Book Review- The Alchemist of Souls by Anne Lyle

Title: The Alchemist of Souls

 Author:  Anne Lyle

Series:  Night’s Masque #1

Published:  27 March 2012 by Angry Robot

Length: 572 pages

Warnings:  violence, semi graphic sex, 15+

Source: publishers Angry Robot Army

Summary : When Tudor explorers returned from the New World, they brought back a name out of half-forgotten Viking legend: skraylings. Red-sailed ships followed in the explorers’ wake, bringing Native American goods--and a skrayling ambassador--to London. But what do these seemingly magical beings really want in Elizabeth I’s capital?

Mal Catlyn, a down-at-heel swordsman, is seconded to the ambassador's bodyguard, but assassination attempts are the least of his problems. What he learns about the skraylings and their unholy powers could cost England her new ally--and Mal his soul.

Review: in this alternative history where the Virgin Queen has children,  Maliverny Catlyn, aka Mal, is a swordsman. Who, one day, is charged with protecting the ambassador of the Skraylings, some non-human creatures from Viking lore. Being desparate for money to pay for the treatment of his brother Sandy, he takes the jo, but soon finds out there’s more to protecting the ambassador than keeping him from killers. Along the way, Mal gets involved with the Suffolk’s Men, one of the companies performing for the ambassador, with his frend Ned Faulkner, his lover Gabriel Parrish, and Coby Hendricks, a girl in disguise as a boy.

Alternate history that doesn’t involve Victorians isn’t my normal fare, but I loved the Tudor period before and this is an excellent addition to the collection. We go to all sides of Tudor London, from the rough pubs and market, to a posh boat ride on the Thames, to  Bedlam, and the tone is captured well.

All the characters! My favourite by far was Cody-she’s independent, thinks on her feet, and clever. Close seconds and thirds were Mal and the ambassador Kiiren, the first of whom is your typical handsome, rogue swordsman and the other who has more to him than you’d first think. There’s a lot of characters in Alchemist of Souls, and it does get a bit confusing at times.

The Skraylings are a really interesting race-not your typical fantasy aliens. Through Mal’s eyes, we learn and like them more. The soul side aspect is cool.

It’s a bit slow. I get that it’s all brewing and things will come, but there were parts where I just wanted something else to happen. Finally, at the three quarter mark (and with it being on a kindle, it seems longer and further away than I’d probably find if I had the print copy) there’s a big thing and everything happens.

Anne gives us some subtle messages on gender and sexuality in the Tudor period. It’s written in fairly close third person, and when talking about Coby, there’s a nice comment about how “if her sisters knew how freeing trousers were, they’d never wear skirts again.” Coby definitely gets around a lot, and I really liked her. Also, it’s nice having openly LGBT characters, where it’s not the focus. You will find a little conflict in this area, but bonus points for putting it at a time where homosexuality was a crime. Otherwise, Ned and Gabriel are treated just as another relationship.

Anne’s writing style is beautifully descriptive. It’s  all in third person, but each section follows one character closely, letting you see things from their point of view, for example Coby being referred to as Coby, Jacob or Hendricks depending on who’s looking.

Despite the dark happenings of the book, what with soul hopping and Bedlam and plots, there’s some lighter moments too. Pretty much anything involving Mal and Coby alone. And I was shipping Mal and Coby so hard throughout.  

Overall:  Strength 4 tea to book with rich characters and tone. I’ll definitely read on in the series!

Links: Amazon | The Book Depository | Goodreads | Author website | 

Book Review- Ack Ack Macaque by Gareth L Powell

Title: Ack-Ack Macaque

 Author: Gareth L Powell

Series:  Ack-Ack Macaque #1

Published:  25 December 2012 by Solaris

Length: 416 pages

Source: publisher

Other info: There will be a sequel, called Hive Moon. Gareth has written other things.

Summary : In 1944, as waves of German ninjas parachute into Kent, Britain's best hopes for victory lie with a Spitfire pilot codenamed 'Ack-Ack Macaque'. The trouble is, Ack-Ack Macaque is a cynical, one-eyed, cigar-chomping monkey, and he's starting to doubt everything, including his own existence. A century later, in a world where France and Great Britain merged in the late 1950s and nuclear-powered Zeppelins encircle the globe, ex-journalist Victoria Valois finds herself drawn into a deadly game of cat and mouse with the man who butchered her husband and stole her electronic soul. Meanwhile, in Paris, after taking part in an illegal break-in at a research laboratory, the heir to the British throne goes on the run. And all the while, the doomsday clock ticks towards Armageddon

Review: It’s 2059. France and Britain have merged and are doing quite well, aside from the fact that King William is in hospital following injury in an explosion, Victoria Valois has bene called back to London following the brutal murder of her husband, and soon finds herself caught up in a conspiracy theroy involving a flight to Mars. Merovech, heir to the British throne, is on the run after breaking into a research lab with his girlfriend, Julie. And there is a soldier called Ack-Ack Macaque, whose job it is to fly spitfires and take down German bombers. He’s also an eye-patch-wearing, cigar-smoking, monkey. All kinds of fun!

