Ghosts of Manhattan by George Mann
Pyr, $16.00, 240pp, tp, 9781616141943. Fantasy.
I hadn’t yet caught the steampunk bug that has been running around sf the last few years, but after reading George Mann’s Ghosts of Manhattan, I begin to see the appeal. The Ghost, in this case, is “the world’s first steampunk superhero,” and he bears striking similarities to The Phantom. Oh, there are some differences—the ghost is set in an alternate New York City in 1926, and his powers come not from the jungles, but from technological expertise—but this Ghost, too, is out for right and opposing wrong, regardless of law or public opinion (actually, in this respect, he’s also similar to the Dark Knight).
In this, the first book of what may turn into a series, the Ghost is on the trail of the Roman, and underworld crime boss who is more even than he appears (but, as a good underworld crime figure, he doesn’t appear very often). Indeed, the Ghost soon learns that the Roman isn’t merely trying to take over the crime families in New York; his purposes are far more sinister, and perhaps just a touch supernatural.
The Ghost is joined in his fight by the stereotypical sidekicks we would expect: the good cop in the corrupt police department, the faithful manservant, the love interest who, too, is more than she appears, and his wide array of technological wizardry.
It’s an alternate 1926, but some of the similarities include the jazz age, flappers, and Prohibition. Gabriel Cross is living the life of a jaded playboy on Long Island, hosting parties of pretty people every night, and avoiding the sun and the grind every day. But he has a darker side. A reason for his unknown apartment in Manhattan, for his aloofness at his own parties, and for his pain-filled, bruised mornings after nights in which the Ghost makes headlines.
Into this seemingly meaningless, lonely existence has come Celeste, a jazz singer he met in an underground nightclub. She, too, may have a hidden side, but it’s not something Gabriel suspects immediately. Indeed, he’s too focused on the latest wave of killings, all apparently the work of the Roman (and his signature, ancient Roman coins on the eyes of his victims).
Detective Donovan knows he’s in over his head. He knows there’s something more than just internecine warfare in the Roman’s murders, because they’re staged far more precisely than simple killings would require. But he’s stuck. He’s stuck in a department riddled with men on the take, stuck in a set of laws that prohibits many of the actions he’d like to take, and stuck in the dilemma of joining the bought men or losing his life.
The Ghost knows a kindred soul when he finds one, and takes Donovan under his steam-powered wing. Together, they’ll find the Roman, and figure out his secret. They’ll learn why the crime boss is stealing artifacts from the museum, and building a power station with only one customer. And they’ll learn why Celeste can’t stay with Gabriel forever.
The Ghost is the Batman of his era, and fortunately for him, his era is a steam-powered alternate to our own history. High-powered, highly accurate weapons are possible for the inventing. Short hop flight on a jet-pack analog is there if you can build it (and avoid burning your ankles), and even night-vision goggles can be built, again, if the will, money, and know-how are present. The Ghost, and Gabriel’s fortune, make the most of his resources, but even with his advantages, there are some things—and some people—even he cannot save.
George Mann has created a fully fleshed out alternate world in which to set his novel. Indeed, some of that fleshing out seems overkill, and is probably just laying the groundwork for future books (the Cold War happening between the US and the UK is of no account in the book, as is the recent death of the 107-year-old Queen Victoria). The coal-powered cars littering the streets, belching clouds of black smoke, are quite believable, and the biplane fight in the canyons of Manhattan is compelling. I recommend this book as an easy introduction to steampunk, an interesting police-procedural mystery, and a nice basis for what may be an ongoing series.