Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Spiegel & Grau (2007), Hardcover, 320 pages
Description
After the mysterious drowning of his mother Elizabeth Vogelsang, who was writing a controversial biography of Isacc Newton, Cameron Brown recruits his former lover to complete the book. This plunges her to into probing two series of murders, the 17th century murders of several who stood between Newton and his studies and present day targets of those who offend the an animal rights group.
Media reviews
Rebecca Stott, with her own spectral patterns on the wall, has accomplished something distinctively fresh with what she calls "a grubby little set of murders in Cambridge." Along the way, she manages to invoke both the non-causal entanglements of quantum physics and the paranoid conspiracies of
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Pynchon and DeLillo. Her home terrain, however, is the river-riven landscape of the human heart. Show Less
Intense, intelligent, but overwrought, Stott's novel is a real slog. C+
User reviews
LibraryThing member victorianrose869
9-26-2008
When Lydia Brook learns of the sudden mysterious drowning of an old mentor, Cambridge scholar Elizabeth Vogelsang, she finds herself pulled into a dark and complicated web spanning a timeframe as wide and as far back the 16th century, and involving the life and career of none other than
Elizabeth’s son Cameron, with whom Lydia once had a doomed relationship, asks her to temporarily move into Elizabeth’s cottage in Cambridge, study her papers and complete a book Elizabeth had been writing about something significant she had apparently discovered about Newton. Lydia doesn’t really want to be near Cameron and had left the area several years before specifically to end their relationship, but she has finished her most recent novel and is at loose ends at the moment, and more importantly, she feels she owes it to Elizabeth, who had been an important figure in her life. What Lydia soon realizes is that there may be quite a bit more to Elizabeth’s death than anyone imagined, and that it was no accidental drowning that took the scholar’s life. In reading through the stash of papers and research Elizabeth left behind, Lydia stumbles onto a dangerous truth: that there are centuries-old secrets and deceptions involving Newton’s career and his time at Cambridge that several interested parties wish to remain undiscovered, and yet other parties – not all still living – just as eagerly wish to see full light.
Rebecca Stott is a renowned British historian taking her first stab at fiction, and while the mystery itself is compelling and Stott’s language and prose is breathtaking, the whole thing ends up a bit muddled. At the end of the story there is no real conclusion, and I was more confused than when I started. The author’s detailed knowledge of 17th century history, and in particular of Newton, alchemy, and the excitement which filled that dawning scientific era, was engaging enough to keep me going, as well as her talent for clever foreshadowing, but as far as I could tell the question at the heart of the mystery is never really answered.
Another big problem for me in reading this is a personal one only and not necessarily a slight on Stott’s writing, but it did severely hamper my enjoyment of it. I did NOT like Lydia, the main character. The reason is perhaps a silly one - because she’s having an affair with Cameron, who is married (not a spoiler; it’s right at the beginning). It’s both a moral thing and a respect issue. I have a hard time holding even a marginally good opinion of any woman who would sleep with another woman’s husband, and stoop to being some guy’s sloppy seconds when she could obviously do better. It made Lydia seem both nastily selfish and annoyingly pathetic, and while I want a few flaws in my protagonists for realism’s sake, I want those flaws to be things with which I can empathize.
Stott’s use of language is so lovely, however, that even though this debut is a little disappointing, I’d definitely give her another go and would like to see more from her. Definitely great potential and talent here.
