Kindle Edition Amazon Join the Adventure Category:  Fantasy Publisher: Sacred Life Publishers ISBN-10:  1537514741 Type: Fiction Pages: 264 Copyright: Oct 14, 2016 ISBN-13: 9781537514741 Price: $3.99 (eBook) Imagine a house that connected you to your past and future lives, and the soulmate you have loved throughout time. Simon Carter is about to become the richest man in the world, if he can manage to save his life and the life of the woman he loves. Simon Carter's world will turn upside down when he learns he is the reincarnation of his great grandfather, and about to inherit the family fortune and business. In order to fulfill the old man's wishes, all he has to do is live in the old house for two years. It all seems too simple until he walks in the front door. Simon and Cassandra have been together forever, finding each other in life after life. But they are not alone. There is another, seeking to kill them in each life and succeeding in many. Now their nemesis returns, but is trying to kill the wrong person. Simon must discover why this maniac is after Hannah and a way to stop the terror, or else the woman he loves will die. The Old House is a tale of everlasting love and reincarnation. If the love in our hearts stays with us, perhaps other emotions live on as well. If someone was horribly wronged in one life, might they extract revenge in the next? The answers are all within the wall of the old house. Excerpt Simon stood and replied, “Okay Blake, let them do what they need to do. Stu and I are going to go upstairs and evict Jack the Ripper.” “Who?” Blake gasped. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Stu asked. “I am Simon Peter Carter, and this is my house!” “Stu, what is he talking about?” Blake asked. “You should probably come with us, Blake. We might need help.” After showing the researchers to the kitchen, Simon led the three up the narrow stairs with Stu behind him and Blake at the rear. It was the middle of the day and it seemed like twilight as they ascended the steps. Something was desperately wrong. The temperature dropped a few degrees with every step. By the time Simon reached the second floor, his breath was a cloud of fog and he was beginning to shiver. He walked slowly down the narrow hallway, regretting his decision to lead as Blake had the only flashlight. He held one hand against the icy wallpaper and reached out with the other for the string leading to the single bare light bulb. An icy breeze touched his face and he shivered all the more. He could feel the string in his hand. It was stiff as if frozen as well. He pulled the string and could see a faint red light emanating from the bulb. He wondered if the bulb was going bad. He looked at the wallpaper and noticed it was coated with frost. “What do you think of that?” he said as he turned around. Stu and Blake were coated with frost and seemed frozen in place. Simon touched Stu’s face and the skin was hard and cold. He could barely see Blake in the dim light, but he seemed frozen as well. “You stupid fucking wanker!” a voice said behind him. Simon turned to see a man standing at the end of the hallway near the bedroom. He was about five feet tall, and wore a tattered suit and black tie. His teeth were brown and crooked and he held a dagger in his right hand. “How many times do I have to kill you and your stupid bitch?” He lurched forward and Simon grabbed his knife hand and they wrestled, falling to the floor. Simon struggled to keep the knife away as the man fought to drive the blade into his body. Simon grabbed the man’s arm with both hands and turned the blade. The attacker shifted positions and Simon flipped over, holding the man beneath him. The blade turned again and pressed against Simon’s belly. He could feel the blade slice through his shirt. The man smiled at him and said, “I win again, Simon.” Simon summoned all his strength and turned the blade and shoved it into the other man’s abdomen. The man groaned in pain and Simon wrenched the knife from his hand. He thrust the blade into the man’s throat and was splattered in blood. He drove the blade through his neck and then severed his head. Blood was everywhere. Simon was retching from the stench of death. He found himself lying on the floor, panting for air. The body was gone. Stu and Blake were pulling him to his feet and his mind had turned to mush. Something horrific had happened and he was already forgetting what it was. He felt her lips on his and a soft voice saying, “Thank you, Simon.” He opened his eyes and noticed he was on Blake’s back, being carried toward the stairs. Stu was right behind them, touching his back and whispering calming words. “It’s over, Simon. You did it. The nightmare is finally over,” Stu said over and again. Simon looked about blearily. There was no body, no blood, no evidence of anything, except the temperature had returned to normal and sunshine shone through the window in the bedroom. Simon, Stu and Blake were seated at the small table in the kitchen, watching the team from the university photograph, catalog and wrap up the saber-tooth cat bones. The scientists were very focused on their work and hardly noticed them talking, until Simon said, “So, how did my great-grandfather know Jack the Ripper and why was his spirit upstairs?” The men looked up from their work and stared at Simon. After a few seconds, they went back to their work, confident they were being teased. “I don’t think we should talk freely here, Simon,” Stu warned in a low voice. “There are enough tales about this house already. Maybe we should go out back?” Blake stood and said, “I really need to get back to my duty station out front. You’re welcome to join me there if you like.” The other two rose and followed him out of the kitchen, through the house, and out onto the front porch. One of the scientists said, “Jack the Ripper? How gullible do they think we are?” The others laughed and resumed their work. Blake stood at the edge of the porch while Simon and Stu sat on two chairs. Simon began, “When I turned back to you guys, it looked like you were frozen or something. What do you remember?” “It was the strangest thing,” Stu replied. “I watched everything, but it seemed more like a movie than real life. I saw you struggle with that man, but it seemed like an illusion and I didn’t think I could do anything at all.” Blake turned to them and said, “I felt the same way, but I did try to help, but my body wouldn’t move. Simon, we saw you kill that man. There was blood everywhere, but then he, the blood and everything else was gone! You know that can’t happen, right?” “Simon, your great-grandfather never knew him,” Stu explained. “Jack the Ripper terrorized London in the late 1880s, more than twenty years before he was born. But he told me his own grandparents had been killed by him. Apparently, they were Simon and Cassandra too. Now I’m not saying any of this is true, but it is what I was told. He had a book full of newspaper clippings that he kept of the incident. Now I never saw that book, but apparently it mentioned other lives when he and Cassandra faced the same murderous monster.” He looked back at the house. “You know, it wouldn’t surprise me if that book is somewhere in this house. This is total speculation, but your great-grandfather was convinced the pilot of the fighter that killed his Cassandra was the same person. Obviously, he could never know for certain, but he had a gut feeling about it.” Blake sighed and said, “You know, if I hadn’t seen it with my own two eyes, I’d think you were both crazy right now.” “I wonder what would have happened if he had stabbed me?” Simon asked. “Do you think I might have died? I mean, he was just a phantom, otherwise we’d all be coated in blood right now.” Stu put his hand on Simon’s shoulder and replied, “Well, I hope you don’t have the opportunity to find out, Son.” “But I killed him.” “You said it yourself. He was a phantom. I don’t know if you can kill a ghost. They’re dead already, I think,” Blake wondered. Stu stood next to Blake and said, “He’s right. If it was a ghost, he can’t be killed, but then again, he should not have been able to wrestle you to the floor either. But that’s not the worst part.” “You’re kidding, right?” Blake scoffed. Stu shook his head and replied, “The Simon I knew brought this house from France to Iowa and finally here. He told me about what had happened to his grandparents, but he never mentioned seeing him in this house. Something has changed and not for the better. Today was the second time this Simon has run into him.” “It must be Cassandra,” Simon reasoned and the two men stared back at him. “Don’t you see? My great-grandfather’s Cassandra was already dead. He had to know that if my great-grandfather died, he would be reborn to find her living again. As long as he was alive, he and Cassandra could never be together. Jack the Ripper had won and was happy to watch Simon suffer in his loneliness.” Stu stuck out his hand and Simon stood to shake it. “Well, that makes a lot of sense. I’m going home now, but I’ll be in touch. If that monster is trying to kill you again, it must mean Cassandra is not far away, and you two are in terrible danger. Keep safe.” He turned and walked down the steps, across the yard and out the gate.

