It is a fantasy that takes place in the physical and spiritual realms.The characters are Aaron Prescott, Sonya, Suzie, the Lefevere brothers, Rengo Winters, August Rollins and Lewis Hinton, to name a few. Spyder Bones will be enjoyed by high schoolers to thirty year old adults. I recommend this book to lovers of fantastic fantasy, lovers of spiritual beings and lovers of the battle between good and evil.Aaron Prescott is a soldier who just re-enlisted for a second tour in Vietnam. He had changed jobs. He was now a medic. The dialogue written by Phipps for the Vietnamese characters is clipped and without American speech patterns. When he returned to the war , he reconnected with his Vietnamese girl friend who lived with her grandmother. The grandmother said, "Look! A soldier of light come here. Evil surely fear and death fall on dark demons that who dare trespass. Be brave soldier of light, be brave." Aaron had no idea what she meant. He was soon to know what the old woman was saying.Spirit realm and physical realm are the fundamental planes of existence described in the book. Aaron finds himself in the spirit realm. He is, in fact, balancing between the two realms. He learns the reason he has walked through the valley of death and arrived in nirvana. To say more would spoil the development of the story.Oliver Phipps was a musician in his early years. He brings music into the story. Aaron's band, "Bayou Juju", brings him in contact with Lewis Hinton and the band "Bitter Black". The music connection is an important element in this novel. It should not shock the reader that the evil expressed in Spyder Bones includes rock and roll, drugs, sex, wild parties, and violence. Aaron is fighting evil at the spiritual level. The author brings ugly and base elements to the development of the story. It's quite amazing that he does it in a very creative manner. His descriptions through out the novel are intense and colorful.I particularly liked the author's use of the character Suzie, an "Erousia", which means "Warrior Angel". Suzie protects Aaron during his many tasks. Another character that is important, although, in an unusual way, is Rengo Winters. He is an "Alchemist". Phipps expands the general definition of alchemy which enhances the story line. Winters fades in and out through the story, but is a pivotal character overall in development of Aaron as a spiritual warrior. Sonya, or Sunny, as she is known, makes her appearance when Aaron arrives in the Crescent City. She is the help Aaron needs to find the evil he is tasked to fight. She truly loves Aaron and he loves her, but he also knows it will become very dangerous for her as time goes on. The other characters mentioned above, the Lefevere brothers, August , and Lewis Hinton, are all evil in some way or another. I will leave their part in the book for the reader to discover.