Marlowe's Ghost by Sarah Black

Oh Sweet sweet Sarah if being crazy in love with your stories is wrong...Then DAMMIT, I don't wanna be right!

I've said this before and I will say it again, when Sarah Black has something to say, I sit down and raptly listen, because there is always something in her words that just feels like my mind just got some value added to it.

Will Marlowe is a veteran, he was hurt in the war, he's a little angry, he's a bit of a rebel, he's a man undecided on his future, he is also a scholar. It's what he's always wanted, to study the Classics, be a man who lives off his mind.

To be able to do that he had to enter the military, and it cost him a very high price...'To pay in blood and flesh for the care of my mind. What the hell was that about?' He wonders... That anger has him stumped. He's not sure what is next, and his only outlet is his own brand of anarchy, his street art Bad Toys.

One day one of his professors, asks him as a favor to go to London and check on his nephew. Apparently the man has been doing research for his dissertation on Christopher Marlowe, and is now convinced that he is speaking to Marlowe's ghost. Sounds pretty crazy to Will, but it's a free trip, he has nothing to do for the summer other than decide what's next, and BONUS he can take his toys for a little fun across the pond.

He sees Tommy, and he's mesmerized by his fragile face, and his quietness. Tommy is a cancer survivor still recovering in some ways, he is also on fire to discover the legend behind Christopher Marlowe's death. Will is instantly compelled to protect this man he's been sent to help. He believes Tommy has something important to say, and pretty soon in a sunny English garden, Will finds himself speaking to the ghost as well.

Sarah Black is another brand of author in this genre. The stuff she picks up and writes about, RESPECT. She takes on the legend of Christopher Marlowe in this story, one of the most controversial figures in history. He was a poet, a playwright, a spy and believed to be an anarchist during the Elizabethan age. He was also believed to have escaped England after having faked his own death. Some have argued that he continued to write in exile under the pen name William Shakespeare. This man has always been a fascinating figure to me, and Sarah Black did his legend justice. This story was beautifully written.

She of course did not stop there, she hit upon the ravages of war, the game that it is, and how those who pay for it in the end are those that never had a wager in it to begin with. How the weight of it lingers...The consequences of power, feel like they're written in across my skin. Will says.

At the center of all this goodness, there is THE love story. Will and Tommy, they fall in love. Will for the first time, and Tommy for the first time with a person that will be what he deserves. They were a thing to behold. Will asked for Tommy to come with him, to let him love him, he had things to do for Tommy, to say to him, he wanted to stick around and make a life, Tommy just had to say yes. Tommy did.

Like always, Sarah Black, made me cry, laugh, think, and feel so sad for those who are missing out on her brilliance.

I finished this book, and could just see Will whispering in Tommy's ear...A little Marlowe at bedtime.

Come live with me and be my love...

There will we sit upon the rocks,
And see the shepherds feed their flocks...

There I will make thee beds of roses...

Come live with me, and be my love...

As precious as the gods do eat,
Shall on an ivory table be,
Prepared each day for thee and me...

If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me and be my love.


Cannot recommend this enough.