When Lydia Brook learns of the sudden mysterious drowning of an old mentor, Cambridge scholar Elizabeth Vogelsang, she finds herself pulled into a dark and complicated web spanning a timeframe as wide and as far back the 16th century, and involving the life and career of none other than
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Sir Isaac Newton. Elizabeth’s son Cameron, with whom Lydia once had a doomed relationship, asks her to temporarily move into Elizabeth’s cottage in Cambridge, study her papers and complete a book Elizabeth had been writing about something significant she had apparently discovered about Newton. Lydia doesn’t really want to be near Cameron and had left the area several years before specifically to end their relationship, but she has finished her most recent novel and is at loose ends at the moment, and more importantly, she feels she owes it to Elizabeth, who had been an important figure in her life. What Lydia soon realizes is that there may be quite a bit more to Elizabeth’s death than anyone imagined, and that it was no accidental drowning that took the scholar’s life. In reading through the stash of papers and research Elizabeth left behind, Lydia stumbles onto a dangerous truth: that there are centuries-old secrets and deceptions involving Newton’s career and his time at Cambridge that several interested parties wish to remain undiscovered, and yet other parties – not all still living – just as eagerly wish to see full light.
Rebecca Stott is a renowned British historian taking her first stab at fiction, and while the mystery itself is compelling and Stott’s language and prose is breathtaking, the whole thing ends up a bit muddled. At the end of the story there is no real conclusion, and I was more confused than when I started. The author’s detailed knowledge of 17th century history, and in particular of Newton, alchemy, and the excitement which filled that dawning scientific era, was engaging enough to keep me going, as well as her talent for clever foreshadowing, but as far as I could tell the question at the heart of the mystery is never really answered.
Another big problem for me in reading this is a personal one only and not necessarily a slight on Stott’s writing, but it did severely hamper my enjoyment of it. I did NOT like Lydia, the main character. The reason is perhaps a silly one - because she’s having an affair with Cameron, who is married (not a spoiler; it’s right at the beginning). It’s both a moral thing and a respect issue. I have a hard time holding even a marginally good opinion of any woman who would sleep with another woman’s husband, and stoop to being some guy’s sloppy seconds when she could obviously do better. It made Lydia seem both nastily selfish and annoyingly pathetic, and while I want a few flaws in my protagonists for realism’s sake, I want those flaws to be things with which I can empathize.
Stott’s use of language is so lovely, however, that even though this debut is a little disappointing, I’d definitely give her another go and would like to see more from her. Definitely great potential and talent here.
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LibraryThing member 2chances
When Elizabeth Vogelsang, Cambridge historian, is found drowned, her son Cameron contacts his ex-lover Lydia to ask if she will complete Elizabeth's final manuscript - an investigation of Isaac Newton's alchemical research, which is missing two critical chapters. Lydia's own research draws her into
Alas, this is a book that suffers from a brilliant idea, indifferently executed. One of the back-cover reviewers refers to "shimmering prose" (enough already with the Newtonian light metaphors!) and it IS pretty good prose. But Stott spends so much time on lovely metaphors and lush descriptions and Newtonian light and color motifs that the actual story moves at a glacial pace. If I were her (which I'm not, and anyway the book is already published so it's too late anyway), I would have spent a lot more time on developing more fully-formed characters and telling a marvelous story.
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dangerous revelations about the Cambridge of 1665 and a series of murders there, which are reflecting into - bleeding into - modern Cambridge. You probably didn't see what I did there, with the "bleeding" and "reflecting", but if you read this book, you will. Rebecca Stott is okay with beating a motif to death.Alas, this is a book that suffers from a brilliant idea, indifferently executed. One of the back-cover reviewers refers to "shimmering prose" (enough already with the Newtonian light metaphors!) and it IS pretty good prose. But Stott spends so much time on lovely metaphors and lush descriptions and Newtonian light and color motifs that the actual story moves at a glacial pace. If I were her (which I'm not, and anyway the book is already published so it's too late anyway), I would have spent a lot more time on developing more fully-formed characters and telling a marvelous story.
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LibraryThing member elbakerone
Lydia Brooke is a writer posed with an interesting dilemma when her former lover Cameron asks her to ghostwrite the ending of his mother's book. Elizabeth (Cameron's mother) died under mysterious circumstances while composing a book about Issac Newton's rise to fame in the seventeenth century.
