The Fetch by Laura Whitcomb

[Weave]

Title of Book: The Fetch

 

Name of Author: Laura Whitcomb

 

ISBN-10: 0618891315

ISBN-13: 978-0618891313

 

Synopsis ~

 

A supernatural love story set in Imperial Russia.

 

"There's something not right about you," said Ana. She wasn't teasing him. She was concerned about what she detected behind his eyes. This made Calder's skin tingle. "You're not telling me something."

She was uncanny. Calder silently prayed she could not see how he had broken his Vows and upset her world and his own.

"You're lonely," she told him. "It must be hard to pretend all the time."

He felt a wave of sadness, sudden and deep.

"Don't be afraid," she told him. "Everyone has a secret. I'll keep yours."

 

Calder is a Fetch, a death escort, the first of his kind to step from Heaven back to Earth.

The first to fall in love with a mortal girl.

But when he climbs backward out of that Death Scene, into the chaos of the Russian Revolution, he tears a wound in the ghost realm where the spirits begin a revolution of their own.

 

Having read 'A Certain Slant of Light' also by Laura Whitcomb, one of my favourite books of last year, I looked forward to reading 'The Fetch' and I can honestly say, 'The Fetch' is another gem of a book by Laura Whitcomb.

 

'The Fetch' tells the story of Calder, a Fetch, a death escort for 330 years who goes through death doors to fetch souls and then takes them through the 'The Aisle of Unearthing' and then eventually 'The Great River', where heaven awaits on the other side.

 

Calder is not the most confident of Fetches, he does his job and does it well but he feels he is not good enough for the job, his memory as a human are somewhat vague but they still affect him on many levels. Calder is still trying to find his own way when he finds himself confronted by a potential Star Fetch, a person who have deep empathy and will eventually become Calder's Squire, who will be seated with him later in the afterlife, this changes, however, when Calder finds himself through a death door and confronted by the death of Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich (Alexei), youngest child of Nicholas II of Russia and Alexandra Feodorovna, because of this Calder finds himself back on earth as a mortal and in the body of Grigori Rasputin (advisor to the Tsaritsa).

 

I really enjoyed 'The Fetch', Calder was an excellent character, a kind young man who is trying to the best he can, Ana (Anastasia) and Alexei were also memorable characters, I have a interest in the Russian Revolution and it was nice to see the Romanovs seen in a positive light as opposed to a family which was brutally murdered in July 1918, you feel the real loss of such young lives with Ana and Alexei, I found myself thinking about kind of individuals they would become had they lived, also Rasputin is shown (at certain points) in a positive way.

 

'The Fetch' has various themes, love, loss, faith, family are some of them, the author identifies them all in a straightforward but powerful way, I could not put 'The Fetch' down, I wanted to know what would happen next to Calder, Ana and Alexei.

 

All in all 'The Fetch' for me was a lovely, gorgeous story, Laura Whitcomb wonderfully described what happens after death in a nice and honest way.

 

Highly recommended.

 

Rating: 10/10

 

[Nollaig]

Oh woooooooooooooooow!!

 

I MUST read this! I love the subject matter.

 

A Certain Slant Of Light was the first book I read this year, it's brilliant!