Ghost Talkers

This was a wonderful historical fantasy set during World War I. Ginger Stuyvesant is an American heiress who is engaged to Captain Ben Harford, an English intelligence officer. Ginger is also a medium and one of the women who take reports from soldiers who die in battle and then watch them go into the light. Their skills and their location is a secret from the Germans since the intelligence they gather helps in the war effort.

She and Ben are harassed by a drunken soldier one evening when they are out together and Ben fights him off. Imagine Ginger's surprise when the same soldier's ghost comes to her the next day to tell her that he was murdered after overhearing threats to the Spirit Corps. When Ginger brings this news to her show more commanding officer, he is quick to dismiss her information. However, Ben has also been picking up rumors of a traitor in the ranks. When he is murdered, he comes to give his final report but refuses to go on to the light until he finds the one who killed him and the traitor who endangers Ginger and the rest of the Spirit Corps.

She and Ben are in a time crunch. The longer he stays, the worse his memory gets as his personality fragments. And Ginger is torn between her loss and broken heart, and the best good for Ben. They need to retrace his steps and track down the clues that he found to the traitor when he doesn't remember any of it.

I thought the setting and time period with its endemic chauvinism and racism was well done. One of Ginger's colleagues is West Indian. She's the one who developed the technique that has the dead coming to them to report. However, her skin color makes it easy for the commanding officer to ignore her contributions. Another key character is an Indian truck driver who hides the fact that he is also a medium.

The romance between Ben and Ginger was wonderfully realized. I was heartbroken knowing that the relationship had to end. This was a great story filled with memorable characters. show less

This book, as I squeed on Twitter, shattered my expectations -- and my heart.

Set during World War I, the novel follows the British Army's Spirit Corps, a group of mediums who take the reports of soldiers killed on the front. They have an edge, as the campaigns of Harry Houdini and Arthur Conan Doyle -- plants for the British government -- have made the world think spiritualism was bunk.

But with the guidance of a West Indian woman, Helen, soldiers are "programmed" to want to report in before they pass on, and the Spirit Corps -- thought to be merely a morale boosting team -- hold continuous, hours-long seances to gather this precious intel from the newly dead.

Our heroine is Ginger Stuyvensant, an American heiress engaged to British show more officer Ben Harford. She's committed to the Spirit Corps, the other mediums and the ones in their circles with the slight "sight". But not everyone is as convinced that they are valuable, and when Ginger and Ben turned up tidbits and evidence of a spy, they face considerable resistance. Still, they fight for their colleagues, and seek out the truth where ever it leads them -- and it leads to much delicious heartbreak.

All the characters are wonderfully fun, even the tertiary ones, and the setting and world are describe in enough detail to be real without overwhelming the narrative. In particular, Kowal evokes all those elements that I appreciate in novels set during wartime conflict -- race and class and gender, bittersweet love and gutting loss -- as well as including original touches that transform this expected narrative into something more ethereal and unbelievably, more poignant.

Kowal is attentive, too, to the other details that matter, like the inclusion of a character of color as one of the main characters -- a touch I appreciate, as she acknowledges that people of color were in Europe, fighting, during World War I.

So obviously, a winning read for me -- definitely a top ten of 2016. I've been trying to pass along my physical ARCs but I think this is one I'll keep -- I see a reread in my future! (Also, this cover. Unfgh. J'adore it and it so captures the novel.) show less

I'd like this book even if I didn't know Mary Robinette Kowal wrote it. But the fact that she did, had me quivering in anticipation until I could get my hands on a copy. It's got that MRK touch that brings a story to life. I think all her work in her other life, which include dramatic speaking, puppetry, and voice acting, really helps shape her conversations so that they actually sound like conversations that occur in real life. They're not overly stuffed with information, the pace and emotions are realistic, and you can hear the characters speak in your head (or at least I can. And it's not that I'm hearing voices in the she-needs-medical-evaluation sense, but that the author has given life to her characters through their words, show more thoughts, and action, and I, as the reader, benefit from that.)

So, I've been to Regency England (with magic!) with Mary, and to Mars, and a bunch of other places. This time, she took me to WWI, and introduced me to the Spirit Corps, England's secret weapon that gets real time battle information and military intellegence from British soldiers on the front. The only catch is that these are soldiers who have died, and their ghosts are reporting in before following the light to whatever comes next. The details they are able to give, such as where they were, which direction the shot came from, etc, helps to give the British command valuable information.

In the meantime, Ginger Stuyvesant, an American who is engaged to intelligence officer Captain Ben Harford, is one of the mediums of the Spirit Corps. She and her circle discover there's a traitor in the system, mucking up the works, and helping the Germans who want to destroy the Spirit Corps. Even though she and her colleagues provide valuable information, they have a hard time convincing those in charge that there is a true threat. And when that threat is aimed at the Spirit Corp itself, Ginger and company move into action.

There's a lot to like in this novel. I did have a quibble or two with a couple of stereotypes, but they ended up being kind of fun against the other characters. Also, I did roll my eyes and groan, and complain to my husband that I thought Michael Livingston had a hand in getting one of the troops in the trenches mentioned. (Turns out, I was right, but had to wait 136 pages to the Acknowledgements to find out my hunch was correct. The man is everywhere!) There's also a love story (though that's not the, pardon the expression, thrust of the story. It's all very proper.)