Overall, I had a difficult time getting into this book due to the first person narration. Little of the book is given to developing Lydia's character so she never becomes extremely likable. Also, the shifts into second person narration (you arrived, you called, etc.) and the non-chronological time line were distracting from the story. With that said though, I greatly enjoyed the science and the mystery in the book and thought that the ghost story aspect was subtle yet spooky enough to carry the plot. The ending does leave the reader with unanswered questions but as Lydia had to fill in Elizabeth's blanks the reader is left, not unpleasantly, to fill in some of Rebecca Stott's.
Another great feature about this book was its construction. From a strictly literary standpoint, I found the tie-ins between the story and the book within the book brilliantly done. The first portion of the "inner" book deals with glass making and it is enveloped in a portion of Lydia's story in which she is cognizant of light sources and reflections all around her. When she unveils the second part of the inner book dealing with Newton's work on prisms, her narration features vivid descriptions of color. I thought the way the two stories were subtly blended together reflected the impact Elizabeth's writing had on Lydia and picking up on these types of nuances made the book more enjoyable.
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Lydia accepts the writing task but in doing so she uncovers hidden conspiracies while piecing together Elizabeth's notes and encounters ghosts of others who died "accidentally" during Newton's Cambridge days. Overall, I had a difficult time getting into this book due to the first person narration. Little of the book is given to developing Lydia's character so she never becomes extremely likable. Also, the shifts into second person narration (you arrived, you called, etc.) and the non-chronological time line were distracting from the story. With that said though, I greatly enjoyed the science and the mystery in the book and thought that the ghost story aspect was subtle yet spooky enough to carry the plot. The ending does leave the reader with unanswered questions but as Lydia had to fill in Elizabeth's blanks the reader is left, not unpleasantly, to fill in some of Rebecca Stott's.
Another great feature about this book was its construction. From a strictly literary standpoint, I found the tie-ins between the story and the book within the book brilliantly done. The first portion of the "inner" book deals with glass making and it is enveloped in a portion of Lydia's story in which she is cognizant of light sources and reflections all around her. When she unveils the second part of the inner book dealing with Newton's work on prisms, her narration features vivid descriptions of color. I thought the way the two stories were subtly blended together reflected the impact Elizabeth's writing had on Lydia and picking up on these types of nuances made the book more enjoyable.
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LibraryThing member hobreads
I've had better times trimming my nails than I had reading this book. Don't bother.
LibraryThing member bcquinnsmom
From the blurb on the inside of the dust jacket, I really thought this was going to be good. After I read the prologue, though, things just started falling apart. While the writing is okay, the story just did not hold together well...it's like the author just had to include little bits of
The basic premise of the story is not bad...a young woman, Lydia Brooke, is called upon by her friend and ex-lover Cameron Brown to finish (ghostwrite) the book left behind by his mother Elizabeth. Elizabeth had died under some mysterious circumstances leaving an unfinished manuscript behind. Lydia agrees and comes to live at Elizabeth's house to finish the work. But as soon as she begins, very odd things begin to happen and soon she is dealing with things that seem to be out of her control. Had the author left it here, it probably would have been much better but sadly, she did not. There is some pretty out there stuff concerning animal rights groups, a shadowy organization and other stuff that just doesn't seem to fit in with the main part of this novel.
As a suspense or mystery novel, I must say it falls a bit short. There was one point, a scene involving a seance, that I thought was pretty good and which captured my attention most whole-heartedly, but around that there was just way too much to divert me from truly enjoying this novel. Too bad; I had looked forward to this one coming out.
I'm not sure if I'd recommend this one or not; I'd say yes tentatively to people who like a good supernatural story; if it's a mystery/suspense type read you're interested in, there are much better novels than this one.
