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Book Review: Ghosts by Torch
Feb. 10th, 2013 04:25 pmTitle: Ghosts (North-West Passage Book 1)
Author: Torch
Published: 1997
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 202
Total Page Count: 128,393
Text Number: 374
Read Because: fan of The X-Files, available here and here
Review: Departing canon at 4.9 "Terma," Krycek comes back to America and to blackmail Mulder into visiting the small town of Leyden Creek—but to his surprise, Mulder and Scully are already being sent there to investigate fatal car crashes purportedly caused by ghosts. This is a rocky but not wholly unsuccessful story. It hops disorientatingly between Mulder's third person point of view and Kyrcek's overwrought first person narrative—one that almost suits the character's atmosphere of gothic tragedy, but trespasses too often into the absurd. It succeeds and fails on its basis as a Krycek character study: at best, it highlights the conflict between Krycek's actions and his implied desire for acceptance; at worst, it humanizes him too much, overlooking what makes him a successful antagonist. As much casefile as romance, the plot is a believable but unremarkable addition to The X-Files mythos; a focus on acts of daily sustenance give it an intensely personal atmosphere, but this is in conflict with Leyden's unconvincing residents. The romance, meanwhile, indulges more angst than sex; it's a slow, conflicted burn. I don't recommend Ghosts outright—it's compelling but melodramatic, tightly written but still an amateur effort—but I will eventually move on to its sequel.
(I reached that part in The X-Files where I was like hey I think I need some Krycek fics now and so I'm going through some of the big beefy classics, and yes I will post them as book reviews if I so choose.)
Author: Torch
Published: 1997
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 202
Total Page Count: 128,393
Text Number: 374
Read Because: fan of The X-Files, available here and here
Review: Departing canon at 4.9 "Terma," Krycek comes back to America and to blackmail Mulder into visiting the small town of Leyden Creek—but to his surprise, Mulder and Scully are already being sent there to investigate fatal car crashes purportedly caused by ghosts. This is a rocky but not wholly unsuccessful story. It hops disorientatingly between Mulder's third person point of view and Kyrcek's overwrought first person narrative—one that almost suits the character's atmosphere of gothic tragedy, but trespasses too often into the absurd. It succeeds and fails on its basis as a Krycek character study: at best, it highlights the conflict between Krycek's actions and his implied desire for acceptance; at worst, it humanizes him too much, overlooking what makes him a successful antagonist. As much casefile as romance, the plot is a believable but unremarkable addition to The X-Files mythos; a focus on acts of daily sustenance give it an intensely personal atmosphere, but this is in conflict with Leyden's unconvincing residents. The romance, meanwhile, indulges more angst than sex; it's a slow, conflicted burn. I don't recommend Ghosts outright—it's compelling but melodramatic, tightly written but still an amateur effort—but I will eventually move on to its sequel.
(I reached that part in The X-Files where I was like hey I think I need some Krycek fics now and so I'm going through some of the big beefy classics, and yes I will post them as book reviews if I so choose.)
