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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
Did not finish...
It was just, OK. Nothing exciting. Nothing mysterious. World building was...acceptable. Sorry for those who enjoyed it, but for me it was a yawn.
It was just, OK. Nothing exciting. Nothing mysterious. World building was...acceptable. Sorry for those who enjoyed it, but for me it was a yawn.
I really wanted to like this book. It has all the historical elements I love twisted in a steampunk way. I just trudged through it- never loving it. Sad.
Most intriguing premise of the books I read on vacation.
Confession: I judge books by their covers. I do this thing where I wander around bookstores, libraries, etc, with no particular books in mind, just pulling out books at random. The more interesting the title, the more likely I am to pull the book out. The more interesting the cover, the more likely I am to read the blurb. This is usually how I decide what books to buy, and it generally works out pretty well. I should note that an uninteresting cover/title won't make me not read a book, but if I'm just browsing, I'll probably never notice it.
I came across this book while killing time in a bookstore one day. The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack. Now that is a fantastic title! And the cover, the cover is just gorgeous. The back cover is presented in sort of faux-newspaper type. It introduces our protagonist, Sir Richard Francis Burton, which is hilarious if you're a History nerd, as I am. Simply said, I was in love before ever even cracking the book open.
I was so worried that it would end up letting me down and so thankful when it did not. I loved this book so much it's kind of ridiculous. Lovely characters, fantastic mysteries, lots of comedy, and just a damn good story.
I don't want to give too much away, but I loved the way the whole steampunk thing was handled. In a lot of the books in the genre, the technologies simply exist and that's fine, but this one gave a really intriguing cause and effect explanation that I loved. I thought the whole divergent path thing was great, and it opens up a lot of really interesting possibilities to be explored.
I also really liked that peoples and places of historical significance were sprinkled throughout and in really interesting and unexpected ways. In other books or if handled differently, I might have rolled my eyes at it, but in this case, it felt like little easter eggs for History buffs, which I loved.
My only real criticism is that Swinburne, while sort of presented as Burton's sidekick and the 2nd lead character, is barely in the book. It took nearly the whole book before he took on a more significant role. I get that this is the beginning of a series and is setting their relationships up and he will, presumably, feature more prominently in future books, but I was surprised that he wasn't around more. It really is a tiny criticism, though, and doesn't take anything away from the book.
In all honesty, this was easily one of my favorite books I've read this year, and I can't wait to read the sequel!
I came across this book while killing time in a bookstore one day. The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack. Now that is a fantastic title! And the cover, the cover is just gorgeous. The back cover is presented in sort of faux-newspaper type. It introduces our protagonist, Sir Richard Francis Burton, which is hilarious if you're a History nerd, as I am. Simply said, I was in love before ever even cracking the book open.
I was so worried that it would end up letting me down and so thankful when it did not. I loved this book so much it's kind of ridiculous. Lovely characters, fantastic mysteries, lots of comedy, and just a damn good story.
I don't want to give too much away, but I loved the way the whole steampunk thing was handled. In a lot of the books in the genre, the technologies simply exist and that's fine, but this one gave a really intriguing cause and effect explanation that I loved. I thought the whole divergent path thing was great, and it opens up a lot of really interesting possibilities to be explored.
I also really liked that peoples and places of historical significance were sprinkled throughout and in really interesting and unexpected ways. In other books or if handled differently, I might have rolled my eyes at it, but in this case, it felt like little easter eggs for History buffs, which I loved.
My only real criticism is that Swinburne, while sort of presented as Burton's sidekick and the 2nd lead character, is barely in the book. It took nearly the whole book before he took on a more significant role. I get that this is the beginning of a series and is setting their relationships up and he will, presumably, feature more prominently in future books, but I was surprised that he wasn't around more. It really is a tiny criticism, though, and doesn't take anything away from the book.
In all honesty, this was easily one of my favorite books I've read this year, and I can't wait to read the sequel!
This book started off great but got a bit bogged down in the middle. There just seemed to be too many things going on at once. I plowed through it and overall, I liked it.
One thing I will say, though, for anyone out there who plays/played RPGs, the whole book reads like a [u]Spirit of The Century[/u] campaign set in the 1800's. I could almost hear the players hitting their aspects and using Fate points.
One thing I will say, though, for anyone out there who plays/played RPGs, the whole book reads like a [u]Spirit of The Century[/u] campaign set in the 1800's. I could almost hear the players hitting their aspects and using Fate points.