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everything here and it didn't quite work out for her plot-wise. And at times I grew a little impatient with the melodrama of the main character and the constant and agonizing introspection to which the author makes the reader a party.The basic premise of the story is not bad...a young woman, Lydia Brooke, is called upon by her friend and ex-lover Cameron Brown to finish (ghostwrite) the book left behind by his mother Elizabeth. Elizabeth had died under some mysterious circumstances leaving an unfinished manuscript behind. Lydia agrees and comes to live at Elizabeth's house to finish the work. But as soon as she begins, very odd things begin to happen and soon she is dealing with things that seem to be out of her control. Had the author left it here, it probably would have been much better but sadly, she did not. There is some pretty out there stuff concerning animal rights groups, a shadowy organization and other stuff that just doesn't seem to fit in with the main part of this novel.
As a suspense or mystery novel, I must say it falls a bit short. There was one point, a scene involving a seance, that I thought was pretty good and which captured my attention most whole-heartedly, but around that there was just way too much to divert me from truly enjoying this novel. Too bad; I had looked forward to this one coming out.
I'm not sure if I'd recommend this one or not; I'd say yes tentatively to people who like a good supernatural story; if it's a mystery/suspense type read you're interested in, there are much better novels than this one.
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LibraryThing member drneutron
I just couldn't bring myself to like this book. I tried. I really did. But I hated the way the 1st person narrator addressed random comments sprinkled throughout to the guy she had been having an affair with. I was really hoping for a more spooky, eerie feeling that never showed up. The sum of my
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reaction - all around disppointment. Show Less
LibraryThing member devenish
With 'Ghostwalk', Rebecca Stott takes us into a double-layered Cambridge.One of the present day, where one can almost use the book to get around the city,and another of the seventeenth century,Isaac Newton,alchemy and several dark murders.
The central premise is that Newton is a darker and more
The central premise is that Newton is a darker and more
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complex figure than is generally excepted today is brilliantly expressed in this novel.I look forward to this author's next book with keen anticipation. Show Less
LibraryThing member lkernagh
Great story from the Issac Newton/Cambridge angle. An okay story as far as historical mysteries go. Subpar on the whole plot/character development. End result: an average read. I tried to read this one back in 2009 and ended up abandoning it then. The audiobook made for an easier, somewhat more
For me, glad to finally get this one off the TBR pile.
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enticing read, but the end result is that the story will probably only appeal to readers that enjoy stories steeped in the Cambridge setting or will gravitate towards anything with an Issac Newton angle. For me, glad to finally get this one off the TBR pile.
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LibraryThing member bhowell
Ghostwalk is one of the best novels I have read in a long time. I absolutely loved every sentence. The story is littered with musings on the philosophy of science and the historical investigation was brilliant. The ancient streets of Cambridge come alive and you can almost smell the teeming
I enjoyed this book so much that I will now read Ms Stott's other books and was delighted to find that I already have Darwin and the Barnnacle.
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humanity in the 17th century. I enjoyed this book so much that I will now read Ms Stott's other books and was delighted to find that I already have Darwin and the Barnnacle.
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LibraryThing member bjh3038
I really don't know how to feel about this book now that I have finished reading. Warning, there may be some spoilers in this review.
I didn't start enjoying Ghostwalk until the last 40 pages! Maybe it's because that is when the author stopped insinuating and hinting and got to the point.
The major
Aside from the changing point of view, it annoyed me how the author shifted time periods so much. As far as I can tell, the book is written by future Lydia talking about how she lived in Cambridge writing a book several years before. Then, in the book, the author would flash forward a year past the book being published to describe what happened while she wrote the book. If this sounds really confusing, imagine reading it!! I'll paraphrase an example from the book: "If I would have known before what would happen if I let you go to Germany, I wouldn't have let you go." See? Confusing! However, as far as I can tell, nothing really came of Cameron going to Germany to cause her to say this.
I am so glad that I am done with this book.
I didn't start enjoying Ghostwalk until the last 40 pages! Maybe it's because that is when the author stopped insinuating and hinting and got to the point.
