Ghosts of Manhattan

Ghosts of Manhattan (The Ghost #1)

3.23 of 5 stars 3.23  ·  rating details  ·  477 ratings  ·  74 reviews
1926. New York. The Roaring Twenties. Jazz. Flappers. Prohibition. Coal-powered cars. America is in the midst of a cold war with a British Empire that has only just buried Queen Victoria, her life artificially preserved to the age of 107. Coal-powered cars roar along roads thick with pedestrians, biplanes take off from standing with primitive rocket boosters, and monsters...more
Paperback, 237 pages
Published April 2010 by PYR (first published February 2010)
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David Kerr
'Ghost of Manhattan' is George Mann's melding of the pulp genre with that of steampunk. Set in an America embroiled in a cold war with the British Empire, it is a world of coal-powered cars, bi-planes taking off from building tops on rockets, of mobsters and of....The Ghost.
The book centres on the vigilante 'The Ghost' and his attempts to thwart the schemes of the insidious mob boss known as 'The Roman'. Armed with a plethora of customised weaponry, he sets out each night to tackle the criminal...more
David Radspinner
Ghosts of Manhattan was a fairly short book I picked up based entirely on the cover art and short description on the back, and turned out pretty good. The story takes place in a re-imagined Steampunk style 20s, and is essentially a superhero / detective story. The story follows the jaded but dedicated Detective Donovan, and the vigilante "The Ghost" who acts as the sort of anti-hero with no problem massacring a whole room of people, so long as they are armed and trying to kill him back. The stor...more
Ed McKeogh
[Spoilers. Well, sort of. Honestly, it's not like you're going to be that surprised.]

Because this book often shows up on "essential dieselpunk" reading lists (even though the jacket claims it's the first "steampunk superhero"--a claim completely unsubstantiated anywhere in its 230+ pages), I (a sort of dieselpunk cadet) wanted to like it. But as it all-too-frequently happens these days with subgenres trying to find their niche audience, the otherwise appropriate pieces never quite come together...more
Marcus
At first I was not too impressed. The plot seemed too transparent, I thought it was obvious after about 50 pages who the eponymous Ghost was and who was most likely the villain, I was wrong about the latter. I also realized that I measured Ghosts of Manhattan along the wrong standards. Ghosts of Manhattan is not a mystery tale, it is straight forward pulp. After I got that, the novel suddenly became very enjoyable.
Ghosts of Manhattan is a dirty, gritty, action-packed noir tale. The hero, The Gho...more
MB Taylor
Finished reading The Ghosts of Manhattan (2010) by George Mann. It’s a pretty good book, if a bit odd. This is the second book by Mann that I’ve read, and I think I preferred his earlier book, The Affinity Bridge (2009).

Both novels are steampunk, but where The Affinity Bridge takes place in the more usual Victorian London, Ghosts is set in a 1926 New York, which feels a bit strange. The basic premise of steampunk is advanced technology using the accoutrements of an earlier era. Generally this ea...more
Charlotte (Buried in Books)
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Michael
I actually liked this book. It didn't blow me away but I liked it. It was a fairly quick read. The picture on the cover and title grabbed me because the hero obviously is derivative of some of my favorite heroes from the pulps..."The Shadow" and "The Spider" not to mention Batman and the Green Hornet. It takes place in 1926 New York City in an alternate world. This is Steampunk genre but I like the fact it takes place in NYC in the Jazz age rather than the usual Victorian Era England.
Cars run o...more
Sarah
Moving ahead several decades and continents in his steampunk universe serves George Mann well in this book which is a mix of superhero story (think Batman) and noir. The book is a pretty interesting read until the end. Mann has knack for writing crazy fight and chase sequences; in this book it's a bi-plane fight. The pace of most of the book is good, mixing the right amount of action and introspection.

Where the book lost me (and this is why I'm giving it 3 stars instead of 4) is in the final few...more
Hendel
I enjoyed Mann's more traditional (?) Victorian steampunk "The Affinity Bridge" and had high hopes based on the described setting for this. Steam-powered superheroes? A Cold War with Britain? It sounded great!

Unfortunately, this fell pretty flat for me. Far too many clear Batman parallels, for a start. If you're going to do the well-worn filthy-rich playboy by day, tormented avenger by night thing, you'd better have a great twist no more than 2/3 of the way through, and there was none here (thou...more
M. Chandler
If I wanted to read Batman fanfiction, I could probably find better fic on the Internet for free.

While the book is set in an old-tymey steampunk universe, everything else is straight from the DC/Batman universe, coated with a quick and slapdash coat of paint. I do not know whether this is 'merely' a steampunk-AU fanfic with the serial numbers filed off, or if it was an official Elseworlds script submission which DC turned down, but either way, it's still Batman, albeit in the Witness Protection...more
Maureen
The back copy sold me on this book: new york in the twenties, with a steampunk spin -- and a villain called "the Roman" leaving freshly minted ancient coins on his victims' eyes.

