Ghost Talkers

Starred review from June 27, 2016
In this entrancing alternate history, Kowal (the Glamourist Histories series) introduces the Spirit Corps, a group that communicates with recently killed soldiers to gather important wartime information. It’s the summer of 1916, and American medium Ginger Stuyvesant works with the British Army at Le Havre to coordinate and lead spirit circles. When her intelligence officer fiancé, Capt. Benjamin Harford, uncovers a German plot to target the Spirit Corps and is sent to the front soon after, Ginger must use every power at her disposal to track down a traitor and protect the corps. Kowal’s depiction of spiritualism is richly imagined, and its complications and consequences are thoughtfully considered. Her depiction of the Western Front includes diverse characters often neglected in wartime stories: the many people who help Ginger include women young and old, people of color, and disabled veterans, all of whom are dismissed by the British men in charge. The well-drawn characters and the story’s gripping action and deep emotion will captivate readers.

July 1, 2016
The terrible death tolls of World War I are revisited in an alternate history where the spirits of the dead can be interrogated for valuable military intelligence in another historical fantasy from Kowal (Of Noble Family, 2015, etc.).As with her Glamourist series, Kowal follows a recipe of "headstrong young woman + magic + historical period, heavy on the patriarchy." This time it's the first world war, and our protagonist is Ginger Stuyvesant, an American heiress and spiritual medium engaged to a British intelligence officer. In France, a special site has been created where dead soldiers give their final reports to Stuyvesant and other mediums. It's a closely guarded war secret, and the Germans scheme to learn it for themselves--or to destroy the mediums. But when something happens to Ginger's protective fiance, Ben, Ginger must navigate wartime bureaucracy, misogyny, racism, intrigue, and treachery on her own. She is helped by young Merrow (Ben's batman); Mrs. Richardson, a middle-aged "anchor" to the mediums; and the limited assistance Ben can provide. But can she trust anyone...even Ben? Ginger's hunt for the truth takes her from infirmaries to the front lines, but the dead are everywhere, and keeping her own soul intact in the face of their pain will be the hardest battle. No need to worry, though--as a heroine, Ginger is plucky, resourceful, upright, and flawless; the good guys all tend to be, here. Ginger's victories over both German plots and the social injustices of her day won't feel terribly surprising, but they may scratch an itch for readers satisfied by such. A fascinating premise somewhat burdened by workaday execution and pat characterizations, but fans of Kowal's formula will be charmed.

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July 1, 2016

American Ginger Stuyvesant is able to channel the spirits of the dead. Her skills, along with those of other psychics, are being put to use by a special branch of the British Army known as the Spirit Corps during World War I. Working out of a base in Le Havre, Ginger leads one of several circles whose members take intelligence from deceased soldiers who report what they saw on the battlefields. One day a fighter checks in who has been killed by a British officer, not a German enemy. Ginger has a hard time getting her male superior officers to take her seriously, but she is tenacious as she pulls on the threads of a mystery that threatens the whole of the Spirit Corps. VERDICT Hugo Award-winning Kowal ("The Glamourist" series) has a good feel for the era, creating a premise and setting that make this a refreshing historical fantasy.--MM

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