The premise of a non-humanoid (kind of...do monkeys count as humanoid? Do human count as monkey-oid? I don’t know. Anyway.) main character got me hooked. Then I started  it, and decided it would be a good read. Probably because in this alternative timeline, the United Kingdom encompasses France, ireland, and Noraway. What did we get to get Norway? Norway is cool.Britain is cool. The global pollitics state of Ack-Ack Macaque is generally cool.

The first chapter includes Paul’s very very brutal murder. His brain was cut out. as well as this being a gruesome thing to happen to someone, it also reasises a lot of quesitons, to get Victoria investigating, and us reading. 

I like the idea of Soul catchers, but I also don’t, if you get my drift. The idea of the technology that can record every facet of your memories and your personality is interesting, but the idea of actually doing that is a bit disturbing. Without the soul catcher, we wouldn’t have Paul, or at least a version of him. With the limited view we get of him (he spends most of Ack-Ack Macaque as a program in Victoria’s head), I felt I just want to hug you.

We have a cast of excellent main characters. VIctoria is amazingly resiliant, considering what she goes through. She’s a fighter, and takes care of herself, even when she’s really really beaten and cut up, and she is a really good heroine. Merovech and Julie. Shipping so hard! They are adorable and work well together, and hugs to them. And then there’s Ack-Ack Macaque.  He is now one of my favourite characters. His cynical outlook and generaly attitude to life is one you won’t forget.

The minor characters are good as well. You get the captain of an airship, the Commodore (or variant of that name), who you get attached to in the way that Victoria did. There’s K-8, a clever young girl who works with Ack-Ack Macaque. And there’s a whole lot more  antagonists that keep the major plot rolling.

It takes a bit of time for everoyne to meet. It’s nice, as it keeps you wondering how everyhting fits together, and at the smae time, it’s annoying, because you’re wondering how it a fits together. The three threads meet fully about halfway trough the book. When they do, you realise how important what they are doing is, not only on a full scale, but also on a personal level-everyone’s got reasons to hate Celeste Technologies.

Overall:  Strength 5 tea to a book with an excellent setting and cast. Definitely want the sequel.

Links: Amazon | The Book Depository | Goodreads | Author website | 

Book Review- Heartless by Gail Carriger

Title: Heartless

 Author:  Gail Carriger

Series:  The Parasol Protectorate #4

Published:  1 July 2011 by Orbit

Length: 385 pages

Source: Library

Other info: The others in the series are Soulless, Changeless, Blameless and Timeless. There is a graphic novel adaptation of Soulless. Gail is working on The Finishing School series for young adults.

Summary : Lady Alexia Maccon, soulless, is at it again, only this time the trouble is not her fault. When a mad ghost threatens the queen, Alexia is on the case, following a trail that leads her deep into her husband's past. Top that off with a sister who has joined the suffragette movement (shocking!), Madame Lefoux's latest mechanical invention, and a plague of zombie porcupines and Alexia barely has time to remember she happens to be eight months pregnant. Will Alexia manage to determine who is trying to kill Queen Victoria before it is too late? Is it the vampires again or is there a traitor lurking about in wolf's clothing? And what, exactly, has taken up residence in Lord Akeldama's second best closet?

Review: So, Alexia's baby's nearly due, and they have to find somewhere for her to live. Luckily, Lord Akeldama agrees to take the child in, leading to arguements in various forms. In other news, there's a plan to kill the Queen and the only source of info is a fading ghost, and Madame Lefoux seems to be building something that really has nothing to do with hats.

From start to finish, I was laughing. The first paragraph was enough to set me off, and seeing as I started Heartless in the middle of a bookstore, I got quite a few strange looks from those who couldn't understand what was so good. Poor them.

Alexia's pregnancy seems to have made her even more sharp and strong willed, much to the exasperation of the three men who are most heavily involved in her life. Their traits too have gone to the next level,   with Conall being more irritable at little things in a comical way, Lyall being more organised and ready for everything, and Akeldama being nope...Akeldama. If you've read these books, you'll know.

