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Chris Pourteau

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Shadows Burned In Kindle Edition

by Chris Pourteau (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

3.8 97 ratings

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***winner of the 2015 eLit Book Awards Gold Medal for Literary Fiction***

David Jackson leaves a successful law practice in the big city to return to the hometown he fled long ago. At its center stands Old Suzie’s house, a grand home once the elegant jewel of a bygone era. Now abandoned, the house stands decaying, simmering in the town’s tortured past. David thought he’d buried his childhood nightmares along with his father in the town cemetery under six feet of dirt and thirty years of grief, but they’re not finished with him just yet. His wife and daughter find themselves in real danger from the unquiet phantoms of David’s past. David Jackson’s childhood might just hold the key to what haunts Old Suzie’s house—and his family’s salvation.

What Other Writers Are Saying:

Chris Pourteau's Shadows Burned In turned out to be much more than I was expecting....I read a lot of books from debut authors and frankly, a lot of times it can be a chore. With SBI, Chris had me from the very beginning. This is a debut book that you really should catch....Very literary in its aspirations, an abuse story that is so much more. — Michael Bunker, author of The Pennsylvania Omnibus

A great start for a new literary voice…the storytelling and uniqueness of Mr. Pourteau’s voice kept me reading on. A wonderful first attempt, and a sign of great things to come. — Roberto Calas, author of the Scourge series

This is that novel of childhood's end and adult's beginning. Of saying farewell to the things you love and that scare you and hello to things you're too scared to ever stop loving…written extremely well and with incredible heart. Complex. Bittersweet. It doesn't let you go. I highly recommend this haunted tale. — Nick Cole, author of The Wasteland Saga
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“The author excels at painting scenery….[the] reader can really see and feel the locations and delves into them…. ● [Pourteau] provides lovely gems of description reminiscent of Sarah Addison Allen: “spirit moaned on the wind” as an example; this is excellent writing….The reader goes back over these to enjoy them again. ● A sign of a well-written narrative….The different plot paths converge well at the end. Excellent plotting….Good tension throughout; author moves the pace nicely.”—Judge, Writer’s Digest Self-Published e-Book Awards

Print length

276 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publication date

January 13, 2014
File size

2275 KB
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About the Author

Currently residing in College Station, Texas, Chris Pourteau has made a living at one time or another as a teacher, a lab technician helping to recover one of Christopher Columbus's ships, and a technical writer and editor. Pourteau cites writers both modern and classical as influences, notable among them Bernard Cornwell, Stephen King, George R.R. Martin, Toni Morrison, Edgar Allan Poe, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Mark Twain. Other major influences include fellow Texan and singer-songwriter James McMurtry, Groucho Marx, and a little-known comedy troupe from England you've probably never heard of named Monty Python. (Python is always happy to have someone shill their name as long as they don't have to pay for it and might get a chance to sell you something, so there you go, guys. Regards from Texas.) As far as reading interests go, Pourteau prefers fantasy, science fiction, and historical fiction, which you could probably guess from his list of influences. Occasionally, he likes taking random chances on new writers--new to him, anyway--and has recently become enamored of the works of Roberto Calas, Nick Cole, Suzanne Collins, Tess Gerritsen, Manel Loureiro, and John Scalzi among others. He's also a die-hard Star Trek fan and prefers gritty dramas like Breaking Bad, Hell on Wheels, Homeland, and The Killing when he flips on the tube. If you'd like to say howdy, feel free to email him at c.pourteau.author@gmail.com or visit him at chrispourteau.thirdscribe.com.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00FBPLQAM
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Chris Pourteau; First edition (January 13, 2014)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 13, 2014
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2275 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 276 pages

Customer Reviews:
3.8 97 ratings

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Chris Pourteau

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Chris Pourteau is the bestselling author of the sci-fi thriller novels of the SynCorp Saga (co-authored with David Bruns), the post-apocalyptic Serenity Strain novels, and the military sci-fi collection Tales of B-Company. His first novel, Shadows Burned In, earned the 2015 eLit Book Awards Gold Medal for Literary Fiction. The Lazarus Protocol, the first novel in the SynCorp Saga, placed in the Top Ten in Read Freely's 2018 50 Best Indie Book of the Year contest; it was the highest-rated Sci-Fi novel in the contest.

He’s also edited and curated bestselling short story collections including the two animal-centric collections Tails of the Apocalypse and Tails of Dystopia (with Samuel Peralta), as well as Bridge Across the Stars, a collection of Sci-Fi stories from indie and traditionally published authors published by Sci-Fi Bridge, which Chris co-founded. His dayjob is editor-in-chief for the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, which researches cutting-edge technologies across the transportation spectrum.

When he’s not writing, editing, or working the dayjob, Chris loves exercising regularly, watching shows like Star Trek and Stranger Things, and reading his favorite authors. Those include Bernard Cornwell, Stephen King, George R.R. Martin, Edgar Allan Poe, and Max Collins. He lives in Texas with his wife, son, and two dogs. (He’s a HUGE dog person, by the way.)

