London Steampunk

Kiss of Steel, Heart of Iron, and My Lady Quicksilver by Bec McMaster, 437, 423, and 425 pages

All three of these titles are part of McMaster’s “London Steampunk” series. The series was recommended by Goodreads based on the fact that I liked the “Parasol Protectorate” series by Gail Carriger. While I can certainly see some similarities, both being steampunk, taking place in London, and with supernatural elements like vampires and werewolves, there is none of the silliness and lightheartedness that I was initially expecting.

However, this series was still worth reading on its own merits. I enjoyed the detailed portrayal of a subjugated human population always on the brink of a losing war with the vampires, the rich description of a Victorian London, and of course the fantastic steam inventions that somewhat define the steampunk genre.

Throughout the series we follow various people with the majority of them being strong willed women who are trying to make a better life for themselves without selling out their dignity or blood. Somewhat like a romance novel, they are always wooed by a strong vampiric figure who is not like the rest. Together they strive to change society’s ingrained mentality and struggle for equal rights. The books tend to contain wisps of erotica, and can get kind of heavy, but it is not as bad as Kenyon’s books.

I would encourage people who like the steampunk genre to give this series a try, but while it has those elements it is more of a supernatural/vampire series.

A quick after review note: My Lady Quicksilver was read online through Ovedrive, the page count was taken from Goodreads.

Iron Assassin

Iron Assassin by Ed Greenwood
320 Pages

"In Ed Greenwood's The Iron Assassin , Victoria never ascended the throne; the House of Hanover held England only briefly before being supplanted by the House of Harminster. It is a time of gaslamps and regularly scheduled airship flights, of trams and steam-driven clockwork with countless smoke-belching stacks. London, the capitol of the Empire of the Lion, is a filthy, crowded, fast-growing city where a series of shocking murders threatens the throne itself. Energetic young inventor Jack Straker believes he has created a weapon to defend the Crown: a reanimated, clockwork-enhanced corpse he can control. He introduces "the Iron Assassin" to the highly placed Lords who will decide if Straker's invention becomes a weapon of the Lion-or something to be destroyed. It quickly becomes apparent that the Iron Assassin is more self-willed than Straker intended, and that the zombie's past life is far more sinister than Straker thought. Has he created a runaway monster? Or the best guardian the Lion could ever hope for?"

Not recommended.  I found the plot to be muddled and difficult to follow with too many Lords and no solid central character.  

Leviathan Series

Leviathan, Behemoth and Goliath by Scott Westerfeld (440, 485, and 543. 1468 total)

When I was looking to expand upon my forays into the steampunk world I stumbled upon this trilogy. Just glancing at the cover and description was enough to convince me to give it a try. The cover and the inside cover art is quite elaborate and beautiful. Plus it is a young adult series so I knew it would read quickly.

The Leviathan trilogy follows the lives of two teenagers (Aleksander and Deryn) as they are swept along by love, war and station.  The overall trilogy follows a rough rehash of World War 1 with an interesting twist. The German powers and their allies are Clankers, who fight with mechanized war machines, and the British Empire are Darwinist, who rely on grown and genetically modified creatures.

I quite enjoyed the strange and at times weird creatures and machines that Westerfeld created. Unlike most fiction, this series had accompanying pictures to help the reader visualize what was being described. I would love to see this Darwinist/Clanker world expanded upon and brought to life through more books.  

Finishing School books 2 and 3

Curtsies and Conspiracies and Waistcoats and Weaponry by Gail Carriger, 298 and 310 pages

So far I have liked everything by Gail Carriger that I have read, this is no exception. It at times runs the gauntlet from silly to chaotic. There are Picklemen who are just part of the anti-supernatural movement and are known by the green ribbon on their hat, mechanical droids running a muck and of course vampires and werewolves as well.  There is less romance in this series then in the Parasol Protectorate but there are certainly some aspects of it.

This series falls directly into what I am now calling my guilty pleasure genre; Steampunk fiction or even as far as steampunk romance. I am not entirely sure why I like it, maybe its the ladies fainting for stupid reasons, or the ridiculous standards everyone has on who can date or see who. Either way expect to see more of this stuff.

Prudence

Prudence : The Custard Protocol by Gail Garriger
357 Pages

"Introducing the Custard Protocol series, in which Alexia Maccon's daughter Prudence travels to India on behalf of Queen, country...and the perfect pot of tea. When Prudence Alessandra Maccon Akeldama ("Rue" to her friends) is bequeathed an unexpected dirigible, she does what any sensible female under similar circumstances would do -- she christens it the Spotted Custard and floats off to India. Soon, she stumbles upon a plot involving local dissidents, a kidnapped brigadier's wife, and some awfully familiar Scottish werewolves. Faced with a dire crisis (and an embarrassing lack of bloomers), Rue must rely on her good breeding -- and her metanatural abilities -- to get to the bottom of it all..."


