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Living With Ghosts by Kari Sperring
I finished reading this book recently, and that fact that I finished it is testament in itself. It was interesting enough to hold me through all the loss of focus from the vertigo.
It helped no end that the chapters are broken down into shorter scenes, and each scene was just short enough for me to be able to concentrate until the end of it, but long enough to advance the story in an interesting manner.
It's a fantasy novel set in the city of Merafi (think of a culture around the 'Three Musketeers' level of history and then add in a limited amount of magic).
Gracielis sees dead people. It can be extremely annoying at times (it would be nice to have a bit of privacy...), but it is also a part of what he is. In Merafi, he earns his living as a gigolo, but back in his own country he trained (and failed) at a totally different profession.
As the story develops, it becomes clear that there is a major threat to the city of Merafi. A magical threat that is closely intertwined with the history of the city and its founders. Somehow it is all linked to Thiercelin's dead brother-in-law, Valdarrien. Thiercelin sees Valdarrien, yet Thiercelin is Merafian - he shouldn't be able to see a ghost.
The only person who may be able to help him is the gigolo...
The thing I like most about this book is the depth of the characters. Both Gracielis and Thiercelin come across as very real people (though the breach between Thiercelin and his wife feels a little contrived for the purpose of driving the plot). It's not just the main characters, the minor characters are well-drawn too. It's the people that drive this novel - they all have their own motivations and their own reasons for what they do. They don't all view life in the same way, but you feel their joys and their sorrows.
Some will live and some will die, and you will mourn the ones who die.
I rate this book 8/10, well worth reading.
It helped no end that the chapters are broken down into shorter scenes, and each scene was just short enough for me to be able to concentrate until the end of it, but long enough to advance the story in an interesting manner.
It's a fantasy novel set in the city of Merafi (think of a culture around the 'Three Musketeers' level of history and then add in a limited amount of magic).
Gracielis sees dead people. It can be extremely annoying at times (it would be nice to have a bit of privacy...), but it is also a part of what he is. In Merafi, he earns his living as a gigolo, but back in his own country he trained (and failed) at a totally different profession.
As the story develops, it becomes clear that there is a major threat to the city of Merafi. A magical threat that is closely intertwined with the history of the city and its founders. Somehow it is all linked to Thiercelin's dead brother-in-law, Valdarrien. Thiercelin sees Valdarrien, yet Thiercelin is Merafian - he shouldn't be able to see a ghost.
The only person who may be able to help him is the gigolo...
The thing I like most about this book is the depth of the characters. Both Gracielis and Thiercelin come across as very real people (though the breach between Thiercelin and his wife feels a little contrived for the purpose of driving the plot). It's not just the main characters, the minor characters are well-drawn too. It's the people that drive this novel - they all have their own motivations and their own reasons for what they do. They don't all view life in the same way, but you feel their joys and their sorrows.
Some will live and some will die, and you will mourn the ones who die.
I rate this book 8/10, well worth reading.
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I can see you still fight with that miserable vertigo? I am so sorry!
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