How is it possible to write an entire book about the boundary between life and death, about what happens to people after death and never once mention God?

When his grandfather dies, Michael begins “slipping” between his own identity and someplace “between life and death” in his grandfather’s memories and in his grandfather’s ghostly mind. It’s a sort of “mysterious river between the living and the dead” where Michael must figure what it is that will satisfy his grandfather and help him rest in peace and at the same time keep himself from being sucked into the river forever.

The story draws on a lot of psychic mumbo-jumbo and at the same time derives some of its philosophical underpinnings form the realm of psychology. So there’s lots of father/son relationship stuff and talk of repressed emotions as well as the idea that the dead may not be able to rest in peace, may become rather annoyingly insistent ghosts, if they have unfinished business in this world. The young people in the book even go to visit a psychic, Charlisse Hillel-Broughton, who talks to them about Plato and the river of the dead and finally tells them they’ll have to figure it all out themselves because “there is little I can do.” Typical psychic.

Oh, and video games are an important element of the story. Michael sort of thinks in video game terms, a thought frame that might appeal to the gamer mentality, but doesn’t do much for me. Slipping was a good story, but the worldview upon which it hangs its plot and themes is not one I can get particularly excited about.

Other opinions:

B Is for Books: “From the very first page I was hooked. What was happening to Michael was totally freaky but cool at the same time. Being able to [experience] his grandfather’s memories and everything was so awesome.”