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The Ferryman Institute
In this stunning, fantastical debut novel from a bold new voice in the bestselling traditions of Christopher Moore and Jasper Fforde, a ferryman for the dead finds his existence unraveling after making either the best decision or the biggest mistake of his immortal life.
Ferryman Charlie Dawson saves dead people—somebody has to convince them to move on to the afterlife, after all. Having never failed a single assignment, he's acquired a reputation for success that’s as legendary as it is unwanted. It turns out that serving as a Ferryman is causing Charlie to slowly lose his mind. Deemed too valuable by the Ferryman Institute to be let go and too stubborn to just give up in his own right, Charlie’s pretty much abandoned all hope of escaping his grim existence. Or he had, anyway, until he saved Alice Spiegel. To be fair, Charlie never planned on stopping Alice from taking her own life—that sort of thing is strictly forbidden by the Institute—but he never planned on the President secretly giving him the choice to, either. Charlie’s not quite sure what to make of it, but Alice is alive, and it’s the first time he’s felt right in more than two hundred years.
When word of the incident reaches Inspector Javrouche, the Ferryman Institute's resident internal affairs liaison, Charlie finds he's in a world of trouble. But Charlie’s not about to lose the only living, breathing person he’s ever saved without a fight. He’s ready to protect her from Javrouche and save Alice from herself, and he’s willing to put the entire continued existence of mankind at risk to do it.
Written in the same vein as bestselling modern classics such as The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde and A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore, The Ferryman Institute is a thrilling supernatural adventure packed with wit and humor.
Ferryman Charlie Dawson saves dead people—somebody has to convince them to move on to the afterlife, after all. Having never failed a single assignment, he's acquired a reputation for success that’s as legendary as it is unwanted. It turns out that serving as a Ferryman is causing Charlie to slowly lose his mind. Deemed too valuable by the Ferryman Institute to be let go and too stubborn to just give up in his own right, Charlie’s pretty much abandoned all hope of escaping his grim existence. Or he had, anyway, until he saved Alice Spiegel. To be fair, Charlie never planned on stopping Alice from taking her own life—that sort of thing is strictly forbidden by the Institute—but he never planned on the President secretly giving him the choice to, either. Charlie’s not quite sure what to make of it, but Alice is alive, and it’s the first time he’s felt right in more than two hundred years.
When word of the incident reaches Inspector Javrouche, the Ferryman Institute's resident internal affairs liaison, Charlie finds he's in a world of trouble. But Charlie’s not about to lose the only living, breathing person he’s ever saved without a fight. He’s ready to protect her from Javrouche and save Alice from herself, and he’s willing to put the entire continued existence of mankind at risk to do it.
Written in the same vein as bestselling modern classics such as The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde and A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore, The Ferryman Institute is a thrilling supernatural adventure packed with wit and humor.
384 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 26, 2016
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July 22, 2016
Charlie Dawson has been a ferryman working for The Ferryman Institute for many years. He gets assignments from his manager and gets them set up from his navigator and off he goes with his special key. This key takes him to the person he needs to talk into going through their door once they are dead. It's a very heartbreaking job that Charlie has to do and he's the best the Institute has at completing.
Charlie is tired, very tired. He has tried to transfer out for years now but they keep turning him down. They just can't let their best man go. But geez, it's making him crazy. It's been over 200 years! But one day Charlie gets a letter from the president of the institute that says "Be a ferryman or save the girl."
Well this is a no brainer. How many times has Charlie wanted to save a life, too many to count. The woman he is going to save is Alice Spiegal. The way they meet is totally off the wall and crazy and funny.
I loved the character of Charlie and Alice, but I must say that Alice is my favorite character. She's a little OCD, okay, a lot OCD and other issues and she's funny and snarky. Oh, she can bring the snark. I want to add so many excerpts but I won't so it can be fresh to the reader!
When Charlie saves Alice it gives this jerk named Javrouche an excuse to come after him because it's against the law to do what Charlie did AND no one can find the letter from the president.
Needless to say there are all kinds of crazy stuff that goes down after this point. I loved most of the characters and the story line itself. The author has set the book up for a sequel if that is to be a plan for the future.
I think a lot of people will love Charlie and Alice and a few others as much as I did, they are one of a kind. That much is for sure :-)
*I would like to thank Netgalley and Gallery Books for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.*
MY BLOG: Melissa Martin's Reading List
Charlie is tired, very tired. He has tried to transfer out for years now but they keep turning him down. They just can't let their best man go. But geez, it's making him crazy. It's been over 200 years! But one day Charlie gets a letter from the president of the institute that says "Be a ferryman or save the girl."
Well this is a no brainer. How many times has Charlie wanted to save a life, too many to count. The woman he is going to save is Alice Spiegal. The way they meet is totally off the wall and crazy and funny.
I loved the character of Charlie and Alice, but I must say that Alice is my favorite character. She's a little OCD, okay, a lot OCD and other issues and she's funny and snarky. Oh, she can bring the snark. I want to add so many excerpts but I won't so it can be fresh to the reader!
When Charlie saves Alice it gives this jerk named Javrouche an excuse to come after him because it's against the law to do what Charlie did AND no one can find the letter from the president.
Needless to say there are all kinds of crazy stuff that goes down after this point. I loved most of the characters and the story line itself. The author has set the book up for a sequel if that is to be a plan for the future.
I think a lot of people will love Charlie and Alice and a few others as much as I did, they are one of a kind. That much is for sure :-)
*I would like to thank Netgalley and Gallery Books for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.*
MY BLOG: Melissa Martin's Reading List
July 31, 2016
I don't read many humorous books, but when I saw The Ferryman Institute on NetGalley, I was intrigued. This book is about a group of immortals who guide the recently dead to the afterlife; I requested it because it reminded me of Hermes and the Underworld in Greek mythology.
Charlie Dawson is a celebrity among Ferryman. He's been guiding souls for over two centuries, and his record is flawless. But he's sick of his job. Ferrymen are recruited as humans when they're dying, and if they accept the job, they become immortal. He's requested to leave the Institute over 6,000 times, but because of his success, he's denied.
Alice Spiegel believes she has nothing to live for. She has no job or boyfriend, and her career as a writer was a bust. Unhappy with her life, she decides to commit suicide.
Charlie gets Alice's case through a confidential request from the mysterious president of the Institute. He's also given an envelope to open at a specific time. "Be a Ferryman or save the girl. Your choice," the paper inside reads. He chooses to save Alice's life. Inspector Javrouche, the Institute's resident internal affairs liaison, has a grudge against Charlie, and now he finally has a chance to get revenge. Charlie broke many rules by revealing himself to Alice and preventing her death, so Charlie runs away with Alice in tow, because Javrouche's revenge extends to Alice as well.
The Ferryman Institute was hilarious and the author was a great writer. It did drag badly during the middle, but it picked up during the end. I think I enjoyed the wit in it so much that I didn't realize that there is a huge problem with this novel until I was at the end. I read the epilogue and suddenly realized that I had been kind of blind.
