MORI

The Lost Ones Volume 1

By: Michael Seagard

Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang, Tim Campbell

When Miles "Mori" Morhart disappeared from a Los Angeles hotel room, he left behind a cryptic journal—one now shrouded in true-crime myth and occult urban legend.

The journal's pages tell the story of a man isolated in the cocoon of his gloomy bungalow, haunting his own life, when a psychedelic cigarillo unlocks something within him—and he hears a voice calling from "beyond the Cosmic Gulf." The voice implores Mori to find a missing woman and her child, offering in return to help him escape a terrifying fate that threatens to consume him.

His captivating neighbor and her seeker friends join the otherworldly search, and together they find synchronicities in billboards, arcane texts, film, and television, chasing clues from Hollywood to seaside cliffs and shadowed canyons.

Along the way, they're swallowed by the dark.

MORI weaves supernatural mystery, psychological thriller, and emotional human drama into a poignant standalone tale of guilt, grace, and the terrifying beauty of what lies beyond our understanding—the inaugural entry in The Lost Ones series.

©2024 Michael Seagard (P)2024 Michael Seagard

Critic reviews

"A thriller that grows stranger, creepier, and more magical throughout. MORI is one of a kind... thoroughly absorbing." — IndieReader

I loved everything about this book

I'm not quite sure how to review this, other than to say this is one of my favorite books of all time. I didn't want to waste a second of it. If you are at all intrigued by the book description, don't mind some language (I personally was in hysterics when a mysterious entity "keeps calling him a MF-er for no reason", If you thrive on character growth, redemption, alternative realms and the power of friendship...I think you will really enjoy this. I was elated when I saw there will be a book two, because I truly adore these characters. Thank you, for this wonderful gift.

Wonderfully Weird

You'll either fall into the story, or you won't. Mori is insufferable in many ways, but I still couldn't help but follow his story and cheer him on. I am eager to hear the next book in this series.

Should probably be getting more attention

This was well written and engaging enough that I listened to it twice in a row. The story draws you in which is tough to do with a woke-formula story. I discovered however that they have people read the book before publication. If you subscribe to the newsletter on the website you might get an invitation to do this like I did. So that's maybe one way they're figuring out how to get people interested in this kind of thing. It drew me in like Hyperion by Dan Simmons. I read that twice in a row as well and decided that I could fairly predict where he would take any story based on his content. It's the same here. I won't be back, but it still deserves good marks. This book should probably be getting more attention that it seems to be getting right now.

What a ride!

Stumbled upon this book and was interested based on it's summary. It was a little slow going at first, but I feel it was the author's way of building Mori's universe. I am usually not a fan of abundant descriptions that can feel like a distraction from the actual plot *cough* Steven King *cough*. But, once I got into the groove, I thoroughly enjoyed the author's scene building. Like he wanted us to visualize each "Log book entry" as a film scene therefore giving us the breakdown of the colors and styles of everything, from clothing to furniture! I loved the poetic flow and words used to articulate these descriptions.

The dark humor and random absurdity throughout the book gave me total John Dies at the End vibes! Not as much humor or absurdity obviously, as I believe no one can top that series without breaking down into pure madness. The end had me saying, "WHAT!? Where's the rest!?" Which triggered my PTSD I am still suffering from after finishing Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. But, unlike that never ending torture, Mori was a pleasure to listen to during it's entire journey! I am BEGGING the author to write a follow up or 2nd volume! I will also be putting them on my watch list for whatever is next!

Haruki Murakami + Koontz + Samuel L. Jackson

This book is a combination of Samuel L. Jackson (action packed MFer), Dean Koontz (witty monologue) inside of a Haruki Murakami drug-induced dream world. A fun ride with great narrators, The ending did feel rushed but maybe that was on purpose.