Lyall gets a huge amount of backstory revealed. As well as the plot to bring Conall to Woolsey, we also delve into Lyall's personal life. This leads to me shipping LyallxBiffy for all it's worth, as well as putting Alexia in an awkward situation regarding her husband's best friend and her father.

After gallavanting off to Scotland and Italy, it's nice to return back to the more familiar London. Madame Lefoux's steampunk designs are a huge part in Heartless, with a dramatic showdown near the end. We got good insight into (vampire) hive dynamics, and ends with some very unexpected events.

I love Alexia's fighting spirit. Throughout, she's almost into labour (and actually is in labour by the end). But she still keeps going, regarding her child as, while it is still inside her, a minor inconvenience.

Gail's writing is a bit more mature, featuring a lot of more adult references. Conall's attempt to phrase why Lyall and Biffy would not make a good couple ("both too much the Beta") is particularly note worthy, as are half the things that Akeldama comes out with. It's not enough to mark this as 18 and over, but for innocent little people, some things may go over their heads. And as always, there's the wordy jokes and sarcasm and general attitudes of the characters that make this a thoroughly enjoying read.

Important to note-at a gathering with London's important vampires, when a giant octopus is on the march,  treacle tart is the thing most deserving of protection.

Overall:  Strength 5 tea to the most engaging, most interesting, and by far the most fun book in the series so far.

Links: | Goodreads | Author website |

Book Review- Such Wicked Intent by Kenneth Oppel

Title: Such Wicked Intent

 Author: Kenneth Oppel

Series:  The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein #2

Published:  August 2012 by Random House

Length: 372 pages

Warnings: romantic situations, violence

Source: publishers

Other info: Book one in this series is called This Dark Endeavour. Review can be found here. Kenneth has written the Silverwing trilogy, the Airborn series and other things.

Summary : When does obsession become madness? Tragedy has forced sixteen year old Victor Frankenstein to swear off alchemy forever. He burns the Dark Library. He vows he will never dabble in the dark sciences again, just as he vows he will no longer covet Elizabeth, his brother’s betrothed. If only these things were not so tempting. When Victor and Elizabeth discover a portal into the spirit world, they cannot resist. Together with their friend Henry, they venture into a place of infinite possibilities where power and passion reign. But as they search for the knowledge to raise the dead, they unknowingly unlock a darkness from which they may never return.

Review: THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE END OF THIS DARK ENDEAVOUR, HOWEVER THERE SHOULDN’T BE ANY FOR SUCH WICKED INTENT.

Having thoroughly enjoyed Frankenstein and This Dark Endeavour, I knew I’d have to read this at some point. It starts quite quickly, with Victor’s first attempt at conversing and resurrecting the dead happening within the first twentyish pages. A very short time later, Victor is in the Spirit World, conversing with his dead brother. He then makes an even more feverent go at bringing his brother back to life.

Victor’s characterisation is extremely strong. In everything he does, you can see his longing for power, and the way he manipulates things is very clever. Elizabeth is a little bit more boring than she was, because now she’s really quite set on going to a convent to become a nun, but she still has a small touch of rebellion in her.  Konrad is once again likable, even though he’s dead. I like Henry best because he’s rational, clever, but still not boring. Victor develops the most, with him gradually acquiring knowledge and building up the want / need to bring back his brother. You can see his ambition growing from the start of This Dark Endeavour, through this, and you can see how it’ll end up in Frankenstein.

The butterflies are a very nice touch. As well as being pretty little things, they have a lot more meaning than you’d first think. Little details like seeing them in the painting are nice additions. As well as that, the Spirit Cards that Kenneth has been putting on facebook are really pretty.

The mystery-kind of...plot line maybe?-  concerning the dead housemaid and the big monster in the spirit world was good, but a little simple. Anelise was easy to see through and the big revelation wasn’t a revelation at all for me.

The writing style is consistent to the previous book, with Victor’s lust for power  coming through as well as the narration of what was happening. There’s also a bit of archaic language that makes this a bit more believable and interesting.

I really like the subplot with the growing a body for Konrad and that working out how it did.  I was wondering though how the thing they found ages ago got through to the spirit world and such. This is probably a result of my bad memory and quick reading, but I’d still like to know.

Like This Dark Endeavour, the last few paragraphs of Such Wicked Intent lead onto Victor’s next obsession. With it being what it is, I wonder if the next in this series (because the ending just screams for a next book) will be the final one before this series is meant to lead into Frankenstein. It’ll be interesting how this is played further down the line.

