Reeling from his experiences in the war, and the recent loss of his lover, the Ghost, aka wealthy socialite Gabriel Cross, haunts the darker places of his city, trying to fight crime and find himself. The New York of 1927 is under attack from manmade raptors, which are stealing people off the street, seemingly at random. Well equipped, the Ghost is neither fast enough nor deadly enough to take on these creatures himself and everyday more citizens go missing...

Ghost of War (2015. 306 pages) is a new alternative history novel by George Mann. The setting is America, but an America in a very changed world. The First World War happened and Britain won, but in the winning did not lose any of its Empire. Under their current Queen, Alberta, Britain retains its power and is in direct confrontation with the United States.

The world is also more technologically advanced, with giant airships plying their trade around the world and scientists who are able to forge combinations between occult power, there is a nice nod to Lovecraft, and mechanical madness.

Our titular hero, The Ghost, is a wealthy bachelor recovering from past loses by using his wealth to become a vigilante in disguise. His mansion is overseen by his faithful wrinkled retainer, Henry. Of course he would be hunted by the police if it were not for the fact that he has a friendly inspector on the force, Donovan. Surely, this is just the plot to Batman?

The Ghost's nightly excursions, in search of the base from which the Raptors emanate is further complicated with the arrival of an old flame, Ginny. She is the type of girl who likes to live hard and look pretty.

Things are afoot in the city, other than the ravenous raptors. Donovan is called into see the commissioner as there is a British spy loose in the city with secrets which could start a war between the two great powers. Donovan and the Ghost, with the plucky Ginny, join forces to solve the multiple mysteries, only to discover that all their roads lead to hell.

I honestly didn’t know what to make of the novel. The endless repeated references to characters smoking or forgetting their smokes were tiresome. I am not sure I would have placed so much faith in a man like Donovan, who can never remember to pick his cigarettes up, to solve a complicated crime.

The story is told mostly from the perspective of Gabriel, apart from when it is dealing with the villains. The main problem I had with Gabriel as a character is that he is a thinly veiled version of Bruce Wayne. Sure, a few things have been moved around, but the character is Bob Kane's Batman, with the wings substituted for Rocketman type jets.

The other problem was that we met Abraham Took way too early in the story; it not only removed much of the mystery about what was going on, but meant that I had worked out the path the rest of the story would follow... and I was correct.

The book had the makings of a good, fun pulp read, I got over the borrowing of characterises, but allowing the reader to peek behind the curtain too early took much of the thrill out of the story.

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Charles Packer