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horfhorfhorf's review against another edition
3.0
I was really on board with Stewart's storytelling right out the gate, but it's ability to hold me at attention waned through some choppy & sloppy page-filler. I enjoyed the book and if someone asked me if they should read it, I'd say they should. But I found myself a bit bored, hence the rating.
nedhayes's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this novel.
What a weird, wonderful, well-written blend of everything lovely in ghosts, magic, and reality. Also punk-rock.
The novel also moves beautifully thru a story that compels about a young man who is no longer young, and a person in search of meaning in a world that has the hard edges of reality.
Loved it!
What a weird, wonderful, well-written blend of everything lovely in ghosts, magic, and reality. Also punk-rock.
The novel also moves beautifully thru a story that compels about a young man who is no longer young, and a person in search of meaning in a world that has the hard edges of reality.
Loved it!
scottishben's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this - the plot was at times a little all over the place but lots of elements still shown though.
msjoanna's review against another edition
4.0
Sean Stewart and I seem to share a particular slice of history--growing up in the Houston/Galveston corridor in the 80s and 90s. This is my third of his books (the first being the even more wonderful [b:Galveston|383108|Galveston (Resurrection Man, #3)|Sean Stewart|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328046249l/383108._SY75_.jpg|991279] and the also enjoyable [b:Mockingbird|383106|Mockingbird|Sean Stewart|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1354903122l/383106._SY75_.jpg|372876]), and again here what I enjoyed most was the particular setting. Stewart captures what it was to live in that particular place at that particular time--the heat and humidity, the family reunions, the oil refineries and rigs, some Houston neighborhoods and landmarks. And the brand of magic that involves ghosts people see and talk to.
[Note: Sean Stewart didn't actually grow up there, according to his bio. He just seems to have captured the feel.]
There's heart in this book, but I don't know how much it comes through if you aren't also completely enthralled by the setting and the way that this book captures this particular bit of history. The characters in this book aren't exactly going anywhere--the protagonist is a sort of Nick Hornby here--early thirties, life didn't quite come together, some rock references, good heart. But there's vulnerability and emotion here too--the interactions with a daughter he rarely sees, the pining for the ex-wife he wishes he'd treated better.
I stayed up way too late finishing this one. But the appeal here felt so personal that I don't know whether anyone else would care about this one.
[Note: Sean Stewart didn't actually grow up there, according to his bio. He just seems to have captured the feel.]
There's heart in this book, but I don't know how much it comes through if you aren't also completely enthralled by the setting and the way that this book captures this particular bit of history. The characters in this book aren't exactly going anywhere--the protagonist is a sort of Nick Hornby here--early thirties, life didn't quite come together, some rock references, good heart. But there's vulnerability and emotion here too--the interactions with a daughter he rarely sees, the pining for the ex-wife he wishes he'd treated better.
I stayed up way too late finishing this one. But the appeal here felt so personal that I don't know whether anyone else would care about this one.
leafyshivers's review against another edition
5.0
This excellent novel deserves a much longer review than I can currently give it. What I will say is that I know a lot of Will Kennedys, and Sean Stewart creates in this character the most likeable, saddening, real YET hopeful figure I have encountered in months of my reading. The relationship between Will and Megan is heartrending. That between Will and AJ is chilling (hey, this is a 'ghost story'). I'd read more of Stewart any time.
crowyhead's review against another edition
5.0
Originally read May 2007. Re-reading August 2013.
Still just as awesome as I remembered.
*****
Will "Dead" Kennedy (also known as DK) sees dead people. I know this is starting to sound like a cliche, what with "The Sixth Sense" and Dean Koontz's popular "Odd Thomas" trilogy, but Stewart surpasses both of these with this moving, funny, and creepy book. DK's a former Texas punk, still in love with his ex-wife, and very much involved with his twelve-year-old daughter, Megan. In some ways his life is shaped by the dead -- he can't drive a car, for example, because he's gotten in too many accidents braking for ghosts -- but the real haunting is in the form of a past he can't let go. When a cousin of sorts calls DK up because there's a ghost crying in his garage, DK opens up a can of worms in the ghostly world and in his own life.
I started this book yesterday morning, and finished it last night. It's impossible to put down, and it's got one hell of a soundtrack. DK's the kind of protagonist who you root for, want to slap around, and kind of want to dive between the covers of the book to save. I just loved this.
Still just as awesome as I remembered.
*****
Will "Dead" Kennedy (also known as DK) sees dead people. I know this is starting to sound like a cliche, what with "The Sixth Sense" and Dean Koontz's popular "Odd Thomas" trilogy, but Stewart surpasses both of these with this moving, funny, and creepy book. DK's a former Texas punk, still in love with his ex-wife, and very much involved with his twelve-year-old daughter, Megan. In some ways his life is shaped by the dead -- he can't drive a car, for example, because he's gotten in too many accidents braking for ghosts -- but the real haunting is in the form of a past he can't let go. When a cousin of sorts calls DK up because there's a ghost crying in his garage, DK opens up a can of worms in the ghostly world and in his own life.