Alice's depression started when her boyfriend, Marc, broke up with her a year and a half before the book begins. Charlie saves her from suicide, which she doesn't attempt to try again. Alice's conversations revolve around Marc and Charlie. She incessantly talks about how heartbroken she was and continues to be, and then she begins to be interested in Charlie. Parts of the book is in her point-of-view, so we get to know how much she thinks about them too.
The epilogue was incredibly overused, especially by male authors. I'll put a spoiler in, just in case you don't want to know the end, but I think you can probably guess it.
My problem is that Alice's depression ends and begins because of men. She is happy because of a man. Her life revolves around men. We're barely told anything about her. Alice is a stereotypical woman, without interests outside of the opposite sex. She only has one interest that is discussed in the book, writing, but that ceased to exist once Marc broke her heart.
When I started The Ferryman Institute, I wanted to give it 4 stars almost automatically. But I can't. I initially enjoyed it, and I'm really disappointed that it wasn't how I expected it to be.
This is the author's first novel, and I hope he corrects his mistakes. Women's lives today do not revolve around men, and that needs to be reflected in books.
I received this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Charlie Dawson is a celebrity among Ferryman. He's been guiding souls for over two centuries, and his record is flawless. But he's sick of his job. Ferrymen are recruited as humans when they're dying, and if they accept the job, they become immortal. He's requested to leave the Institute over 6,000 times, but because of his success, he's denied.
Alice Spiegel believes she has nothing to live for. She has no job or boyfriend, and her career as a writer was a bust. Unhappy with her life, she decides to commit suicide.
Charlie gets Alice's case through a confidential request from the mysterious president of the Institute. He's also given an envelope to open at a specific time. "Be a Ferryman or save the girl. Your choice," the paper inside reads. He chooses to save Alice's life. Inspector Javrouche, the Institute's resident internal affairs liaison, has a grudge against Charlie, and now he finally has a chance to get revenge. Charlie broke many rules by revealing himself to Alice and preventing her death, so Charlie runs away with Alice in tow, because Javrouche's revenge extends to Alice as well.
The Ferryman Institute was hilarious and the author was a great writer. It did drag badly during the middle, but it picked up during the end. I think I enjoyed the wit in it so much that I didn't realize that there is a huge problem with this novel until I was at the end. I read the epilogue and suddenly realized that I had been kind of blind.
Alice's depression started when her boyfriend, Marc, broke up with her a year and a half before the book begins. Charlie saves her from suicide, which she doesn't attempt to try again. Alice's conversations revolve around Marc and Charlie. She incessantly talks about how heartbroken she was and continues to be, and then she begins to be interested in Charlie. Parts of the book is in her point-of-view, so we get to know how much she thinks about them too.
The epilogue was incredibly overused, especially by male authors. I'll put a spoiler in, just in case you don't want to know the end, but I think you can probably guess it.
My problem is that Alice's depression ends and begins because of men. She is happy because of a man. Her life revolves around men. We're barely told anything about her. Alice is a stereotypical woman, without interests outside of the opposite sex. She only has one interest that is discussed in the book, writing, but that ceased to exist once Marc broke her heart.
When I started The Ferryman Institute, I wanted to give it 4 stars almost automatically. But I can't. I initially enjoyed it, and I'm really disappointed that it wasn't how I expected it to be.
This is the author's first novel, and I hope he corrects his mistakes. Women's lives today do not revolve around men, and that needs to be reflected in books.
I received this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
August 23, 2016
Technology may have changed, but the job is still the same -- luckily, Charon happened to figure out a way to make his job of ferrying souls into the afterlife way easier. He created The Ferryman Institute...
Enter Charlie Dawson. Star Ferryman. 250 years of being an immortal Ferryman, and never once failing an assignment. The assignments aren't always easy, but they always end with the main objective -- open a door to the Afterlife, convince the soul to enter of its own free will. Succeed, get another successful mark on your record. Fail, and the soul is doomed to wander the earth, haunting humans and causing problems as its existence slowly fades and is lost forever.
But 250 years has had its toll on Charlie. His immortal life revolves around the sadness that is death. Men, women, young, old, accident, nature, self-inflicted... it's all tragic, and its getting to him.
A secret assignment from the office of the President of the Ferryman Institute send Charlie to assist the soul of one suicidal Alice Spiegel into the Afterlife. Or not. WAIT WHAT? For the first time ever, as time ticks close to her ETD (estimated time of death), the assignment's special envelope opens and gives him a choice... the choice to SAVE her.
What follows is a crazy rollercoaster of action, adventure, and discovery... what is the purpose, the meaning, the point of living?
Take a chance on Colin Gigl. This may be his debut, but it was a damn good one. The only thing I can complain about is that occasionally, the editors missed some repeated "in the works" and "per se" phrases all on the same pages, enough to be noticeably overused. And that's so minor. There are a few predictable things, but the ride is so fun and fresh and original that you probably won't even mind.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Enter Charlie Dawson. Star Ferryman. 250 years of being an immortal Ferryman, and never once failing an assignment. The assignments aren't always easy, but they always end with the main objective -- open a door to the Afterlife, convince the soul to enter of its own free will. Succeed, get another successful mark on your record. Fail, and the soul is doomed to wander the earth, haunting humans and causing problems as its existence slowly fades and is lost forever.
But 250 years has had its toll on Charlie. His immortal life revolves around the sadness that is death. Men, women, young, old, accident, nature, self-inflicted... it's all tragic, and its getting to him.
A secret assignment from the office of the President of the Ferryman Institute send Charlie to assist the soul of one suicidal Alice Spiegel into the Afterlife. Or not. WAIT WHAT? For the first time ever, as time ticks close to her ETD (estimated time of death), the assignment's special envelope opens and gives him a choice... the choice to SAVE her.
What follows is a crazy rollercoaster of action, adventure, and discovery... what is the purpose, the meaning, the point of living?
Take a chance on Colin Gigl. This may be his debut, but it was a damn good one. The only thing I can complain about is that occasionally, the editors missed some repeated "in the works" and "per se" phrases all on the same pages, enough to be noticeably overused. And that's so minor. There are a few predictable things, but the ride is so fun and fresh and original that you probably won't even mind.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
August 25, 2016
The Ferryman Institute
Written by Colin Gigl and published by Gallery Books in September 2016. I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I thought I would like The Ferryman Institute much more than I did. Though the book is described as being "in the bestselling traditions of Christopher Moore", it isn't. This novel is much darker. It contains torture and violence.
Charlie Dawson is a Ferryman, an immortal who arrives near the moment of someone's death to make sure they cross over to the "other side". Most go willingly but some need convincing. After hundreds of years of this, Charlie is getting tired of it.
Certainly one can understand this. Charlie's acting out is a passive-aggressive way of sending a message to the powers that be that he just doesn't want to do it anymore. His thousands of official requests to be let go have each and every one been denied. This is likely because he happens to be the best Ferryman the institute has ever had. He's never failed at getting the newly-dead to cross over. When he saves a woman, Alice, instead of letting her commit suicide, he's in for some trouble.
I see trouble in Gigl's constantly referring to the 26 year old Alice as a "girl". Alice thinks and sounds like she's 15. Charlie kidnaps Alice and steals her car, telling her that they need to get away from her house because someone is after her.
