Starts off strong with a cool premise and a good hook. But it relies on some pretty extreme coincidences and incredible leaps of logic to solve the mystery. We don't really find out much about the aliens or why they do what they do. And I'm not sure that the ghost behavior is really consistent. If a ghost dies, it comes back without any memory of the time since it first incarnated. But if the aliens are using memories from the colonists as the templates for the ghosts, wouldn't those new memories be part of them? Overall, an interesting setup that doesn't quite deliver.

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Science fiction romance the way it should be done. Complex and fully developed world building. Having each human settler be spontaneously bonded to an alien was good. Having that alien be the host of the consciousness of a dead human who doesn't realize they are not still human was brilliant. The fact that the ghosts were copies of a settler's loved ones added depth and pathos particularly since in order to keep the settlers from mental breakdown, they were not supposed to interact at all with the ghosts. All of this affected the natural balance of the colonized planet as it had suddenly begun to terraform itself soon after the arrival of the first humans, making itself over into a new Earth.

The romance here was also very strong. Elizabeth has come to the ghost planet to work as psychologist. She meets up with her new boss only to discover that she had met him once in Ireland many years before. At the end of a nice afternoon together chatting and catching up and flirting, they realize that Elizabeth died on the trip to the planet and is actually a ghost who is now attached to Murphy who can no longer talk to her.

Elizabeth refuses to be a ghost and uses her brains and intellect to try to comprehend what has happened to her and the other ghosts. She cannot get more than a couple dozen yards from Murphy before she gets in pain so he is sucked into her research. He cannot stand to treat her like a ghost and they fall in love against all the rules creating trauma that eventually involves the whole planet.

Murphy is a wonderfully drawn kind and noble but charming Irishman. I loved the way he loved Elizabeth. He is a wonderful hero. All of the secondary characters were well drawn and fully realized.

I cannot wait for more from this author and hopefully more from Ghost Planet! ( )

I bought this book in the wake of the SFWA kerfuffle about science fiction romance, and I'm very happy I did. This isn't normally something I'd pick up, mostly because I read a limited amount of science fiction, limited largely to my favorite feminist science fiction authors.

This novel is both solidly science fiction and solidly romance. It was enjoyable and the universe that the author constructed was interesting and engaging. I'd love to see another novel in this universe that focuses more on the question of how and why a person is selected to come back as a "ghost" alien. (Mind you the ghosts are alive and corporeal. They call them ghosts for a different reason.)

If you like science fiction and/or romance this is a good place to start off if you want to see how they get blended together. It's borderline erotica, but pretty tame, and definitely straight, so that's something to be aware of if you have strong preferences regarding that. ( )

Posted from my personal blog rabidgummibear.wordpress.com
A planet that creates ghosts of people that the human used to know on earth. Our heroine Elizabeth Cole ends up dead, but doesn't realize it nor does her supposed to be mentor Dr. Murphy. She ends up on Ardagh 1 one for her residency to help with the ghost protocol counseling. The ghost protocol requires the colonists ignore their ghosts which becomes a stick situation for Cole and Murphy that leads us through quite the adventure and revelations.

I only really read science fiction when it's Vaginal Fantasy picks, but this book honestly has me sold me on the fact that I need to read more of it. I was instantly invested when we learned Elizabeth was actually a ghost. Murphy immediately stops talking to Elizabeth when he discovers she's a ghost and she doesn't tolerate that one bit. The narrative is immersive and I could barely put this book down.

One of the best things about this book is the narrative never stops or slows down. Elizabeth is a great mary sue of a character that I find to be relatable because she's more science minded and not a total ditz. She's determined to find out why the ghosts exist instead of fading into the background like the others. I found myself trying to solve the mystery of the planet right along with Elizabeth.

I only have one complaint and it involves the end of the book. I don't like the 'surprise' that is sprung on Elizabeth at the end or the twist with her and Murphy's connection. I felt like the connection twist was really terrible because it seemed like the go-to fix for any problems in the end of the story. A catchall to save them from any trouble, but still I loved this book.

Overall this book is incredible 5/5 stars even with my one dislike. I HIGHLY recommend you pick it up if you want an interesting science fiction story with some great romance added in. ( )

A really cool idea, strong start, and then it veered into something I hadn't expected and am not sure I liked. I lost my respect for the story, and my interest in it, somewhere in the last third. ( )