Review: The Falling Machine (The Society of Steam #1) by Andrew P. Mayer

The Falling Machine by Andrew P. Mayer

Copy Courtesy of Pyr Books
Already Published

Summary
Sarah's father is a member of the Paragons, a group of super heroes with steampunk weapons that fight off the bad guys, but when the leader of this group is assassinated in front of her, it may be up to Sarah and the Automaton (the leader's greatest creation, a robot with really good AI) to save the day. Of course, this is complicated by the fact that in her day and age, women are basically objects to be possessed by men.

Commentary
Ok, I will admit this book may seem slow at times (I was perfectly happy with the speed), but oh the steampunkery and sleuthing! I also love how the author keeps you guessing as to whether a character will be able to get out of a tough situation, and if they do, how on earth they did it without making the reader agonize for too long.

Despite the multiple points of views, each viewpoint was delineated by chapters and it is very clear from the beginning who you are following so I never lost track. There is a lot of male chauvinism in the book, but it was appropriate to the era this book was set in although I still wanted to smack some of the male characters.

I think this was a really good addition to the Steampunk genre even though it did end on a major cliff-hanger that really leaves you going noooooo I need answers! I'm looking forward to seeing what the author does with the next book (Hearts of Smoke and Steam).

Star Rating: 4.0/5.0

For an explanation of the Star Rating go here.

Check out prices for The Falling Machine at Amazon

Review: Heartless (The Parasol Protectorate #4) by Gail Carriger

Heartless by Gail Carriger

This is the 4th book in the series, and there may be some spoilers in the Summary if you haven't read the previous books yet. (Soulless #1, Changeless #2, and Blameless #3)

Summary
Alexia's pregnancy is making the vampires very very unhappy, and there is a warning of an assassination attempt on the Queen from a mad ghost. Alexia certainly has her hands full.

Commentary
Heartless was witty as ever, and I had forgotten how much I missed the banter between Alexia and her husband. You would think that there wasn't as much story with a couple that was well established with all the YA books which deal with boy and girl meeting, but that is certainly not a problem with The Parasol Protectorate series. I have yet to get tired of the characters.

I do admit that the enjoyment of this book had less to do with the plot on the Queen and a whole lot more on all the dialogue, which I think is perhaps rare for me as I usually talk about world-building and character development. I definitely giggled my way through this book.

So, if you enjoyed the previous books in the series (I really do suggest you read these books in order as the relationships are built up over the course of the series) you should enjoy this one as well. I am definitely looking forward to the next book - Timeless ^.^

Star Rating: 4.0/5.0

For an explanation of the Star Rating go here.

Check out prices for Heartless at Amazon

This is now a Book Review Party post

Review: Camera Obscura (The Bookman Histories, #2) by Lavie Tidhar

Camera Obscura (The Bookman Histories, #2) by Lavie Tidhar

Copy Courtesy of NetGalley and Angry Robot Books
Already Released

Summary
A man has been murdered, and something has been stolen out of his stomach. Now, every government in the world is after that object. Lady de Winter must find out who the killer was and what they were after despite the Quiet Council (her employer) not telling her anything, but this quest may prove the end of her.

Commentary
This is another one of those weird feeling books although most of the weirdness seems to stem from its steampunk elements. It is also fairly gruesome so reader beware although it's no worse than The Hunger Games so if you were ok with that book, you'll be ok here.

The world created in this story has a lot of depth, but at the same time because the main character Lady de Winter is kept in the dark it also feels like there are mysterious holes in understanding the world. Also, because there are many different groups vying for the missing object, it feels like there should be a lot of political jockeying, but it's almost entirely missing since Lady de Winter goes into everything with guns blazing (or hoping that she could be shooting something).

I certainly enjoyed the worldbuilding parts of this story, and the weirdness was actually appealing to me. It was at times, however, confusing and perhaps missing some subtleties to the characterizations.

Star Rating: 3.5/5.0

For an explanation of the Star Rating go here.

Check out prices for Camera Obscura at Amazon

Review: Like Clockwork by Bonnie Dee

Like Clockwork by Bonnie Dee

Copy Courtesy of NetGalley and Carina Press
Already Released

Summary
Automatons have taken off in this Victorian world, and are replacing the jobs of not only factory work but servants such as maids, butlers and nannies. The unrest leads one Dash to kidnap Victoria, the lady scientist behind the human-looking shells of the automatons. Little do they know that greater things are happening, and love can be found in the weirdest of circumstances.

Commentary
I liked the premise of the story a lot. I was pretty excited about automatons and civil unrest being part of this story. The story though didn't really live up to its promise.

The pacing of the story can best be described as hurried as the author attempted to cram a lot of plot points into a small book. This led to a feeling of shallowness to the events which occurred.

