GHOST OCEAN, by S.M Peters, is an Urban Fantasy that,to put it simply, rocked our socks off. S.M. Peters is the author of the awesome WHITECHAPEL GODS which you may remember Nick recommended in the 102 class of the University of Fantasy here (If you paid attention and were a good student, that is). We already knew he was a very creative and imaginative author, and were not surprised in the least with the way GHOST OCEAN held our attention.
Te Evangeline, the main character of the book, is more than she seems (it's all we can do not to make a Transformers reference here...oh wait, did that count anyway?), and so is the city she lives in. The city of St. Ives is home to a multitude of supernatural creatures and an eclectic crew of very unique individuals that keep them in check. The story is, at once, about the mysterious pasts of these team members and the present exploits of a creature that had been imprisoned and is now broken free.
We loved how unique each of the team members was. Their talents, history, quirks, and vices were extremely entertaining to read about. Not a single one of the characters in this book felt like someone we had ever come across in our reading crusades. They were incredibly fleshed out, especially for a single volume book that weighed in at the fairly low page count. What? You want a few examples? FINE. Babu is the chain smoking paranormal investigator. Lester is a real vampire with a more modern set of eccentricities than traditional vampires (Don't worry, he is still a blood sucker. Stephanie Meyer, pay attention. This is how you do a modern vampire). Angrel is an albino Tarot card expert. And that's not even all of them. Yeah. We enjoyed every page of getting to know these characters. You know what really impressed us? Even the characters that had already been killed before the book started had more depth and interest than some authors can manage for their characters in an entire series.
On a topic related to the characters, are the supernatural entities that are encountered. Each of them has a personality that is very well defined and interesting. Not to mention how terribly deadly each of them are. Woohoo! Finally an author that brings us some inventiveness in his creation of monsters! Did we mention they were deadly? Like tear off your limbs, drain your soul, kill you dead, or worse? We did? Oh. Well, the power of reinforcement and all that...
The writing in the book is an improvement over his efforts in WHITECHAPEL GODS, which was nothing to scoff at in the first place. We can tell he is building his ability and perfecting his craft. Not to mention he is brave enough to dip his toes in multiple genres. So far he has written a Steampunk masterpiece, and now an exciting and thrilling Urban Fantasy. He has the capability to bridge genres without missing a beat. His efforts have hit the nail on the head both times and we look forward to seeing what he provides us with next. Fans of China Mieville (PERDIDO STREET STATION) and Neil Gaiman (AMERICAN GODS), but looking for something a little less dark or graphic, will find a perfect match with S.M. Peters.
We would heartily recommend this book to readers of all types, both those who read fantasy and who don't. It is an exhilarating thriller/mystery at it's heart and kept us turning the pages, unwilling to put it down.
Recommended Age: 16 and up. There is enough graphic detail of violence, and swearing that any younger of a recommendation wouldn't be responsible.
Language: There is a bit of cursing here, but it isn't distracting in the least bit.
Violence: There isn't a LOT of it, but what is there is pretty strong and graphic.
Sex: A few acts are spoken of, but nothing is really shown.
So yeah, S.M. Peters. You know, it seems like nobody has heard of this guy. Considering the talent this guy packs into his novels, you would think he would have his name plastered all over the place. You should all go help him out by purchasing both his novels (they are both easily worth the cover price of the Mass Market paperback they are printed in), and you should seriously get all your friends to read Peters' stuff too.
We don't see a personal website for him out there. If you see one, let us know so we can update this review to include it. S.M Peters deserves attention, and as much linkage as possible.
Ghost Ocean
7:00 AM
Nikki
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