Death Trance by Graham Masterton

This document contains excerpts from "Death Trance" by Graham Masterton, focusing on two primary, intertwined narratives. The first follows Michael Hunter, a young man deeply connected to Balinese spiritual practices, including the perilous "death trance" that allows communion with the deceased and confrontation with malevolent spirits called leyaks and their goddess, Rangda. The second narrative centers on Randolph Clare, a successful cottonseed businessman from Memphis, Tennessee, whose family is brutally murdered. Driven by grief and a desire to understand their deaths, Randolph travels to Indonesia, seeking Michael's help to enter a death trance, hoping to contact his deceased family. Their journey is complicated by the "Cottonseed Association," particularly Waverley Graceworthy and Orbus Greene, who are revealed to be behind the murder of Randolph's family and who subsequently pursue Randolph and Michael, aiming to silence them and exploit the death trance for their own nefarious purposes. The text explores themes of grief, revenge, spiritual belief, and corporate greed, culminating in confrontations both in the spiritual realm and the physical world.