He Who Shall Remain Shameless - by David Ewald (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Salvation lies in the Internet.

Will the ghosts of the long-dead-and newly passed-take their place on social media, allowing them to remain in contact with the world? Can these ghosts be convinced to do the unthinkable?

One man searches the world, driven by a compulsion: to convince the dead to release their secrets.

Clouding his way: The Meritocrat, an arrogant otherworldly being whose goal is to reign supreme as the sole determiner of who is remembered and who is forgotten, who dies only once and who dies a second and final, fatal time.

Will the Meritocrat triumph, or will our hero find a way to bring the lost souls back from the dead using the Internet?

Filled with fictional interactions involving real historic characters (among them Harriet Quimby, Christine Chubbuck, Leo Ryan and Arthur Conley), He Who Shall Remain Shameless is a paranormal adventure novel that combines ghost hunting, drama and comedy to reclaim the lost tales of the dead.

Review Quotes

"On the surface, the story of the obsessed hero, driven to bring recognition to the ghosts of those he believes really should have it works well. Dipping a little beneath the surface, subtly done, the author works in obsessions and madness, delusion and tragedy. Looking at memory and value, and how we choose to be seen/how others see us. It is wonderfully well written, with a sense of whimsy throughout."

• Paul Montgomery, True JDK Writes

"How could this tale fail to fascinate? The protagonist is David Ewald--not the author, but a fictional character with the same name as the author--and he's on a mission to protect some of history's noteworthy, yet relatively obscure, from being erased from memory forever. Ewald is, in a very literal sense, accompanied by the Internet as a companion. This is fresh, unexpected writing, with a little bit of everything: an action-adventure tale, a paranormal mystery, occasional flashes of romance, and ultimately a message that makes the reader question the very meaning of existence. It's a dark, heavy novel that never feels too heavy. Lovers of cerebral metafiction will delight in it."

- Erin O'Riordan, author of Eminent Domain

"Ewald is at his best when he plays the suspense card. His historical ghosts are well researched and have believable personalities. But the story's strongest element is its exploration of death and obscurity. As we ponder his assertion that the Internet can (and should) be used to remember everyone, celebrity and average person alike, he reminds us that we're mortal. And death is a lesson we should all remember as we conduct our lives."

• David Drazul, The New Podler Review of Books