liked it but heroine so unlikable that it failed to be as enjoyable as it could be ( )

Mixed feelings. The novel was very atmospheric but I find some parts very absurd, especially the ghost from the 17 century stalking people in the current era.

Although at times the narrative ran dry (and certainly much longer than necessary). The characters were slightly flat and the most compelling (and pivotal) characters were left out except for brief cameos (Dilys Kite and Will Burroughs). However, Ghostwatch was redeemed by its excellent, well-researched historical asides. Without question, the several pages devoted to the history of European glassmaking and the techniques necessary for glassware were the strongest and most interesting in the book. The appendices containing Newton's notes on how to do everything from mix a dye appropriate for painting dead bodies to how to catch fish should not be missed.

Perhaps the books would have been better served if the speculation plot and last-minute conspiracy were removed and we were left with a solid historical exploration of Newton and his contemporary Cambridge. Nevertheless, Ghostwatch was entertaining and certainly piqued my interest.
( )

Was just looking this title up to add it to the currently-reading list and I've already got it listed (and rated!) as read 5 years ago! Oh my gosh! This has started happening with movies, too. Where has my memory gone?

Anyway... am at about page 100 and was thinking of DNFing this one. My rating has this as 2 stars so I'm thinking there's no need to continue... even if I have no recollection of reading this or what the end is. I'm intrigued by the Newton stuff but am not at all compelled to read about Lydia or Cameron. ( )

This seems like one of those books that reviewers loved but most readers didn't like and I definitely agree with most readers in this case. It seems like this book just had too much going on. There was animal rights protests, neuroscience, Issac Newton, alchemy, murder, literature, and conspiracy. Any one of those topics on its own combined with the historical element could have been interesting but together it was just too much and the author did not do a good job drawing all those threads together which made the mystery very unsatisfying.


This book is written in the first person as Lydia recalls the events of this book and I found that style to be very grating. It also made it almost impossible to connect to that character which made my reading experience a lot less enjoyable. The other important character is Cameron and I thought he was awful. He's not supposed to be a likeable character and that's fine but he just wasn't well written enough to be an interesting unlikable character. The way he and Lydia talked to each other was so annoying. Just as a sample, take this interaction.

“Oh yes, I'm with The Alchemist. It's amazing how it changes the way you see things. Putrefaction is the key. Rotting reduces everything to chaos so it can be remade. Apples rotted into fire and blue light. Fantastic. Aggregating and disaggregating. Out of the rot comes the power.” You poured me a glass.

“Like champagne,” you said. “Grapes to liquid gold and air and then assimilated into human flesh. That’s you and me and the transmutation of the grape matter.”

“Are you making fun of me, Mr. Brown?” You kept your distance. We both kept our distance.

All their conversations annoyed me because it sounded like two people trying to impress each other.


The actual plot, as I said was too convoluted but the conclusion was also very predictable and because the mystery was so badly plotted, everything at the end felt very unearned and I think if some plot threads had been cut, it could have been much more satisfying and streamlined. I think that this book did a bad job picking between realism and paranormal and because it didn't go all in on either, it just felt very middling.


I wish I could have loved this one despite the low ratings but alas, that was not the case. I know this author wrote nonfiction before this and based on this book, I think she might be more suited for that. If she wrote a nonfiction that interested me I might pick it up but I doubt I would pick up another novel from her. ( )