3.5

This was fun! I liked that they talked in British, and the worldbuilding was really cool.

I have to address George's character. We aren't supposed to like him that much. He is lazy and argumentative and fat. And George being fat gets brought up every time he is mentioned, like it's a fault in his character. When was this book written? 2013 or the 1980's??

It was missing something- sometimes it just dragged, I think. But I liked it overall!

( )

I read this after watching the Netflix series -- which I really liked, even though it is far spookier than I prefer. (It reminded me of episodes of Doctor Who but with definite Sherlock Holmes vibes. And fewer adults. I liked the aesthetic of “teenagers wander London, armed with rapiers, and solve mysteries”. I liked the characters and the teamwork and the banter.)

Much to my surprise, the book is very similar to the adaptation! There are some visual changes, and things like a few details in Lucy’s backstory are a bit different. And the book is narrated by Lucy and doesn’t include eerie music playing at critical moments.

But otherwise, there are whole conversations which are almost word-for-word as they are in the adaptation, and the story unfolds the same, just with longer scenes and more details.

It made for a strange reading experience, because I mostly just replayed my memories of the TV series in my head (and there might have been details I glossed over along the way because of this). It felt more like rereading something than reading it for the first time. I’m not sure what I would have thought of it if I hadn’t seen the adaptation… Would it have been tense? Scary? Would I have liked the characters as much or do I just like my Netflix-influenced interpretations of them?

(I do know I don’t like the negative way Lucy describes George. That’s not necessary.)

I might read more?

“I’m not here to be made fun of,” I said. “I’ll find my own way out ”
“Ooh,” George said. “Feisty.”
I looked at him [...] everything about him made me livid. “That’s right,” I said. “Step over here and I’ll show you exactly how feisty I am.”
The boy blinked at me. “I might just do that.”
“I don’t see you moving.”
“Well, it’s a deep sofa. It’s taking me a while to get out of it.”

( )

Something has happened in the world that makes ghosts common as well as deadly. Children are the only people who can see the ghosts and especially gifted children now work for a variety of Psychic Investigations Agencies to eradicate the ghosts. Lucy Carlyle is one of these children, gifted with the ability to hear and experience memories of the ghosts. After a terrible accident with her last agency Lucy goes out on her own to find employment with the small agency Lockwood & Co.; consisting of only Anthony Lockwood, George Cubbins and now herself, with no adult supervisors. On an investigation, Lucy and Anthony are able to separate a dangerous ghost from a home, but not without some damage. Now, Lockwood & Co. must pay back the damages and when a very high profile and extremely dangerous case falls into their laps, Lockwood jumps at the opportunity. The team prepares to enter one of the most haunted houses in England that seems to have a strange connection to the angry ghost in their previous case.

I absolutely loved the Netflix series of Lockwood & Co. and wanted to read the books. I love the books just as much and was impressed at how well the show followed along with the books. The writing pulled me in immediately as Lockwood and Lucy were investigating. I absolutely love the premise of the worldbuilding with ghosts existing and able to hurt people through touch as well as children being the only people who can see, hear or feel the ghost's presence. The plot of the story evolved steadily as the mystery of the ghosts unfolded as well as Lucy's past and hints about Lockwood and George's story. The characters are amazing, these kids have all had to grow up fast with their abilities and have to work to support themselves, their families and their town. Each character is harboring a secret and I enjoyed seeing the team of Anthony, George and Lucy begin to work together and get to know one another. Most of all, I enjoyed all of the hauntings and the reasons behind them. I am intrigued by Lucy's talent of feeling what the ghost was feeling through an object and if this might help the team lay more ghosts to rest rather than simply slaying or containing them. ( )

I picked this up because I loved the TV show based on this series. While much of the plot was familiar from the TV show, it's a great story set in a really intriguing setting. I like the exploration of the reasons and consequences of the "childreen and teens fight ghosts with swords" premise.

There are two things -- one major, one more minor -- that I'm very glad the TV show changed. The minor thing: in the first half of the book, there are a lot of vaguely racist mentions of the "ethnic artifacts" kept around Lockwood's house. And the major thing: the author goes out of his way to tell us that George is fat and that that means he's disgusting and slovenly. Literally every. single. time. the character is mentioned, there's some snide put-down about his appetite, hygiene, or general distatefulness. It's exhausting, and if I hadn't had a reason to want to read this book I would have quit very early on. The TV series did a great job rehabilitating this character into someone the audience really cares about, and it's much better in that regard. ( )

I’m really enjoying this creative take on the traditional ghost story. However, this is perhaps the first instance when I will say that I am glad to have watched the Netflix series before I read the books. I think I would have been really confused if I had tried to read the first book without already knowing the premise. The approach to handling the “visitors” and the “problem” overall are just so uniquely different from other stories I’ve read.

Between the Netflix series and the first book (I don’t know what’s to come in later books yet) these seem to be stories about human ghosts, brought about by human choices. And though the human choices that led to ghosts were often terrible, they were terrible humans or human circumstances — not demons etc. That is my first criterion for a ghost story. I like human stories because they unfold like genealogy with research and explanations that I can wrap my head around. So, so far, I’m in. On to the next book in the series! ( )