The Fetch

by Laura Whitcomb

When souls make the decision to leave this Earth, they need a guide to the above. That’s where Calder comes in; he’s a Fetch, a being similar to the Grim Reaper or an angel. His job is to answer the souls’ questions, guide them through the Aisle of Unearthing, and then take them to his Captain. He is never to upset the earthbound, nor interfere with the duties of another Fetch, but as usual with “nevers,” that is exactly what Calder does.
Falling in love with a woman he calls Glory, Calder breaks many of the Vows of the Fetch by jumping into the dying body of Grigori Rasputin to be near the woman whom be believes to be the nursemaid of Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich.
With Calder’s selfish act, the whole spirit world is thrown into chaos, and Calder, who is trapped in the earthly turmoil of the Russian Revolution, must fix it.

Okay, my thoughts on this. I have a lot of mixed feelings about it, that’s for sure, and I don’t think The Fetch is for everyone. The start of this book was odd, I will admit. All the concepts were so foreign that I felt like I had to stop and dissect every one in order to understand what was going on. I felt like I was watching the whole story through a pane of old glass, with foggy patches and bubbles. Even once the story smoothed out into having one main plot, it took me some time to put everything together in my mind, such as the fact that Calder was using Rasputin’s body and so was seen as him, except for by Ana and Alexis, who saw him as he was when he died at nineteen.
All that said, I did like Ms. Whitcomb’s descriptions, and over all I think the book was a worthwhile and interesting read, it’s just that it took quite a lot of thought. I believe it might be one of those books that is a lot easier to understand the second time around, but on the other hand it might lose its magic.

Recommended for ages sixteen and up not for content, but for enjoyment. I doubt younger readers would have the patience to understand and like this book.