I started this book yesterday morning, and finished it last night. It's impossible to put down, and it's got one hell of a soundtrack. DK's the kind of protagonist who you root for, want to slap around, and kind of want to dive between the covers of the book to save. I just loved this.
jyan's review against another edition
4.0
A powerful look at overcoming one's past and the healing powers of family. Has some of Stewart's best character work, though there's a moment that nearly killed it near the climax, and DK is one of my favorite protagonists I've had the pleasure of meeting recently. Would make an amazing TV show, with the "burned out punk who sees ghosts" aesthetic being tailor-made for the little screen, and it even has a built-in, ambiguous finale. As mentioned some moments near the end keep this from being perfect, for me, and the novel does meander a tad too much for its slim frame, but on the whole, it's a powerful, often quite fun, and really relatable read.
verkisto's review against another edition
4.0
One can find book recommendations in the oddest places. I used to read Spot the Frog, a charming comic strip about a frog living with an older gentleman. I recently heard that the strip was ending, and discovered that the author had a blog. In the blog, I found that this writer was a fan of Joe Lansdale, among other writers I like, and along the way I read his review of a book by Sean Stewart about a haunted man who could see the dead. It sounded like my thing, so I found it at the library.
On the cover of the book, Neal Stephenson gushes, “Stephen King meets Ibsen. Trust me,” and that’s about the scope of it. It’s a literate horror novel, with some delicious imagery and emotion. Just as you start to think that this is a character-driven novel of personal struggle, the author throws in a couple of plot elements to keep you hooked. But he’ll still keep you guessing, as the end of the main plot ends about 40 pages before the end of the book. There’s a lot in the book to keep you interested, and to keep you reading.
The book is about William Kennedy, a man who has been able to see ghosts since he was about eight years old. He knows they are ghosts, because they are always black-and-white, even when everything around them is in color. They get to the real world through the use of “ghost roads,” which are gray alleyways, sidewalks, or corridors that they walk down. The roads are their connections back to the living, and each ghost is connected for one reason or another. Maybe it’s revenge; maybe it’s because they have something to tell a loved one; maybe they just don’t realize yet that they are dead. When Will tries to help his cousin with one of his ghosts, he finds something dark and dangerous, and then when his cousin dies as a result, Will goes from being the man who sees ghosts to a man who is haunted by one of those ghosts.
The imagery of the ghost roads is amazing to me, and when the author gets down to describing Will’s own journey down one of these roads, you will find yourself entranced. The author writes in a crisp, lean style, and he manages to bring the world of the dead to life with a minimal amount of words. The book is only 243 pages long, but you will find yourself thinking that the book has to be longer. There’s so much packed into this brief novel that you may find yourself drowning in the narrative without realizing you were even submerged. And what you’ll find as you read the novel is that Will is haunted, but not because he sees ghosts.
This is an extraordinary novel, and not the sort of thing you would expect if you go into it thinking that it’s going to be a horror novel. It’s deeper and more resonant than that type of genre fiction, and you will find yourself thinking of it long after you’ve finished it. In Ibsen, you find a lot of idolizing of man’s struggle against himself; in Perfect Circle, you’ll find the same thing, and this is what makes the novel work so well.
On the cover of the book, Neal Stephenson gushes, “Stephen King meets Ibsen. Trust me,” and that’s about the scope of it. It’s a literate horror novel, with some delicious imagery and emotion. Just as you start to think that this is a character-driven novel of personal struggle, the author throws in a couple of plot elements to keep you hooked. But he’ll still keep you guessing, as the end of the main plot ends about 40 pages before the end of the book. There’s a lot in the book to keep you interested, and to keep you reading.
The book is about William Kennedy, a man who has been able to see ghosts since he was about eight years old. He knows they are ghosts, because they are always black-and-white, even when everything around them is in color. They get to the real world through the use of “ghost roads,” which are gray alleyways, sidewalks, or corridors that they walk down. The roads are their connections back to the living, and each ghost is connected for one reason or another. Maybe it’s revenge; maybe it’s because they have something to tell a loved one; maybe they just don’t realize yet that they are dead. When Will tries to help his cousin with one of his ghosts, he finds something dark and dangerous, and then when his cousin dies as a result, Will goes from being the man who sees ghosts to a man who is haunted by one of those ghosts.
The imagery of the ghost roads is amazing to me, and when the author gets down to describing Will’s own journey down one of these roads, you will find yourself entranced. The author writes in a crisp, lean style, and he manages to bring the world of the dead to life with a minimal amount of words. The book is only 243 pages long, but you will find yourself thinking that the book has to be longer. There’s so much packed into this brief novel that you may find yourself drowning in the narrative without realizing you were even submerged. And what you’ll find as you read the novel is that Will is haunted, but not because he sees ghosts.
This is an extraordinary novel, and not the sort of thing you would expect if you go into it thinking that it’s going to be a horror novel. It’s deeper and more resonant than that type of genre fiction, and you will find yourself thinking of it long after you’ve finished it. In Ibsen, you find a lot of idolizing of man’s struggle against himself; in Perfect Circle, you’ll find the same thing, and this is what makes the novel work so well.
vasha's review against another edition
5.0
A slight change of pace for Stewart -- moving a little away from the fantastic. This time, unlike the good but flawed [b:Mockingbird|383106|Mockingbird|Sean Stewart|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174341033s/383106.jpg|372876], the tone is pitch-perfect from beginning to end. Best of all, conveys a strong sense of the culture that Will's family is part of. And, pulls off the unlikely feat of making Will a character to continue to empathize with in spite of his considerable faults.
cindywho's review against another edition
3.0
Will is a loser with the ability to see ghosts. Unfortunately they are even more creepy than he is. This one is intense and moves along well - I kept diving back in to it. I never quite warmed to the protagonist, but I think that was intentional. It also seemed like a hate letter to Houston - it's not often a city is described as so unbearable.