Stanley Cowens writes...

Just got done reading your first book and really enjoyed it. Just got the second book on kindle and will start reading it soon. I hope you are able to turn this into a movie or animated program at some point.The first book would make an awesome movie In my opinion.THis book seems to have Guillermo del Toro written all over it.

I was wondering what type of advertising you are doing for the book and what have found to be the most useful in getting the word out?

I was wondering about the possibility of you ever doing any gargoyles novels.I can not wait to see the story line continued in some form or other. I felt like I was just reading the tip of the ice berg or cool stories. I do not know how feasible that would be,but I would love to read more gargoyles related stories from you in any format.

Masterdramon writes...

SPIRITS OF ASH AND FOAM

……………

"Rain walked along Windward Bar as the coast curved around into Windward Strand. A dense fog drifted in from the water, but Rain could see Mrs. Kim cut off from the sand by a strange line of dancing crabs and gulls. Suddenly, Rain felt a sense of urgency. She ran into the fog and immediately lost her bearings. She heard music - no, not music: singing. And the song was beautiful. The song was entrancing. She slowed down to listen, to attempt to make out the words…

But the words hardly seemed to matter. She wandered through the fog, searching for the source of the beautiful song…"

……………

In my review of the first book in this series, RAIN OF THE GHOSTS, I stated that if I had to put my impressions of it into one word, it would be "intriguing." It was a novel with a ton of promise, yet at times it still felt like the television pilot that it used to be; tons of great setup and foreshadowing, but not a whole lot of payoff.

Thankfully, SPIRITS more than makes up for it in this regard, improving on its predecessor in every conceivable fashion.

A central theme of Greg Weisman's works has always been repercussions, and SPIRITS is no exception. Picking up one day after the conclusion of the last book, it becomes immediately clear that Rain's inaugural adventure has changed her deeply, and much of the early parts of the novel are spent exploring the consequences of the quest she has now undertaken.

Rain herself is the biggest point of change, and it's a welcome one. While in the previous book she certainly had a unique and entertaining "voice," she was also impulsive and immature enough to erode reader sympathy at times. It's clear that she still has a lot of growing up to do, but a sense of purpose and real responsibilities have done much to temper her more negative qualities.

I can certainly say I was "rooting" for her a lot more strongly in this story, both in her personal life and in her greater quest, than I was in the last. Especially in light of a particular conversation she has with her father toward the end of the novel, which demonstrates some rather keen character growth.

Charlie, too, really comes into his own in this book. My one complaint of any substance regarding RAIN was that I thought that Charlie came off as a little bland and generic - but there was potential there, and I hoped that later novels might coax it out. SPIRITS certainly delivers on that score.

No longer defined solely by his relationship toward Rain (although one particularly amusing passage toward the beginning has him agonizing over whether he fits the term "sidekick"), Charlie gets to shine through as a calm and cool-headed planner, with the patience of a saint and a sardonic wit that enables him to take the supernatural world he's just been introduced to in stride.

Oh, and he gets nearly all the best lines, too.

'Bastian was my favorite main character in RAIN, and he remains one of this series' true gems; it's not like "dead grandfather of the protagonist who looks like he's in his 20s" is a very common character type in young adult fiction, after all.

Since he still doesn't know exactly why he came back as a ghost, or how long he'll be sticking around - although all three certainly spend some time speculating - his attempts to take things as they come rings true, and leads to some of the novel's standout scenes. A few of them were genuine tearjerkers.

The shared theme, for both of our male leads' initial character arcs, appears to be impotence. Charlie's lack of connection to the supernatural leads him to feel increasingly left out of Rain's quest, despite his obvious willingness to help her out, while 'Bastian literally can't interact with most anything in the world save for Rain herself.

It's a theme that's explored in a number of diverse and creative ways, and it's a bold one; in the current culture of violence as the primary method of conflict resolution, feelings of helplessness aren't often depicted so frankly as they are SPIRITS…particularly in its climax.

Greg really does a great job of conveying the feeling of being unable to act, and it makes for an extremely emotionally resonant work. One scene involving 'Bastian and his daughter (Rain's mother) is absolutely heartbreaking in this regard.

