders. He’s mostly able to keep his cool and think during times of great stress. Unlike David who dives down a hole where he nearly dies. I think really somewhere deep down David is trying to kill himself. Dude really seems to have a death wish. But I will say that he altruistically tries to do what is right by those he cares about. He’s fierce, and somewhat foolish in his actions. This book is no exception to this.
Sarah’s guilt is still raging within. She still considers the deaths of her sister, Jen, Jamie, Father Luca and Father Haus to be her fault. Out of all the people involved in this I’d say Sarah and her team are the least responsible parties here. The Order is definitely high up on the fault list here and really I think the Church needs to take some responsibility as well. I mean they acted very rash and ill prepared in most of their decisions, not to mention that they are completely clueless that there is a traitor among them. It does not instill confidence, at least not for me. The decision to disband the council rides on a few things but one of them was one of the member’s intensions in hiring Jake the marine for the Asylum investigation. Really I think that was not a bad judgment on the member’s part. While I see Sarah as a strong character I do think that taking her out to save all things on earth is probably a sacrifice that is not completely unreasonable. Hell Sarah herself has even contemplated suicide. I would not consider this suicide however, it would be a sacrifice. She would sacrifice herself to save everything else. An honorable death.
Then there is Chole who by the end of this mission has seemed to have used up the strength that she had by saving the teams arse over and over again. The unfortunate side effect happens to be the worst of all things…the corruption of her soul by the darkness. I’m really hoping that she is able to fight it but it seems to not be the case as of the end of this one. It’s very sad really. She has been a beacon of light for them all, literally. I really want her to pull through and find peace.
Closing thoughts:
While Sarah makes it out of this one it is by no means over. The corruption of Chole’s spirit is truly disturbing. Without her the world would be well and truly fucked! It’s possible that it is. We all know that David, Ralph, Rachael and Sarah are not quitters and will not give up, but without supernatural help they are far more vulnerable. We know that the end comes to a tipping point simply by knowing the names of all the books in the series but you have to wonder how far it’s taken. We do have a victory for the good guys in this one though so not all doom and gloom. Two doors down!
These are the kind of series’ that are great because you really get to know the characters. You start to give a shit about what happens to them. You root for them or damn them and it’s a beautiful thing. I still feel the disappointment in losing Father Luca. I really did like him. I hope that we do not lose anyone else. Perhaps this is not realistic but I suppose we shall see little Ghoulies!
