There's absolutely no way to summarize this so here goes....
I made the mistake of finishing another book and rolling right into this one and was unprepared for the emotional impact. Had me reeling and the dissonance was harsh. But after a sufficient pause I came back to this story and was sucked in. So, its after the Great War, which is the result of climate change, greed, and otherworldly shtuff, and Ropa is a teenage dropout whose brilliant mind is consumed with the day to day reality of providing for her Gran and sister, making sure her equally brilliant sister goes to school, doing her job of running messages between the living and the dead, and listening to podcasts on every subject. In the middle of all this a ghost asks her to find her living son, free of charge, and when she takes this on, her life changes radically.
Not the first time this has happened but it's the first time it's because of her actions.
In a sense this is a coming of age story but really more if a coming into her own story since at her age she's taken on more responsibility than some adults. She's brash, rough edged, cynical. She's also loving, kindhearted, compassionate. At first Ropa irritated me no end as she basically brow beat her bff into taking her into the Library, which got them both in tons of trouble, trouble she underestimated, and that seriously bugged me. Like why would she ignore his protests? But after following her daily routine of caravan life, hearing her memories of life before; I realized that her idea of "trouble" was well skewed. One mad father was a picnic to her and she'd no idea what the Library really was. Fortunately, she ends up better off, eventually.
What I like most about Ropa is her determination, grit, and devotion to her family. What I like most about this story is how the author shows us our world today, in the context of an apocalyptic one. We are already living an apocalyptic afterlife, we've just not realized it yet. (That's my takeaway btw.) And that even in the ashes, hope, love, friendship can survive and thrive.
I highly recommend!
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Ghosts in Edinburgh!
IG: @JohsJournal 3.75/5 stars rounded up! Adult contemporary fantasy set in Edinburgh about a 14-year old dropout named Ropa whose chosen profession is to ferry messages between the dead and the living. I was drawn in from the first chapter and was entertained following Ropa on her daily dealings with ghosts. I’ve never been to Edinburgh but was struck by how much of a love letter to the city that this novel turned out to be. The MC describes streets, landmarks, and the atmosphere. I liked the repeated use of “auld reekie” to describe the foggy smokiness of the city as capitalized “Auld Reekie” is still used as a nickname for Edinburgh. While I’m no expert on the cultural nuances in this novel, I also liked the other details, e.g. Ropa uses her trusty mbira, a thumb piano traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe, when handling her ghostly customers. Admittedly, it took a while to adjust to the staccato-like writing style (short abrupt sentences), which, combined with pop cultural references and terminology like “booga-woogaring, emphasizes Ropa’s young age. A bit of a smartass, Ropa tends to go on tangents… a lot, funny but also a bit distracting. The story does finally turn into a mystery, but it takes its time getting to the point. Overall had a good time reading and especially liked the endearing interactions with Ropa’s family, Ropa’s pet fox, and the latter portion of the book where Ropa gets into tussles with sinister forces when trying to solve the mystery. Despite all that, the title is a big misnomer and the library is not a big part of the novel, and I would have liked more about/in it. This is the first book in a series, so I’m hoping we get more in the next installment. A caveat that the writing style is not for everyone. The MC’s POV might grate some. This is one of those books you’ll either have the patience for or you won’t. If ghost and mysteries are your thing, I’d still check this one out. CW: violence, kidnapping, graphic eye-gouging Thank you to Tor Books for the gifted ARC for @B2Weird’s #B2WTours.
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- Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2023
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Top reviews from other countries
- V. O'ReganReviewed in the United Kingdom on March 8, 2021
Excellent start to Edinburgh based urban fantasy
