Aphelion

Oh, dear -- typos in the title -- "Institue" and "of" instead of "for" -- but Who Cares?<br><br>I found the prose to be a bit on the purple side at first, but it was appropriate for the setting and protagonist (an early Nineteenth Century upper class English woman). The mood (a genteel air of mystery) was nicely established through the vivid descriptions of period detail, and Margot's (and, as it turns out, her father's) abilities are presented in an effectively spooky way.<br><br>I liked the way that Margot was able to shift her perception of the Institute from its "real world" appearance to its "spirit world" equivalent, and then walk into it. The idea of using astral projection to present oneself as a ghost is interesting (and to me, at least novel) -- it opens up possibilities for other stories featuring Margot and perhaps her brother (who more than likely has special abilities, too).<br><br>The naming of the child ghost was a bit unfortunate, as it immediately brought to mind the Harvey cartoon character Casper (a bit distracting). Jaspar's behavior, however ("Has it been a moment?") will bring a smile of recognition to anyone who has been around small children.<br><br>The ending was a bit of a letdown, as things just sort of trail off like this ... ;) I say this, however, as someone who likes fireworks and "special effects" more than is good for me.<br><br>Robert M.

This was a very interesting setting, a place to train the dead to be better at being mostly dead. Good notion.<br><br>What was the registration noise for? I found myself wondering if she would be unable to get back into her body after that.<br><br>I'm sure that she must have wanted to know what happened to her father, but I didn't pick up on why she felt it was so important to risk her own health by contacting him. It seemed to me to be a more academic interest instead of a personal one. Then again, I tend to be oblivious, so maybe I just missed it.<br><br>Nate

Two factors that affected Dickens's style:<br><br>He was being paid by the word (a feeling some of us know, and others would like to know), so concise prose was not exactly a priority;<br><br>What we know as novels were published as serials, although I can't recall what the time span between installments was, or what the length of each installment was.<br><br>Hence he had reason to be wordy ($$), and successive sections may have had more repetition and recaps than one might expect.<br><br>As I noted in my comments, I found that Ms. Wigget's language actually contributes to the general atmosphere of the story and the corseted (literally) lives of the characters ... <br><br>Robert M.