Reviews

The Ghost Theatre by Mat Osman

abookishtype's review

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

All the world’s a stage, said the bard, and the men are merely players. Most of us take this as a purely metaphorical (and metatextual, if you’re an English major) statement about the role humans play in our vast earthly drama. For Shay, an impoverished member of a clannish group of outsiders and our protagonist, the words of Shakespeare might have been better put to use as a warning to watch out for anyone who might fancy themselves a director. The Ghost Theatre, by Mat Osman, is a wild ride through early seventeenth-century England, the world of the theater, civil strife, and betrayal...

Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.

bethanjane21's review

dark

3.25

bellaob's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

lovedayyy's review

dark mysterious

3.0

baizil_nut's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

hundred_pages_wood's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.75

Elizabethan London but on a slightly different bent. A main character who is an 'Aviscultan', a bird worshipper/whisperer & medium/soothsayer?
 The synopsis of this book is everything I love but I found the book a little hard to follow... I felt, at times, I was hanging on to Devana's tail feathers being dragged along, not quite knowing where I was going or what was happening! It's a book you need to read slowly & absorb what's going on. 

lizzillia's review against another edition

4.5

The Ghost Theatre is a marriage of historical fiction and magical realism and is set in Elizabethan England around Southwark with it bear pits, cock fighting arenas, whorehouses and theatres. Our main character is Shay, a bird worshipper who disguises herself as a boy so she can travel around the streets of London and our opening scene is a chase across the rooftops and a meeting with Nonesuch, a boy sold into the Blackfriars Theatre and is their 'star' performer. The Blackfriars Boys being based upon the boys companies that were something of a phenomenon at that time. Shay joins the theatre troupe and becomes a performer. She has an affinity with birds and is able to tell fortunes through songs that she can't remember singing. Her fame spreads and she even has an audience with Queen Elizabeth who after hearing Shay's prediction, puts into action cruel policies. After this, the story moves on through political uprising, betrayal and devotion as Nonesuch creates  The Ghost Theatre, a sort of 'pop-up' theatre which is largely unscripted but causes the poor and the apprentice boys to rise up. There is a feel for London in here and we often get a bird's eye view as Shay journey's over the rooftops. Her character is one you feel sympathy for, unlike Nonesuch. He pulls you in all sorts of directions. We  are even given glimpses of characters from the time, John Blank and Evans the theatre manager. Even the Blackfriars boys, particularly Trussel find a spot in your heart. This is a story that draws not only on the superstitions of the Elizabethan time but the apprentice riots, the spy networks and the violent groups set up by Elizabeth who opposed her. A read that takes you on a flight across England.
 

valerixia's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Brilliantly written, fast paced. The characters are true and raw, the heartwrench in the middle hurt ! Set in a variety of Shakespearean London, birdworshipping cultists exist, and so do hotpotch groups of theatre performing orphans. A truly great book.

rosienotjen's review

adventurous dark emotional 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