Overall: Strength 4 tea to a good follow on to a really good prequel.

Links: Amazon | The Book Depository | Goodreads | Author website | 

Book review- Moriarty & The Hound of the D'Urbervilles by Kim Newman

Title: Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the DUrbervilles 

 Author: Kim Newman

Series:  N/A

Published:  4 October 2011 by Titan Books

Length: 476 pages

Warnings: violence, references to prostitution, 13+

Source: bought

Other info: Kim has also written the Anno Dracula books, as well as other things

Summary : Imagine the twisted evil twins of Holmes and Watson and you have the dangerous duo of Prof. James Moriarty - wily, snake- like, fiercely intelligent, unpredictable - and Colonel Sebastian 'Basher' Moran - violent,politically incorrect, debauched. Together they run London crime, owning police and criminals alike. Unravelling mysteries -- all for their own gain. 

Review: Moriarty and Moran-the criminal equivalent of Holmes and Watson. This collection of short stories charts their running around London and the rest of England, living with a woman who runs a brothel, and taking on their fair share of cases. 

Literary mashup galore in here! Obviously, the Sherlock-verse is the major recipient of Kim's treatment, but there are characters from many other Victorian stories. The titles are all plays on the more-known Sherlock Holmes stories, and all feature

In the author's note, we're told that the first to be written was A Shambles in Belgravia. In my opinion, this one was the best. The opening line is my favourite in the whole novel: "To Professor Moriarty, she is always that bitch." Compare this to the reverance that Sherlock holds for the same woman, Irene Adler, and you should understand why this book is amazing.

A Volume in Vermillion keeps introductions a rather neat parallel to A Study in Scarlet, before putting Moran in his first spot of trouble. I didn't really enjoy The Red Planet League.  It just didn't hold my attention. The Hound of the D'Urbervilles was good at bringing together various literary characters from everywhere, as was The Adventure of the Six Maledictions. The Greek Invertebrate is the best paced story, and The Problem of the Final Adventure brings back characters from the previous stories. It also leaves Sherlock and Moriarty's fates really, really ambiguous. 

The stories are written as a set of diaries from Moran. The writing style is very entertaining, with most of it about the case, but a lot of interruptions pertaining to Mrs Halifax's girls and what Moran wants to do with them.

Sebastian Moran is fully built up characterwise, and the kind of guy that you might want to be friends with if you like people loud, strong opinioned and a little mad. It's also good to see his character and his attitudes to things develop with exposure to Moriarty.

Professor James Moriarty. Painted very well, much more elaborately than Conan Doyle ever did. His attitudes are strange and roundabout, and you can't always understand him. I really like what Newman has done-given him two brothers also called James. The Moriarty family are all as eccentric as eachother, but the Professor was my favourite of the three.

He's not my favourite character in the whole thing though. That goes to Sophy, a Greek woman who joins Moriarty's family of crime and is a really good actress. Close second is Irene Adler, who has remained as an opera singer, albeit one that caused a man to kill himself after her performance. In addition to these two women,  there's a large cast of criminals and clients making up the supporting cast. Interestingly, Watson is quoted a couple of times as Moran gives his uncomplimentary view on the same event, and Sherlock is reduced to being only "The Thin Man".

Overall:  Strength 5 tea to a book taking many things I love and throwing them together.

 Links: Amazon | The Book Depository | Goodreads | Author website | 

Book Review- The Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross

Title: The Girl in the Clockwork Collar

 Author: Kady Cross

Series:  The Steampunk Chronicles #2

Published:  22 May 2012 by Harlequin/Mira

Length: 416 pages

Warnings: violence 13+

Source: Netgalley

Other info: Book one, The Girl in the Steel Corset, was reviewed here.

Summary : In New York City, 1897, life has never been more thrilling - or dangerous. Sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne and her "straynge band of mysfits" have journeyed from London to America to rescue their friend Jasper, hauled off by bounty hunters. But Jasper is in the clutches of a devious former friend demanding a trade-the dangerous device Jasper stole from him...for the life of the girl Jasper loves. One false move from Jasper and the strange clockwork collar around Mei's neck tightens. And tightens.

Review: A few weeks ago, I reviewed The Girl in the Stele Corset and really liked the start of this steampunk series. So I was quite pleased when I got this off Netgalley (even if I did get hold of this before I got hold of Steel Corset). It picks up directly from where Steel Corset left off, something I quite like in sequels. Finley, Griffin, Emily and Sam are on a dirigible to America, chasing after Jasper, who has been dragged away by police at the end of the last book. Once they’re there,  they learn interesting things about their friend, meet a few more, and get into a lot more trouble than ever before.

