Ghost Talkers
#8223.87 adjusted 3.88 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 2016 Reading commitment Low Mary Robinette Kowal Last reviewed 2026-11-01
Overview
Ghost Talkers is a standalone historical fantasy novel by Mary Robinette Kowal, published by Tor in 2016. It is set in the First World War, in a version of history where the spirits of dead soldiers can be questioned. American heiress Ginger Stuyvesant is a medium in the Spirit Corps, a British Army unit that uses the dying to pass intelligence to officers. When German agents begin targeting the Corps and her fiancé, intelligence officer Benjamin Harford, is sent to the front, she must find the traitor. It is a single novel with no sequels and is separate from the author's Regency-era Glamourist Histories.
Historical fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
Ghost Talkers Mary Robinette Kowal
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Ghost Talkers | 2016 | 1 | core | 3.87 (4,773 ratings) |
A standalone First World War fantasy about a Spirit Corps medium hunting a traitor.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Ghost Talkers? Ghost Talkers's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is Ghost Talkers finished? Complete (2016).
- How much reading does Ghost Talkers take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book).
- How is Ghost Talkers ranked? #822 in this site's official ranking, based on 4,773 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #822?
Ranked #822 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.87 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (4,773 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- 0.01 behind #821, The Curse Workers.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.46.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 1 book · Complete · 5k ratings · Ranks #822 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment historical fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- Mythopoeic Award (Adult Literature), 2017: finalist: Ghost Talkers
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Suggestions computed from what Ghost Talkers and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- The Hound and the Falcon Historical fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.01
- The Dead Djinn Universe Historical fantasy · Ongoing · Low commitment · 3.98
- The Drawing of the Dark Historical fantasy / Mythic fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 3.93
- The Shadow Histories Historical fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 3.90
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.87 across 4,773 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon Extension: 27 universes from the candidate register; 3 candidates ruled out accepted 2026-11-01
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Kirkus Reviews Tier 2
- Publishers Weekly listing Tier 2
- Apple Books Tier 2
- Locus interview, 2017 Tier 2
- Wikipedia Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-11-01
Rule: Core Canon = Ghost Talkers (2016).