Ghost Talkers

A quick read. Light, but not as frothy as I anticipated. Historical fiction done right in a show-not-tell way.

The main thing I lothe about historical fiction is trying to shoehorn in Actual People, and Kowal only tries it once (as a brief cameo, at that).

I forgive it, I enjoyed the book.

Mary Robinette Kowal is one of my favourite writers and this did not let me down.

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 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.