As I said, I really wanted to read this one. It, like the first, didn't disappoint, with some more light hearted near the beginning before getting into the more serious stuff.

I'm very pleases with the inclusion of Jasper. As I noted in my review of Steel Corset, he was totally ignored in book one. He has quite a major part in this one though, so we get to learn quite a lot about him and his past. The other characters pulled over from Stele Corset were consistent, and also developed themselves and their relationships.

There's also a good lot of new characters. My favourite was Wildcat-she's a vicious fighter, she talks back, and she's generally awesome. I really hated Mei (which I'm guessing you're meant to do). It's not that hard to do, especially with the way she treats Finley, and Jasper towards the end. And finally, I'm sure steampunk has an obsession with Nikolai Tesla. And making him completely insane (Scott Westerfeld's Goliath, I'm looking at you). I know he's  important and there's so much you can do with him in the world of Steampunk, but still. It's kind of annoying having him crop up everywhere.

Steampunk technology is just as included in this one. Tesla’s machines, and once again, Emily's cat. Which we learn also flies. Emily is amazing.

I think it might just be the netgalley copy, but I didn't like the fact that scene changes weren't broken up. It made it confusing, hard to follow, and a bit annoying.

There's too many implied love triangles in this. Finley/Griffin and Finley/Dandy (though Dandy's pretty much out of the scene). Then there's Emily/Sam and (one sided) Emily/Jasper. And then there's Jasper/Emily and Jasper/Mei. I know they're not implied, but tangled love lives aren't my thing.

The writing was full and descriptive, giving a good sense of the steampunk devices, and the action well. On  a final note, not affecting my review, Kady has an amazing choice in music (Emilie Autumn and Amanda Palmer) to write to.

Overall:  Strength 4 tea to another good steampunk that's not quite as amazing as book one, but very good none the less.

Links: Amazon | The Book Depository | Goodreads | Author website | 

Book Review-The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

Title: The Girl in the Steel Corset

 Author: Kady Cross

Series:  The Steampunk Chronicles #1

Published:  24 May 2011 by Harlequin

Length: 473 pages

Warnings: attempted rape, violence, romance 13+

Source: Publisher

Summary : In 1897 England, 16-year-old Finley Jayne is convinced she's a freak. No normal Victorian girl has a darker side that makes her capable of knocking out a full-grown man with one punch. Only Griffin King sees the magical darkness inside her that says she's special . . . that she's one of "them."

Review: In the first few pages, we see Finley Jayne’s darker side. When young lord Felix Augustus Raynes thinks he can have this servant like he has the others, he finds he’s wrong. And knocked out. Knowing that she’ll be dismissed for teaching him a lesson, Finley makes a run for it. She’s picked up by Duke Griffin King and his little band of misfits. Finley’s wary of him at first, but soon gets to know him and Sam(part robot), Emily (can communicate with machines) and Jasper (“cowboy” from America), become friends with (some of) them, and is drawn into their investigations. They’re looking for The Machinist, who they think is behind many automaton-related crimes, and may be (read, is) planning something even bigger. As they go, and learn about her family history, Finley is drawn into a lot of suspicion, and a lot of danger.

Ever since I saw the title and cover of this, I knew I wanted to read this. So I was very excited to get a copy of this, especially when I didn’t think they were doing it in the UK. And it didn’t disappoint.

The plot was done well. It starts off really quickly, and the rest of the book is similarly fast paced. There’s a lot twists and turns, some of which are predictable,  that all resolve themselves by the end. There’s a lot of subplots that were woven in well and added interest.

The romance was done well, and I found it really nice that we didn’t just follow the main characters’ romance. Yes, I think that Finley and Griffin make a good couple, but I much preferred the longing between Emily and Sam. They deserved their love a bit more, and it was really easy to imagine their friends-only relationship before they got together.

The characters were all very fleshed out with distinct personalities. They interacted realistically, and I’m glad not everybody was in love with Finley to start with. It made it a bit more believable. I found Finley’s family history to be very long winded and a little confusing, but I loved the idea that her dad was the inspiration for Jekyll and Hyde. I don’t think we saw enough of Jasper, but from the ending, there definitely should be a lot more of him in book two.

The Steampunkery in this is prevalent throughout. 1897 setting fulfils that aspect, and the gadgetery that turned up...amazing. Emily’s workshop, the automaton, and so on. And the cat. All my love to the cat. On a completely different note, I’m glad the steel corset is important to the story.

