The Peculiar Affliction of Thomas Wade Duncan

A Dark Tale

By: Kip Koelsch

Narrated by: Mark Souza

Thomas Wade Duncan lost a leg.

A casualty of the bloody Civil War Battle of Antietam, he wants nothing more than to drift into the comfortably numb embrace of his chosen medicine—forgetting his life before the conflict and the one he’d planned with his fiancée for the aftermath.

Instead, the former schoolteacher, stumbles through the seedy margins of a fraying nation—fading in and out of consciousness and finding himself somehow marooned on a stark, grey New England island at the onset of winter.

Detoxing under the care of Milly, one of the island’s mysterious community of women, his feverish dreams, hazy recollections, and once hoped for future become frustratingly indistinguishable.

While struggling with his own demons and tenuous sobriety, Thomas uncovers the sinister secrets of Black Ledge Cove, its elderly matriarch, and the obsession with its odd library—believing he has discovered a way to find peace by tapping into that powerful darkness.

©2023 Kip Koelsch (P)2023 Kip Koelsch

Interest story with excellent narration

The story was interesting and kept my attention. The narration was excellent and the narrator's use of different voices for the characters made it easy to follow and added extra suspense to the story. Each voice was clearly distinct and aligned with my imagined mental vision of the characters even the female characters.

Hanging on every word

I got lost in the story and couldn't wait to hear what came next. I felt like I was there and in it. The narrator brought the story to life.