The big surprise out of this book's cast, however, is Miranda Guerrero. A minor character in the first book, she rises here to become the fourth lead, and easily my favorite. The isolated but kindhearted daughter of the Ghosts' largest private employer, Miranda proves especially effective as a foil for Rain: studious and responsible where Rain most decidedly isn't, and intensely insecure in contrast to Rain's boundless (over-) confidence.

SPIRITS succeeds magnificently at properly introducing her to this world, and in the space of the novel fleshing out her first big character arc. By the end she feels every bit a part of the main group as Rain, Charlie, and 'Bastian do, and I very much look forward to seeing how they interact on future adventures.

The supporting characters also feel a lot more "real" in this installment; with the brunt of the work done establishing the setting and the basic relationships in the first book, Greg makes great effort to allow them all to breathe and shine on their own merits here.

Iris and Alonso Cacique, seen predominately in the first book only through the VERY thirteen-year-old eyes of their daughter, get to show off a lot more of themselves as business associates, partners, and human beings, as opposed to just being "mom and dad."

Meanwhile, new details have begun to trickle out regarding Miranda's silent bodyguard Ariel, strangely alluring traveler Judith Vendaval, and especially our nigh-omniscient canine narrator Opie and his equally enigmatic companion Maq. Each one clearly has plenty of their own secrets left to tell, with just enough hints provided here to make some educated guesses.

Most notable among those joining this colorful cast for the first time is Renée Jackson, who spends so much time interacting with the main plot that she's arguably closer to a lead than a supporting character. One can't help but be impressed by the sheer depths to which she pursues the pettiest of revenges, approaching her role as "school bitch" with such dedicated professionalism that she ends up twisting said role in quite a few interesting directions.

And finally, we have our villains: the returning Australian mercenary Callahan and his faceless employer "Mr. Setebos," in addition to a handful of characters, old and new, who have a more…mystic bent to them.

That's another thing that's notably different about SPIRITS in comparison to RAIN - while the indigenous Taino culture was always an undercurrent of the story, it was distinctly at the background of the first book, focused as it was both on Rain's initial character arc and in putting away the ghosts (both literal and figurative) of World War II.

Not so with SPIRITS, which goes full-haul on the tragically underused history and mythology of the Caribbean in order to craft something that feels truly unique. There may be a million versions of Thor or Horus out there, but this is the first work to introduce me to figures like Aycayia.

Greg even goes so far as to craft his own fables as part of the narrative - each one directly inspired by various myths of the region, but blended together and twisted in unexpected directions in a style that fans of his animated series ("Gargoyles" in particular) will be eminently familiar with.

It's his unique mix of thorough research, respect for the original myths, and willingness to apply bountiful creativity to make them cohere into a single, brilliant tapestry that makes these sections a real highlight of the book. I must especially commend what he does with the concept of the "hupia," drawing from various sources in order to craft a monster both refreshingly original and utterly terrifying.

SPIRITS OF ASH AND FOAM is a book about a lot of things: Rain learning to accept her new destiny as the Searcher and the Healer, coming to grips with how that responsibility meshes with her more mundane life as a daughter and a student (fans of Greg's previous work on superhero series like "The Spectacular Spider-Man" and "Young Justice" may find a lot of resonance on this particular point), and setting to rest one more wound of the past, even as numerous others begin to appear on her horizon.

But ultimately, what it's really about is family - another perennial favorite theme, like repercussions, of a Greg Weisman story. Rain's grander destiny is a legacy of her birth family, and it becomes increasingly clear as the plot of SPIRITS unfolds that reconnecting with both them and with the new family she is gathering (Charlie, Miranda…maybe even Renée, with a little more growing up on both sides) is going to be key to unlocking the mystery of the Ghosts.

On the whole, there really is very little I can think to criticize about SPIRITS. Whereas I enjoyed but was never overwhelmingly excited about RAIN, its sequel was an engrossing page-turner from beginning to end; the only reason it took me so long to finish it was that I deliberately dragged out the experience to maximize my enjoyment.

