BOOK REVIEW: Weird Tales Of Argana Zeit: Volume 1 - by Owain Oakwood

TITLE: Weird Tales Of Argana Zeit: Volume 1
AUTHOR: Owain Oakwood
PUBLISHED BY: Independent Publisher

This is a collection of the first seven short stories in the series and contains the following titles:

Argana Zeit And The Haunted Busker
Argana Zeit Stares Into The Abyss
Argana Zeit Ruins Halloween
Argana Zeit Is On The Menu
Argana Zeit Stones The Solstice
Argana Zeit Rings The Other World
Argana Zeit Collects Snow Toads

This quirky collection, all based in Derbyshire and the Peak District, sees heroine Paranormal Investigator Argana Zeit prove that her boundless inquisitiveness will either sustain her or lead her into disaster. She is no stranger to ghosts, possessions, ancient entities, angry tree spirits and pan-dimensional monsters. Zeit and her dog, Max, along with her allies solve weird mysteries and face down arcane terrors.

Argana Zeit And The Haunted Busker
This tale finds Zeit get a sense of occult overtones as she witnesses a brawl in a shopping centre. She has to pick up the pace and prove that a ghost is involved and discover which ghost, in less than twelve hours. An innocent man will be incarcerated in prison if she doesn’t succeed and her own reputation which is on shaky ground will be in disrepute. The quiet Peak District town doesn’t know what has hit it as she does her utmost to unravel the mystery bringing her own kind of weird commotion to the proceedings.

This excellent debut is a gripping short story of clues, hauntings and larger than life characters. In a world similar to our own, psychic investigator Zeit and her trusty side-kick Max, assist the police with a crime instigated with slightly broken bagpipes.

This thoroughly enjoyable romp packs in a great deal of story. It is a pacey and witty paranormal mystery with lots of humour and shrewd observations. It is original with well-rounded characters and enjoyable from start to finish.

Argana Zeit Stares Into The Abyss
An archaeologist goes on the run from a psychiatric hospital; Zeit must shut down a dangerous experiment and antagonise over what it is that stares back at her from the Abyss.

This stand-alone short story is set in a quirky Peak District town and Zeit is on hand to assist Constable Fred Berkshire solve the mystery.

Argana Zeit Ruins Halloween 
On Halloween paranormal investigator Zeit would love to stay in and chill out but when illegal revellers are abducted in the woods nearby, she gets drawn into this mystery.

This is an enjoyable supernatural mystery which contains a novel ghost dog.

Argana Zeit Is On The Menu
Online superstars Ben and Daz, ‘The Medieval Chefs’, are in a stew, and paranormal investigator Zeit comes to their rescue in this amusing paranormal romp.

This is a fast-paced, well-written amusing tale.

Argana Zeit Stones The Solstice
Scatter-brained paranormal investigator Zeit becomes entangled in solstice stones, mysterious runes and a grumpy druid.

This is an engaging read with humour and a clever script.

Argana Zeit Rings The Other World
Paranormal Investigator Argana Zeit is at hand when a highly strung nerd decides to build a black box to talk to other worlds.

This is another fun adventure with Argana and Max.

Argana Zeit Collects Snow Toads 
A car crash that doesn’t look like an accident alerts Zeit who needs to find out who, or what, caused it before anyone else gets hurt or killed. It’s winter in The Peak District and away from the bright city lights and the snow gritters there’s something waiting in the blizzard, and it’s anything but friendly.  Zeit teams up with Constable Berkshire and her ever-faithful dog, Max, in this enjoyable mystery.

A weird read but if you’re a fan of strange adventures this will appeal.

Reviewer - Anne Pritchard