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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
DNF at 21%. Fascinating premise but there's too much of info-dumping. Maybe I'll give it another go in the future.
I'm not quite sure why this book didn't convince me. The plot was, on the surface, good enough but very artificially constructed. The characters should have worked but somehow didn't, and the structure of the whole thing felt slightly off. I am ambivalent.
CW: brownface, casual colonialism, assault/sexual assault with intent to rape
(Find the TL;DR conclusion at the bottom, with an alternate book rec!*)
No.
No, no no no.
No.
This is the kind of book that gives Steampunk a bad name. (Also a strong contender for worst book of 2021 and it has only been a week. So, just so you're forewarned, that's the kind of energy I'm going into this review with.)
In concept it has some things going for it. In my defense, though, I think every story that says "Steampunk" in the description has something going for it. The titular character(? being? entity?) Spring Heeled Jack is a weird little London urban legend who's expounded upon greatly in this novel. He's been likened to American cryptids like the Mothman or the Jersey Devil. (Which, after reading this book and being a cryptid lover, I am kind of ashamed at.)
Another unique element of this story is that it also hinges, in opposition to nearly every other piece of Steampunk media I can think of, on the death of Queen Victoria, rather than the unnaturally long life.
There were some choices in the writing that I found rather annoying. Multiple times, rather than referring to Burton with his name, in dialogue tags he'd be called "the captain" or "the king's man" and like... Idk why but that's more of a personal choice/writing quirk characteristic and by far not even close to my bigger issues with this novel.
I found the plot itself to be a bit weak. There were two conflicting sets of antagonists, one given infinitely more page time than the other. (I read this is in someone else's review not tagged as a spoiler, who the secondary antagonists are, but I will tag it in mine. -->) The main antagonist is an idiot who can't think ahead - like for REAL this man had absolutely 0 thoughts before he fell into the plot - and then he's so conceited about the course of his life that he thinks it's okay to . Which is just an overall gReAt vibe to have. He also thinks he's going to be driven insane by culture shock which is... not correct but whatever I guess????
And THEN he has the gall to be like "woe is me, I made mistakes boohoo." Like, you sure did, buddy boy. Congrats, now you're an. Luckily, he doesn't succeed. But still - if it's the thought that counts, boy do I have some words to say to this man.
Also, the main character goes around in brownface, like, a lot. At least twice is mentioned which is, in my opinion, too many times. Honestly, I'm not even sure why it's relevant to the plot, it just happens. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
But anyway. My other prevailing issue... Very early in the novel, Burton is recounting how cool and badass he is after traveling the world and then he comes back to London and he's like, "Hey, this is way more chill than I remember! Maybe society isn't so rigid!"
Except.... it's not. It's really not.
There's some vague lip-service paid to colonialism, but it's pretty well written off as a concept.
But dear GOD the female characters.
Female characters: 0/10, horrible representation.
One of the elements that actually makes this story unique also does it a grave disservice. Hodder literally takes the one female character who was pre-characterized with personality and power - Queen Victoria - and kills her off before the start of the novel.
So that's fun.
The other female character who could have potentially done anything was Isabela, Burton's fiancee. But he breaks off the engagement less than a third of the way into the book and it's basically good riddance! She was described only in relation to Burton and had nooooo characteristics of her own.
Also, Burton, I don't care how closely this nun resembled a woman you slept with once, but who the hell sees a nun and has their first thought be, "Hmm, sexy."
Why.
Why, sir.
Why would Burton think this and why would Hodder write it?! (I am not kidding. There's an Indian nun/nurse woman and Burton tells us how turned-on he is by her. W H Y?)
*TL;DR:
In conclusion, don't read this book.
Don't do it.
It's truly not worth your time. The writing is lackluster, the female characters are atrocious, and the double villain plot is unnecessary.
If you are still interested in a nice, Steampunk mystery with a touch of paranormal after reading this novel of a review, I highly recommend the Newbury and Hobbes series by George Mann - book one being [b:The Affinity Bridge|3472342|The Affinity Bridge (Newbury and Hobbes, #1)|George Mann|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348421888l/3472342._SY75_.jpg|3513645]. It takes the majority of what this book tried to do but does it so much better - with actual female characters included!
(Find the TL;DR conclusion at the bottom, with an alternate book rec!*)
No.
No, no no no.
No.
This is the kind of book that gives Steampunk a bad name. (Also a strong contender for worst book of 2021 and it has only been a week. So, just so you're forewarned, that's the kind of energy I'm going into this review with.)