By page 215 I was wondering where the fun was.
As I said, the book is nothing like anything I've read of Christopher Moore's.
I found the writing itself showing signs of cliché and amateurism. The main women, Alice and Melissa, are horribly written. Alice inexplicably suffers from Stockholm Syndrome and winds up pregnant in the kitchen. She probably wasn't wearing shoes either. Melissa sacrifices HER LIFE so Charlie can have a job he likes better.
What really put this book in the crapper was when Alice is talking to her dead mother's apparition about Charlie and she says, "Maybe I get aroused by kidnappers." I can't believe someone would write that sentence in this day and age. It's not funny. It pissed me off.
I was very disappointed in The Ferryman Institute.
Written by Colin Gigl and published by Gallery Books in September 2016. I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I thought I would like The Ferryman Institute much more than I did. Though the book is described as being "in the bestselling traditions of Christopher Moore", it isn't. This novel is much darker. It contains torture and violence.
Charlie Dawson is a Ferryman, an immortal who arrives near the moment of someone's death to make sure they cross over to the "other side". Most go willingly but some need convincing. After hundreds of years of this, Charlie is getting tired of it.
Certainly one can understand this. Charlie's acting out is a passive-aggressive way of sending a message to the powers that be that he just doesn't want to do it anymore. His thousands of official requests to be let go have each and every one been denied. This is likely because he happens to be the best Ferryman the institute has ever had. He's never failed at getting the newly-dead to cross over. When he saves a woman, Alice, instead of letting her commit suicide, he's in for some trouble.
I see trouble in Gigl's constantly referring to the 26 year old Alice as a "girl". Alice thinks and sounds like she's 15. Charlie kidnaps Alice and steals her car, telling her that they need to get away from her house because someone is after her.
By page 215 I was wondering where the fun was.
As I said, the book is nothing like anything I've read of Christopher Moore's.
I found the writing itself showing signs of cliché and amateurism. The main women, Alice and Melissa, are horribly written. Alice inexplicably suffers from Stockholm Syndrome and winds up pregnant in the kitchen. She probably wasn't wearing shoes either. Melissa sacrifices HER LIFE so Charlie can have a job he likes better.
What really put this book in the crapper was when Alice is talking to her dead mother's apparition about Charlie and she says, "Maybe I get aroused by kidnappers." I can't believe someone would write that sentence in this day and age. It's not funny. It pissed me off.
I was very disappointed in The Ferryman Institute.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 22, 2016
I was really excited for this book, but I think I led myself to believe it was something it just isn't. I was expecting a slow, thoughtful, dark fantasy about Ferrymen who help dead souls pass over. And while the last part is true, it's more an action-comedy fantasy. And that's not a genre I usually go for at all, so I mostly blame myself for how much I disliked The Ferryman Institute (though there is one problematic element I just can't get over).
If you want a weird/quirky action movie in a book format, this delivers like crazy. It's nonstop action: car chases, dramatic escapes, backstabbing, twists and turns. The worldbuilding and character development really takes a backseat to the rapid-fire pace. I wanted a LOT more information about the Ferrymen, more background stuff about the characters, and less car chases. But that's not really the book's fault, is it? That was just my expectation.
For the most part, it's just that it wasn't the book for me. BUT. There's one kind of huge flaw. The premise is that one of the Ferrymen decides to save a suicidal girl instead of waiting for her to die. The girl, Alice, is depressed, has OCD (well... she shows no signs of OCD but we're told she has it), and suffers from anorexia and is underweight. Problem one with this: our Ferryman, Charlie, is attracted to her right away. Which, given that she's sick and underweight, is squicky for me personally. Two: Alice "gets better" over the course of the book because of Charlie. Let's get this straight: boys do not save girls from depression. A knight in shining armor does not cure mental illness. I just think it's really irresponsible to present their ~romance~ as saving Alice. Therapy, medication, and self-reflection help depression. Not ~true love~. So, while I want to be like, "oh I just didn't like this book because I'm not action-oriented" I feel like this is SUCH a huge problem and a really big personal pet peeve of mine.
[arc provided by netgalley in exchange for an honest review]
If you want a weird/quirky action movie in a book format, this delivers like crazy. It's nonstop action: car chases, dramatic escapes, backstabbing, twists and turns. The worldbuilding and character development really takes a backseat to the rapid-fire pace. I wanted a LOT more information about the Ferrymen, more background stuff about the characters, and less car chases. But that's not really the book's fault, is it? That was just my expectation.
For the most part, it's just that it wasn't the book for me. BUT. There's one kind of huge flaw. The premise is that one of the Ferrymen decides to save a suicidal girl instead of waiting for her to die. The girl, Alice, is depressed, has OCD (well... she shows no signs of OCD but we're told she has it), and suffers from anorexia and is underweight. Problem one with this: our Ferryman, Charlie, is attracted to her right away. Which, given that she's sick and underweight, is squicky for me personally. Two: Alice "gets better" over the course of the book because of Charlie. Let's get this straight: boys do not save girls from depression. A knight in shining armor does not cure mental illness. I just think it's really irresponsible to present their ~romance~ as saving Alice. Therapy, medication, and self-reflection help depression. Not ~true love~. So, while I want to be like, "oh I just didn't like this book because I'm not action-oriented" I feel like this is SUCH a huge problem and a really big personal pet peeve of mine.
[arc provided by netgalley in exchange for an honest review]
January 3, 2017
Arc Provided by Gallery Books
Call me sexist if you want, but there's a reason why I try to stay away from books written by guys: I can't stand their f***g voices. Or what is known as "male gaze".
There's a few exceptions like author Soman Chainani and I was going to say author Peter S. Beagle... but meanwhile the author wrote Summerlong and s**t hit the fan with that one. Don't know what is it with guys and old age, for crying out loud.
So, male gaze, right?
I can't stand it. I have allergy to it.
That's why after reading five percent of this I was done with it.
This was supposed to feel adult, instead it felt juvenile. And I hated the voice's guy!
This was what I wrote in September, the first and last time I forced myself to pick this up:
"Was this supposed to be YA? Because this feels YA. And the over the top adjectives are already making my eyes twitch."
Sorry, but my new book resolutions for 2017, revolves around dnf arcs that aren't working for me.
So long, farewell, hope I never see you again!
September 6, 2016
4 Stars
Full Review:
*I received a free ecopy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*
I love reading about different versions of the afterlife and all things related, so reading about a ferryman was right up my alley. Oddly enough though, this book turned out to be not so much about afterlife and far more about life and what it means to live.
That being said, the whole concept of the Ferryman Institute, the actual institute in the book, was so unique and creative! There were the ferrymen, and each one had a team that also consisted of a manager, who would choose assignments based on the ferryman’s skill level, and a navigator, who would sort through the info when the person’s life flashed before their eyes and gives the important points to the ferryman. Then the ferrymen would go off and try to convince the person to actually cross into the afterlife. There were rules, a whole control room, etc., and I loved the thought that went into the way the Institute worked.
