Ghosts of Heaven by Marcus Sedgwick

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

My thanks go to the publisher for providing me with this review copy.

Pages: 448

Publisher: Orion

Released: 2nd of October 2014

The spiral has existed as long as time has existed. 

It's there when a girl walks through the forest, the moist green air clinging to her skin.

There centuries later in a pleasant green dale, hiding the treacherous waters of Golden Beck that take Anna, who they call a witch.

There on the other side of the world, where a mad poet watches the waves and knows the horrors they hide, and far into the future as Keir Bowman realises his destiny.

Each takes their next step in life.

None will ever go back to the same place.

And so their journeys begin...

What I Have To Say 

I chose to read this in the order it was put in the book. It was the most logical order and seemed the most easy since I was reading a paperback and was slipping reading time in whenever I could rather than reading it straight through. If I'd had other circumstances, I might have tried a different reading order, but to be honest, I'm pretty happy with the order I read it in. It made sense chronologically and had a nice sort of come together at the end. But I'd be interested to hear from people who chose to read it in a different order and how they found it. 

This book was a work of art. A lot of books that feel more like art than works of fiction feel like the art concept is overshadowing the actual enjoyment of the book. This one was better though. There was still a feeling that the art and the spiral metaphor of the whole thing was overshadowing the goal of making an entertaining story, but each little story was entertaining. 

The final one was pretty confusing though. It made my head hurt. But then often with that brand of sci fi, the confusion is half the fun. Still, I think it is worth reading, if you like Marcus Sedgwick or are just interested in all the myths and ideas surrounding spirals. It's an interesting read.