Rating: 4 1/2 stars (Spotlight Review)
Te Evangeline has lived in St. Ives all her life but she never knew about the dark things that are kept imprisoned all over the city. The things that hide in the darkness are shadows of some of the worlds most frightening mythological creatures. Some of them have been there for centuries and now they want out. Led by the legendary nine-tailed fox, a revolt is on the way and the only way to stop it is for Te to open herself to the power that her father passed onto her; the power that has been lying inside her all this time.
After the death of her father, Te went to work as a paranormal investigator with his partner, Babu Cherian. Though she is competent at her job, she doesn't really believe in any of it. She changes her mind however when they are called to the home of Babu's old friend, Sanjay. They find Sanjay bleeding out his life on the floor and muttering that Kitsune is free; every malevolent thing that mankind has conjured is waiting to be set loose on the unsuspecting town and bring the Old Ways back. Thus begins Te's descent into an underworld that she never imagined was possible.
Ghost Ocean is the sophomore effort from Peters, who came onto the scene with last year's Whitechapel Gods. Though this story is a complete departure from his previous effort, it is an equally amazing piece of work; the story, the writing, the characters themselves all breathe and pulse with life and wrap themselves around the reader oh-so-subtly. It is a difficult story for the reader to pull away from.
Even if the writing itself hadn't been spot-on, I would still have to give Peters high marks for his immense knowledge and use of mythology and folklore. The beings that inhabit this story are from some of the oldest legends mankind possesses; almost every culture is represented with creatures of surprising depth and emotion. Though they are not nice, they come across as vivid and magnificent.
Once again, Peters has scored with a helluva novel that truly deserves recognition.
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Paperback: 496 pages
Publisher: Roc; 1 edition (May 5, 2009)
ISBN-10: 0451462696
ISBN-13: 978-0451462695