In concept it has some things going for it. In my defense, though, I think every story that says "Steampunk" in the description has something going for it. The titular character(? being? entity?) Spring Heeled Jack is a weird little London urban legend who's expounded upon greatly in this novel. He's been likened to American cryptids like the Mothman or the Jersey Devil. (Which, after reading this book and being a cryptid lover, I am kind of ashamed at.)
Another unique element of this story is that it also hinges, in opposition to nearly every other piece of Steampunk media I can think of, on the death of Queen Victoria, rather than the unnaturally long life.
There were some choices in the writing that I found rather annoying. Multiple times, rather than referring to Burton with his name, in dialogue tags he'd be called "the captain" or "the king's man" and like... Idk why but that's more of a personal choice/writing quirk characteristic and by far not even close to my bigger issues with this novel.
I found the plot itself to be a bit weak. There were two conflicting sets of antagonists, one given infinitely more page time than the other. (I read this is in someone else's review not tagged as a spoiler, who the secondary antagonists are, but I will tag it in mine. -->
Spoiler
It's evil Charles Darwin who has four brains and evil Florence Nightingale who's doing this weird AF like cross between eugenics and Frankenstein BS by transplanting animals and DNA into already living people. It's WILD. Like absolute bonkers omg. Might actually be worse because I watched Jurassic Park this morning which is an actually sensible plotline of genetic engineering sci-fi... but I digress.Spoiler
with time travelSpoiler
assault women in back alleys, stripping them naked to search for a birthmark to find his xxx-great-grandmother so he can rape her and make it so he exists in the futureAnd THEN he has the gall to be like "woe is me, I made mistakes boohoo." Like, you sure did, buddy boy. Congrats, now you're an
Spoiler
intended rapistAlso, the main character goes around in brownface, like, a lot. At least twice is mentioned which is, in my opinion, too many times. Honestly, I'm not even sure why it's relevant to the plot, it just happens. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
But anyway. My other prevailing issue... Very early in the novel, Burton is recounting how cool and badass he is after traveling the world and then he comes back to London and he's like, "Hey, this is way more chill than I remember! Maybe society isn't so rigid!"
Except.... it's not. It's really not.
There's some vague lip-service paid to colonialism, but it's pretty well written off as a concept.
But dear GOD the female characters.
Female characters: 0/10, horrible representation.
One of the elements that actually makes this story unique also does it a grave disservice. Hodder literally takes the one female character who was pre-characterized with personality and power - Queen Victoria - and kills her off before the start of the novel.
So that's fun.
The other female character who could have potentially done anything was Isabela, Burton's fiancee. But he breaks off the engagement less than a third of the way into the book and it's basically good riddance! She was described only in relation to Burton and had nooooo characteristics of her own.
Also, Burton, I don't care how closely this nun resembled a woman you slept with once, but who the hell sees a nun and has their first thought be, "Hmm, sexy."
Why.
Why, sir.
Why would Burton think this and why would Hodder write it?! (I am not kidding. There's an Indian nun/nurse woman and Burton tells us how turned-on he is by her. W H Y?)
*TL;DR:
In conclusion, don't read this book.
Don't do it.
It's truly not worth your time. The writing is lackluster, the female characters are atrocious, and the double villain plot is unnecessary.
If you are still interested in a nice, Steampunk mystery with a touch of paranormal after reading this novel of a review, I highly recommend the Newbury and Hobbes series by George Mann - book one being [b:The Affinity Bridge|3472342|The Affinity Bridge (Newbury and Hobbes, #1)|George Mann|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348421888l/3472342._SY75_.jpg|3513645]. It takes the majority of what this book tried to do but does it so much better - with actual female characters included!
While this book starts well it seems to lose its way towards the end.
There is lots of action and it does a good job of introducing the main characters while settin up nicely for a sequel.
There is lots of action and it does a good job of introducing the main characters while settin up nicely for a sequel.
2 1/2
An alt-history, steampunk mystery with various contraptions, Eugenicists and Technologists and a secret history style look into the origins and Spring Heeled Jack, investigated by a rough and tumble explorer and a quasi-Libertine poet. What could go wrong?
Well, mostly, the writing.
There's a lot of interesting ideas and potential, and I think the book could've been a lot better than it actually was. But there's a lot of telling instead of showing - from the ambiance and atmosphere of the world and society, to the characters and descriptions of the devices, to the huge chunks of (repetitive) expository text and the ever-popular pontificating of the villain in which he, knowingly or otherwise, reveals his plots and plans.
I also felt a good deal of the "second part" wherein we learn the truth of Spring Heeled Jack was mostly redundant and unnecessary. I wish that Hodder would've trusted his readers a bit more to put the pieces together once the major reveal was revealed 'cause, honestly, I didn't feel like we needed to revisit the whole damn book a second time from a second perspective.