The jokes all landed perfectly without ruining the overall mood, the action scenes - particularly the climactic one - played out with a palpable sense of tension, the dialogue felt crisp and dynamic, and the emotional beats had me genuinely empathizing with the cast.

In short, it really and truly did everything right.

Without question, SPIRITS succeeded in getting me fully invested in seeing Rain's journey play out over the planned nine-book series. And I hope that, if anyone reading this review was on the fence about trying these novels out, that I got you to feel the same way.

If you enjoyed Greg's previous work on any series from "Gargoyles" to "Young Justice" - or hell, if you're simply looking for a good story with strong characters and a solid grounding in an oft-overlooked mythology - then you owe it to yourself to try out RAIN and SPIRITS.

I guarantee that you will not be disappointed.

Phoenician writes...

This is definitely overdue, but better late than never!

I picked up Rain of the Ghosts the day it came out with the simple struggle in figuring out just how fast I wanted to turn the page to know what happened next when I quickly realized that I would eventually have to wait a fair heap of time for the next installment, thanks to the knowledge previously revealed on AskGreg that Rain was intended to be a series. In short, I wanted to cherish the ride that I had been waiting to get on. But now that the ride has finally started, I can finally say I don't ever want to get off!

Without getting into the details that makes most of these reviews sound all too similar (and to minimize any spoilers), let me just take the time to point out some of the strongest (and/or favorite) aspects of the story that stood out to me. As someone who has enjoyed a lifetime of reading books (and well aware I've not read enough) and watching more than a few shows with Greg Weisman at the helm, this book almost felt like the long awaited cosmic alignment that I've only just realized I should have been anticipating, lol.

Moments I liked (***POTENTIAL SPOILERS!!!***):

-- This was brought up at CONvergence for Gargoyles and Young Justice (ConJournals on the way I promise!), but I LOVE that Rain of the Ghosts is also dedicated to the realism so as to make the fantastic pop . . . from the Spanish to the slow track of time, it really does flesh it out. Such attention to detail - detail that's far more engaging than encyclopedic - makes the first novel feel like a diary for the entire Ghost Keys (at the least, the personal diary of the native omniscient narrator).
-- 'Bastian's nickname for Rain, and happy we'll be hearing it for at least a little longer :)
-- I enjoyed the magicked-scenes where Rain and Charlie (and whoever else) sees and hears different things. Especially since we actually get a lot of detail on what the folks who don't see *are* in fact seeing. If it played on television, I'd imagine it'd feel very familiar to the Weird Sisters in "City of Stone."
-- I was actually lulled into a false sense of security when Rain had snuck out of Callahan's window . . . not so much that I didn't think Callahan was clever enough to put two and two together (I do think I give him a touch more credit than Rain currently does), but I guess I didn't anticipate them having a row with each other so soon.
-- Appreciate the subtle and conscious effort to demonstrate how Rain's parents handled raising a kid with guests. Even when things got heated, there was a delicate approach to show how Alonso and Iris needed to check Rain's antics, taking her skeleton key but giving her a break. Tough - but fair.
-- I enjoyed the notable paces set by the various uses of commas, ands, and ellipses (among other tools in the syntax) in the exposition . . . whenever I noticed a pattern, or even a notable pause, it got me visualizing not only the scene but also the theoretical direction and use of the camera (transitions and cuts and everything), which, now that I'm thinking about it, would be (more often than not) from the point of view from Opie, right?
-- On that note, I remembered reading a line when a character paused for nine seconds (it even emphasizes that it was exactly nine seconds). Lines like those had me going back and trying to read the sentence in the allotted time. With the nine seconds line, I do remember its length and beat actually made it quite feasible. :)
-- Oddly enough, all the mouth wordplay . . . Alonso pushing his tongue against his cheeks, Charlie biting his cheeks, Old Joe licking his lips, Rain sticking her tongue out at Charlie . . . the visuals just seem like signatures for each character, lol.
-- And of course, finally meeting our native omniscient narrator, Opie, lol.