So I have liked Carriger's series up to this point but I found this book to be awful with a lot of blather about bloomers  and hats and very little character development.  I think Carriger is under the impression that she can just create new characters and let the world she created in the previous books carry the show.  Rue and her friends are shallow images without motivations or humanity.

Long Live the Queen

Long Live the Queen by Kate Locke, 311 pages


This is the third and final volume of the Immortal Empire series. Since Xandra accepted the crown for the goblins, everyone wants her as an ally. Not for her and her personality but because who ever has her on their side have her goblins. With the looming war with the humans, numbers are essential. But the humans take the back burner when a new threat to all societies emerges in the form of a 16 year old girl. Can Xandra hold together the fragile peace and stop this new threat or will the Immortal Empire sink into chaos.

This was an interesting end to the series. It seemed to wrap up most of the lingering questions without going to overboard. If you are looking for a supernatural romance novel that is heavy with action and fighting then i would recommend this series. It also has some steampunk elements so if you enjoy those aspects you should give this a try as well.

Something stange and Deadly series books 1 and 2

Something Strange and Deadly and Darkness Strange and Lovely by Susan Dennard 388 and 408 pages (796 total)

Something Strange and Deadly and Darkness Strange and Lovely are the first two books in the Something Strange and Deadly series. That something that is strange and deadly is zombies. Lots and lots of zombies being brought back from the dead by a crazed necromancer. While the zombie attacks are somewhat off putting they are not quite worth noticing to Eleanor Fitt. She has much more pressing concerns like meeting her brother at the train station and trying to stop her mother from matching her up with every available rich young man she meets. Or at least those were her concerns until a zombie delivered a message from her brother. After that her world changes. The zombies seem more important as they seem to be connected to her brother, and there seems to be a man more and more in the picture. Of course this thrills her mother but she is not sure his motives are pure, or if he is also looking for her brother.

Despite how slow this series builds it ends each book with a thrill. Quite by accident I seem to be stuck in these Victorian era steampunk books. Not that I mind but it was not a genre I pictured myself reading. I quite look forward to reading the final book and seeing how Dennard wraps this up.

Karen Memory

Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear
350 Pages

"Set in the late 19th century--when the city we now call Seattle Underground was the whole town (and still on the surface), when airships plied the trade routes, would-be gold miners were heading to the gold fields of Alaska, and steam-powered mechanicals stalked the waterfront, Karen is a young woman on her own, is making the best of her orphaned state by working in Madame Damnable's high-quality bordello. Through Karen's eyes we get to know the other girls in the house--a resourceful group--and the poor and the powerful of the town. Trouble erupts one night when a badly injured girl arrives at their door, begging sanctuary, followed by the man who holds her indenture, and who has a machine that can take over anyone's mind and control their actions. And as if that wasn't bad enough, the next night brings a body dumped in their rubbish heap--a streetwalker who has been brutally murdered."

I liked and disliked this book.  The narrative style was good and I liked the setting of the book but I felt the action and plot were weak.  I probably would not recommend this book to others.

The Bullet-Catcher's Daughter

The Bullet-Catcher's Daughter by Rod Duncan
373 Pages

"Elizabeth Barnabus lives a double life - as herself and as her brother, the private detective. She is trying to solve the mystery of a disappearing aristocrat and a hoard of arcane machines. In her way stand the rogues, freaks and self-proclaimed alchemists of a travelling circus. But when she comes up against an agent of the all-powerful Patent Office, her life and the course of history will begin to change. And not necessarily for the better..."

In this version of England the Patent office controls inventions in order to protect society from the potential upheaval of life changing inventions.  Barnabus, once part of a travelling show, must use her talents to find a missing aristocrat.  The plot moves quickly and Elizabeth is a strong female character. 

The Revolutions

Revolutions by Felix Gilman
413 Pages

Arthur Shaw is caught up in a freak storm that hits London, causing tremendous damage. On the bright side it brings him into contact with Josephine who soon becomes his fiancee.  However the storm also causes the paper that Arthur works for to close permanently  leaving him desperate to find a way to make money and pay off his debts so the couple can marry.  Through Josephine, Arthur meets a man who offers him what seems to be an accounting job but soon becomes work that makes Arthur's fellow workers go mad.  The couple are quickly sucked into a magical battle between two competiting societies and when Josephine's conciousness is lost on Mars, Arthur must battle to save her. 

Part historical novel, part steampunk, the book begins strongly but get muddled and confusing in the middle.  2 stars out of 5.