Note: When the link for this page was generated, it’s page #69 for this site. That amuses both the Bill and the Ted in me.
I’m not a fan of steampunk. There. I said it. I said it on the podcast, I’ve said it before, but I’m also going to start my review by stating it again, “I am NOT a fan of steampunk.”
I appreciate the time, talent and money involved in those that dress the part at conventions, produce pieces of art, write stories, etc. But the term steampunk tends to carry negative connotations with me.
Then I heard that Tee and Pip, authors whose work I do enjoy, were working on a steampunk novel my heart sank. I enjoy hearing these two podcast their fiction and enjoy reading their books and I also really enjoy chatting with them. Good folks, both. I thought, well, I guess I can at least sample it when they podcast the stories… Wait.. what is that? They aren’t podcasting this novel just yet? If I want it, I’ll have to buy it?
So I waited and pondered.
Flash forward to about a month ago. I saved some ducats (mostly in gift cards and video game trade-ins) and purchased myself a Color Nook. By this point, Phoenix Rising was available, and as is common with most Barnes and Noble offered books for the Nook, a sample was available. Bonus! I can read the first few pages, realize that it’s too steampunky for my tastes and set it aside. Out no money, but giving the book a fair shake nonetheless.
So, I read the sample…
Then we interviewed Tee and Pip on the Back Seat Producers.
What I’d read didn’t feel like the pretentious foppery that seemed to surround every person dressed in steampunk garb that I’d seen at conventions. Also, during the course of the interview, Tee and Pip stated that while this was set in a distinctly steampunk setting, that the gizmos, gadgets, and fashion had purpose and weren’t just there to toss cogs into the story.
My mind had been changed… slightly. The story was interesting enough, the writing good enough, the characters compelling enough, the authors open enough (to answer my criticisms of the genre in general), that I moved past my bias and purchased the rest of the book… the whole book really, as they don’t really pro-rate it based on the sample or anything like that.
I could describe the story, the elements of characters and plot, but, seriously, if you are reading this blog, you’ve likely listened to the Tee and Pip episode, or at least know what the story is about it general terms.
So, lets talk for a second about the story. The story is well written with solid character motivations and an easy style that made jumping into it pleasant. As interesting as the characters were, and as much as the two leads held back from each other, the reader is seldom left guessing what the scene’s lead is thinking or feeling, and that’s a good thing. It adds a great deal to a growing “Will they? Won’t they?” sexual tension that builds through the story, and makes the characters feel much more layered and multi-dimensional than they expose to each other. The plot is a solid spy/action/thriller. The characters stumble upon a secret society that has apparently been manipulating events and situations well before even the beginning of this book. This is one of a number of things that help give the world of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences (MoPO) a very lived in feel. The steampunk gadgets and attire serve a purpose in the story. Goggles are not interchangable with glasses, not everyone has a clockwork counting machine or some other form of nonsense. Items are real and function, even if at times not to their best usage. Dear Mr. Books could be using his analytical engine for a few more things than he currently does, but to honor the character, he uses it just for what someone like his character would consider it useful.
Interestingly enough, this book, written by two authors, FEELS like it is written by two authors. The style and flavor of the book changes depending on which character is being focused on, and I don’t know if this was a conscious choice by the authors, or if they swapped writing chores chapter by chapter, their were distinctive differences in the style of the Wellington Books chapters over the Eliza Braun chapters. This isn’t a complaint, mind you, but something to be aware of. This book lives inside mind of more than one character, and in doing so, lets us see each of the other characters from a different perspective.
Finally, a word needs to be said about the tone of the book. Initially, based on the tone of the open chapters, I thought I was in for a light-hearted romp. Something that I could sit back, turn off, and just ride along with. At some point in the story though, that changed. Instead of being a fun/thrilling/perhaps dangerous action adventure story, it became something more visceral and gritty. The book lures you in with the thrill of a Connery Bond flick, but also drags you into the darker, more grim, more realistic world of a Craig Bond movie.
If I would have only read the first 50ish pages of the book, I might have turned it over to my 13 year-old nephew for a read. After finishing it, I might reconsider. The tone of the book definitely changes as the stakes for Books and Braun change. For me, that sold me on the ending, and, while I have no intention of wearing a duster and goggles to the next convention I go to, I am very much looking forward to the next book in the series.