The major
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issue I had trying to read this book is how the point of view kept changing from first person, to second, to third, and back to first. It was very confusing to read and I often had to force myself to continue reading the book just so I could move onto another novel.Aside from the changing point of view, it annoyed me how the author shifted time periods so much. As far as I can tell, the book is written by future Lydia talking about how she lived in Cambridge writing a book several years before. Then, in the book, the author would flash forward a year past the book being published to describe what happened while she wrote the book. If this sounds really confusing, imagine reading it!! I'll paraphrase an example from the book: "If I would have known before what would happen if I let you go to Germany, I wouldn't have let you go." See? Confusing! However, as far as I can tell, nothing really came of Cameron going to Germany to cause her to say this.
I am so glad that I am done with this book.
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LibraryThing member Gary10
Historian Stott blends 17th century history surrounding alchemy and Sir Isaac Newton with a contemporary mystery taking place in Cambridge. The plot structure was original and Stott shines by bringing in fascinating historical information about Newton and his contemporaries. However, the plot
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sometimes depends on mysticism to explain the action which always seems like an easy out for an author. Maybe Stott was trying to contrast Newton the rationalist with Newton the alchemist here, but I ended up enjoying the rationalist side better than the spiritual. And in the end, the connections between a series of murders in Newton's time to some violent encounters in our time depended too much on the magical for my taste. Show Less
LibraryThing member daisygrl09
Whoa! This was a rough one. Did not enjoy at all. Took 2 weeks to get through. That's really bad.
LibraryThing member bookworm546
could not understand much about what this book was about it was trying to be a bit like a dan brown lost symbol type of book but i found it kept switching timelines too often and was quite hard to follow ok but not great
LibraryThing member techeditor
This book is said to be a thriller, but it isn't. Instead, what could have been an intelligent historical novel was spoiled by supernatural silliness.
Lydia was ghostwriting the last couple of chapters of a scholarly work on Newton and alchemy that was being written by Elizabeth until her death.
But the author lost me when she went supernatural, when Lydia visited a psychic and when she began to notice too many coincidences. It is too easy for a writer of fiction to explain mysteries with ghosts.
Lydia was ghostwriting the last couple of chapters of a scholarly work on Newton and alchemy that was being written by Elizabeth until her death.
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Cameron, Elizabeth's son, asked Lydia to do this. Cameron and Lydia are former lovers, and Lydia narrates this story as a letter to Cameron. But the author lost me when she went supernatural, when Lydia visited a psychic and when she began to notice too many coincidences. It is too easy for a writer of fiction to explain mysteries with ghosts.
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LibraryThing member polarbear123
Rebecca Stott clearly knows here History and is passionate about it. I read the coral thief first and thought it was a fantasti read. Here we are in historical investigation territory again looking at Newton. There are several novels rolled into one here - thriller, historical fiction, romance
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even. While none of the styles on their own is that satisfactory as a whole it does generally work. For a first piece of work it is definitely worth a look and if you do like it, you will surely love the Coral Thief. Show Less
LibraryThing member terrybanker
Ghostwalk involves a complicated plot which requires the author to "explain, explain, explain" instead of "showing" or proving her premise.
Well-written yet flawed from the onset. Stott also utilizes a "needy" narrator, who got on my nerves and remained there.
An interesting note: Stott uses the
Well-written yet flawed from the onset. Stott also utilizes a "needy" narrator, who got on my nerves and remained there.
An interesting note: Stott uses the
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word palimpsest more than any author I've ever encountered. Show Less
LibraryThing member ishtahar
Rebecca Stott was my thesis mentor when I was doing my MA. She's one of those astounding women who I am totally in awe of. She had her first child while she was still an undergraduate at York. Went on to get her Masters and PhD, keeping in touch with the child's father all the time, until, after
She then went on to teach the creative writing module of the BA English programme and has just accepted a job at UEA in Norwich running their creative writing MA. This is the one founded by Malcolm Bradbury in the seventies with graduates such as Kazuo Ishiguro, Tracey Chevelier and Ian McEwan. Double sigh.
Still she signed my copy with love, so I must have impressed her somewhere along the line!!