My main dissatisfaction? That I have to wait for MRK to finish writing something else for me to read. Whatever it is, i'm pretty sure I'll squee with delight when I get my hands on that, too.

Tags: a-favorite-author, alternate-history, made-me-look-something-up, met-or-know-the-author, read, taught-me-something show less

Excellent alt-history dive into WWI - what if spirit's were the wireless communications for military intelligence.

Kowal does a fantastic job with a big "what-if": what if mediums were used to get fallen soldiers to report on the circumstances of their death? She takes that and builds a team of "Spirit Corps" members, all mediums, who wait to take the final reports of soldiers, giving the Allies insight into enemy actions. And then... what if the Germans have a clue and start taking action neutralize this?

This was a clever and thoughtful look at war (and it's horror) wrapped in an engaging mystery and spirited (sorry) romance - recommended!

(There's even a guest appearance by JRR Tolkien!)

This the first book I've read by this author and I was much impressed. Set in an alternate first World War, the Allies have the edge in collecting information because they use mediums to gather the dying soldiers' last memories. Ginger and Ben are engaging main characters. While the formal conversational style between this affianced couple was foreign to me, it did fit with the historic era.
I had this book on audio tape and I admit the accents took a lot of concentration to understand at first. Even when I became accustomed to the accent, sometimes I was a bit annoyed at some of them being too upper crust British (tho, since it was read by the author, it seems wrong to criticize what must be the way she hears the characters). Sergeant show more Patel was right on, tho.
I'd love to read more, if this were a series, as the concept entices me as much as the characters. However, I'll be sure to get a print copy so I'm not distracted by other voices. show less

Pros: brilliant premise, some heart-wrenching scenes, great characters

Cons: a few off notes

July 1916, the Great War continues and so does the work of the Spirit Corps, taking reports and messages from the British dead. Ginger Stuyvessant is a medium, doing her duty both with the ghosts and at the hospitality tent that acts as their cover. When a message comes through suggesting that the Spirit Corps is being targeted, her fiance and military spy, Captain Ben Harford, starts to investigate.

I absolutely loved the premise of this book. Mediums who used the ghosts of the dead to track enemy troop positions? What a brilliant idea. If, of course, also a horrific one as it’s entirely dependant on your side dying. I loved that part of the show more mediums’ job was assuring each soldier that their death had meaning.

The cast was great. I loved Ginger’s pluck and her relationship with the members of her circle as well as the deep love she has for Ben. Ben is also a good character, trying to protect Ginger while acknowledging that part of what made him fall in love with her was her adventurous spirit.

I was impressed that Kowal brought in an Indian squad as well as a West Indian woman, and horrified by how they were treated by the military brass.

Given that it details wartime, it’s not surprising that there are some heart-wrenching scenes.

A few minor things bugged me, like at the end I got Edna and Aunt Edie confused. There was also an ending scene with a character that rang a bit false to me.

The mystery was well done with a good number of twists and turns to the investigation. Ginger and Ben certainly work hard to find out what’s going on, taking a lot of physical - and other - punishment.

I really enjoyed this novella. It’s only about 200 pages, but it took a while to read, simply because of the heavy subject matter. I would love to see more done with this setting/premise. show less

I did not see that coming. I read the first book in the author's "Glamourist Histories" series last year, and was ambivalent about it. Maybe a bit more negative than positive, actually, because when I realized this was the same author I had serious requester's remorse. But its time came, and I was instantly hooked. It's a remarkable, wonderful book.

Having forgotten everything about the synopsis by the time I started it, I was very pleased to discover that it's set in the middle of WWI, both time- and place-wise. In my experience it’s an under-used setting, and Kowal utilizes it magnificently, weaving reality with her reality to the point that this fantasy seems like the way it should have been. I believed it. World-building is show more something usually associated with settings that come straight out of a writer's head, but this is a beautiful example of how important it is to, if not build, recreate a historical setting for something that takes place in our very own past. Ghost Talkers explores war-torn France and the war-torn soldiers and mediums with painful realism.

The plot featured a murder mystery which was handled skillfully enough that I honestly had a doubt or two about the possibility of guilt where a lesser book would never have allowed it.

There's a guest appearance in the trenches that could easily have scuttled the whole thing for me, if badly handled. But it wasn't, and it didn't. Someone – I won't spoil it for you – comes onstage (so to speak), has a line or three, and departs again with absolutely no fanfare. It was well done, and it tickled me. A hint, because I enjoyed the description: "a lieutenant who seemed too bookish to be in a war".

The relationship between the main character, Ginger, and her fiancé Ben is absolutely lovely. It features realistic and enjoyable banter, well-demonstrated affection (shown, not told!), and the end of the book left me with a tear in my eye. There might have been more than one. There might have been sniffling.There was definitely powerful longing for more. It was a solid stand-alone novel, but I would be delighted if a sequel came along.

The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review. show less