The Ghosts of Blood and Innocence begins with a mysterious visit in the night in an isolated part of the Wraeththu’s world. During this visit, Thiede charges the tribal leader Phade with the care of a pearl which will hatch to become a very important player in the Wraeththu universe. The child grows, and the reader discovers that the harling has a half-brother, who is equally important to the events of the story. Ghosts of Blood and Innocence proceeds to weave in interdimensional travel, pocket dimensions, metaphysical meddling on a literally universal scale, even more mysterious and unusual beings, and an ultimate showdown between forces beyond normal comprehension that may or may not be gods. If this makes the novel sound, perhaps, like a gigantic and confusing mess, rest assured, it really isn’t. It is, however a complex read, and it can get challenging as the reader is asked to keep track of various characters and events as the plot weaves together.
Ghosts of Blood and Innocence is not the sort of novel that one can pick up, dabble in, and then just put back down to peruse at a later date. It requires the reader to maintain focus and to be dedicated to reading it in its entirety. That said, reading it is well worth the effort. Storm Constantine is truly at her best, mashing together the very best elements of fairy tales, gothic fiction, epic fantasy, and a smattering of science fiction into her sweeping Wraeththu epic. This is the kind of book a person can re-read and find entirely new each time because so much really does happen over the course of the plot.
I would not, however, recommend this as a good starting point for reading the Wraeththu chronicles. This is the final book of the second Wraeththu trilogy, and readers will most definitely benefit from reading the previous books, which have a tendency to be equally densely plotted. Readers should also be highly prepared for the prominence of sexuality throughout the entire series. If you are upset or confused or angered by ambiguous expressions of gender or sex, then this is definitely not the kind of book that you should read. The entire Wraeththu series is best approached with an open mind. All of the books have dark elements to them, and The Ghosts of Blood and Innocence is no exception; however, there is not any sex or violence in this book that is gratuitous, and unlike many other books in a similar vein, there are no actions in this book that do not have consequences. Constantine has never been one to shy away from showing both negative and positive reverberations from anything that her characters do, which makes the story resonate with readers because her characters are realistic, even if they are otherworldly.
The Ghosts of Blood and Innocence is a statisfying conclusion to the trilogy that will challenge readers with complex plotting and characters. I highly recommend this, and the entire series, for open-minded readers who are willing to consider the correlations between Wraeththu and humanity. A word of caution: you need to be comfortable with adult and oftentimes dark themes if you’re going to pick up this book.
