George Mann is a new author for me. This book seems a steampunk cross between batman and Wild Wild West's James West. It's a rather oddball action packed tale. The story takes place in 1926 Manhattan amidst prohibition, jazz clubs, mobsters, cold powered cars, holographic phones, and a cold war with Britain. Gabriel Cross is a very wealthy society man, and a survivor or the war. He had seen some horrible things which help turn him become his alter ego, The Ghost. The Ghost is a crime fighting vigilante. He is in love with a redheaded jazz singer with a mysterious past. There has been a series of grisly murders of wealthy men. The Ghost's mission is to stop these murders. In the process he inadvertently teams up with police detective Donovan. There is something deep and sinister stirring in Manhanttan. ( )

This is the first George Mann book I've read and I really enjoyed it. It's historical fiction meets fantasy in an alternate 1920's new york. A vigilante with the kind of toys that James Bond would love, biplane fights over the streets of new york what's not to like. My only complaint is that he had to much information in the last few chapters. ( )

"Ghosts of Manhattan" promises a blend of superheroism and steampunk but it falls very short of the mark on both. The steampunk gadgets seem to be a tacked on afterthought, the world building is sparse, and the characters are even even less detailed. You never care about The Ghost, his vendetta against The Roman, and would be better off reading a Batman book for story. The novel also suffers from some seriously clunky dialogue that may recall the format of pulp novels, but it comes off as cliche more often than not. ( )

For George Mann's sake, I'm glad that I have a tendency to purchase all of the books in a series when I decide to read the first one. He gets my commission, as does my local store. These are both good things. But never have I felt so embarrassed to read a novel since I was a kid first realizing that YA stories no longer held my attention or demanded my suspension of disbelief. And those were the well-constructed stories.

I don't like to write negative reviews of anything at all, so I'll keep this short. The Ghost doublet (so far) of "Steampunk" novels is atrocious, trite prose filled with obvious tropes and zero mystery, wonder, or sense of place. I had to force myself to finish Ghosts of Manhattan only because I like to complete the books that I purchase, in a sort of OCD-manner. I'll distill my horrific experience into five points, and leave it there:

1) Mann is British, and is writing about a dystopian New York in the 1920s. Regardless, all of his characters speak in the British idiom, with no attempt whatsoever to establish personalities that have any sense of relevant colloquiality. Amateur mistake or lack of attention, either way it burned the fourth wall straight down.

2) If it were of the Pulp genre, or even a nod thereunto, it would still be a dismal addition. But it's excitedly touted as Steampunk (isn't everything these days?) with the same absence of setting as that of Mann's portrayal of language. Aside from the mention of New York and the occasional boiler-plate dropping of some weak, non-useful Victorian-tech, it might as well have been set anywhere, anytime. Sure, I'm sick to death of the Steampunkian-rapine that has gone on in the past decade. But still, self-igniting cigarettes, police airships above the city, and coal-powered cars alone do not a genre make. Besides, those are really the only three anachronistic tech elements he squeezes into the book, repeatedly and with absolutely no subtlety. I think I read that one of the characters "pulled the ignition tab on his cigarette and watched it flare" no less than five times. It hurts, I tell you.

3) Ghosts of Manhattan is a weak attempt at sandwiching everything that's already been done before together into something that's been left in the fridge long past its sell-by date. It's exactly the Great Gatsby mashed-up with exactly Batman, without any of the style, emotion, mystery, or excitement of either. The characters aren't really tortured or even human - they're cardboard cutouts of grim detectives, playboy millionaires-turned vigilantes, and pure-evil antagonists who are trying to end the world by summoning elder gods from out of space and time. Really.

4) All of the women in this world are glamorous, enticing sirens for the main character's fancy. More like George's fancy.

5) Just add Cthulhu. It's like the Prime Directive in Sci-Fi and Fantasy: never use time-travel to tell your story. So leave the tentacles to those who can really use them. If Steampunk and Batman aren't working, stuffing in some Lovecraft certainly won't make it any better.

Hey, I've still got the second book to go.

I was hoping that I'd be a Mann-eater, but after reading Ghosts of Manhattan, I'm much more of a Mann-hater. ( )

Reminiscent of old pulp thrillers, this steampunk version is fun to read and has no pretense to be anything but what it is. Quick read, no deep thought required. ( )