The Ethereal Squadron

The Ethereal Squadron by Shami Stovall, another great story. Stovall brings us a tale of war, wizards, and magic. A woman pretending to be a man, involved in a war in which women are not allowed finds herself in the middle of a conspiracy that everyone and everything she knows says shouldn't be possible but she knows it is...

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The Ethereal Squadron by Shami Stovall is a fantasy novel which reimagines World War I involving sorcerers soldiers. Ms. Stovall is an author and history professor from California.

Florence Cavell, Geist to her fellow soldiers, is a sorceress in the Ethereal Squadron, which employs the best sorceress from the US and the UK. Unbeknownst to her teammates Geist is a woman who defied her family by disguising herself as a male and joining the war.

Geist discovers that the Germans have produces a gas, nicknamed Grave-Maker, which can even kill the strongest sorceress she knows. This new weapon assures a German victory, at the expanse of the lives of millions of civilians, unless Geist and her team can stop them.

My interest in fantasy books which involve magic has everyone I know, including myself, bewildered. The Ethereal Squadron by Shami Stovall seems to hit almost all the buttons for me, magic and historical fiction, who could resist?

The protagonist in this story, Geist, has a lot to deal with, not only is she a woman pretending to be a man (pretending to be a woman in one case), but she also has deal with leading men who are far better soldiers than she is, and they don’t’ completely trust her. Geist constantly questions herself and her abilities, but she is sure of two things: her belief that what she is doing is right, and that she most likely won’t survive.
The fact that she’s the daughter of a powerful enemy doesn’t help either.

The author also delves into the pre-World Wars class structure in Europe, something which we associate with medieval times, not necessarily with countries which consider themselves “enlighten”. Geist, however, can thank that rigid structure of not only political alliances, but also breeding, for her unique gifts.

I really liked that the author did her research, I was a bit skeptical about the technology (the “historical” part), but found that on the few things that I checked, they did exist in World War I. With the exception of some machines which are part of the sorcerer’s world, the weaponry and equipment are accurate, as far as I could tell.

The plot moves quickly and fluidly, the characters have consequences to their actions and cannot just wave a magic wand (pun intended) to get out of difficult situations. Focusing on a small cast of characters, tied together by choice and circumstances, lets the story come together and unfold in a timely manner.

I totally enjoyed this alternate history military fantasy. My rating: 4.75.

Florence Cavell has special specter sorcery skills that come in handy by allowing her to “ghost” through bullets, barbed wire and more. This gained her the code name ”Geist”. All of her Ethereal team mates are named after their powers, and each one has a special skill that helps them succeed as a team. Geist returns from a devastating battle where she learned of a horrendous new weapon in use by the Germans and lost members of her team to the corrosive, skin eating gas.

At first it is hard for even her superior to believe and understand the horror of the Grave-Maker Gas. It is crucial to find a way to combat or stop the gas. She is assigned to lead her new team, including a mysterious man she rescued from the German dungeon, to go behind enemy lines to get more information. Every step they take puts them in danger and challenges their skills. And soon they are facing monster soldiers created through experimentation with blood stolen from other sorcerers.

Initially only one person at the base knows Geist’s true nature but the closer she grows with the team the harder it is to hide not only her sex but also her family background. She is afraid everyone will reject her leadership, if not condemn her, when they discover her secrets.

I very much liked Geist’s character. She is loyal, brave, determined and caring, in addition to being a skilled warrior. Her newest team member, Vergess (Vergessenheit or Oblivion), discovers her secret and it becomes clear that he plans to try to protect her whenever he can. He has secrets of his own and I really liked his strengths and his gentlemanly attitude toward Geist. The team has to work through suspicion and tension while trying to stay alive.

The characters are well defined with their histories shared as the danger ramps up. The story is set in an alternative wartime 1916 Europe. It is creative and action-packed. I was pulled in by the opening action and remained engrossed as the suspense and the emotional and interesting interactions continued. I sort of wish there would be more stories with these characters. I recommend this to readers who enjoy a strong alternative military fantasy.

Source: 2019 NetGalley.

I quite enjoy reading historical novels and this book - The Ethereal Squadron is very well written.

It's engaging and the characters, especially Florence are believable.

Here is the synopsis of the story:

The Great War has already consumed much of the globe, but a second, secret war between sorcerers threatens to crack it in two. The ruling families of Germany and Austria-Hungary, those with the chill of magic in their blood, will stop at nothing in their quest for power, and they’ve drawn the entire world into a bloody war because of it.

But Florence Cavell—codename Geist—means to stop them. She had to defy her family, cut her hair, and disguise herself as a man to join the legendary Ethereal Squadron: a joint US-UK division of the allied powers’ mightiest sorcerers. Armed with her powerful specter sorcery, which allows her to “ghost” through bullets and barbed wire alike, Geist fights a tireless battle to end the war once and for all.