Tag: ghost story

Ghost Story (The Dresden Files, #13) by Jim Butcher

Ghost Story (The Dresden Files, #13) by Jim Butcher

Harry Dresden, wizard for hire, is dead. And he still has to save the world by discovering his killer. How is that fair?

Maybe I was dead, but I was sure as hell not ready to go. I had to make sure the people who’d helped me take on the Red King were taken care of. pgs 32-33

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He quickly discovers that magic and dead people don’t mix. Now, instead of taking on god-like enemies with the backing of the Winter Queen, he can’t even pass through thresholds without permission.

It’s frustrating for both Harry and the reader. I didn’t realize how much I enjoyed reading about Harry blowing stuff up until he couldn’t do it anymore.

One of the things a lot of people don’t understand about magic is that the rules of how it works aren’t hard-and-fast; they’re fluid, changing with time, with the seasons, with location, and with the intent of a practitioner. pg 179. And if you’re alive or dead.

We spend a lot of time in Harry’s mind and memory in Ghost Story and less time in action. Frankly, it’s not as much fun as the other books in the series.

“You have entered a new world. Your old life is no more. You cannot be a part of it any longer. The wide universe stretches before you.” pg 185

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I also didn’t realize how much I enjoyed the give-and-take of the characters in this series until the main character couldn’t interact with most of them anymore.

Ghosts who weren’t supermighty manifested all the time. It wasn’t a question of raw power, and it never had been — it was a matter of desire. You just had to be crazy enough to make it happen.” pg 550

That being said, the ending of this book was strangely satisfying. And I cried at the part with Mouse. Overall, I’m glad I read it, but I’m not of the opinion that it was the best in the series.

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I would have already started on the next book but there’s a wait list for the digital copy. Library user problems, sigh.

Thanks for reading!

Rooms by Lauren Oliver

Rooms by Lauren Oliver

The patriarch of a family has recently died. The home he leaves behind is haunted and his family comes to divide up the remains of his earthly possessions.

Secrets are about to be revealed that concern both the living and the dead.

Rooms is part-mystery and part-family drama. My favorite characters were the ghosts and their interactions with each other.

“We expand into all five bedrooms. We hover in the light coming through the windows, with the dust; we spin, dizzy in the silence. We slide across empty dining room chairs, skate across the well-polished table, rub ourselves against the oriental carpets, curl up in the impressions of old footprints.” pg 12, ebook.

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Though they are stuck together in the same house, the two ghosts couldn’t be more different. It makes for some amusing dialogue.

“I’ve never been one to sugarcoat the truth, and at least I’ve still got a sense of humor, even if I’m all splinters and dust everywhere else. That’s another thing that drives me crazy about Alice: no sense of humor at all.” pg 34, ebook.

The living characters of this story have some serious problems.

There’s Minna, a nymphomaniac with a young daughter. Her brother, Trenton, a perpetually insecure teen with suicidal tendencies. And their mother, Caroline, an aging alcoholic.

To make matters worse, Trenton’s starting to hear disembodied voices in the house.

“In the quiet, Trenton heard it again. A voice. Not quite a voice, though. More like a shape: a solidity and pattern to the normal creakings and stirrings of the house. It was the way he’d felt as a kid listening to the wind through the trees, thinking he could make sense out of it.” pg 52, ebook.

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As if they didn’t have enough problems.

“That’s what a broken heart looks like,” she said, and stood up. “Like a haunting.” pg 64, ebook.

Strangely enough, I recently read another book with a ghost’s point of view. The Last To See Me by M. Dressler is about a ghost trying to stay alive and solve the mystery of her previous life, before the person hunting her could discover it and use it to destroy her.

I compared The Last To See Me to this book and, I confess, I liked Dressler’s book more. Dressler has fewer characters, but she gives those few more depth.

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I felt like Lauren Oliver, though she did develop her characters, struggled a bit to fit all of the different story lines together. I did like the ending of Rooms.

Recommended for readers who like their mystery with a touch of the paranormal. Age appropriate for mature teens and up because of the sexual content, hints of abuse and suicide themes.

Thanks for reading!