ghost season is not a bad book by any means; in fact it's good from a storytelling and technical POV, however i cant fully say that i enjoyed the book, hence the <3 stars. 

the sudanese setting of both the metropoliton khartoum and rural saraaya w/ its vulnerable yet strategic position for strife are eye-opening. the characters are realistic w/ depth, and it's good to see how they develop thru the book. abbas also depicts the local life and tension w/ detail -- sometimes too much detail that it drags the story, resulting in uneven pacing. imo the novel would be even better has a balance been struck between setting details and story; currently the latter comes too late, tho the climax's def compelling.

the last one third of the novel's the best part from my pov, w/ a lot of development and action, as well as that dramatic, melancholic ending. it's a bit of a waste that the book's remaining portion doesnt quite measure up, taking too much time and focusing on too many details at the cost of the actual story.