If you enjoy Christopher Moore's books, you'll enjoy this: it's not as laugh-out-loud as Moore, but I had a big grin on my face much of the time while reading it, in between those times when I was horrified by the events of the novel. The ghost story part isn't horrifying; it's the college fraternity part that is.

LSU fratboy Conrad, recently murdered by fraternity supremo Ryan -- a sadistic sociopath who, who knows, if left unchecked might one day become President of the United States -- is a ghost who cannot leave this mortal coil entirely behind: dead Conrad wants revenge against Ryan and he also wants a general release of others from the extraordinarily violent hazing the fraternity inflicts upon its pledges. Oh, and if it were only possible, he'd like babe girlfriend Ashley back . . . though an extended dalliance with Ryan's babe girlfriend Maggie would be pretty okay, too. Trouble is, the only people who can detect Conrad's presence are the elderly cook Etta and the evangelical born-again student Sarah Jane . . . and occasionally the good-natured Jolly-Green-Giant-like fratboy pledge Tucker, into whose body Conrad can plunge for a brief burst of possession should Tucker get sufficient drunk.

The Worthy is a great romp with serious undertones. I'd buy it like a shot if I hadn't already bought it . . . or is it Conrad who's already bought it, hm?
( )

Reminded me of why I never went Greek in college. Godo story and great characters. ( )

Will Clarke has taken two well-trodden premises, a tale of college fraternity hijinks and a narrator from beyond the grave, and grafted them together in a refreshingly original and fun way.

Our disembodied narrator is one Conrad Avery Sutton III, newly initiated brother in LSU's Gamma Chi fraternity. Born into money and committed to the pursuit of frat boy hedonism, the living version of Conrad doesn't sound too likeable. But as a spirit floating about the LSU campus, where he is able to narrate from a first-person omniscient point of view, Conrad entertains with his quirky wit and evokes instant sympathy for his plight. You see, Conrad was struck down at the height of his youth, thrown down a flight of stairs by a psychopath named Ryan Hutchins, who masquerades as Gamma Chi's golden boy president and manages to avoid all suspicion for the murder. So who can fault him for shadowing Ryan and waiting for his opportunity to seek vengeance?

In Hamlet-esque fashion, vengeance becomes a rather drawn-out and deliberate pursuit for Conrad's spirit, who bides his time while following the next crop of Gamma Chis through the grueling pledging and initiation rites. One particular pledge, an earnest farm boy whom Conrad is able to possess when inebriated, becomes the physical medium through which Conrad is able to act.

Throw in a Bible-thumping coed, an eccentric fraternity cook who's able to speak with the dead, and an unlikely bond that forms between Ryan's beautiful girlfriend and the possessed farm boy, and you have a savory jambalaya that's sure to entertain. The story is also laced with some touching themes, most notably the longing for the touch and feel of the material world expressed by a spirit who was unfairly sundered from his body at a time when he was so vital and alive.

-Kevin Joseph, author of "The Champion Maker" ( )

set at LSU and involves a ghost and a fraternity prank gone bad. Interesting. ( )