A Roller Coaster Ride
THE OLD HOUSE: AN EVERLASTING LOVE STORY by Karl Morgan kept my interest from beginning to end. Simon Carter was to inherit billions of dollars if he were to live in his grandfather's old house for two years. It's been vacant for twenty years and needed a lot of work. The adventure began on his first night in the house when he discovered he was a clone of his grandfather.

It turns out that this old house is magical. False walls in every room hid doorways that took Simon to the past and to the future where he met his ancestor and doppelganger of that era. The Simon Carter he encountered was always in love with a woman called Cassandra, and both were pursued by a madman who succeeded in killing one or both of them. Simon's grandfather appeared to him in dreams and suggested he use the time travels to learn why this being was pursuing them in every generation. And, when he had the answer, he was to make it stop.

Simon encountered the madman on several of his trips and finally killed him, but that did not change the outcome in future generations; the apparition was still at large, and succeeded in killing either Simon or Cassandra of that era.

Meanwhile, Simon's uncles and cousins attempt to interfere and get Simon to leave the house. If so, they inherit the billions instead of Simon. Greed would turn family members against one another.

Simon finds gold bars and bags of gold coins during one of his trips, confronts a Roman legion two thousand years ago, battles saber tooth tigers, and meets his successor in the future as the populations now live in glass domes on Mars.

I found each door Simon entered to be a new intriguing and suspenseful adventure. Current day Simon also has a love interest named Hannah. If he didn't solve the riddle, they would both die at the hands of a madman.

Some might find this storyline difficult to follow, especially when encountering the different characters in each era. Make it to the end and you'll be glad to see how it all played out. Did Simon succeed?

An Exceptional Story
The Old House, an Everlasting Love Story, sounds like it might be something you would see on HGTV. Don’t be fooled by the title. This book is the longest love affair the world has ever known. It is also a story with plenty of action and some spine tingles thrown in for good measure. The old house is merely a prop upon which the action takes place. It is a conduit to other times and other places that the characters can frequent through its many doors. The story starts simple enough. The Carter family has been around forever. The present-day Carter stands to inherit 95 billion dollars if he stays in the house for two years. Did I say simple? Well, excuse me. Given the exceptional writing and plot development, Karl Morgan made the story line seem feasible. That is just the beginning. Throw in a few Carters, some prehistoric animals, Roman legions, and get this, Jack the Ripper and you’ve got a raucous ride through a literary masterpiece. The historical research was above reproach and the various twists of the story well thought out. It was very hard to put this book down, but when it had to happen, I couldn’t wait to get back to it.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a complex story well told regardless of genre preferences. There is something for everyone in this story.