Ashley Jane S. Betonio St. Br.

Luis De Jesus

Marcus Sedgwick’s “The Ghosts of Heaven” a story connecting different chapters as centuries
goes by, its themes are history, fiction, sci-fi, and philosophical fiction portraying the evolution
of time and stories. Set around 4,600 million years ago, the death of one of these stars, in
Supernova. Eventually leading to the arrival of Earth, some 4,598 million years after is the
formation of mankind. It’s intriguing storytelling shows the different combinations of stories
creating a chronological order of storytelling of the centuries.

The story shows twist and turns, showcasing the different shifts of centuries. The Ghosts of
Heaven explores the different tribe and societal evolution. Its unique structure is seamlessly
blending from one chapter of story to another, showcasing the different empowerment from
different cultures and centuries and different stories but is believed to come from the same
origin. Sedgwick illustrates the madness, beliefs, and scientific knowledge of each story.
Although it has numerous strengths, it also has weaknesses, the book’s jump of storytelling may
seem confusing and disconnected as its setting continuously changes. The very far connections
of each character can feel shaky, and the underdeveloped characters adds to the weaknesses of
the book. Their far away eras cause a gap which gives a sense of disconnection. The book’s
elements may also seem confusing because it has multiple characters that doesn’t get enough
development or spotlight, and how certain parts for certain characters doesn’t get mentioned
creates a lack of information. The books are challenging to read because it requires critical
thinking due to its complexity for themes and writing style. It requires readers to piece together
and connect the narratives, and its intellectual depth needs commitment to understand the book.

Sedgwick’s writing style is very complex; it is rich in imagery and symbolism emphasizing the
book’s themes and characters. He engages in thought provoking writing styles and descriptive
styles depending on the chapter, character, and era of the story. The author’s style may seem
boring to those who are fast paced readers but with the twist and turns of the story it keeps me
intrigued, but its structure is still disconnected. The story is difficult to read since it is more on
critical thinking than being able to connect with the readers emotionally and for its settings the
jump from centuries is confusing but also interesting due to the descriptive style of writing, but
like mentioned its complexity and the need for critical thinking makes the story slow and boring
and not to mention the underdeveloped characters in the book.

Marcus Sedgwick's intriguing and fascinating book “The Ghosts of Heaven” talks the topics of
fate, destiny, and the power of the written word through the connection of four different yet
connected stories from multiple eras. A space traveler on a solo and lonely mission to a distant
world, a medieval woman accused of witchcraft or black magic, a crazy poet in a mental hospital
in the early 20th century, and a tribe girl who discovers and finds out he first written symbols are
among the main characters in the book. The spirals illustrated lack of order and how it is still on
going. As they were fighting for their own time or era in the Book the Ghosts of Heaven had a
character development and maturity. Even though these characters didn’t meet in person they
still fought for the same reason. Although most characters were developed, the tribe girl and the
space traveler is more weak and had less spotlight compared to the other characters. The tribe
girl’s side of the story is simple, focusing more on the discovery of symbols than her own
development, while the space traveler, Bowman, is emotionally distant, he is a deeply complex
and difficult character. The characters in The Ghosts of Heaven explore destiny and curiosity of
the symbols they see. The tribe girl shows uncovering and discovery, the medieval woman
illustrates fear and ignorance, the poet shows smartness and craziness, and the space traveler
shows isolation and being alone.
The tribe girl's uncovering of the first written symbols, the “witch” woman's accusation of using
Blackmagic and witchcraft, the poet's challenge into an asylum, and the space traveler's mission
are some of the events that made the plot more intriguing from The Ghosts of Heaven. It is
shown by how humanity have experienced threats, peace and quiet, or doubts spiritually. For
instance, the poet's mental sickness affects the way the world sees mental illness, while the
medieval woman's prosecution shows historical beliefs. I’m encouraging readers to connect with
the book to understand the plot's structure because it shows the jump of era from history to the
future. By creating a sense of thrill and unexpected outcome, the author’s nonlinear strategy of
writing emphasizes the book’s intellectual effect. It makes readers think critically and connect
with the book because of how history and development affect human history.

One of the weaknesses of the book The Ghosts of Heaven is its disconnected order, that may lead
to some characters left being undeveloped and the structure of the story may seem disconnected
and confusing. Its intellectual approach may seem boring to other readers, and they seek for a
more emotional and easier to understand appeal. Some of the characters stories may feel more
unrealistic and forced to seem more interesting. For instance, is the sudden paranoia of the space
traveler and the spiral symbol of the prehistoric girl may look like their connection are far apart.
Both characters should’ve been more developed since their characters are weaker and doesn’t
really give a strong vibe which makes it hard for readers to connect with these characters. These
weaknesses make the book have a more critical thinking or intellectual impact than feeling more
connected to the story. Although the story creates a sense of thought-provoking style, the shallow
characters need more development because it may lead to readers feeling unsatisfied and bored.

I would recommend this book to readers who are into thought provoking, critical thinking, and
intellectual thinking type of books since “The Ghosts of Heaven” explores themes that are big
intellectually, but for those who prefer a strong character in a book they might view this story as
weak, frustrating, and they might not be able to enjoy or connect with the book. Fans of fiction,
history, science, and even mystery themes would enjoy The Ghosts of Heaven the most. I will
give this book a 3/5 because of its unique style in themes and writings, but its structure and
underdeveloped characters made me or may leave some readers to be disappointed or
disconnected with the story. This book doesn’t really stand out much like the books I’ve read, its
underdeveloped characters and confusing structure is frustrating and leave readers feeling on
edge with the story.