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This deeply metaphysical adventure picks up where “Steppenwolf” leaves off, reading as if Hermann Hesse himself had spent a few decades of his life as a Jesuit priest in a remote aboriginal mountain village. The scope of this unorthodox work seamlessly -- and surprisingly -- integrates ‘a host’ of seemingly disparate spiritual disciplines, through exotic travels to Laos, Myanmar and Thailand, at once solving several mysteries of life.
Martinson’s “Ghost Friends” weaves a spell-binding tale that speaks to timeless, universal experience, and tells of hardship, destitution, pain and suffering as well as compassion, understanding, love and ultimately salvation. Definitely a writer to watch, ‘Ghost Friends’ indicates Martinson has been cultivating a wonderful gift: the ability to touch the world audience. His other works are noteworthy literary and cultural treasures as well, particularly his fascinating account as a new missionary in Taiwan with Orchid Island’s Tao tribe.
Trista di Genova, The Wild East Magazine / Lone Wolf Press, lonewolfpress.com

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After famous travel writer Jacob Hunter dies in a car crash in the hills above Chiangmai, he returns as a ghost to visit his best friend, Stan, a reclusive linguist with a decidedly intolerant view of life. Appearing to his friend in a variety of animal guises, Jacob leads the reluctant Stan on a spiritual adventure, which takes him from a hospital in northern Thailand to the jungles of Laos and the temples of Myanmar.

Along the way Stan meets other ghosts, who ask him to help them with their "unfinished business". Soon Stan is drawn into a web of intrigue involving a drug lord in Myanmar, a Laotian healing monk, a bar girl, a blind boy, and a clairvoyant priest. Each of Stan's newfound "ghost friends" brings him closer to the discovery of who he really is and his potential to become something even more...

Ghost Friends deals with the “unfinished business” spirits have of bestowing their blessings on others, once intolerance is purified and reconciliation occurs. Told through fascinating stories, which take place in various parts of Southeast Asia, Ghost Friends is a clever weaving of fact and fiction, imagination and reality, with a metaphysical core aimed at those who are searching for meaning in this life and beyond. A rollicking good read!