Ghostwalk is a story of Cambridge, and a story of academic life. A crime story, a ghost story and a research novel. It is the story of coincidence and how everything in life connects, the entwinement of past and present. The story of an academic, Elizabeth, who dies trying to find the truth about Isaac Newton and Alchemy (FYI non-Cantabrians, Newton went to Trinity in the 1660s - we have all the celebs in Cambridge!!), the story of Lydia her son's mistress and her ghostwriter after her death and like any good book the story of obsession, both academic and emotional. Doesn't really fit any catergory.
I suppose it is especially close to my heart, being set in Cambridge and academia and I suppose there is a chance that those who don't know Cambridge or have no interest in academic life might find it all a little tedious and unnecessarily erudite.
All this though and I have to admit to being just a tad disappointed with the writing style. Don't get me wrong, I loved every minute of reading it and her prose really keeps the reader wanting more, even past the end, but there was something a little too planned about the whole thing. I suppose it is what happens when a creative writing mentor and teacher writes a novel; she uses every plot device she has ever taught. This doesn't detract from the incredibly original storyline or indeed from the enjoyment, but if you think about it (which I tend to do with every book I read) you will notice the writing littered with simile, alliteration, metaphor and stock phrases to keep the reader hanging such as; "I didn't think anything of it then," "It didn't seem important at the time", and so on.
The book is also a classic example of an academic writing fiction. She cannot resist the research aspect to the point where a good quarter of the novel is written as Elizabeth's historical work on Newton. I can't even begin to think about the time you need to research something that fully.
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she got her post doctorate and tenure in Cambridge they got back together and recently (she's early 40s now) had two more little girls. All this and she's thought to be one of the foremost brains on Victorian literature and feminism in the country. Sigh.She then went on to teach the creative writing module of the BA English programme and has just accepted a job at UEA in Norwich running their creative writing MA. This is the one founded by Malcolm Bradbury in the seventies with graduates such as Kazuo Ishiguro, Tracey Chevelier and Ian McEwan. Double sigh.
Still she signed my copy with love, so I must have impressed her somewhere along the line!!
Ghostwalk is a story of Cambridge, and a story of academic life. A crime story, a ghost story and a research novel. It is the story of coincidence and how everything in life connects, the entwinement of past and present. The story of an academic, Elizabeth, who dies trying to find the truth about Isaac Newton and Alchemy (FYI non-Cantabrians, Newton went to Trinity in the 1660s - we have all the celebs in Cambridge!!), the story of Lydia her son's mistress and her ghostwriter after her death and like any good book the story of obsession, both academic and emotional. Doesn't really fit any catergory.
I suppose it is especially close to my heart, being set in Cambridge and academia and I suppose there is a chance that those who don't know Cambridge or have no interest in academic life might find it all a little tedious and unnecessarily erudite.
All this though and I have to admit to being just a tad disappointed with the writing style. Don't get me wrong, I loved every minute of reading it and her prose really keeps the reader wanting more, even past the end, but there was something a little too planned about the whole thing. I suppose it is what happens when a creative writing mentor and teacher writes a novel; she uses every plot device she has ever taught. This doesn't detract from the incredibly original storyline or indeed from the enjoyment, but if you think about it (which I tend to do with every book I read) you will notice the writing littered with simile, alliteration, metaphor and stock phrases to keep the reader hanging such as; "I didn't think anything of it then," "It didn't seem important at the time", and so on.
The book is also a classic example of an academic writing fiction. She cannot resist the research aspect to the point where a good quarter of the novel is written as Elizabeth's historical work on Newton. I can't even begin to think about the time you need to research something that fully.
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LibraryThing member thejohnsmith
A nicely written, supernatural thriller that kept my attention throughout. An interesting plot and an enjoyable read.