The book was also funny! Within literally 1% of the book, I was laughing so hard I was almost crying. (It was that part about the envelope not opening—you’ll understand if you read it.) The book wasn’t quite as hilarious from there on out, but it was still somewhat funny. And because their limbs grow back, the ferrymen kept chopping limbs off like it was the most normal thing in the world, and that just became comical to me too.
The book also had some emotion. Not a ton, but there were some parts that made me feel for the characters.
One of the problems I had though was that I didn’t care for Alice. Her personality and sense of humor just didn’t click with me. But Charlie was interesting, kind of brooding and tortured, but also sarcastic and funny. He also gave some really riveting speeches. Even though I couldn’t actually hear the cadence of his voice and all that, I was just as hypnotized as Alice.
Javrouche, however, was possibly even more interesting and a somewhat sympathetic antagonist. When I found out his story, I truly did feel bad for him. And even though it wasn’t Charlie’s fault, I understood why Javrouche blamed him. So I didn’t agree with Javrouche’s actions, but the author did do a good job of making him an antagonist whose actions were plausible, and I could see why they made sense to him.
As for the plot, it took a while for the book to get started. By 10% I understood Charlie’s dilemma, but roughly the entire first 30% was just thoughts and chats with Cartwright and assignments and all stuff explaining the dilemma. I felt like I was being beat over the head with it. But after that, the book got more action-packed, and I got sucked in. And near the end, all these twists and turns started coming, and I was just as confounded and fascinated as Charlie was!
So overall, this was a funny, twisty, somewhat whimsical book with a unique take on ferrymen, and I’m glad I gave it a read.
Recommended For:
Anyone who wants something funny and somewhat whimsical with just a dash of emotion. Anyone who likes unique takes on things related to the afterlife.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
Full Review:
*I received a free ecopy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*
I love reading about different versions of the afterlife and all things related, so reading about a ferryman was right up my alley. Oddly enough though, this book turned out to be not so much about afterlife and far more about life and what it means to live.
That being said, the whole concept of the Ferryman Institute, the actual institute in the book, was so unique and creative! There were the ferrymen, and each one had a team that also consisted of a manager, who would choose assignments based on the ferryman’s skill level, and a navigator, who would sort through the info when the person’s life flashed before their eyes and gives the important points to the ferryman. Then the ferrymen would go off and try to convince the person to actually cross into the afterlife. There were rules, a whole control room, etc., and I loved the thought that went into the way the Institute worked.
The book was also funny! Within literally 1% of the book, I was laughing so hard I was almost crying. (It was that part about the envelope not opening—you’ll understand if you read it.) The book wasn’t quite as hilarious from there on out, but it was still somewhat funny. And because their limbs grow back, the ferrymen kept chopping limbs off like it was the most normal thing in the world, and that just became comical to me too.
The book also had some emotion. Not a ton, but there were some parts that made me feel for the characters.
One of the problems I had though was that I didn’t care for Alice. Her personality and sense of humor just didn’t click with me. But Charlie was interesting, kind of brooding and tortured, but also sarcastic and funny. He also gave some really riveting speeches. Even though I couldn’t actually hear the cadence of his voice and all that, I was just as hypnotized as Alice.
Javrouche, however, was possibly even more interesting and a somewhat sympathetic antagonist. When I found out his story, I truly did feel bad for him. And even though it wasn’t Charlie’s fault, I understood why Javrouche blamed him. So I didn’t agree with Javrouche’s actions, but the author did do a good job of making him an antagonist whose actions were plausible, and I could see why they made sense to him.
As for the plot, it took a while for the book to get started. By 10% I understood Charlie’s dilemma, but roughly the entire first 30% was just thoughts and chats with Cartwright and assignments and all stuff explaining the dilemma. I felt like I was being beat over the head with it. But after that, the book got more action-packed, and I got sucked in. And near the end, all these twists and turns started coming, and I was just as confounded and fascinated as Charlie was!
So overall, this was a funny, twisty, somewhat whimsical book with a unique take on ferrymen, and I’m glad I gave it a read.
Recommended For:
Anyone who wants something funny and somewhat whimsical with just a dash of emotion. Anyone who likes unique takes on things related to the afterlife.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
May 18, 2017
.....ugh.
Admittedly, this book had some big shoes to fill - the promotional material heavily compares it to Christopher Moore, which is a pretty bold statement. But it's not just that it's 'not as good as Moore.' It's just plain not good.
It's billed as dark comedy, but there's not actually anything funny about it. The closest thing to humor is a vein of self-aware cynicism, but it's not put forth humorously. It's billed as a story about dying, death, and the passage from life, but that doesn't actually factor into the story other than as a rough backdrop - there's none of the study of or statements on life, death, and the journey between that you see in, say, 'A Dirty Job' or 'Doctor Sleep.'
What is there, then? A lot of toxic masculinity and narcissism. Our main character is the bestest best best, so good that the entire state of death on this planet depends on him, because he's just so damn awesome. He wants to quit, but he can't because he's just so perfect. He can't show his feelings, because manliness.
Our heroine is anorexic because she got fat once (and everyone knows this is the worst thing that can happen to a woman) - in the author's words, she "ballooned out" to a grotesque size 8. (Apparently, at size 8 your ass won't even fit into sweat pants and you can't do desk work because the desk cuts into your belly). Her main character traits seem to be profanity, ineptitude, and being inexplicably drawn to our hero - although she's described as a writer with a tendency to florid and cutesy phrasing, most of her lines amount to weak snark and dick jokes.
The plot is overly simplistic and mostly consists of a couple of drawn-out car chases interspersed with scenes of our hero wallowing in self-pity or other characters musing on how there has never been another man in the world as perfect and vital as the hero. A few homophobic jokes are tossed in for good measure (repeated cracks at the ferryman being mistaken for "fairy man," and one gross misuse of referring to someone as a 'sissy' - news flash, author; that slur didn't exist in the mid-18th century. If you're going to write a period piece, do your homework), referring to trouble with physical tasks as "emasculating," along with at least one rape joke and another racist slur.
This book is just not good. It's self-indulgent Nice Guy blathering with delusions of darkness and grit. Save your time, save your energy, and give your attention to authors who don't use misogyny as a crutch to hide their inability to write comedy.
Admittedly, this book had some big shoes to fill - the promotional material heavily compares it to Christopher Moore, which is a pretty bold statement. But it's not just that it's 'not as good as Moore.' It's just plain not good.
It's billed as dark comedy, but there's not actually anything funny about it. The closest thing to humor is a vein of self-aware cynicism, but it's not put forth humorously. It's billed as a story about dying, death, and the passage from life, but that doesn't actually factor into the story other than as a rough backdrop - there's none of the study of or statements on life, death, and the journey between that you see in, say, 'A Dirty Job' or 'Doctor Sleep.'
What is there, then? A lot of toxic masculinity and narcissism. Our main character is the bestest best best, so good that the entire state of death on this planet depends on him, because he's just so damn awesome. He wants to quit, but he can't because he's just so perfect. He can't show his feelings, because manliness.
