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nenya_kanadka's review against another edition
4.0
The plot in this one wasn't very strong in the latter half, but I didn't really care because I liked the characters so much. Madame Damnable, Miss Francina (my favourite!), Priya and Karen and Marshall Reeves and Crispin--I just wanted them to be happy and take care of each other and keep in touch, and in the end they did.
The villain reveal didn't surprise me, but it crept up on me with a slowly dawning sense of horror, so that part was pretty well done. The Seattle Underground, I mean the Rapid City Underground, was really good but I felt maybe there could have been more detail on the steampunk/mad scientist front. (I'm still confused about the steampunk sewing machine, for example.)
But I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would rec.
The villain reveal didn't surprise me, but it crept up on me with a slowly dawning sense of horror, so that part was pretty well done. The Seattle Underground, I mean the Rapid City Underground, was really good but I felt maybe there could have been more detail on the steampunk/mad scientist front. (I'm still confused about the steampunk sewing machine, for example.)
But I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would rec.
lesbrary's review against another edition
3.0
If “lesbian steampunk Western” doesn’t already pique your interest, I’m not sure what else to say, but I’ll give it a try! . . .
I listened to this as an audiobook, and I thought the narrator did a fantastic job. I really got a sense of Karen’s voice. On the other hand, I have trouble following action-packed plots at the best of times, and by listening to the audiobook, I definitely dropped the thread a few times. I think I enjoyed it more by listening to it, but I probably would have understood what was happening better if I had read it. I’m sure this would be a fantastic read for fans of Westerns or steampunk books, especially if you wish they were a little less straight and white, but it wasn’t the perfect genre match for me. I prefer stories that concentrate on characters, and although I got a sense of Karen’s voice, I didn’t get to know her as a character as well as I would like.
Despite those notes, I did like it enough to immediately pick up the other book in the series, and it looks like I’m going to like Stone Mad even more: Victorian spiritualists are my jam.
Full review at the Lesbrary.
I listened to this as an audiobook, and I thought the narrator did a fantastic job. I really got a sense of Karen’s voice. On the other hand, I have trouble following action-packed plots at the best of times, and by listening to the audiobook, I definitely dropped the thread a few times. I think I enjoyed it more by listening to it, but I probably would have understood what was happening better if I had read it. I’m sure this would be a fantastic read for fans of Westerns or steampunk books, especially if you wish they were a little less straight and white, but it wasn’t the perfect genre match for me. I prefer stories that concentrate on characters, and although I got a sense of Karen’s voice, I didn’t get to know her as a character as well as I would like.
Despite those notes, I did like it enough to immediately pick up the other book in the series, and it looks like I’m going to like Stone Mad even more: Victorian spiritualists are my jam.
Full review at the Lesbrary.
blodeuedd's review against another edition
1.0
Sometimes I just dig my heels in. Dunno why, but I do. Maybe cos it was a book that I really wanted to enjoy. So I read half of it and was bored. I kept thinking that I must suffer through. But then I started to skim cos I was all hell with this!
Karen works at a brothel.
Someone is killing ladies of the night.
In comes the lone ranger
It was a steampunk book
Not a lot of steampunk in it.
I did not care for anyone or anything.
I was bored.
I do believe it would work better on audio though...hmmm
Karen works at a brothel.
Someone is killing ladies of the night.
In comes the lone ranger
It was a steampunk book
Not a lot of steampunk in it.
I did not care for anyone or anything.
I was bored.
I do believe it would work better on audio though...hmmm
tarugani's review against another edition
4.0
Good story, but a first person POV is hard and I don't think this quite hit the mark there.
tigerb99's review against another edition
4.0
Quite a ripsnorting yarn. It barrels along from plan to plan, crisis to crisis. The villains are real and real nasty. The heroine is not superpowered, but she's determined. She's got great people on her team and you won't believe what she can do with a sewing machine. A nice steampunk tale with a female protagonist who isn't ravishingly pretty, actually a vampire, or falling for the handsome new marshal in town. I recommend.
blatanville's review against another edition
4.0
Rollicking, fun, an adventure.
I loved the main character's voice.
I loved the main character's voice.
eshied's review against another edition
4.0
A phenomenal standalone novel from Elizabeth Bear, one of the great modern fantasy writers. Karen Memory imagines an alternate Steampunk Pacific Northwest city in the late 1800s - the main character works in a whorehouse and interacts with a diverse and endlessly interesting cast of allies and enemies. The greatest strength of the story is the the voice of the title character, which is entirely unique and charming as she leads us through a city of mad science, dashing lawmen, corrupt politicians, and even international intrigue. Pick this up today!
crankyfacedknitter's review against another edition
5.0
I really, really enjoyed this one. Steampunk frontier, first-person POV, all the town's misfits and some LGBT representation for a change.
qalminator's review against another edition
5.0
Very enjoyable, though not what I was expecting.
Steampunk sewing machines, old west shootouts, and seamstresses just trying to make a living: all of it adds up to an inventive romp through a steampunk old west, where mostly the damsels rescue themselves, thank-you-very-much, and the villains keep underestimating them.
Highly recommended.
Steampunk sewing machines, old west shootouts, and seamstresses just trying to make a living: all of it adds up to an inventive romp through a steampunk old west, where mostly the damsels rescue themselves, thank-you-very-much, and the villains keep underestimating them.
Highly recommended.