Join a book club that is reading The Warm Hands of Ghosts: A Novel!
The Warm Hands of Ghosts: A Novel
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • During the Great War, a combat nurse searches for her brother, believed dead in the trenches despite eerie signs that suggest otherwise, in this hauntingly beautiful historical novel with a speculative twist, from the author of The Bear and the Nightingale.
“A wonderful clash of fire and ice—a book you won’t want to let go of.”—Diana Gabaldon, author of Outlander
“Spectacular—a tour de force, wonderful and deep and haunting.”—Naomi Novik, author of A Deadly Education
ONE OF BOOKPAGE’S TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR
January 1918. Laura Iven was a revered field nurse until she was wounded and discharged from the medical corps, leaving behind a brother still fighting in Flanders. Now home in Halifax, Canada, Laura receives word of Freddie’s death in combat, along with his personal effects—but something doesn’t make sense. Determined to uncover the truth, Laura returns to Belgium as a volunteer at a private hospital, where she soon hears whispers about haunted trenches and a strange hotelier whose wine gives soldiers the gift of oblivion. Could Freddie have escaped the battlefield, only to fall prey to something—or someone—else?
November 1917. Freddie Iven awakens after an explosion to find himself trapped in an overturned pillbox with a wounded enemy soldier, a German by the name of Hans Winter. Against all odds, the two form an alliance and succeed in clawing their way out. Unable to bear the thought of returning to the killing fields, especially on opposite sides, they take refuge with a mysterious man who seems to have the power to make the hellscape of the trenches disappear.
As shells rain down on Flanders and ghosts move among those yet living, Laura’s and Freddie’s deepest traumas are reawakened. Now they must decide whether their world is worth salvaging—or better left behind entirely.
“A wonderful clash of fire and ice—a book you won’t want to let go of.”—Diana Gabaldon, author of Outlander
“Spectacular—a tour de force, wonderful and deep and haunting.”—Naomi Novik, author of A Deadly Education
ONE OF BOOKPAGE’S TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR
January 1918. Laura Iven was a revered field nurse until she was wounded and discharged from the medical corps, leaving behind a brother still fighting in Flanders. Now home in Halifax, Canada, Laura receives word of Freddie’s death in combat, along with his personal effects—but something doesn’t make sense. Determined to uncover the truth, Laura returns to Belgium as a volunteer at a private hospital, where she soon hears whispers about haunted trenches and a strange hotelier whose wine gives soldiers the gift of oblivion. Could Freddie have escaped the battlefield, only to fall prey to something—or someone—else?
November 1917. Freddie Iven awakens after an explosion to find himself trapped in an overturned pillbox with a wounded enemy soldier, a German by the name of Hans Winter. Against all odds, the two form an alliance and succeed in clawing their way out. Unable to bear the thought of returning to the killing fields, especially on opposite sides, they take refuge with a mysterious man who seems to have the power to make the hellscape of the trenches disappear.
As shells rain down on Flanders and ghosts move among those yet living, Laura’s and Freddie’s deepest traumas are reawakened. Now they must decide whether their world is worth salvaging—or better left behind entirely.
BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
- Faland’s hotel started giving me Routines in the Night vibes so I’m dedicating this review to twenty one pilots
- I was really into everything until they introduced Faland and the hotel and the magic. Kinda lost me. I couldn’t suspend my disbelief, it seemed way too fantastical and really didn’t make much sense.
- Other than whatever was going on with the hotel, I really liked the story and the split POV. I don’t read a lot of historical fiction, so this was really refreshing. And it was spooky and graphic and nasty. The atmosphere was THERE
- Also that was my kinda romance. Subtle enough to doubt it’s happening until it does just enough for you to be satisfied that it did. Yes, I’m obsessed with Doctor Jones, lol.
- Good stuff overall tho, really made me think about WWI for the first time since high school history.
2/5
Laura Iven has been honorably discharged from her position in the medical corps after an injury, and has now returned home where sadly the tragedies don't stop. After losing her parents in a tragic accident she receives notice that her brother, and last living relative, Freddie has perished in combat. However, something doesn't seem right, and these discrepancies drive Laura to return to the front and find out what really happened to Freddie and what supernatural perils haunt the trenches. A year prior, Freddie Iven finds himself trapped after an explosion and his only possible ally, and lifeline, is an enemy soldier. Deciding to trust each other, both men will do anything to survive the battlefield and protect the bond they formed while under the extreme conditions of war, but the road is long, the obstacles insurmountable, and there's a mysterious figure haunting the path with an offer of salvation.
I felt like this book was suffering some sort of identity crisis. At times it was a tale about the horrors of warfare, the hopelessness of the battlefield, and a critique of war. At others, it was a supernatural tale about a mysterious man and this mirage of a hotel that trapped soldiers by offering them a respite from the agony of the trenches. Mixed in there was a tale of family love and the bonds created by living through these kind of situations, plus some sort of religious ideas about the end of the world. It was too much, I was connecting the pieces of what felt like three very different puzzles. This book needed to pick a struggle and stick to it.
