Ghost Talkers Paperback – 1 Sep 2017

A fascinating WWI historic fictional drama about a group of mediums who form the Spirit Corps and can 'talk' to the recently dead British soldiers and learn how and where they were killed. However, when it becomes apparent that the Germans are directly targeting the Spirit Corps, the story follows one of the mediums, an American heiress, Ginger Stuyvesent who tries to find out how the Germans could be getting their information and putting the entire Allied war effort at risk. The author, Mary Robinette Kowal has created believable characters and a compelling story that was a joy to read.

The book is amazing, and the seller did everything so well and fast.Thanks

Synopsis: In World War I, soldiers heading for the battlefront are programmed to report back on battle conditions and troop movements, when they die, to psychic mediums stationed in a secret outpost. But the Germans are getting closer to figuring out the Allies’ secret intelligence weapon.What I thought: I started MRK’s Shades of Milk and Honey back when it came out, and I couldn’t finish it; it really was not my thing. I wasn’t terribly optimistic about how I’d feel about this one, given the jacket copy -- I'm not big on the whole psychic mediums thing. And it took me about 50 pages to get past that, and just roll with it. I’m really glad that I did, though. I really enjoyed this novel, and I appreciated that the author didn't go the saccharine-ending route that so many other novels do.

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley and Macmillan - Tor/Forge.Alternate history, ghosts, spies, and a sweetly wonderful romance; just the kind of novel tailor made for me. I have never read anything else written by Mary Robinette Kowal and I can't help but believe this will begin a trend in marking me as a fan. The idea for this novel being centered around spiritual mediums, mostly women, who were "doing their part" in The Great War is simply an abundant orchard with fruit waiting to be harvested. There are so many directions Kowal can go with the second novel (what I'm actually saying is that I hope there will be a second novel). In this war women were allowed to be nurses but that was about as far as their gender could go toward the war effort short of growing more vegetables and knitting more scarves and socks. This story gives women a very special place to serve, in the Spirit Corps. To most of the world they appear as women who have volunteered to present a calm, friendly face to men who are going to the front or just returning. While some of the women are doing this another group is taking part in the secret missions of having mediums conduct interviews with the spirit of men killed in battle in order to gain almost instant battlefield reports. Then comes the news that the Central Powers have found out about the mediums and are going to try to eliminate them. Ginny Stuyvesant is an American, a medium, and the fiancé of Captain Ben Harford, a British officer in the espionage service. Together they are doing their part to fight the war according to their own talents.The mixing of the circles of mediums anchored by mundanes along with the ability of mediums and sensitives to detect auras surrounding others was quite fascinating and was written so well that it made the concept feel as if it should have been used in reality during the real war. The stories of the soldiers who knew they had died yet still felt it was their duty to report in to the Spirit Corps were sad and yet fulfilling at the same time. The concept of the ghosts grew as the story progressed so the book continued to be fresh and interesting. Having the spy angle become a major factor kept me guessing and therefore fully involved in what was going to happen. There is a lot of action which takes place just getting around from one location to the next, but I have to keep reminding myself to consider the time period in which the action is happening so walking between towns doesn't seem such an unreasonable thing to do. While the ending wasn't what I would call satisfactory, it was realistic and it did work. Now it's on to the second book so I can see how this particular type of talent or gifts was used to solve the next set of problems.

I very much enjoyed this. Ginger is a fun character to follow being determined and spirited without falling into the trap of the "strong feisty woman" character which seems so prevalent at the moment.While it has the trappings of military and spy fiction, at it's heart it's more of a romantic mystery and this softens some of the edges associated with the above. The interactions between Ginger and her circle are lovely and some of my favorite parts of the book.Altogether this feels more substantial than Kowal's regency series and is the better for it. One to read and enjoy.

This is a ghost story. A war story. A spy novel. An account of what it is like to be a woman trying to get taken seriously by men in the early 20th century. People fighting against racial discrimination. That sounds messy, but actually the story is really tight, and all these elements serve the plot.An imaginative setting - the British Army gaining an advantage in World War 1 by creating a secret group of mediums who talk to ghosts of those recently killed at the Front, with standard drills including placing mortally wounded men in positions where they can observe the enemy.A spy story with twists and turns. Will the senior officers understand this new "technology"? Do the Germans have their own ghost talkers? Do they have plans to disrupt the British? Who is the spy? Or are there several spies? Who is the enemy?A real page turner.