All that said, it wasn't terrible. The characters were relatable and interesting enough, and the story was intriguing (even if I'm not the biggest fan of. I liked the dirtier and grittier vibe that it has - a change of pace from the more romanticized notions of Victorian England which a lot of these stories have. (Not that I mind the romanticized past - this was just an interesting change of pace.) That said, there wasn't a lot about the story or writing that "felt" period. I mean, there were the passing nods in descriptions and things, but it didn't have that ring of periodness which I so love in alt-history type books.
But I do plan on reading the second book in the series at some point to see if maybe the writing gets tightened up. But I'll be getting it from the library - just in case it doesn't.
An alt-history, steampunk mystery with various contraptions, Eugenicists and Technologists and a secret history style look into the origins and Spring Heeled Jack, investigated by a rough and tumble explorer and a quasi-Libertine poet. What could go wrong?
Well, mostly, the writing.
There's a lot of interesting ideas and potential, and I think the book could've been a lot better than it actually was. But there's a lot of telling instead of showing - from the ambiance and atmosphere of the world and society, to the characters and descriptions of the devices, to the huge chunks of (repetitive) expository text and the ever-popular pontificating of the villain in which he, knowingly or otherwise, reveals his plots and plans.
I also felt a good deal of the "second part" wherein we learn the truth of Spring Heeled Jack was mostly redundant and unnecessary. I wish that Hodder would've trusted his readers a bit more to put the pieces together once the major reveal was revealed 'cause, honestly, I didn't feel like we needed to revisit the whole damn book a second time from a second perspective.
All that said, it wasn't terrible. The characters were relatable and interesting enough, and the story was intriguing (even if I'm not the biggest fan of
Spoiler
time travel and its various inherent paradoxesBut I do plan on reading the second book in the series at some point to see if maybe the writing gets tightened up. But I'll be getting it from the library - just in case it doesn't.
This was sent to me through a book subscription at my local bookshop.
This was my first steampunk book and I didn't know what to expect really.
At first it seemed far fetched, then it got interesting.
Then it included some historical figures and an orangutan with a brain in a jar on his head and well that was just odd.
I felt it started strong and in it there was a very good storyline which explained the excellerated technology very well.
I did enjoy it even when rolling my eyes at a couple of bits. I think I would have liked it better with out the steampunk aspects. So maybe I'm not sold on the genre.
If it had just been a good detective story with spring heeled Jack it would have been enough for me. I wasn't as impressed by the animals and the velocipede and so forth as maybe I was meant to be.
But well thought out plot, gripping, easy read. Quite entertaining. I actually really enjoyed it.
I may read the sequel.
This was my first steampunk book and I didn't know what to expect really.
At first it seemed far fetched, then it got interesting.
Then it included some historical figures and an orangutan with a brain in a jar on his head and well that was just odd.
I felt it started strong and in it there was a very good storyline which explained the excellerated technology very well.
I did enjoy it even when rolling my eyes at a couple of bits. I think I would have liked it better with out the steampunk aspects. So maybe I'm not sold on the genre.
If it had just been a good detective story with spring heeled Jack it would have been enough for me. I wasn't as impressed by the animals and the velocipede and so forth as maybe I was meant to be.
But well thought out plot, gripping, easy read. Quite entertaining. I actually really enjoyed it.
I may read the sequel.
A very enjoyable steampunk romp through alternate history Victorian London. I thought the world-building was excellent, the plot and characters strong, and the writing in general very good.
In terms of pacing it starts off a little slow, but held my interest thanks to the enjoyable world being created, and ends up as a fast-paced, action-packed whirlwind.
Even though there's a strong time-travel element, which involves a lot of hopping about back and forth along the timeline, it never becomes confusing or hard to follow.
Excellent fun, and I'm glad I have book two ready and waiting already.
In terms of pacing it starts off a little slow, but held my interest thanks to the enjoyable world being created, and ends up as a fast-paced, action-packed whirlwind.
Even though there's a strong time-travel element, which involves a lot of hopping about back and forth along the timeline, it never becomes confusing or hard to follow.
Excellent fun, and I'm glad I have book two ready and waiting already.
This book was strange, but I really liked it. Oddly, not the first science fiction book I've read with Sir Richard Burton as the main character. The time travel had some paradox's, but few time travles stories don't and the book even points them out. Kudos to the author for knowing his history so well, and for tying up all loose ends.
A great escapist read, using time travel conundrums to set up an alternative history scenario. Loved Burton and Swinburne as characters both fascinating figures in their own right and now reading a biog of the real Burton. Fun and entertaining, I will be reading the next books in this series.