The dual POVs only served to cut any tension, the situation would get more high stakes with Freddie and suddenly we were back with Laura who was still wondering if she should head back to the front. This also cause me to form no connection to any of the characters. I was also more invested in Freddie's story than Laura's, and thus all her chapters felt like such a chore to get through. Plus, nothing really happened during her chapters plot wise until around 70% of the book, I was dying for some sort of action. If this had been a book about an unlikely alliance during World War I that critiqued war and exposed its pointlessness with no supernatural elements, I would have eaten it all up. The author does a wonderful job constructing the battlefield and exposing Freddie's moral conundrum, and it's sad when it is pushed aside by this confusing plot with Faland. I get it, he was the devil etc. etc. yet he didn't have anything interesting to say, nor was he the imposing character I would expect literal Satan to be.
Laura had nothing to do and barely a trace of personality. Her plot line was the worst because things just happened to her, it never seemed like her actions were her own. For someone who was supposed to be headstrong and hardened by the war, she let herself be led by the fates a little too much. Everything in this plot was always too convenient. Being always in the right place, with the right connections, with the right people. Things were solved so easily it left me feeling like there was no point in reading the book. For example, when the doctor manages to easily and quickly get them all fake IDs and passage back to Canada like it was no big deal even though Winter was wanted for espionage and everyone knew his face, plus he was quite obviously German.
There was also some romance in there that made little to no sense and came out of nowhere, adding to the already crowded plot yet providing little of interest. I would have loved Freddie and Winter together if they had interacted for longer. I understand that the situation they found themselves in can cause extreme feelings to manifest out of nothing, but it came across as more of a trauma bond instead of a romance. Not only that but the jump to romance was odd as both were men of that era with zero previous indications of being queer in any way. Laura's start of a romance was worse because they had no chemistry and barely any scenes together, I didn't get it or like it. I would just skip this one and go straight to the Winternight trilogy if you want to read something great by this author.
Armageddon was a fire in the harbor, a box delivered on a cold day. It wasn't one great tragedy, but ten million tiny ones, and everyone faced theirs alone.
Laura Iven has been honorably discharged from her position in the medical corps after an injury, and has now returned home where sadly the tragedies don't stop. After losing her parents in a tragic accident she receives notice that her brother, and last living relative, Freddie has perished in combat. However, something doesn't seem right, and these discrepancies drive Laura to return to the front and find out what really happened to Freddie and what supernatural perils haunt the trenches. A year prior, Freddie Iven finds himself trapped after an explosion and his only possible ally, and lifeline, is an enemy soldier. Deciding to trust each other, both men will do anything to survive the battlefield and protect the bond they formed while under the extreme conditions of war, but the road is long, the obstacles insurmountable, and there's a mysterious figure haunting the path with an offer of salvation.
I felt like this book was suffering some sort of identity crisis. At times it was a tale about the horrors of warfare, the hopelessness of the battlefield, and a critique of war. At others, it was a supernatural tale about a mysterious man and this mirage of a hotel that trapped soldiers by offering them a respite from the agony of the trenches. Mixed in there was a tale of family love and the bonds created by living through these kind of situations, plus some sort of religious ideas about the end of the world. It was too much, I was connecting the pieces of what felt like three very different puzzles. This book needed to pick a struggle and stick to it.
The dual POVs only served to cut any tension, the situation would get more high stakes with Freddie and suddenly we were back with Laura who was still wondering if she should head back to the front. This also cause me to form no connection to any of the characters. I was also more invested in Freddie's story than Laura's, and thus all her chapters felt like such a chore to get through. Plus, nothing really happened during her chapters plot wise until around 70% of the book, I was dying for some sort of action. If this had been a book about an unlikely alliance during World War I that critiqued war and exposed its pointlessness with no supernatural elements, I would have eaten it all up. The author does a wonderful job constructing the battlefield and exposing Freddie's moral conundrum, and it's sad when it is pushed aside by this confusing plot with Faland. I get it, he was the devil etc. etc. yet he didn't have anything interesting to say, nor was he the imposing character I would expect literal Satan to be.
Laura had nothing to do and barely a trace of personality. Her plot line was the worst because things just happened to her, it never seemed like her actions were her own. For someone who was supposed to be headstrong and hardened by the war, she let herself be led by the fates a little too much. Everything in this plot was always too convenient. Being always in the right place, with the right connections, with the right people. Things were solved so easily it left me feeling like there was no point in reading the book. For example, when the doctor manages to easily and quickly get them all fake IDs and passage back to Canada like it was no big deal even though Winter was wanted for espionage and everyone knew his face, plus he was quite obviously German.
There was also some romance in there that made little to no sense and came out of nowhere, adding to the already crowded plot yet providing little of interest. I would have loved Freddie and Winter together if they had interacted for longer. I understand that the situation they found themselves in can cause extreme feelings to manifest out of nothing, but it came across as more of a trauma bond instead of a romance. Not only that but the jump to romance was odd as both were men of that era with zero previous indications of being queer in any way. Laura's start of a romance was worse because they had no chemistry and barely any scenes together, I didn't get it or like it. I would just skip this one and go straight to the Winternight trilogy if you want to read something great by this author.
I was expecting a horror story, and it was, but about the horrors of war. Siblings Laura and Freddie are both wounded in Belgium during the First World War, and each thinks the other might be dead. Until a package which arrives for Laura makes her question her brother’s fate, and she returns to the Front to seek information.
“The Warm Hands of Ghosts” by Katherine Arden is about the horrors that men inflict on other men. How does one go on amidst death and suffering? How can the world end and yet be reborn? Where does one find comfort and hope? War affects not just the soldiers, the doctors and the nurses, but the families left behind. The ghosts that haunt and torment us are often not otherworldly beings but our own memories.
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.