Ghost Ocean by S.M. PetersISBN# 978-0-451-46269-5
Available now
Published by Roc
Format: mm pbk., 479 pages
Genres: fiction, dark fantasy, urban fantasy, supernatural horror
You may have noticed that a link to the author's website is missing, and that's because I couldn't find one. Apparently he lives in the wilds of British Columbia, Canada somewhere and has no internet access? If anybody finds him tell him to at least get a website. Oh you few mysterious, elusive authors, you do intrigue me so. Anyway, he has another stand-alone novel out, Whitechapel Gods, that I must now go digging for.
After Te's father died of a stroke five years ago she's led a pretty aimless existence. His old partner, Babu, pulls her in for the odd ghost busting job every once in awhile, but it's mostly an excuse to check in on her. Neither supposedly believe in the supernatural until the day they arrive at Sanjay's house too late. His last words mean nothing to Te, but they obviously mean something to Babu, "He's free. Kitsune." This is the day Te's life and world begin to unravel. Babu has kept her out of everything up til now, even going so far as to make her a non-believer. It turns out that St. Ives is not just any little town, it's a supermax prison for every myth and legend humans have ever been afraid of. While Babu's out gathering his team, the jailers of this prison, Te's doing her own gathering, of stolen information from Babu's binder. Unbeknownst to her, she also meets Yun Kitsune who sows his own seeds of doubt and makes her question everything she thought she was. Can she follow in her father's footsteps when Babu needs her, or will she prove to be her mother's daughter and bring the town down around their ears? Is it even really up to her once the Man in the Empty Chair exerts his will?
I originally picked up this book at the library for the cover, and because of the blurb on the back I thought it was urban fantasy. There are urban fantasy elements such as characters from myth and folklore living in a modern town, but this book could also easily fall into the New Weird or supernatural horror genres. I'm not really sure how to describe the characters. The humans are deeply flawed, and even the supernatural archetypes are deeply unhappy about being stuck in our world. Most of them are not seeking any sort of redemption, they're miserable, but do not apologize for who they are. The reader may not root for the "good guys", or even like them by the end, but you cannot deny that they tried to do some what they thought was right. What I liked about this book the most was the philosophical war going on concerning these archetypes. Should they be imprisoned for being themselves, and should humans really get to make that kind of choice just because some of the creatures terrify them? If you're looking for something similar to early Clive Barker, China Mieville, Thomas Ligotti, and yes, even tones of H.P. Lovecraft now is the perfect time to discover this author.
Zhye
Any idea if he's going to make it a series? He left a plot open, and I want to see more of Te. Maybe she goes back to St. Ives and gets Jack... I dunno. The ending made me a little mad, and I wasn't satisfied with it being just a novel. He must make a sequel. Even with the unsatisfactory ending, this is still my new favorite book.
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