Since I Can’t seem to find the words to write lengthy reviews for a few books I have read recently I’ll give some quick reviews for each.
This set of In Short reviews includes Boneshaker by Cherie Priest, The Stress of Her Regard by Tim Powers, and The Affinity Bridge by George Mann.
All worth reading.
Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
Steampunk is a fun genre to read. There are so many possibilities. Priest has some interesting ideas and tells a compelling story but all in all I found that I was not sucked into the story as I would have hoped. With such a vivid landscape of a devastated Seattle and a interesting universe that Priest has built, I would have expected a grander story than just a mom-is-looking-for-her-son run of the mill fare. A personal intimate story that Priest tells here isn’t well suited for the grand ideas that show peeks of themselves throughout the story. I found that I was asking for more of the big picture and less interested in whether Bria finds her son.
The Briar/Zeke story would have been a great subplot in a larger overall novel focusing on the society that had developed in walled off Seattle but we only catch glimpses of it. Priest could return to the Boneshaker novel and write a “In the meantime . . .” story with glimpses of the Briar/Zeke story in the background. I think that there is a bigger story that is ripe to be exploited in the Boneshaker setting waiting to be unearthed.
The Affinity Bridge by George Mann
Clockwork automatons, detectives, airships, and zombies make up this quick read set in Victorian England (where, mind you, it has been Victorian England well into the 20th Century thanks to advances in technology to kept Victoria alive). We follow the two protagonists as they investigate an airship crash that leads them to a conspiracy led by a major corporation. You could call this a steampunk novel, or maybe a gaslight fantasy either way, Mann’s work is good. Where Cherie Priest doesn’t succeed in the grand scope of her story, Mann does a great job in telling a intimate plot of a criminal investigation and encompass the huge picture of Victorian England. I think the subtle nuances of the characters gave this story depth.
There are a few missteps like the prologue which introduced a plague that turns its sufferers into some form of cannibal (this plague in England had little impact on the plot other than creating a harrowing scene in the London fog and showing how brave our protagonist was as well as crafty and resourceful) though I feel that this subplot of an infected populace could have been left out and maybe explored in other works.
Otherwise I really enjoyed this book and look forward to the next volume in the Newbury/Hobbes series, if there be more.
The Stress of Her Regard by Tim Powers
Moving from one book to another takes me some getting used to. I really can’t finish a book and then pick up the next one and dive right in. I need some time to digest the book I just I finished reading and get into the mindset for new characters, themes, style, and so forth in the new book. Unless the back to back books are in a series, I tend to take one day between finishing a book and starting a new one.
After I finished The Stress of Her Regard I did the same. But I think two days would have been better. I spent a full week reading and immersed in Tim Powers’s book that it coming out of it was like surfacing from being underwater after swimming the length of the pool. Powers has a tendency to be wordy and this reedited version from Tachyon had the expurgated parts reinserted into the book. But this doesnt’ mean that it was a bad book. Quite the contrary. The Stress of Her Regard is a fine read.
Powers does something interesting with this “vampire” story. He doesn’t really show the vampires much. They show up here and there and at the climax. but through most of the story you see the affect of the vampires on our protagonists. We see the struggle of each of the main characters throughout the book because of their relationship with the vampire and how their lives are affected.
Powers examines addiction, art, ability, the human condition, and several other themes while engaging the reader with a interesting story and deep characters. Though there are flaws to the book, some might find it dragging at parts or perhaps a few character flaws. Overall this is a great book and well worth the read.
