Of Tangible Ghosts

Of Tangible Ghosts is the first novel in the Ghost series. In an alternate universe, the English Plymouth colony failed and the Dutch dominated Columbia. Austro-Hungary has conquered most of Europe and the French exiles under DeGaulle rule in Mexico. In this timeline, ghosts are much more visible, powerful, and responsive to technical devices.Doktor Johan Eschbach is a former Subminister for Environment in the Natural Resources Ministry of the Columbian government. Prior to his term as a high level government official, Johan had been a flying officer in the Republic Air Corps and then an agent in the Spazi, the Sedition Prevention and Security Service. When Speaker Hartpence's Reformed Tories party won the election, they cleaned house in the Natural Resources Ministry and Johan retired to his family's old summer home in Vanderbraak Centre, accepting a position in the Natural Resources Department of the local college, Vanderbraak State University. In this novel, Johan has a close relationship to Doktor Llysette duBoise, a concert quality soprano who also teaches at the college and who is a refugee from the conquest of France. Llysette has a concert one evening and Johan drives her to the music center to prepare for the performance, then goes to his office. Later, as he locks up to leave for the concert, Johan feels a drop in temperature. Then he hears someone sobbing and shortly thereafter he sees the ghost of Miranda Miller, a piano instructor in the Music department. Apparent Miranda has just been murdered. He starts to report the incident to Campus Security, but realizes that such a report would position him as a prime suspect. Instead, he walks to the Music department to attend Llysette's concert.During the next few days, Johan discovers that the Spazi are interested in Miranda's murder, indicating that the homicide has more that local interest. Moreover, he starts to receive newspaper clippings from an anonymous source, which he knows must be associated with the Spazi. It would seem that he is being maneuvered into investigating the case.This novel presents some interesting notions about the creation and persistence of ghosts and the technical manipulation of such spirits. Moreover, it speculates about the relationship of the mind to the brain and the consequences of separating them.As is usual with Modesitt, the plot moves rather slowly as the reader views and reviews the life of the protagonist and the characteristics of his society. If the reader can tolerate the slow pace, however, the story will unfold before your eyes as if you were living it. Maybe Modesitt is an acquired taste, but so is Faulkner, and I find there is much that is common between the two. Faulkner, however, never had to create a whole timeline.Highly recommended for Modesitt fans and anyone else who enjoys tales filled with philosophical notions, technical speculations and international intrigue.-Arthur W. Jordin

I've always been a complete fan of Modesitt's SciFi works, so I decided to pick up this book. Boy, was I ever pleased. Not only does the author manage to weave a completely believable alternate history in which the North American political landscape is totally differnt (though historiclaly plausible) from today, but he manages to insert the idea of ghosts into the stiory - in a highly believable manner.Within this complex reality Modesitt tells a great tale of political intrigue. The hero is great...an academic who is a reluctant spy who really only wants to leave his past behind and teach in his small regional university.The bottom line is "Of Tangible Ghosts" is a superb book!

The books is slow paced, with flavors of Robert B. Parker's Spenser and John Le Carre's Smiley books. Everything in this alternate world seems to move a little more deliberately, and its inhabitants don't really know any more than the reader does. This lack of awareness is a little off-putting, but once the characters are firmly established, the story itself is excellent.Quite a change of pace from Modessit's other works. My advantage was that I came to this book having read the sequel first. The sequel is more of an adventure story in the Doyle/Buchan mode, and quite enjoyable. This book is altogether darker and moodier. Worth the effort.

Something to read when you have nothing else to do. Interesting, if a little confusing in the begining. I liked it. I picked up the sequal at the library, really not knowing what it was about. I started it, and I kind of liked it, but I had no idea what a lot of the things being refered to were.While in a book store, I saw of Tangible Ghosts and decided that it might help me understand what was happening. This one is good, but if you are looking for a really spy-y novel, read this one so you will understand The Ghost of the Revelater