Our heroine is anorexic because she got fat once (and everyone knows this is the worst thing that can happen to a woman) - in the author's words, she "ballooned out" to a grotesque size 8. (Apparently, at size 8 your ass won't even fit into sweat pants and you can't do desk work because the desk cuts into your belly). Her main character traits seem to be profanity, ineptitude, and being inexplicably drawn to our hero - although she's described as a writer with a tendency to florid and cutesy phrasing, most of her lines amount to weak snark and dick jokes.
The plot is overly simplistic and mostly consists of a couple of drawn-out car chases interspersed with scenes of our hero wallowing in self-pity or other characters musing on how there has never been another man in the world as perfect and vital as the hero. A few homophobic jokes are tossed in for good measure (repeated cracks at the ferryman being mistaken for "fairy man," and one gross misuse of referring to someone as a 'sissy' - news flash, author; that slur didn't exist in the mid-18th century. If you're going to write a period piece, do your homework), referring to trouble with physical tasks as "emasculating," along with at least one rape joke and another racist slur.
This book is just not good. It's self-indulgent Nice Guy blathering with delusions of darkness and grit. Save your time, save your energy, and give your attention to authors who don't use misogyny as a crutch to hide their inability to write comedy.
August 4, 2016
The premise of this book - the Ferrymen and their duties, the rogue Ferryman, his mysterious friend - is fabulous. Unfortunately, nothing else is. The characters are completely cardboard and impossible to tell apart (except for Cartwright, whose mannerisms seem affected and ridiculous), the pacing drags, the stakes are stupidly low given the potential of the premise, the "action" is trite shoot-em-up in which nothing much actually happens, the humor is sitcom-level, and the romance which takes over the "plot" is so male-gazey it's an insult to read. (Oh, look, she was about to kill herself because a man belittled her, but now another man loves her and so her life has meaning again!) An unengaging slog.
October 11, 2016
I received a free copy from NetGalley.
An impressive debut featuring an unlikely hero who helps the dead cross over into the afterlife. Charlie Dawson doesn't have an average nine to five job. Being a ferryman means he's on call whenever needed, but Charlie is due for a change in his life. This exceeded my expectations with a strong plot and nicely written characters that stand out. Those of you looking for a little something different in your reading material may want to grab a copy of this.
An impressive debut featuring an unlikely hero who helps the dead cross over into the afterlife. Charlie Dawson doesn't have an average nine to five job. Being a ferryman means he's on call whenever needed, but Charlie is due for a change in his life. This exceeded my expectations with a strong plot and nicely written characters that stand out. Those of you looking for a little something different in your reading material may want to grab a copy of this.
March 24, 2021
i don't generally read pop-fic written by men, and it's not so much a conscious choice as the fact that i'm just not often particularly drawn to any that i come across. although this was not written by a man, but clearly by a tiny baby boy, my judgment on the subject remains sound.
July 24, 2022
Unfortunately this wasn't what I had hoped and I didn't enjoy it very much. The premis was intruiging but the plot not so much. Wasn't a book for me
September 26, 2016
"Be a Ferryman or save the girl. Your choice."
Charlie has been given the gift of immortality. His job is to be a Ferryman. He does his job well. In over two and a half centuries he has not had an incomplete job. So what does his job entail? Charlie is responsible for assisting people in their next journey after they die. He doesn't know what happens to them after he opens the door to their future. He just needs to convince them to crossover. Sadly, Charlie is tired of witnessing so much death. He has asked for a transfer numerous times but he's always denied. The reason being that Charlie is the best Ferryman they have.
"I am tired of all the death."
To his surprise, Charlie is given a new assignment which rumor has it comes from the President of the Institute. His next job involves a young woman, Alice Spiegel, who's about to commit suicide. To his surprise, he has a choice of saving her life. Of course, Charlie doesn't think twice and with this action, he sealed his fate. Soon they are both running from Inspector Javrouche who wants nothing more that to hurt Charlie and what better way to do it than to kill Alice.
The Ferryman Institute was a refreshing fantasy with witty characters and a lot of action.
Charlie was a really nice guy who was just tired of death. He had witnessed too many deaths and he didn't want to do it any longer. I believed that when he saved Alice he really saved himself. Charlie's character was likable. I enjoyed his humor but also his desire to help the dead. He didn't want them to become lost souls.
Alice Spiegel had a terrible year. Her parents divorced, her mother died from cancer, her boyfriend Marc left her and she has no real job. She has sunken into a horrible depression and she thought the only way out was to off herself. She was in so much pain making it natural for me to feel her agony and devastation. I'm glad Charlie put a stop to her plan and I loved how he was able to make her smile and feel good about herself again. The best part was when she realizes she didn't want to die any longer.
"Come with me or stay here. It's your call."
Overall, I like the idea of the Ferryman Institute. It would be nice if someone is there waiting to help you make the right decision.
"We are comfort. We are hope."
Cliffhanger: No
4/5 Fangs
A complimentary copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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June 16, 2019
I couldn't get past page 49. This book is 'bad boy' misogynistic crap. Who wrote the promo hype? His publicist? His mom?
"REBECCA" said everything I was thinking— far more beautifully put than I could—so I'm just cutting and pasting the best of her review: (just in case everyone misses it).
"A lot of toxic masculinity and narcissism. Our main character is the bestest best best, so good that the entire state of death on this planet depends on him, because he's just so damn awesome. He wants to quit, but he can't because he's just so perfect. He can't show his feelings, because (of his) manliness.
Our heroine is anorexic because she got fat once (and everyone knows this is the worst thing that can happen to a woman) - in the author's words, she "ballooned out" to a grotesque size 8. (Apparently, at size 8 your ass won't even fit into sweat pants and you can't do desk work because the desk cuts into your belly). Her main character traits seem to be profanity, ineptitude, and being inexplicably drawn to our hero - although she's described as a writer with a tendency to florid and cutesy phrasing, most of her lines amount to weak snark and dick jokes.
The plot is overly simplistic and mostly consists of a couple of drawn-out car chases interspersed with scenes of our hero wallowing in self-pity or other characters musing on how there has never been another man in the world as perfect and vital as the hero. A few homophobic jokes are tossed in for good measure (repeated cracks at the ferryman being mistaken for "fairy man," and one gross misuse of referring to someone as a 'sissy' - news flash, author; that slur didn't exist in the mid-18th century. If you're going to write a period piece, do your homework), referring to trouble with physical tasks as "emasculating," along with at least one rape joke and another racist slur.
This book is just not good. It's self-indulgent Nice Guy blathering with delusions of darkness and grit. Save your time, save your energy, and give your attention to authors who don't use misogyny as a crutch to hide their inability to write comedy. " THANKS REBECCA
"REBECCA" said everything I was thinking— far more beautifully put than I could—so I'm just cutting and pasting the best of her review: (just in case everyone misses it).
"A lot of toxic masculinity and narcissism. Our main character is the bestest best best, so good that the entire state of death on this planet depends on him, because he's just so damn awesome. He wants to quit, but he can't because he's just so perfect. He can't show his feelings, because (of his) manliness.