 Overall:  Strength 5 tea  to a real steampunky book. Definitely want more of this series.

Links: | The Book Depository | Goodreads | Author website | 

Book Review- The Bookman by Lavie Tidhar

Title: The Bookman

 Author: Lavie Tidhar

Series:  The Bookman Histories #1

Published:  7 Jan 2010 by Angry Robot

Length: 416 pages

Warnings: violence 13+

Source:Library

Other info: The others in this series are called Camera Obscura and The Great Game.

Summary : A masked terrorist has brought London to its knees -- there are bombs inside books, and nobody knows which ones. On the day of the launch of the first expedition to Mars, by giant cannon, he outdoes himself with an audacious attack. For young poet Orphan, trapped in the screaming audience, it seems his destiny is entwined with that of the shadowy terrorist, but how? Like a steam-powered take on V for Vendetta, rich with satire and slashed through with automatons, giant lizards, pirates, airships and wild adventure, The Bookman is the first of a series. File under: Steampunk, Serial killer, Alternate Victorian London, Exploding Book,  Historical Crime

Review: Orphan is a lizard boy, living in London. One night, his girlfriend Lucy is killed by a bomb, planted by the Bookman. Understandably, Orphan is upset, and therefore he sets out on a quest to find the truth. said quest takes him pretty much everywhere, and he ends up learning a lot more than he thought he would along the way.

The blurb does give quite a lot of where he goes on this quest away, which isn’t something I really like. But still, it was a fun ride, seeing what he’d learn on each of the stops. Something new happens at pretty much every turn, so there’s always something you want to find out.

Orphan was very different from how I had expected when I read the blurb, looked at the cover, and decided to read this. This is because no-where gave the hint about his being a lizard boy. It was an interesting facet of his character, which I got used to quicker than I thought I would.

I love the mix of characters in this. There are real-life (well, dead now) authors, actors and other people,  and yet some rather prominent figures, such as the Prime Minister and a police inspector, are well-known fictional characters, in this case, James Moriarty and Irene Adler. Oh, and the royalty are also lizards. Points for that.

I really liked Orphan, but I never felt that close to him for some reason. Maybe it’s his being a lizard, or being male. I don’t know.

At the beginning of each chapter is a relevant quote from all sorts of literature. There’s some from poems, some from short stories, and some from essays(I think). These were an interesting addition, which added a little something to each chapter.

Overall:  Strength 4 tea to a good mix of all kinds of things, rolled into adventure in an alternative Victorian age.

Links: Amazon | The Book Depository | Goodreads | Author website | 

Book review- Empire State by Adam Christopher

Title: Empire State

 Author: Adam Christopher

Series:  N/A, for the time being

Published:  5 January 2012

Length: 445 pages

Warnings:  profanity, violence 14+

Source: Angry Robot Army

Other info: This is Adam Christopher’s debut novel. There is also a worldbuilder thing that you can find here, where you can play around with the characters, and have fun with.

Summary : The stunning superhero-noir fantasy thriller set in the other New York.  It was the last great science hero fight, but the energy blast ripped a hole in reality, and birthed the Empire State – a young, twisted parallel prohibition-era New York.  When the rift starts to close, both worlds are threatened, and both must fight for the right to exist. 

Review: it’s New York, and Rad Bradley is a private detective working to survive, as you do. Then he gets assigned a missing person case, and he is pulled into parallel worlds, the future, and many other places he’d rather not be. The aforementioned Parallel World is the Empire State, a very twisted Manhattan. Things will never be the same for Rad again...

It took me quite a bit of trying to get into this. Maybe it didn’t help that I started it while in the bar area of the Hammersmith Apollo while whoever was opening for Thin Lizzy was playing. But still, I should have been able to get into this. But it just left me quite confused. I didn’t really understand the whole thing concerning the superheroes, ie the Science Pirate and the Skyguard. This does get resolved alter with explanations, but it would have been nice to pick up quicker. The general world building, even of “normal” New York, wasn’t very good at all.

I also couldn’t really imagine Rad or Rex. Not good when these are the two major characters. This meant I couldn’t really visualise lots of things happening, and some things that I could, I just wasn’t sure if I was getting the right idea of those things.

Some things I did get though. The four worlds in this book are  20/30s New York (is writing a few days after reading and has forgotten fine details), 50s New York, the Empire State and the Space Beyond. All of these were well imagined and fit together neatly, even if it is very confusing to start with.

 And we never get any explanation of why the superheroes exist. That I understood. Don’t like that. I did like the time travel elements.

