Trix's Reviews > Girl of Nightmares

Ugh...such a waste of time.

The whole book lacked a main drive (other than the generic, vague hope of getting Anna back). It dragged. It can be split in several parts, all tedious and spastic.
(view spoiler)[ - first 25% of the book: Cas is seeing Anna. His meager friends are worried he's finally losing it. I mean the kid has been killing ghosts since he was 14, fell in love and lost the love of his life in a couple of months, fought off his father's killer. Why would anyone think he might be going insane if he's confronted all that and lived to tell the tale? Actually... when I put it like that, yeah, I guess anyone is bound to snap eventually. Which would at least explain Cas' erratic behaviour and deer in the headlights reactions. So we get this lengthy narrative about Cas all doe-eyed dreaming of Anna which could have been edited to a few pages.
- 25% to 50% of the book: Cas convinces everyone Anna didn't go to Hell and is reaching out for Cas to save her. There's urgency in the air to save her from the cruel fate she threw herself into when she took out the Obeahman 6 months prior. And they need to quickly figure out how to get to her. And... that's it. We are told time is of the essence but the story drags as they all twiddle their thumbs, have no inkling how to reach Anna or save her. And every source Cas goes to acts all mysterious and shady.
- 50% to 75% of the book: We meet the cult of the Blah blah blah. No, they have a proper Gaelic name but I can't be bothered to look it up (the "Blah blah blah" was actually a line from the book and I'm also hinting at the poor humour employed). Apparently they helped create the butterfly knife Cas keeps petting (not unlike Gollum). They know a ritual to open a gate to where Anna is. But they'd much rather get Cas to kill the ghosts they want. Throw in a Lara Croft teenage version to help/hinder things along. Jestine was trained by the cult to become the next ghost slayer and throughout the book she plays a dual role of assistant and surprise competitor. There are whole paragraphs where Cas ponders about Jestine's life, training, purpose. And all the while, Anna is still in grave danger and needs urgent rescuing, remember that.
- last 25% of the book: Lengthy preparations for the big ritual. A surprise reunion between the other couple in the book (oh yeah, Carmel does a bitchy, high school move and dumps Thomas in front of everyone but later changes her mind - no reasons needed for either decision - and follows Cas and Thomas to England). Mindless wandering in dream space (think subspace from Inception). Another, less spectacular, encounter with the Obeahman (no other interesting characters to create?). Long awaited meeting with Anna (when Cas finally understands she and he aren't meant to be together in the real world - which everyone had been telling him from the start of the book - and lets her go to Heaven or wherever there is happiness for her). Cas being his graceless, useless self (seriously, how did this kid manage to kill that many ghosts when all he does is sit around, wait for everyone else to hound the ghost, then wave the magical knife around as a save all type action?! I liked it more when Sailor Moon did it with her crystal). (hide spoiler)]

Boring. Unfocused. Weak.