Our heroine is anorexic because she got fat once (and everyone knows this is the worst thing that can happen to a woman) - in the author's words, she "ballooned out" to a grotesque size 8. (Apparently, at size 8 your ass won't even fit into sweat pants and you can't do desk work because the desk cuts into your belly). Her main character traits seem to be profanity, ineptitude, and being inexplicably drawn to our hero - although she's described as a writer with a tendency to florid and cutesy phrasing, most of her lines amount to weak snark and dick jokes.
The plot is overly simplistic and mostly consists of a couple of drawn-out car chases interspersed with scenes of our hero wallowing in self-pity or other characters musing on how there has never been another man in the world as perfect and vital as the hero. A few homophobic jokes are tossed in for good measure (repeated cracks at the ferryman being mistaken for "fairy man," and one gross misuse of referring to someone as a 'sissy' - news flash, author; that slur didn't exist in the mid-18th century. If you're going to write a period piece, do your homework), referring to trouble with physical tasks as "emasculating," along with at least one rape joke and another racist slur.
This book is just not good. It's self-indulgent Nice Guy blathering with delusions of darkness and grit. Save your time, save your energy, and give your attention to authors who don't use misogyny as a crutch to hide their inability to write comedy. " THANKS REBECCA
September 29, 2017
It's much easier to accept the regrets of your life when you believe the outcome was already written.
I was determined tolike love this book. I've wanted to read it for years but it kind of slipped through the cracks. I've never seen it in a bookstore and for some reason, it was taken off my amazon wishlist. So basically, I forgot about it for a long time. Then, when I happened to be shopping at bookoutlet treating myself to more books than I could possibly have room for, I saw it! YAS.
Long story short, yey me. I finally got my hands on this book and I loved it.
This book reminded me a lot of the show Dead Like Me, which I also loved. Charlie is a Ferryman, one of many that all work at the Ferryman Institute. Each Ferryman (which also includes women, despite the job title), is given a file on an imminent death and it's their job to show up and guide the soul to the afterlife. It should be easy, but it's not. The souls often want to see their loved ones first or are frightened to walk through the door to the afterlife because no one, not even the Ferryman know what is on the other side. Apparently, it's different for every soul. So each Ferryman has a set amount of time to convince frightened, often traumatized, souls to get their asses going to the other side. If the Ferryman fails, the souls are locked out of the afterlife and can never see their loved ones. Essentially, they are stuck wandering. Charlie is a Ferryman genius, so to speak. In his two hundred and fifty years of being dead and being a Ferryman, he's never failed a soul. Despite his stellar success rate, he's sick of being a Ferryman. He's sick of the sadness, the unfairness of it all, and sick of death itself. But he keeps going, as he doesn't have a choice. One day, on his way to ferry a soul, he gets a mysterious box an envelope that will only open at the right time. It is unprecedented but he takes it with him to ferry a soul, Alice. Right as Alice is about to take her own life, Charlie's envelope opens and he's shocked to see that he is given the choice to stop Alice or let her die. It's a choice no Ferryman has ever been given. He makes the choice to stop her. The only problem is that Alice's case and Charlie's choice is very much a this message will self-destruct after you've read it kind of thing. He has no proof that he was given the choice and now the Ferrymen Institue's Inspector Javrouche, is out to get him. The inspector has a grudge against Charlie and is determined to punish him and make sure Alice dies, as she had originally planned.
Charlie as a character was just fascinating and so well developed. I just liked him. He was really sarcastic, witty, funny, and also quite melancholy. I found him easy to relate to and I just wanted good things for him. I hated that I had a difficult time imagining what he looked like in my head. He really wasn't described well. I knew that he always wore suits and was considered handsome, but beyond that, I had nothin'. I eventually gave up finding clues in the book and just kind of plucked a random good looking guy from my head and assigned him to Charlie.
While this book was incredibly funny, it also really had its heavy moments. It borrowed a lot of its mythology from the Divine Comedy and I loved the bits of wisdom from the much older Ferrymen.
In most of the books I read with Death as a character or a grim reaper of some kind, he/she is usually resigned to the fact that everyone dies, so it isn't necessarily a big deal. It's a job to do. Either that or it is made out to be funny and it glosses over the nasty side of the business. I never really considered what it would be like to show up day after day to witness a person's tragic and often violent death. To listen to them beg to see their loved ones one more time or to wrongly assume that the Ferryman had the power to send them back. Over and over, for years and years. I don't think I could ever get used to that. It was a really interesting twist on the usually flippant grim reaper attitude towards death.
There was a little of everything in this book yet I never felt as though it overextended itself. Asecret not so secret part of me always wants a little romance in every book I read. Okay, maybe not horror but you know what I mean. I was so happy with Charlie and Alice's slow burn relationship. But more than that, I loved that the book wasn't about romance. The romance naturally develops between two people who are both sick of their lot, one is sick of living, the other is sick of being stuck not living. I loved the idea of these two people who spent their lives (or not life) feel misunderstood and alone, finding each other.
As you can obviously tell, I loved everything about the book, and that includes the writing. I'm not a fan of multiple POVs but the transitions were seamless, perhaps because they were third person POVs. It flowed well yet there while allowing for subtle differences between the voices of the characters.
So basically, this book was awesome. I'm not usually the one that loves the book that everyone just thought of as okay but it seems like that is the case here. Loved it. The only reason I'm not giving it five stars is that I don't really see myself re-reading it. But I absolutely recommend it.
I was determined to
Long story short, yey me. I finally got my hands on this book and I loved it.
This book reminded me a lot of the show Dead Like Me, which I also loved. Charlie is a Ferryman, one of many that all work at the Ferryman Institute. Each Ferryman (which also includes women, despite the job title), is given a file on an imminent death and it's their job to show up and guide the soul to the afterlife. It should be easy, but it's not. The souls often want to see their loved ones first or are frightened to walk through the door to the afterlife because no one, not even the Ferryman know what is on the other side. Apparently, it's different for every soul. So each Ferryman has a set amount of time to convince frightened, often traumatized, souls to get their asses going to the other side. If the Ferryman fails, the souls are locked out of the afterlife and can never see their loved ones. Essentially, they are stuck wandering. Charlie is a Ferryman genius, so to speak. In his two hundred and fifty years of being dead and being a Ferryman, he's never failed a soul. Despite his stellar success rate, he's sick of being a Ferryman. He's sick of the sadness, the unfairness of it all, and sick of death itself. But he keeps going, as he doesn't have a choice. One day, on his way to ferry a soul, he gets a mysterious box an envelope that will only open at the right time. It is unprecedented but he takes it with him to ferry a soul, Alice. Right as Alice is about to take her own life, Charlie's envelope opens and he's shocked to see that he is given the choice to stop Alice or let her die. It's a choice no Ferryman has ever been given. He makes the choice to stop her. The only problem is that Alice's case and Charlie's choice is very much a this message will self-destruct after you've read it kind of thing. He has no proof that he was given the choice and now the Ferrymen Institue's Inspector Javrouche, is out to get him. The inspector has a grudge against Charlie and is determined to punish him and make sure Alice dies, as she had originally planned.