It’s a very slow start. The first third, I wasn’t sure why I was carrying on reading this, aside from just hoping that something would happen. Luckily, a mystery is built in time for me to stay hooked, developing further on in the book, and it definitely picks up further on in the novel.

Overall:  Strength 2 tea to a promising and actionfilled, but confusing book. If you really do enjoy sci-fi/reading about Manhattan, then you should read this. Otherwise, maybe give this a miss.

Links: Amazon | TheBook Depository | Goodreads | Author website | 

Book Review- This Dark Endeavour by Kenneth Oppel

Title: This Dark Endeavour

 Author: Kenneth Oppel

Series:  The Dark Endeavour #1

Published:  23 August 2011 by Simon and Schuster

Length: 304 pages

Warnings: Slight romance, gory/disturbing scene near end 13+

Source: Library

Other info: The sequel, Such Wicked Intent, will be out this August.  Oppel has also written the Silverwing series.

Summary : The purest intentions can stir up the darkest obsessions.
In this prequel to Mary Shelley’s gothic classic, Frankenstein, 16-year-old Victor Frankenstein begins a dark journey that will change his life forever. Victor’s twin, Konrad, has fallen ill, and no doctor is able to cure him. Unwilling give up on his brother, Victor, his beautiful cousin Elizabeth, and best friend Henry begin a treacherous search for the ingredients to create the forbidden Elixir of Life. Impossible odds, dangerous alchemy, and a bitter love triangle threaten their quest at every turn. Victor knows he must not fail. But his success depends on how far he is willing to push the boundaries of nature, science and, love -- and how much he is willing to sacrifice.

Review: Victor Frankenstein's twin brother Konrad has become ill and none of the doctors can think of anything to cure him. But Victor has found a book in the secret library detailing instructions on making the Elixir of Life. He, his cousin Elizabeth and friend Henry all go on a quest to find the ingredients. It's a quest he can't afford to fail, but many things get in his way-impossible tasks, alchemy, and a love triangle involving himself, his cousin, and his brother.

When I saw the summary, I was interested. Young Frankenstein? Heck yes. And a random twin and a love triangle? High hopes.

We start with a lighthearted intro to all the protagonists, which quickly moves on and keeps moving throughout.

The adventure kept me turning the pages wanting to know more at every turn.

I loved the romance in this. We get our fair share of love triangles in young adult literature, but none of them ever come from the boy's perspective. It was interesting seeing something we're used to from a different pov, and the fact the two boys in this look identical, leading to midnight deception, added a bit to the normal love triangle template.

The alchemy in this was thought out with clear rules. Our antagonist Polidori has a lot more to him than we first think, leading to a climactic showdown at the end.

The characters all developed in huge ways, with  Elizabeth coming more into her own and Konrad developing in a big way. Victor himself gains depth and complexity, and I can't decide if he's  a better or worse character by the end of the book.

By the very end, we're left on something in the middle of closure and a cliffhanger; This Dark Endeavour is clearly finished, but we have a clear motive for what will happen later in Victor's life-the part that Mary Shelley wrote about.

Overall:  Strength 4 tea to a prequel/retelling done excellently. I  can't wait to see  what Victor and co do next.

Links: Goodreads | Author website

Book Review- Goliath by Scott Westerfeld

Title: Goliath

 Author: Scott Westerfeld (Illustrated by Keith Thompson)

Series:  Leviathan #3

Published:  29 September 2011 by Simon and Schuster 

Length: 543 pages

Warnings: light kissing, violence. 12+

Source: Library

Other info: Scott Westerfeld has written a lot more, such as the Uglies and Midnighters series, as well as the first two in this series called Leviathan and Behemoth.  

Summary : Alek and Deryn are on the last leg of their round-the-world quest to end World War I, reclaim Alek’s throne as prince of Austria, and finally fall in love. The first two objectives are complicated by the fact that their ship, the Leviathan, continues to detour farther away from the heart of the war (and crown). And the love thing would be a lot easier if Alek knew Deryn was a girl. (She has to pose as a boy in order to serve in the British Air Service.) And if they weren’t technically enemies. 

The tension thickens as the Leviathan steams toward New York City with a homicidal lunatic on board: secrets suddenly unravel, characters reappear, and nothing is at it seems in this thunderous conclusion to Scott Westerfeld’s brilliant trilogy

Review: SLIGHTLY SPOILERY.

