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_Steam & Sorcery_, Cindy Spencer Pape
Oct. 25th, 2014 09:34 pmI'm a little uncertain why I bought this. I got it in 2012, and had previously bought a short story/novella, "Sporting Wood", by the same author the year before. The time frame makes it seem like maybe it was when I was reading Eppie nominees? But I cannot find any indication anywhere what the heck I was thinking. *shrug*
It's good. First in a steampunk/romance series, you really, really, really should make sure you are able to accept dialogue that no Victorian would ever utter before undertaking one of these things. This particular entry has Merrick, a member of a magickal secret society descended from Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (and when I say descended, the author means mostly in the direct male line), a bunch of urchins who help Merrick fight off a bunch of vampyres and then rescue some kidnapped young ladies, a part-sidhe governess Caroline, an extremely irritating magickal tutor for the eldest of the urchins, a lesbian aunt Dorthy, Dorothy's Very Good Friend Lady Julian, and assorted servants, vile relatives, misguided but good natured people, etc. Oh, and mechanical pets. Lots of mechanical pets. Obvs, Merrick adopts the urchins, Caroline is brought in to civilize the urchins, and the vampyres prove to be a really persistent problem. There is sexxorring.
This is by no means great literature and it is not trying to be. It _is_ trying to be a fun romp, and it succeeds admirably. There is a dirigible ride. Many umbrellas are used in self-defense and totally destroyed in the process. There is a masked ball. If this sounds like your kind of fun (and you are sure you will be okay with that dialogue), well, enjoy! I suspect I'll be back for more.
It's good. First in a steampunk/romance series, you really, really, really should make sure you are able to accept dialogue that no Victorian would ever utter before undertaking one of these things. This particular entry has Merrick, a member of a magickal secret society descended from Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (and when I say descended, the author means mostly in the direct male line), a bunch of urchins who help Merrick fight off a bunch of vampyres and then rescue some kidnapped young ladies, a part-sidhe governess Caroline, an extremely irritating magickal tutor for the eldest of the urchins, a lesbian aunt Dorthy, Dorothy's Very Good Friend Lady Julian, and assorted servants, vile relatives, misguided but good natured people, etc. Oh, and mechanical pets. Lots of mechanical pets. Obvs, Merrick adopts the urchins, Caroline is brought in to civilize the urchins, and the vampyres prove to be a really persistent problem. There is sexxorring.
This is by no means great literature and it is not trying to be. It _is_ trying to be a fun romp, and it succeeds admirably. There is a dirigible ride. Many umbrellas are used in self-defense and totally destroyed in the process. There is a masked ball. If this sounds like your kind of fun (and you are sure you will be okay with that dialogue), well, enjoy! I suspect I'll be back for more.