Charlie as a character was just fascinating and so well developed. I just liked him. He was really sarcastic, witty, funny, and also quite melancholy. I found him easy to relate to and I just wanted good things for him. I hated that I had a difficult time imagining what he looked like in my head. He really wasn't described well. I knew that he always wore suits and was considered handsome, but beyond that, I had nothin'. I eventually gave up finding clues in the book and just kind of plucked a random good looking guy from my head and assigned him to Charlie.
While this book was incredibly funny, it also really had its heavy moments. It borrowed a lot of its mythology from the Divine Comedy and I loved the bits of wisdom from the much older Ferrymen.
In most of the books I read with Death as a character or a grim reaper of some kind, he/she is usually resigned to the fact that everyone dies, so it isn't necessarily a big deal. It's a job to do. Either that or it is made out to be funny and it glosses over the nasty side of the business. I never really considered what it would be like to show up day after day to witness a person's tragic and often violent death. To listen to them beg to see their loved ones one more time or to wrongly assume that the Ferryman had the power to send them back. Over and over, for years and years. I don't think I could ever get used to that. It was a really interesting twist on the usually flippant grim reaper attitude towards death.
There was a little of everything in this book yet I never felt as though it overextended itself. A
As you can obviously tell, I loved everything about the book, and that includes the writing. I'm not a fan of multiple POVs but the transitions were seamless, perhaps because they were third person POVs. It flowed well yet there while allowing for subtle differences between the voices of the characters.
So basically, this book was awesome. I'm not usually the one that loves the book that everyone just thought of as okay but it seems like that is the case here. Loved it. The only reason I'm not giving it five stars is that I don't really see myself re-reading it. But I absolutely recommend it.
October 22, 2016
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★½ (4.5/5)
What I love about this book, not only is the writing excuse my language fan-fuckin-tastic but the main character Charlie is so relatable.
At some point in our lives we've experienced being #SoDone. You know when you've reached the point where you literally could not give a flying fudge; may it be school, work or friendships. It's like you've lost the ability to care and before every decision your brain flashes a bright neon #FuckIt sign and you do whatever the hell you feel ?
Basically that's the entirety of this book and IT IS PLATINUM. (Yes, better than gold.)
So Charlie is a Ferryman meaning he's one of thousands of employees tasked with assignments to help "ferry" recently deceased souls to the afterlife. It's a pretty good job considering the benefits:
-Immortality-No sickness
-No pain
-A big office
And all you have to do is convince the dead person to leave everything they've ever known behind and walk into a door leading to their afterlife which is who-knows-where.
Sounds fun right?
Now try doing that for 250 years.
You've heard of the saying "rolling with the punches"? Yeah, well, Charlie's beyond the motion of rolling and it's more like a rapid tumbling off a cliff.
Good thing for that immortality.
Along with the amazingly witty writing, there's a good bit of action= gun fights and car chases.
And a lil romance.
Talking about the characters, another thing I loved about this book was the interactions between the Inspector and Charlie. Let me introduce you to The Clapback Queens™
This isn't spoiler-y but I feel like you need an example.
Charlie: “I’m of the opinion you’d make an excellent piñata. I think a lot of people would enjoy the opportunity to whack you repeatedly with a stick. Very cathartic, you know?”
The Inspector allowed his smirk to crawl halfway across his face before it promptly died. “And I would very much enjoy seeing a certain problematic Ferryman chained to the bottom of an active volcano, but life is so often an exercise in managing one’s disappointments, isn’t it?”
As I said "Clapback Queens™”
(( To talk a little about the characters, I feel like I should mention there are suicide themes (?) I'm not sure if I'm saying this correctly... This book is not heavily focused on the topic and the character is in a much better state of mind by the end of the book. This story is not a sad one but it deals with a serious issue. ))
Turning gears: To briefly speak about the ending, let's talk about bombs. Literary Bombs.
THERE WERE SO MANY PLOT TWISTS AT THE END I LITERALLY COULD NOT COMPREHEND. I had to read a few pages like twice because I was not processing the words. It's almost like my brain was overstimulated by the information that it went into survival mode to prevent a complete meltdown.
Needless to say, I loved it.
I'm not going to label the story ending on a scale from good to bad, happy, bittersweet or sad because that's your decision to make. I want you to go into this book surprised about what happens.
Long story short, buy it , borrow it , heck read it in the bookstore if you can. But you gotta give it a chance and READ IT.
September 16, 2016
Charlie Dawson is a ferryman. He meets humans at their appointed time of death and persuades them into opening the door to the hereafter. It's an important job. If one does not enter into whatever is after death they become lost spirits on earth destined to wither away into non-existence. Charlie has been doing it for 250 years and has gained a legendary status as the ferryman who never failed an assignation. The result though, is that he is burned out by all the deaths that happened without his ability to do anything but watch them die. Until one day when he receives an unique choice seconds before a woman is about to kill herself. "Be a ferryman or save the girl. Your choice."
Colin Gigl's The Ferryman Institute is a modern fantasy with satirical edges. It is easy to compare with Christopher Moore's A Dirty Job since it has a similar plot and a similar style with an equally sharp wit. Yet there is a major difference. While A Dirty Job is satirical farce all the way through, The Ferryman Institute takes a more serious action-packed turn half-way through. It still remains funny and clever yet the reader acquired a more grounded concern for the characters and may realize the theme of the novel may not be all that light and funny. It's a nice move that prevent the novel from be another satire on death and modern life.
Yet that satirical tone does remains and it is quite entertaining. The Ferryman Institute, founded by Charon of course, is a corporation that holds a monopoly on the guiding of recently deceased spirits to their lives after death, whose form is a mystery as much to the ferryman as it is to us. But they are aware other smaller organizations are ready to take up the slack if they falter. The similarities to our own compartmental life in the rat race is part of the satire which takes on a Terry Gilliam style absurdity at some points.
Yet Charlie remains the focus of the book. He is the well performing cog in the system who can get away with things others can due to his brilliant performance. Yet he is slowly burning out and regretting his immortality. There are reasons for this but we don't receive them right away. Gigl feeds them to us slowly and painlessly through the antics and farce of the coming confusion and chaos. The girl he meets is another well written protagonist. Moments before killing herself, she becomes embroiled in a world she did not know exist with a man who she sees more as a kidnapper than a hero.
As far as satiric fantasies goes, this is far and away one of the best. The comparisons to Christopher Moore are deserved yet this is a debut novel and shows some cracks that reveal it. The switch halfway through could be a little more smooth and sometimes the cleverness of Charlie gets a little annoying. But these are minor issues when compared to the vastly entertaining value of the novel at whole. And as I said, there is a more serious tone lurking in the book that , if nurtured in the author's future writings, can take this writer's work above the loads of satiric fantasies out there on the shelves. Comedic fantasies are not easy to do convincingly yet the Ferryman Institute, both book and venue, were real and sincere enough to convince me.
Four and a half stars.
Colin Gigl's The Ferryman Institute is a modern fantasy with satirical edges. It is easy to compare with Christopher Moore's A Dirty Job since it has a similar plot and a similar style with an equally sharp wit. Yet there is a major difference. While A Dirty Job is satirical farce all the way through, The Ferryman Institute takes a more serious action-packed turn half-way through. It still remains funny and clever yet the reader acquired a more grounded concern for the characters and may realize the theme of the novel may not be all that light and funny. It's a nice move that prevent the novel from be another satire on death and modern life.
