Oogie Boogie Central and Oogie Boogie Bounce
By M. Stephen Lukac
Delirium Books (2008), $16.95

Serial killer Theodore Munsch meets his end in a Charleston subway station when he’s hit by a train. But for West Virginians, the horrors are far from over.

And for readers, the confusion is just beginning. Lukac introduces us to Milo Tucker, a department store detective, and Alex Harrison, who works at a bookstore with Milo’s wife. Both happen to be at the scene of the subway accident.

Alex hears voices in his head. Lots of voices: some Asian, some French. Even a hippie. Lukac refers to the voices as the Colony and Alex is a Gatherer. What that means is anyone’s guess, as Lukac doesn’t explain.

Apparently a paramedic at the scene has the same condition as Alex and this enables Munsch’s spirit to take over his body and continues killing in his new incarnation. The killings push the envelope, going too far with sadism and details.

Milo becomes caught up in events, witnessing some of the killings and his life is never the same after he becomes a Gatherer, inhabiting a Colony of spirits.

While the multiple personalities and body takeovers are confusing at first, they start to make sense as the story rolls on. But multiple characters and return visits from minor ones only add to the confusion.

Despite this and some redundant and annoying dialogue tags, Lukac’s Oogie Boogie Central is an entertaining adventure.

But he really hits his stride in the follow-up, Oogie Boogie Bounce.

What was confusing in the first book is readily accepted in this one. The events make more sense and the characters are each well-developed and real.

Bounce follows Milo a year after the events of Central. With his newfound status as a Gatherer, Milo has several more strange encounters right from the start and the action doesn’t stop. Lukac creates more bizarre, intriguing characters, such as The Baptist, a headless psychic who eats heads to survive.

Far superior to Central, which must be read first for understanding, Bounce is filled with non-stop action, innovative characters and is certainly worth the read.

-- Angela Crockett