Find out more about Chris and his writing through his newsletter. Sign up and get free stuff at https://chrispourteau.com/newsletter.

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3.8 out of 5

97 global ratings

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Eamon

Creepy, intense and thought provoking.

Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2014

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Shadows Burned In is a fresh take on the old haunted house story we all know and run away screaming from in terror from, which has other agendas. In fact on closer inspection it really isn’t a ghost story at all. Sure there’s a creepy house with a creepy back story and other supernatural moments but this is something much more ambitious.
Set in the near future, where schools are now mostly closed and children learn from home in virtual classrooms and spent most of their spare time playing online immersive games, Elizabeth, a young girl relocated to her father’s home town becomes fascinated with a derelict house with a shady past. Her father David too has a connection to the house as we see from flashbacks to his youth, but is battling the demons of his own childhood while trying to come to terms with the slow disintegration of his relationship with his wife and daughter.
We also see a glimpse of prison life as an ageing prisoner Wayne Alan Kitts attempts to make a brutal and daring escape at any cost, with horrifying repercussions. The author makes no attempt to sugar coat this character or his experiences at the hands of both prisoners and guards. He is a violent machine bred by violence who has passed the point of no return and aims to use his escape to commit even more vile acts. There’s no redemption, Shawshank or otherwise to be had here, which makes him more frightening than any supernatural entity.
It’s a story of contrasts, of conflict, of opposites. It’s a serious study of the cycles and effects of abuse on different generations. Part speculative fiction, part coming-of-age drama that also looks at the brutality and inhumanity of prison life, all overshadowed by a looming structure that serves to embellish the story rather than dominate it, Shadows Burned In is a tense, absorbing debut with an important message for the modern reader.

12 people found this helpful

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turtleteach

The writing style was good. However

Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2015

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The writing style was good. However, there was another story line thrown in that didn't really seem to fit in this story. The main reason that I gave it three stars was simply that it wasn't quite the type of story that I normally read.

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Rachel

Not a book you will easily forget...

Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2013

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This book was not an easy read. Compelling, yes, but not easy. Simply put, this book affected me. Abuse creates its own cycle, gaining power as history is repeated, but it is still vulnerable to one thing--choices. Will they choose to continue the cycle or choose to change? So much depends on choice, and I felt the frustration and uncertainty experienced by the characters. I dreaded and hoped at the same time about the outcome of the story. I was angry and sad, but also, in the midst of uncertainty, I was surprised by hope found in the oddest places. (But what is life without hope?)

2 people found this helpful

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Happy Shop

Hiroshima casts long and lasting shadow.

Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2016

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Interesting topic, and complex family saga. Calls for willing suspension of disbelief - or a strong faith in coincidence- would have been helped by editor who saw 2 books here. The tragedy of Hiroshima told through individual family history.

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DrPat

Haunting Memories, Haunting Images

Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2015

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It is a haunting image that Porteau evokes to explain why houses become haunted: the shadow of a man seared into a wall by the hell-fire blast in Hiroshima.

This is not a book that fits neatly into any one genre. It holds a creepy, haunted feel from the beginning as it uses supernatural-tale tropes to reveal the toll that abuse and neglect imposes on childhood development and later life. Near-future science-fiction comes into the narrative, too, if only to underline how technology does not change the basic human experience. We will not be rescued from our nature by innovative science.

It certainly is not a YA novel, even though Porteau expertly presents both the inner and outer lives of Elizabeth and her father David in his youthful past.

The genre it fits into most comfortably is psychological thriller—but even then, Porteau has deftly skewed the presentation of the various characters' histories so that we are kept guessing to the end. Is Old Susie's house truly haunted? Is David unavoidably destined to have the same flawed relationship with his daughter Elizabeth as his own father had with him? And will the escaped killer wreak a side-wise vengeance on this haunted family?

The same complex character development we saw from Porteau in his Gettysburg stories, "Tales of B-Company", shines strongly in his debut novel. Because of his skillful weave of genres, the novel's final denouement feels fresh and unexpected, and satisfies the desire for closure.

Best not to expect anything, but just throw yourself open to experience the story. You won't be disappointed.

22 people found this helpful

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LeaH1109

Well-written, intriguing take on a serious subject matter

Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2014

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I enjoyed this book very much. I was drawn in by the description, "Have you ever worried about—ever feared—becoming your parents?" Haven't we all worried about that at some point?

While it deals with some pretty heavy issues, specifically child abuse/neglect and the lasting effects of it, it gives you a glimpse into just how much our pasts affect us today. The characters are relatable in the sense that, even if you do not personally identify with any of them, you can see in them other people that you know. You may just see some of those people through a different lens after reading this book.

This book also offered some very enjoyable sections - I really liked the "supernatural" aspect of the book and the build-ups of entering the spooky old house. The author employs descriptive and vivid language to great effect, and it is very easy to feel that you are part of the scene.

The writing/editing is excellent, which I have found is not typically the case for first-time authors' e-books. In fact, I was pretty surprised when I saw that this is the author's first book. Definitely looking forward to reading more from him!

One person found this helpful

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