We are introduced to the hero, the vigilante named "the Ghost", as he overcomes a band of hoods who work for the Roman. Shortly thereafter we meet a Gatsby-like character named Gabriel Cross who seemed to be his alter ego, only the author seemed to be trying to make me think he wasn't the Ghost, and then eventually just...more
John Montagne
Ghosts of Manhattan was somewhere between dieselpunk and steampunk, a nicely written adventure tale that takes place in the same (future) world of Mann's Newbury & Hobbs novels. But unlike the previous novels, this series holds some Lovecraftian elements with its Cthulu type monstrosities. Why did I only give it two stars when I've enjoyed Mann's past novels so much? The main character, the Ghost himself, reminded me far too much of Batman, sure all superhero type characters will share some...more
James
A vigilante hero, gangster warfare, Jazz, Prohibition, flying machines and Golems - what's not to like?

And in truth there wasn't much to dislike about Ghosts of Manhattan. It's a fast read, but doesn't offer a lot in the way of originality with the superhero genre. Other than it's set in the same universe as his Newbury and Hobbes series (albeit a few years down the line), Mann, I feel, will improve on The Ghost with later books.

Don't get me wrong, it's great fun and some of the set pieces are k...more
Rick
I've really enjoyed George Mann's "Newberry & Hobbes" series of Steampunk novels, but this is in nowhere near the same class.
There are elements of a steampunk setting about this book, though nowhere near as well realised as his other books. "Ghosts of Manhattan" is set a little later in time - 1930s? - and is obviously a riff on the Green Hornet and early Batman tales. Our central character is another vigilante playboy with a twisted past.I found the whole thing a little tedious and never re...more
Jeff Dawson
It's okay.

This is my first Steampunk novel by a rather well known author and writer.

When I started the novel I was totally captivated with the first chapter, and then, well, then the story continued. Maybe I should have stopped after the good stuff.

The plot is intriguing to say the least. We have Gabriel Cross masquerading round Manhattan as a true life crime fighter known as the Ghost. He is trying to run down the current mob boss, "The Roman," who is killing off many affluent and prominent cit...more
Belinda
I am still on the fence with this--it had enough in it for me to like it but it was not as good as I had hoped from the description. I love the details of the alt universe but would have loved more--the twist as to who the "ghost" is, is very lame and easy to figure out-maybe it was meant to be that way but I thought it was far too simple--he may as well have told you in the first few pages outright. I also thought the ending deserved a bit more explanation--I think that's my issue with this boo...more
Richard Wright
Taking a break from his previous creations Newbury & Hobbes, here Mann rolls his steampunk universe a couple of decades into its future, to Manhattan in the mid-twenties, instantly rejuvenating his own world. Genre-fusing pulp vigilantes into his steampunk world, he launches into an action-packed adventure dotted through with gangsters, molls, biplane battles, and the supernatural. It's a fun ride, though could have perhaps benefited from a more gradual denouement of the plot, rather than sa...more
James Boocock
Mar 13, 2011 James Boocock rated it 1 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: no-one
Picked up for a pittance in a charity shop somewhere, so utterly awful that I may just bin it rather than have the possibility of someone else reading it sitting on my conscience.

Stylistically it nearly made me weep, for a book that steals so much from The Great Gatsby you'd hope the author would take more than a few characters and a setting and learn a little from his prose.

Also Alan Moore did the whole Cthulu erupts into high society thing a lot better in one of his League of Extraordinary Gen...more
FunkyPlaid
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...more
Andrew
Ghosts of Manhattan was a lot of fun. Unlike a lot of pulp homages, Mann doesn't try to echo the clunky dialogue and purple prose of the originals. Instead, he makes his book feel the way we remember the pulps feeling, concentrating on reminding us of the best qualities (fast pacing, larger than life weird action) instead of the worst.

I did wonder if too much information was saved until the final chapters, but ultimately, I think he did just enough foreshadowing to set everything up. I really en...more
Dan S
Great fun, but hardly a masterpiece. The writing is solid, but fairly uninspiring, and it essentially plays out like a Steampunk 30's Batman, but with less of a moral code. The random introduction of a supernatural element in the last 100 pages or so is underdeveloped. On the other hand, there's a neat plot hook laid for the sequel; having read the author's other work, I'm happy to put the above problems down to teething troubles for a new series. Recommended; just don't expect to read something...more
Lynn
Today's post is on 'Ghosts of Manhattan' by George Mann. It is 236 pages long and is published by Pyr books. This cover art is is by Benjamin Carre and is a wonderful minimalist in grays, blacks, and whites with the Ghost's eyes as red dots that draws that eye. The intended reader is anyone who like fantasy, alt history and steampunk-like genre. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

