Reviews

The Ghost Theatre by Mat Osman

nickmasters's review against another edition

2.0

Arrgh, I think that is me done with any form of Historical Fiction.

A fantasy novel set in London was just too much of a draw for me to not give this a go. And I certainly gave it a good go, all the way through to the final glorious page (glorious in that there were no more pages to read).

I loved some aspects of the world we were presented with. And some of the characters had a lot of potential, but I just couldn’t get into a flow. That and the fact that I wasn’t enjoying the way the book was written, amounted to this ending up being a bit of a slog.

Thank You NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ) for a review copy.

deanjean_reads's review

adventurous dark emotional inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

bigbizliz1991's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

aeolias's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

carnivalofvanity's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

lita_tori's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

The Ghost theatre is a beautifully descriptive historical fiction set in Elizabethian London, following two children and the events that unfold upon their meeting. 

The descriptions are what held this book together and kept it propelling forward. The plot felt lacking, and started to feel disjointed and forced. 

The characters started off so strong, but then began to feel like development had halted, leaving me not caring how their story ended. 

I would have loved for more development of Shay's prophecies and more on The Ghost Theatre as I feel these were silently overlooked.

yawningtiger's review

adventurous tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

alexrafinski's review

adventurous dark sad fast-paced

5.0

This is a brave imagining of what it was like to be a child actor in London around 1600 - it is unlike any historical novel I've read.  If I was good at describing what novels were like, I'd use words like 'riotous' and 'chaotic' to describe this one.  Whilst the action of a book is often described as fast-paced, even the descriptive parts of this book felt fast-paced (if that even makes sense).  The result is that you become completely immersed in a crazy world.  The book isn't just about child actors of course - it has a broader theme of rebellion by the lower classes.  

Birds play a big part in this book (as the main character has a special affinity with birds generally and with a Gyr falcon in particular) as do animals - but if you don't like the thought of cock-fighting and bear-baiting then this book might not be for you.  I do feel that books that feature birds so heavily should be proof-read by a proper birder before being published - one or two references don't really ring true (e.g. Barn Owls don't hoot - that is what Tawny Owls do).

The book would have benefitted from a note about the history behind it, and how much of it was based on fact.  I had no idea that the "Blackfriar's Boys" were real (some of the names in the novel are of the real boys) and also no idea that child theatres legally kidnapped children to work in them.

banananinja's review

dark sad slow-paced

3.0

thepaperbackboo's review

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0