Review: The Color of Clouds by J. C. Whyte

by MK French

When a cruise ship encounters dark matter in the middle of the ocean, it touches off a cascade of events. Two passengers are sent out of their bodies on a trip with a psychic's spirit guide. Another passenger, getting over a tragedy, is accused of murder. A tsunami is on its way toward the ship. All of these stories weave together over the course of the novel.
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March 2015; MuseItUp Publishing
ebook (313 pages); paranormal, suspense

The Color of Clouds begins very slowly, dragging out the introductions of the main characters. It's told from the spirit guide's point of view in what's meant to be a conversational style, but I found it more off-putting than charming or friendly. It didn't fit well with relating characters' backstories; as much as Pedro is a spirit guide, he really shouldn't be able to know the life histories of the characters. It's fine to relate the details of the world he inhabits, as it's different from the ones readers will know about, but it doesn't work for character biographies. The storytelling style is less annoying as more of the plot unfolds, at least.

The clouds of the title could easily refer to the thought bubbles that Sylvie and Ernst see while they're in their out of body experience; it's explained outright that the "spirit world" is simply the faster, sped up world of thoughts and emotions unhindered by a physical body, and different emotions carry colors. The spirit world is described more like the dark matter of astrophysics, which is helpfully explained by the skeptic scientist prior to the rift opening and separating minds and bodies, and then in more detail afterward. Here, it makes far more sense for the language to be conversational and a bit choppy in spots because Paul is telling the other characters about the research he does.

Overall, there seems to be almost too much plot for the entire book, but it does suck you in and is a fairly solid story.

Buy The Color of Clouds at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and golden retriever.

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