I definitely called it a practice exercise for Cloud Atlas. I felt like a lot of the observations about fate & other big topics in Ghostwritten were the type of Deep Thoughts nearly everyone grapples with in their early 20s. It's amazing how Mitchell has grown as a writer in just a few books. Cloud Atlas and BSG

I liked BSG quite a bit. It's set in the same universe as Cloud Atlas, but Mitchell doesn't overdo the interlocking pieces. In retropect, BSG reminded me of Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha; both have narrators that speak like real children.