Overall, it's a great story with a ton of heart (Rain's experience with a death in the family is so relatable that you absolutely feel for her the minute she realizes she's pushed away the ghost she most desperately wants to see), with probably a ton more other stories to tease out. Needless to say I'm looking forward to each and every one of them!

**POTENTIAL SPOILERS END***

Harlan of the Ghosts writes...

A few questions about Spirits of Ash and Foam (which I loved, by the way).

1. Who were the two characters who demanded a bigger presence as you were writing Spirits of Ash and Foam?

2. Ghosts have a similar affinity for the night that gargoyles do (in that day is pretty much a no go for them). Do you have your own affinity for the night, or do you see a bit of thematic overlap between ghosts and gargoyles?

Todd Jensen writes...

I read "Spirits of Ash and Foam" over the weekend. Here are my thoughts on it.

*BEWARE! SPOILERS FOLLOW *

I really enjoyed it. You continued the story of Rain's quest, had her seek out the second zumi, but added some variety by having the quest revolve as much around rescuing the Kimlets and learning the sad story of Aycayia the Cursed as around the second zumi itself - but with Aycayia's story being linked to the second zumi - and the subplot of Miranda becoming part of the group.

I don't know much about the Taino myths and legends, but your book certainly encouraged me to find out more about them, if I can (just as the quest within the story has encouraged Rain to learn more - complete with surprising her teacher in a good way with her report on them). I liked the touch of the Taino vampire being linked to mosquitos rather than bats (and it certainly makes sense, when you think about it), and also Rain's discovery of the true story of Aycayia as a grieving mother rather than a temptress - not to mention the revelation that the true villain of the story is also the hurricane Julia (which was a good way, I thought, of tying things in together). we also got references to legends I was more familiar with, such as the notion of manatees being the origin of mermaid myths and about selkies.

The style of the legends themselves reminded me of the "Panther Queen" story in "Mark of the Panther" - more in the general atmosphere than in the details - I could even imagine that, if this was animation, the legends would have had their own animation style, different from that of the main story, just as the "Panther Queen" story did. I especially liked the touch of everything in the legends being "First [insert noun here]", emphasizing how they're set at the world's beginning.

A few other parts I particularly enjoyed were Rain, Charlie, and Miranda discussing the Kimlets' first names (and I could see why you named them after characters from "Peter Pan" as the story progressed), Rain's reading list for English class including "The Tempest" (how appropriate) and "To Kill a Mockingbird" (that one brought back memories; it was the first book on my 8th grade English class's reading list as well), and this bit from page 122: "[Rain] put [the book] back on the shelf. (And Charlie moved it back to where it *belonged* on the shelf.)" I work as a shelver at the library, and those two sentences rang true to me after so many times I'd found a book in the wrong place on the shelf and restored it to its rightful position.

Thanks for sharing this second book with us. I hope you get to have the other seven books published. (This time, the local bookstore had "Spirits of Ash and Foam" on the shelf; I didn't have to specially order it as I had to last time. That may be a good sign.)

Just a Nerd writes...

Wow. I was going to preface this with other questions, but upon searching the unanswered queue, all of the other questions had been asked, one by myself. So, I'm just gonna dive in.
2. Would you please, please, oh great and powerful and wise man (sorry for the terrible pun (wise man, Weisman)) tell us one, some or all of the owners of designations 27, 28, A06, A07, A08, and A09?

... Yeah, I didn't think you would. Thanks anyway. Can't wait to read Spirits of Ash and Foam!

Quindar writes...

At CONvergence, you mentioned that you have a written list of things to keep in mind while writing scenes for Rain of the Ghosts: what music Rain is hearing, what's the light source, what's the weather, etc. Would you mind posting the complete list?

Anonymous writes...

I recently began to compile a shelf of the best books I have ever read. Rain of the Ghosts was the 8th book on that shelf, preceded only by the exploits of a certain Mr. Potter. She is joined by the likes of the Pevensie siblings, the gods of Greek myth, and Sherlock Holmes. Thank you for creating a fantastic new series. And know that there is a spot reserved for Spirits of Ash and Foam, Masque of Bone, and the other six books yet to come.