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.

I loved the description of the book, but the execution of the book did not win me over, and I'm sad about that because it sounded like a really interesting title.

I love novellas because they are short and sweet, no extra filler to waste the reader's time or anything like that. This is one exception in which I wish the book were around 200 pages or so as I think some of the fantastical elements could have benefited from a bit more description-flesh it out so to say; this would have helped keep the book from feeling like the magical teacher is explaining EVERYTHING. I don't know-something about that kind of irked me and felt like I was being spoonfed plot. And then the thing. The thing that came from left field-what the fuck?! Completely lost me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

I rarely read novellas, but I've recently read two, The Order of the Pure Moon Reflecting Water by Zen Cho (which I've scheduled closer to publication) and Jeffrey Ford's Out of Body.

From description: "Jeffrey Ford returns with Out of Body, a new horror story about a small-town librarian whose sleep paralysis becomes something much more."

OK. A rather dull librarian experiences out of body episodes that introduce him to the mysteries of the night world. Murders, vampires, a serial killer, and other strange experiences.

I was slowly drawn in to this one, mostly because I had no idea what to expect and still don't know what to say about it.

Strange, but not really my thing.

NetGalley/Macmillan, Tor/Forge.
Horror? Fantasy? May 26, 2020. Print length: 175 pages.

Out of Body is a quick read about a librarian who witnesses a murder at his local deli. The librarian has sleep paralysis, that evolves into something more disturbing and scary.

The setting and characters are well-written, and the moments of horror throughout the story are truly frightening. It’s amazing how efficient the author was in creating such a creepy atmosphere. This novella is definitely worth checking out if you’re looking for something that’s dark and spooky.

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This dark fantasy thriller did not disappoint. A fantastic work of fiction. Ford writes his characters and setting well. He really set the tone of the book by his writing and characters. A great read that had me engrossed and captivated.

Slow starter and empty finisher. The hero doesn't even end up being the one to defeat the villain. Decided not to review for our site. Sorry. I don't like giving negative reviews. I wish he would recapture the brilliantly strange creativity of the Well-Built City or The Fantasy Writer's Assistant.