The city of Manhattan is haunted. It is haunted by the war, by prohibition, by the mob and by a cold war with England. It is 192...more
Magpie
Ghosts of Manhattan is a little disappointing. The concept is good, a steampunk vigilante hero, and the writing style is actually quite enjoyable. However, there are some pacing issues (it takes a while to find its feet with chapters alternating between characters that all seem to consist of chase and fight scenes) and, honestly, it's all been done to death. The self-consciously noir-style plot mixed with the steampunk and more fantastical elements is well-pastiched, but also a little uninspired...more
Dave
Mar 30, 2011 Dave rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Adventure lovers
Say hello to the new pulp adventure novel. This is billed as steampunk by the back cover, but anyone who goes into it expecting a big, elaborate world of alternate history and coal-fueled grotesqueries is going to be sorely disappointed. Ghosts of Manhattan builds on a steampunk foundation; there are a few genre nods, but the back jacket had more history of the world than the entire 270 pages of the novel. What this should really be billed as is pulp.

Taken in that context, Ghosts of Manhattan is...more
Kristin  (MyBookishWays Reviews)
You may also read my review here:http://www.mybookishways.com/201...

Detective Felix Donovan is having a bad time of it. High profile men are being murdered in gruesome ways, and he has no leads, other than he’s sure that a violent gangster that calls himself The Roman has to have something to do with it. A vigilante that calls himself the Ghost is taking crime solving into his own hands, and a rich playboy is fighting the ghosts of his own violent past. Ghosts of Manhattan opens with a bang, wi...more
Chompa
Let me start by saying, I wish more people would attempt to bring back pulps and update them like George Mann has done.

Characters: The Ghost is a great pulp hero concept. Kind of like The Shadow, but uses gadgets. Detective Donovan is also a solid character. Celeste is a much needed femme fatale.

The Setting: 1920's Steampunk. Coal powered cars. Plans on rooftops with rockets to launch them. A cold war with the British Empire in post WWI.

The good: It's pulp adventure in the 1920's with a hint...more
Jason Pettus
(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)

This latest title by our buddies at Pyr has a killer concept, one that's almost impossible to pass up -- basically, imagine "The Shadow" of 1920s pulp fiction, but if his secret identity happened to be Jay Gatsby, the whole story taking place in a steampunk (noirpunk?) alt-history New York, a tech-forward...more
David
3.5 stars
George Mann bring together steampunk and superheroes in a 1920’s New York city that reflects our own but is from a distinctly unique history. Mann has seemingly moved his steampunk world of Newbury and Hobbs ahead a few decades and across the Atlantic.

The story follows the tale of The Ghost and his escapades against a gangster/bad guy called “The Roman”. The tale is more dark and noir compared to the Newbury and Hobbs stories, and more pulpy. Neither is a bad thing, but I did not find...more
Dan Schwent
The year is 1926 and the USA is in a Cold War with Britan. Masked vigilante The Ghost is on the trail of a crime boss called The Roman. Can he evade police long enough to catch The Roman and put a stop to his reign of terror?

The easiest way to sum up Ghosts of Manhattan is to say "Steampunk Batman." That's what it is. It's very much a Batman story with steampunk trappings. And the trappings are minimal. If minor details were changed, it could have easily taken place in our 1926.

I have to admit I...more
Amber
Steampunk, alternate history, a hero who hides in the shadows of the world's most famous city... This had all the elements of what could have been a great book, but it just sort of fell flat.

None of the characters were really fleshed out enough to care about, and the reveal of the Ghost's true identity just didn't work for me. It was too sudden and didn't make sense as presented.

Everything wrapped up too easily, and the main love interest's involvement in the whole plot seemed to just be sort o...more
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Ghosts of Manhattan (The Ghost, #1)
Ghosts Of Manhattan (Hardcover)
Ghosts of Manhattan (ebook)
Ghosts of Manhattan (The Ghost, #1)
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George Mann is an author and editor, primarily in genre fiction. He was born in Darlington, County Durham in 1978.
A former editor of Outland, Mann is the author of The Human Abstract, and more recently The Affinity Bridge and The Osiris Ritual in his Newbury and Hobbes detective series, set in an alternate Britain, and Ghosts of Manhattan, set in the same universe some decades later.
He wrote the T...more
More about George Mann...
The Affinity Bridge (Newbury and Hobbes, #1) The Osiris Ritual (Newbury and Hobbes, #2) The Immorality Engine (Newbury and Hobbes, #3) Doctor Who: Paradox Lost Ghosts of War (The Ghost, #2)

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