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ClareR (6256 KP) rated The Ghost Theatre in Books

Sep 10, 2023

The Ghost Theatre

Mat Osman | 2023 | Science Fiction/Fantasy

10.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

The Ghost Theatre was one of those books that had me heading straight to Google. I was looking up “Aviscultan religion”. It doesn’t actually exist, but it sounds like it should.

Shay is an Aviscultan, but she is distracted from her home and way of life when she meets Nonesuch and his fellow young thespians at the Blackfriars theatre. She falls in love with him, neglects her failing, blind father, and eventually becomes something of a celebrity when she uses her ability to predict the future for Queen Elizabeth I. Soon, all wealthy Londoners want to see her, and the owner of Blackfriars theatre realises he can make some serious money out of Shay.

This is an exciting story with lots of running-across-rooftops-action, but I thought the real magic was in the descriptions of the narrow London streets, the smells, sights, the people and the animals. The descriptions of the birds, especially that of Devana, Shays falcon friend, truly expressed the wonder and reverence that Shay and her fellow Aviscultans had for all birds - and frankly, I can’t see what would be bad about a belief such as this!

The fact that a rebellion could be stoked by a guerrilla theatre group - a Ghost Theatre - showed the power of art, theatre and stories.

This is a mesmerising book; I was completely immersed in the birds, the magic and the dark London streets. And I didn’t want it to end.

Highly recommended.