Saturday, September 22, 2018

Ghost Talkers (Mary Robinette Kowal)

Ghost Talkers
Mary Robinette Kowal
Tor
Fiction, Fantasy
**** (Good)


DESCRIPTION: As the Great War wages in Europe, England employs a secret weapon: the Spirit Corps, mediums trained to take reports from soldiers killed in action, making for near-real-time intelligence on enemy troop movements. American-born Ginger is one of the mediums working at Le Havre, where most soldiers think she and her mostly-female colleagues are no more than hospitality workers, while her British fiance Ben works in espionage.
For all the death and danger that surrounds her daily, Ginger still wasn't ready when Ben reported to her as a ghost - not killed in battle, but murdered by traitors in their own ranks.
Unlike most ghosts, who depart beyond the veil, Ben lingers, tethered to Ginger by unfinished business on Earth. With evidence that the Germans are figuring out the existence of the Spirit Corps, the danger is rising daily. Finding Ben's murderer may be the only way to stop a looming disaster - but a ghost's memories fragment the longer they remain on the mortal plane, and Mary was never trained for spywork. Nevertheless, she's his only hope of finding peace, and the only hope of saving the Corps.

REVIEW: Kowal's alternate-history story brings a fresh horror to the face of war, where soldiers are expected to not only give their lives but part of their afterlives to the cause that killed them. As a medium, Ginger experiences more death than most, receiving reports and last messages from dead soldiers and even reliving some of their final memories countless times in a day. Still, the murder of Ben hits her hard, as does watching his lingering ghost slowly disintegrate into base emotions. Hindered by the sexism of the day (with racism also present, even if, as a white woman, she only sees it when confronted with it), she nevertheless steps up to the task of finding Ben's killer and unearthing the network of traitors in their midst. One of the culprits is a bit obvious, but overall Kowal does a good job raising questions and ratcheting up tension over whom to suspect; even the ability to read emotions in auras doesn't help when one can't read the thoughts behind the emotions. It's a well-paced story of the horrors of war and the power of love.

You Might Also Enjoy:
Carnacki, the Ghost Finder (William Hope Hodgson) - My Review
Ghosts of Belfast (Stuart Neville) - My Review
The Screaming Staircase (Jonathan Stroud) - My Review

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