So, it’s the last in the Leviathan series. I loved the other two in the series, Leviathan and Behemoth. I reviewed Leviathan here before, but haven;t written a review of Behemoth yet. Maybe some day. Anyway, I was waiting for this book for ages, even though I knew it would be the end of the series and I’d be sad to see it go. So I was expecting a lot,

We got a lot too. The Leviathan heads to Siberia, where they pick up Tesla, an inventor who says he can end the war. But no one knows whose side he’s on. so no-one knows what to do with him. Then they head on to Japan and America, meaning throughout the series, we’ve gone on a tour of half the countries somehow involved in WWI. In other news, Alek knows that Deryn is female and in love with him. All kinds of things could happen. And so the war and the crown of Austria and his heart all rest on Alek and his actions.

Keith Thompson, as always, has blown me away with his drawings. My favourite one is the double page spread of Steampunk!Japan. it is recognisably Japan, but also recognisably different, if you get my drift. The other ones throughout the book are also amazing...I wonder if you can get prints...

The action comes thick and fast. Something is always happening connected to some element of the main plot or other, and things that you instantly recognise from history/general knowledge that have been given their own steampunk twist just add a little extra something.

I’m still in love with the characters. Deryn has always been the one I preferred between our two main characters, because I love the way she perserveres with everything, is awkward around Alek, and her own brand of profanity is so funny. the Russian guards also made me laugh a lot for some reason...

The romance in this really suits it. It’s not often that I enjoy romance in a book that is clearly action orientated, but in this, I love it. I’d just like to say that I support Dr Barlow x Count Volger so much. I have done since book one, and I am so glad that it is implied heavily (at least I read it that way!) at the end. Alek and Deryn is the main couple for this series, which finally gets closure and completion in the most adorable way possible at the very end.

Overall:  Strength 5 tea to an amazing conclusion to the best steampunk YA series there is. Can’t wait for the Manual of Aeronautics, an art book released next year!

Links: Amazon | Goodreads | Author website | 

Book review: TimeRiders by Alex Scarrow

Title: TimeRiders

Author: Alex Scarrow

Source: Library

Publisher and Published: Various, various times (according to goodreads. The book is downstairs

at the moment and I'm too lazy to get it)

Warnings: Blood, cannibalist mutants, violence, mild profanity

Summary from goodreads: Liam O'Connor should have died at sea in 1912. Maddy Carter should have died on a plane in 2010. Sal Vikram should have died in a fire in 2029. Yet moments before death, someone mysteriously appeared and said, 'Take my hand ...' But Liam, Maddy and Sal aren't rescued. They are recruited by an agency that no one knows exists, with only one purpose - to fix broken history. Because time travel is here, and there are those who would go back in time and change the past. That's why the TimeRiders exist: to protect us. To stop time travel from destroying the world...

Review: Right when they were about to die, three teenagers were asked if they to go with an old man, called Foster, or die. The first one is Liam who is aboard the sinking Titanic and has 90 seconds left to live (according the same old man). So he follows the him and wakes up in New York, 2001. But of course he doesn't know that. Then we get Maddy on a plane. Which will blow up in 90 seconds. Foster really pressurises these people doesn't he? She follows too. Sadly, we aren't told about Sal's experience. They are introduced to each other etc. and we discover that Foster is from "Never-neverland". How enigmatic. They also meet their team mate, Bob, an artificial human. They assigned roles, Sal the observer, Maddy the analyst, Liam the guy who

actually gets to time travel and Bob the support unit. I think that's the end of the basic character introductions.

I like how the team are based during 9/11 to distract the attention away from themselves. It's quite an interesting concept and it's probably true, people in the local shops would be more focused on the mass destruction around them. Other aspects of the book that many people believe don't make sense actually do. Depending on what theory you use. To make sure I don't give out any spoilers, I'm going to use the concept of autoinfanticide (if you don't understand, think of the child self as the information that the antagonist needs to know to change history: what he needs to change). If you went back in time and killed yourself as a baby you would no longer exist and "you" that existed at the time you killed your child self would not exist and you would not have been able to kill yourself. The Novikov self-consistency principle agrees with this statement and says this can't possibly happen. The parallel universe/alternate timelines says you can do this, great for you. The nonexistance theory doesn't work with this book. The destruction resolution I don't think would work and temporal modification negation theory does work. The delayed effect of the shifts if a form of the delayed ripple effect.

The characters don't change much (apart from Bob. He changed a lot). I found that really disappointing as the characters need to progress in sci-fi to make it more realistic. The "Tuesdays" weren't described much which is a shame because they would have made the book more interesting. I wish that Sal had written more in her diary and the Maddy's feelings were shown a bit more. I love the idea of an alternative future (though in this case, it's the past).

Rating: 4 Really good but you need to do some research to understand some things.