LibraryThing member Kasthu
Set in Cambridge in 2002-3, Ghostwalk opens with the death of a writer and seventeenth-century historian. Her son Cameron Brown, who discovered her body, enlists his former lover to finish the book his mother began. All Lydia Brooke has to do is convert Elizabeth's notes for the final chapter of
The writing style is OK (though a little confusing, what with the mixture of first, second, and third person narration), but there's a lot missing here. Newton's not a very interesting person to write about, and Stott doesn't do the scientist any justice in this novel. The modern-day characters seem a little bit flat, and Lydia Brooke, for all her intelligence, doesn't quite "get" things, even when they're laid right before her eyes! In all, this book was an admirable effort, but not something I'd recommend. Try Diane Setterfield's The Thirteenth Tale instead.
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the book into prose form. But as Lydia does so, she uncovers a mystery involving the deaths of five people in the late 1660s that may or may not be connected with several modern-day murders that have taken place. Added on top of all this is an animal-rights group, who may or may not be killing animals in and around Cambridge. The writing style is OK (though a little confusing, what with the mixture of first, second, and third person narration), but there's a lot missing here. Newton's not a very interesting person to write about, and Stott doesn't do the scientist any justice in this novel. The modern-day characters seem a little bit flat, and Lydia Brooke, for all her intelligence, doesn't quite "get" things, even when they're laid right before her eyes! In all, this book was an admirable effort, but not something I'd recommend. Try Diane Setterfield's The Thirteenth Tale instead.
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LibraryThing member tmbcoughlin
The author weaves in Newton, glass history, supernatural elements, biological warfare, animal rights and a lover's relationship. To me, the book attempts too many directions along with the changing perspective of the narrator to be an enjoyable read. It took me until chapter 9 to catch the rhythm
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of the book. Show Less
LibraryThing member krizia_lazaro
It's a nice speculative, historical fiction about Newton. Before reading this book, all I knew about Newton was he discovered GRAVITY. This book gives you a different perspective on Newton, a very different one. One thing I've noticed from Ms. Stott is that she loves words. She uses words
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repeatedly, exploring them and their different meanings, e.g. lie, embroil, entangle, etc. She's got a rich vocabulary. The only thing I didn't like about it is the lack of excitement leading to the BIG reveal. Stott just dumped everything in one go and I didn't quite expect it (not in a good way). the start and middle of the story was quite slow for me then towards the end, the story hastened, Stott seems to be in a hurry to finish the book. If the pacing was really good, I might have given this 5 stars. Show Less
LibraryThing member erikschreppel
Rebecca Stott’s Ghostwalk was a frustrating novel. Her writing is very good, often compelling. But she didn’t seem to be able to decide what type of story she wanted to tell. Is it a love story, betrayal, ghost story, secret government society ruling the world story, you can’t go home again
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story, etc… Instead of choosing one or two of these, she decides to just go with all of them. Stott is a very talented writer; her various plots are certainly well written. But because she can’t seem to make up her mind which one is the main theme, she jumps from one to the other. It becomes quite frustrating because right when one plot starts to get interesting, it stops and we are off to another one. Thus we pinball from one plot to another all the way to the end. And when we get to the end, the plots have become so muddled that the ending tries to wrap them all up in just a few pages. Ms Stott is a writer I would certainly read again, but I would hope in the future a better editor would keep her a bit more focused. Show Less
LibraryThing member stevenj
solid and satisfying, for fans of Byatt's "Possession"
LibraryThing member fionaelaine
Sir Isaac Newton and murder! Very interesting book, I like the way the author wrote it so that you weren't quite sure if she was seeing things or if it was just in her own mind.
LibraryThing member sogamonk
Could not get into this book.
Read 90 pages and the writing did not engage my interest at all.
Good premise, but, did not deliver for me.
Read 90 pages and the writing did not engage my interest at all.
Good premise, but, did not deliver for me.
Subjects
Awards
Dublin Literary Award (Longlist — 2009)
Language
Original publication date
2007 (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)
Physical description
320 p.; 9.2 inches
ISBN
0385521065 / 9780385521062