I enjoyed reading about Dash and Victoria, but their romance and dialogues often left a flat taste in my mouth. Love at first sight kind of deal with some hemming and hawing for class restrictions, but no real depth to be found.

I will grant that this is a romance novel, and plots can be somewhat secondary to the mindless attractions of the main characters, but I can't help feeling disappointed that the ideas of this plot were squandered thusly.

Star Rating: 2.0/5.0

For an explanation of the Star Rating go here.

Check out prices for Like Clockwork at Amazon

Review: Boneshaker (The Clockwork Century #1) by Cherie Priest

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

Summary
In the aftermath of an incident, which has left poisonous gas (it happens to create zombies) pouring out into Seattle, Washington, Briar - the wife of the man who brought about this calamity - tries to raise her son, Zeke. Unable to take the taunts from his classmates, Zeke runs off into the walled up ruins of Seattle. Briar takes off after him, and the two journey separately through the new society inside the ruins

Commentary
I had hoped this would be better than it turned out to be since it was nominated for a Hugo and a Nebula. I couldn't really seem to get into it mostly because of the elaborateness of the ruins. There was a lot of moving through, up and down, and into this tunnel or that which, because I am spatially challenged, I was not able to follow very well at all.

Generally speaking, this is not really a zombie novel. There are zombies, but they don't drive the story. The zombies are pretty standard and mostly serve to move the characters around the city (and in doing so, introduce you to aspects of the society) rather than being the focus.

The story itself, and the culture which had sprung up inside the ruins was interesting. Priest does a good job of building up the suspense surrounding the doctor who caused all the trouble in the city.

This is worth a read for the less spatially challenged, but it's not a must read by any means.

Star Rating: 3.0/5.0

For an explanation of the Star Rating go here.

Check out prices for Boneshaker at Amazon

Review: Girl Genius Vol. 1: Agatha Heterodyne & the Beetleburg Clank by Phil Foglio and Kaja Foglio

Girl Genius Vol. 1: Agatha Heterodyne & the Beetleburg Clank by Phil Foglio and Kaja Foglio

Agatha has been trying to build awesome steampunk machines, or well to be more exact she's been trying to build ANY steampunk machines. Much to her chagrin, however, she hasn't been able to make anything that's worked. Then things explode. There are a lot of explosions.

The first volume of this series is not actually that good. To be honest, it was somewhat boring because of the time spent setting things up. It's like rating a book if you've only read the first 3 chapters. It might be interesting, but it's probably not all that exciting.

Agatha has promise to be a very amusing character. The steampunk has promise to be pretty awesome, and I'm looking forward to explosions. Thus, I will continue to read this series because it has promise. This first volume though, don't expect it to really blow your mind away unless I'm missing something crucial.

This comic is available online for free at http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php, but the writers/illustrators have also produced dead tree versions.

Check out prices for Girl Genius Vol. 1: Agatha Heterodyne & the Beetleburg Clank at Amazon

Review: Leviathan (Leviathan #1) by Scott Westerfeld

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Basically this is an alternate history of WWI steampunk style. The fighting countries either have giant robotic mech type machines or monstrous biologically engineered animal amalgams. The main character is the "heir" to the Austro-Hungarian throne Prince Aleksander. He is a really cute character who starts off the book fighting out battles with toy soldiers and various other objects.

One of the best parts of this book are the various images which are included throughout. The pictures are very well drawn, and definitely add a certain amount of flavor and flair to the novel.

Aleksander is a bit imperious although it is entirely within character since he is a prince. Through the imperiousness though you get a sense of a child trying very hard to cope with a changing reality. There are times when you want to yell "NO!! Don't do that," but at the same time you feel as if it's only human that he should.

I would say this is mostly a read for a young adult, but can still be enjoyable for adult. The next book - Behemoth - just came out.

Check out prices for Leviathan at Amazon

Review: Mockingjay (Hunger Games #3) by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay (Hunger Games #3) by Suzanne Collins

In this last book of the Hunger Games trilogy, everything comes flying apart. The book feels like a spiraling descent into chaos and madness, but it's done oh so skillfully. You can feel the danger, fear, pain, and loss of sanity. This is a world that is cruel with the sing-song nature of an insane child murderer.

I would say that this book really deserves a "This shit is not for kids" sticker. I'm not even sure it is at all appropriate for young adults much more so than even the previous two books.

I had a minor issues with Gale. In the previous books we really don't see much of Gale because he's not a contestant. Now that there are no more games, he can play a more prominent role, but I'm not sure the way his character turned out gels well with how he was portrayed previously. This may be because I missed out on characterization cues before or perhaps because there just wasn't enough room to give him much depth, but I just don't feel like Gale was really Gale.

All that being said, it was still an excellent book and a fitting ending for a powerful trilogy.

Check out prices for Mockingjay at Amazon