Negative Positive
Title: Clever Idea, Poor execution
Review: This book is based on a clever melding of genres; alternative history, fantasy, and suspense thriller. The alternate history dimension is the setting in an alternate world where North America is split among Quebec, New France (Mexico in our timeline) and Dutch-founded equivalent of the USA, and Europe is dominated by a ruthless Austro-Hungarian Empire. The fantasy dimension is that ghosts exist, a reality something like the Eqyptian Ka, and can be manipulated by electromagnetic fields. The existence of ghosts is responsible largely for the historical divergences between this history and ours. The suspense thriller aspect is the plot. Unfortunately, while the basic idea is clever, this book is disappointing reading. The plot is rather mechanical, the characterization is thin, and the writing pedestrian.
Is the review positive or negative? 