Sean Patrick Traver

Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC!

I admit I grabbed this title mainly because of the gorgeous cover and was amazed that there weren't more glowing reviews after I began, but by the end of the read, I was flabbergasted. Why? Because I can see why there might be two camps for a tale of this scope and magnitude. It's non-traditional all the way down the board. That's not to say it wasn't easy to follow, either, just that it does very well to bend all kinds of genres.

We can assume, first of all, that it's a really dark fantasy with romance, and this is absolutely true. But it's also epic in scope and because of the in-depth exploration of the world of the dead and the peculiar qualities of timelessness there, this book also fits neatly into time-travel and segues even better into a well-thought-out piece of historical fiction going all the way back to Aztec sacrifices, through the silent age of film, the World-Wars, druggie sixties and the modern world of Indiana Jones and lasers, and all of this can be accessed through the door of the dead. It's pretty awesome.

But most importantly, this is a love story between the King of the Dead and a modern occult witch right out of Aleister Crowley's pagebook, full of passion and misunderstanding and disillusionment and even a few surprise twists in the span of their relationship. It's not a simple relationship, either, but it certainly felt like a genuine one. Even if it does sour.

So much happens and so much is explored in this book, I'm not going to be able to touch on even a fraction, but I can say that it's pretty epic. It's also one of the most unique and fascinating takes on necromancy that I've ever read. This is not a simple tale. It's actually rather emotional and brilliant.

If the world had any justice, then complicated and exploratory adventure/romance/horrors like this would fill all the shelves of the world. We'd be steeped in the glories of more truly creative fictions that aren't afraid to cross all those silly boundaries of the genres. :)
… (mehr)

Ta-Senet-Net-Hor has been a ghost for thousands of years, moving with her mummy from location to location, rarely meeting another like herself. Until she met Christabel, a Victorian ghost tethered to a particularly morbid piece of jewellery. Neither understanding their condition, the two spectral ladies agreed to meet for lunch at semi-regular intervals

Until a third ghost enters their circle, Derren Gray, a newly deceased ghost who may provide them with the missing clues to find the truth of their unique natures.

I’ll be honest, I went for this book mainly because of the title. I pictured a rather hilarious collection of historical ghostly ladies of note gathered together, Sex in the City style to have shenanigans and adventures. I could see Queen Elizabeth and Cleopatra and Joan of Arc and Ching Shih all running around spectrally in the modern world doing all kinds of hilarious and silly things. By it's title and cover I expected humour, lightness and shenanigans.

This is why you should never judge a book by it’s cover

Instead we have a rather deep, powerful book focusing on Ta-senet-net-hor, an Ancient Egyptian woman who has been a ghost for millennia and her infrequent contact with her fellow ghosts (Christabel a Victorian lady and Derren, a much more recently deceased ghost). They talk and often discuss the whys of being a ghost. Why they are ghosts, why other people are not ghosts and the limitations and restrictions of their state. What is noteworthy and interesting is how little they actually know - how their knowledge of ghostliness is all theoretical, despite, in Ta-Senet-Net-Hor’s case, existing for centuries as ghosts.

I like this uncertainty, the fact that the supernatural can be this big unknown even for those supernatural.

This book explores their lives, their own personal development including the often bleak and difficult situation they find themselves in. I like how we get a powerful sense of the frustration and hollowness of ghostly existence without a lot of over the top angst while still maintaining small gems of experience that make this existence still worth clinging to. I like how we examine each character with a careful view of their flaws as much as their virtues, making all three extremely human people

The discovery of the secrets behind their condition is interesting and unexpected as well as the grand revelation of what connects them all as well as the dark secret in Ta-Senet-Net-Hor’s past. I even like the show down scene which, like so much in this book, is restrained, careful, layered and nuanced. There’s no moustache twirling villain. There’s no be-halo’d saint.

It all makes for a fascinating, insightful and well balanced book that is truly artfully crafted

In terms of diversity we had only three characters, but our protagonist is definitely a woman of colour as an Ancient Egyptia

It’s also a short book - unsurprising since it’s a novella. And when I reached the end I was left with a vague sense that I had just read a prologue and was looking for the rest of the story.

Read More… (mehr)

2 1/2 stars. I guess this might be best described as a paranormal crime noir. And while I generally like both sci fi / fantasy / paranormal and mysteries, I really didn't like this much at all. I spent most of the first half of the book confused about what was going on and wondering what the point was (I guess it did get clarified right at the end, so that's something...), and the last half slogging through it, hoping it would be done soon. Didn't really like any of the characters much, and even when the plot did get clarified somewhat, it never did hook me in.… (mehr)