Yet that satirical tone does remains and it is quite entertaining. The Ferryman Institute, founded by Charon of course, is a corporation that holds a monopoly on the guiding of recently deceased spirits to their lives after death, whose form is a mystery as much to the ferryman as it is to us. But they are aware other smaller organizations are ready to take up the slack if they falter. The similarities to our own compartmental life in the rat race is part of the satire which takes on a Terry Gilliam style absurdity at some points.
Yet Charlie remains the focus of the book. He is the well performing cog in the system who can get away with things others can due to his brilliant performance. Yet he is slowly burning out and regretting his immortality. There are reasons for this but we don't receive them right away. Gigl feeds them to us slowly and painlessly through the antics and farce of the coming confusion and chaos. The girl he meets is another well written protagonist. Moments before killing herself, she becomes embroiled in a world she did not know exist with a man who she sees more as a kidnapper than a hero.
As far as satiric fantasies goes, this is far and away one of the best. The comparisons to Christopher Moore are deserved yet this is a debut novel and shows some cracks that reveal it. The switch halfway through could be a little more smooth and sometimes the cleverness of Charlie gets a little annoying. But these are minor issues when compared to the vastly entertaining value of the novel at whole. And as I said, there is a more serious tone lurking in the book that , if nurtured in the author's future writings, can take this writer's work above the loads of satiric fantasies out there on the shelves. Comedic fantasies are not easy to do convincingly yet the Ferryman Institute, both book and venue, were real and sincere enough to convince me.
Four and a half stars.
May 29, 2019
Surrealism is the theme of the week. How do people decide to go to the afterlife? What if they have the made-famous-by Caspar "unfinished business?" Pieces of mythology, fable, and poetry meld together in an exciting story with a villan as great as Inspector Javert.
August 17, 2016
"The Ferryman Institute" is mostly an adventure--but it's also a love story, and surprisingly funny one, considering how much death is present in the narrative. Even stranger is that it makes suicide--and the people who commit suicide--achingly understandable. The humor doesn't feel cheap; it feels like the weird little comments you make to yourself in the middle of a crisis, mostly so you don't fall apart until it is over.
You know how the movie "Groundhog Day" is almost funny when it cycles through Bill Murray's repeated suicides? You know how the film "Wristcutters," about the afterlife of suicides, is more affirming than anything else? That's what "Ferryman's Institute" is like, and it's a tidy package. It feels like a short novel, but there's a tremendous amount of depth and humor and backstory integrated into its pages. I thought the pacing was excellent, and the mixture of surreal horror and mundane existence was absolutely compelling.
Readers of "Welcome to Night Vale" will appreciate, but don't expect kitsch; the otherworldly elements aren't the horrifying bits, and the horrifying bits are where the story is its most human.
Netgalley review.
You know how the movie "Groundhog Day" is almost funny when it cycles through Bill Murray's repeated suicides? You know how the film "Wristcutters," about the afterlife of suicides, is more affirming than anything else? That's what "Ferryman's Institute" is like, and it's a tidy package. It feels like a short novel, but there's a tremendous amount of depth and humor and backstory integrated into its pages. I thought the pacing was excellent, and the mixture of surreal horror and mundane existence was absolutely compelling.
Readers of "Welcome to Night Vale" will appreciate, but don't expect kitsch; the otherworldly elements aren't the horrifying bits, and the horrifying bits are where the story is its most human.
Netgalley review.
July 11, 2016
Charlie is a Ferryman, responsible for escorting the newly dead into their new afterlives. He's been at it for over 250 years--an order of magnitude longer than nearly anyone else--and he's Done. He wants out. He submits his retirement paperwork after every job, and it comes back denied every time. And then a special case comes, one that offers him a choice: remain a ferryman, or give up absolutely everything. What follows is a wild adventure: a car chase, a hostage, a shootout, betrayals, and the risk of exposure of every secret the Ferryman Council has held close since the days of Charon.
I really enjoyed this. As the description claims, there's a Jasper Ffordian sensibility here--a lightness, a playfulness. It's funny without being a comedy, light without being fluffy. Older teens will also enjoy this (and its themes of casting off what you've always been to become someone new; what does it mean to give up your identity), as well as the adults it's aimed at.
Thanks, Netgalley.
I really enjoyed this. As the description claims, there's a Jasper Ffordian sensibility here--a lightness, a playfulness. It's funny without being a comedy, light without being fluffy. Older teens will also enjoy this (and its themes of casting off what you've always been to become someone new; what does it mean to give up your identity), as well as the adults it's aimed at.
Thanks, Netgalley.
December 7, 2016
I really, really wanted to like this book and I did in the beginning. Thought it was going to be mystical/otherworldly but it completely turned into some kind of action book including a car chase through NJ and into NYC....just now what I enjoy at all. Quitting around page 300/422....have just reached the point where I'm not enjoying reading it and really don't care how it ends.
p.s. Oh good Lord!! I just read the other reviews including the spoilers and thank God I didn't bother...this is over the top....ugh....
p.s. Oh good Lord!! I just read the other reviews including the spoilers and thank God I didn't bother...this is over the top....ugh....
March 6, 2021
The concept of The Ferryman Institute by Colin Gigl sounded pretty good, but the end product didn't work out for me. Aside from Charlie, the characters blended together to the point where I had to double check who I was reading. I wasn't a fan of how Alice was handled over the course of the novel. Overall, this just didn't quite agree with me as much as I would have hoped.
June 4, 2016
Thank you Netgalley for the free advanced reading copy.
This book did remind me of Christopher Moore's "A Dirty Job" because of the job similarity, but that is where the comparison ends. It turns out to be a mixture between romance and mafia book, whimsical and action packed.
This book did remind me of Christopher Moore's "A Dirty Job" because of the job similarity, but that is where the comparison ends. It turns out to be a mixture between romance and mafia book, whimsical and action packed.
June 14, 2022
I greatly enjoyed the book and it’s characters, especially William Henry Taylor Cartwright the Fourth. There was enough subtle twists in the plot that kept it interesting and the pacing was on par. My only complaint is that the end didn’t feel like an end. I am not disappointed but I’m not completely satisfied with the ending. I’m not sure if a sequel was planned or I just didn’t get it but either way I still enjoys the book…for the most part.
September 3, 2023
This book is SO good! It's not my usual genre, but i'm glad I took a chance on this. It's one of my top favorite fiction books I'm not going to even try to read it you just have to read it.
As usual, I listened to the Audible version of this book, and I thoroughly enjoyed the narration.
As usual, I listened to the Audible version of this book, and I thoroughly enjoyed the narration.
April 22, 2017
A fairly solid book with fun characters and a good idea. Not quite as screwball as Jasper Fford and Christopher Moore
September 29, 2018
quirky and sad - great characters and a good way to approach death
April 6, 2024
This was clever and a bit original but way too long and the end got goofy for me. Not bad, not great. Enjoyable enough.
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