I love this rollicking British steampunk alt-history period action/mystery/spec fic series so much. This was my second time reading this book and I am pleased to report that it was just as thrilling as I remembered from the less-dicerning me of ten years ago. [a:Mark Hodder|3222611|Mark Hodder|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1387553739p2/3222611.jpg] has created (or repurposed) an intriguing pulp hero worthy of his literary ancestors, the swarthy, scarred, well-travelled, fierce-faced, mesmeric, king's agent Richard Burton. The book is very British, very modern (despite it's 1860's setting), very fuckbonkers with its mad mix of aberrant technology, genetically altered animals, historical figures and legends, and other elements masterfully pieced together.
The cast is heavy on males; the few female characters are fierce but restrained to varying degrees by the social systems of 19th-century England, one historical factor that was not altered for this book. This could be a downside for some readers. If you are an impatient reader, the early portions of the book might come across as dry. There is some info-dumping, but skillfully done within the book's context and necessary; there is a lot of background information needed to get on with the main plot. At two fifths of the way in, though, there is plenty of explosive action and furthering of core mysteries to make it worth sticking around for.
I love the book design (the Pyr paperback edition) with its dynamic cover art, extended title ("Mark Hodder presents Burton & Swinburne in The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack"), interior graphics, and the in-world period-inspired advertisements, poetry, and quotes from the book's characters.
I first encountered this series in 2010 when my thoughtful wife picked out the second book, [b:The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man|9740847|The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man (Burton & Swinburne, #2)|Mark Hodder|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327938936l/9740847._SX50_.jpg|14629956], for me from the public library based on the cover, which does not immediately reveal that it is part two in a series. I read that one, then came back to the first book, then the third, and was very surprised in a later year to see that there were further books because the story was fully encapsulated in the first three books. I only ever made it to book four before deciding that I wanted to start over at the beginning, and over time acquired copies of the whole series. This book sat for many months in my bedside to-read stack, continually cycling down to make time for library loans. Now, in the time of cholera, I am glad that I finally moved it back to the top of the pile. I am confident that I will enjoy the rest of the series and can't wait to see what the final volumes will bring.
The cast is heavy on males; the few female characters are fierce but restrained to varying degrees by the social systems of 19th-century England, one historical factor that was not altered for this book. This could be a downside for some readers. If you are an impatient reader, the early portions of the book might come across as dry. There is some info-dumping, but skillfully done within the book's context and necessary; there is a lot of background information needed to get on with the main plot. At two fifths of the way in, though, there is plenty of explosive action and furthering of core mysteries to make it worth sticking around for.
I love the book design (the Pyr paperback edition) with its dynamic cover art, extended title ("Mark Hodder presents Burton & Swinburne in The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack"), interior graphics, and the in-world period-inspired advertisements, poetry, and quotes from the book's characters.
I first encountered this series in 2010 when my thoughtful wife picked out the second book, [b:The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man|9740847|The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man (Burton & Swinburne, #2)|Mark Hodder|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327938936l/9740847._SX50_.jpg|14629956], for me from the public library based on the cover, which does not immediately reveal that it is part two in a series. I read that one, then came back to the first book, then the third, and was very surprised in a later year to see that there were further books because the story was fully encapsulated in the first three books. I only ever made it to book four before deciding that I wanted to start over at the beginning, and over time acquired copies of the whole series. This book sat for many months in my bedside to-read stack, continually cycling down to make time for library loans. Now, in the time of cholera, I am glad that I finally moved it back to the top of the pile. I am confident that I will enjoy the rest of the series and can't wait to see what the final volumes will bring.
A slow start (though not the slowest I've read through) and an initially unlikable cast made it hard to read through but in the end I got over it and began reading for the Alternate History value and boy, did it deliver.
I don't think I've read a book I disliked THIS much in a few years.
If I need someone to tell me in all possible and impossible ways and moments that do nothing to propel the story how worthless and stupid women are, I will browse through facebook and youtube comment sections. Thank you very much.
Also, the main character is not exactly interesting and characters like the little homeless boy (supposedly 8 years old) sound like the biggest 20-something egomaniac pricks.
Glad it's not my own book, I gave up around page 50 or so.
If I need someone to tell me in all possible and impossible ways and moments that do nothing to propel the story how worthless and stupid women are, I will browse through facebook and youtube comment sections. Thank you very much.
Also, the main character is not exactly interesting and characters like the little homeless boy (supposedly 8 years old) sound like the biggest 20-something egomaniac pricks.
Glad it's not my own book, I gave up around page 50 or so.