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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
I was already familiar with the story of Spring-heeled Jack from the Stuff You Missed in History Class podcast, so when I saw this book I really wanted to read it. The cover also really drew me in. It was a fun story and I liked how it all came together in the end, but getting there really took some time. In the end, it was a fun read, but just okay.
(The podcast above is interesting and well worth a listen.)
(The podcast above is interesting and well worth a listen.)
I hate time travel. I don't like all the philosophical goings-on about meeting your old self, killing your parents etc... It just seems lazy for an author to use time travel. It basically means they can do whatever they want and then if they don't like it later, just yell paradox and everything is okay.
That said, this was pretty fun. Swineburne was hilarious. The birds were hilarious. Many of the other characters were colorful and interesting, unique. Most of the steampunk inventions were cool and not just your standard air-ships.
So basically I think I would probably REALLY like books written by the same author without time travel, but for this one 3 stars will have to do.
That said, this was pretty fun. Swineburne was hilarious. The birds were hilarious. Many of the other characters were colorful and interesting, unique. Most of the steampunk inventions were cool and not just your standard air-ships.
So basically I think I would probably REALLY like books written by the same author without time travel, but for this one 3 stars will have to do.
It was my first real steampunk novel and was very enjoyable overall. I almost wished he hadn't turned the POV over to Spring Heeled Jack for the middle section as it would have left more mystery to it but it still ultimately works well.
For a first novel it was a big success - already looking forward to the next one.
For a first novel it was a big success - already looking forward to the next one.
My first Steampunk novel and after recently reading other books set in the Victorian world (coincidentally) by Mark Gatiss (The Vesuvius Club) and Dan Simmons (The Terror), it was not new territory. It was a lot of fun though and comes recommended! It could have been a lot darker (my preference) but still is a great first novel.
Excellently written. A few instances of superfluous or awkward grammar and adverbs. Overall the flavour and climate of the victorian age and culture (at least to my knowledge) was near-perfect. The inclusion of so many real-life historical figures was doubtless a task of monumental research. The execution was super creative and clever and fascinating. Likely there were plenty of restrictions (not necessarily in how things work out but in the circumstances of the characters and in having them act as historical record might indicate their personality might).
I found that the reviewing and overlapping scenes to show how the time traveler's POV lined up with Burton's POV and the other stories was a bit unnecessary: the reader is able to bridge those gaps and very little was added either narratively or in arc, scene, character, etc; it mostly just contributed to an increasingly sadder image of Jack and his mad situation.
This book is also a good testament to the overall sentiment that steampunk in general represents an era that is unfortunately very fleeting: by necessity any period of great inventiveness, experimentation, and revolution cannot last. Ever since the renaissance the speed of industrial and cultural development has moved such that only a few years are spent in any one image or stage of society. So we must cherish that certain victorian age when all was on the thrilling cusp of an approaching new century, but yet many vestiges of tradition and history--which I relish just as much--were still freshly amid daily life as well.
The converging of nice wrapping-up and inclusion of many friends and factors (sweeps, police, nurse, townsfolk, etc) at the end held a bit too much of the Hollywood deus ex machina tool for my liking.
One of the best steampunk (or any revisionist-history, if you think of it) ever!
I found that the reviewing and overlapping scenes to show how the time traveler's POV lined up with Burton's POV and the other stories was a bit unnecessary: the reader is able to bridge those gaps and very little was added either narratively or in arc, scene, character, etc; it mostly just contributed to an increasingly sadder image of Jack and his mad situation.
This book is also a good testament to the overall sentiment that steampunk in general represents an era that is unfortunately very fleeting: by necessity any period of great inventiveness, experimentation, and revolution cannot last. Ever since the renaissance the speed of industrial and cultural development has moved such that only a few years are spent in any one image or stage of society. So we must cherish that certain victorian age when all was on the thrilling cusp of an approaching new century, but yet many vestiges of tradition and history--which I relish just as much--were still freshly amid daily life as well.
The converging of nice wrapping-up and inclusion of many friends and factors (sweeps, police, nurse, townsfolk, etc) at the end held a bit too much of the Hollywood deus ex machina tool for my liking.
One of the best steampunk (or any revisionist-history, if you think of it) ever!
I was disappointed in this one. The author obviously did his research and loves the period but the writing style is overwraught. Its reads like a penny dreadful and the characters are hard to get into. The premise is interesting but the execution left much to be deserved.
The first quarter was great, the second quarter dragged to the point I was ready to give up. Got halfway through and it just sped by. So, if you get discouraged, stick with it 'cause it does get much better.
I was about to write a decent review, but made the mistake of reading a number of the reviews already written here and have decided that there are so many excellent revews that I'm wasting my time.
So this is it:
This novel is a fascinating alternative history (several people are calling it steam punk, but that's not part of my working vocabulary so I won't use it myself) with time travel thrown in. It's set in Victorian England, or what would have been Victorian England if a time traveller hadn't caused an anomaly.
Great stuff! I love these time paradoxes. And Hodder has done a great job with placing it into context, with all the sensibilities of the age. For example, a lady can't cope with a swearing parrot, saying such things as "fardle-bottomed" and "puke-parking" (I've taken the book back to the library already, so can't quote correctly, but that's the gist of it), and a girl is sent insane from an attack by Spring-Heeled Jack, where he ripped open her bodice. Admittedly, he was a frightening character, but it's a reflection of the time to have such an extreme reaction to him.
All very entertaining, with mystery, the strangest characters, and plenty of action, all told in a style that, while it would never actually equate with the writers of the age, is reminiscent of it.
So this is it:
This novel is a fascinating alternative history (several people are calling it steam punk, but that's not part of my working vocabulary so I won't use it myself) with time travel thrown in. It's set in Victorian England, or what would have been Victorian England if a time traveller hadn't caused an anomaly.
Great stuff! I love these time paradoxes. And Hodder has done a great job with placing it into context, with all the sensibilities of the age. For example, a lady can't cope with a swearing parrot, saying such things as "fardle-bottomed" and "puke-parking" (I've taken the book back to the library already, so can't quote correctly, but that's the gist of it), and a girl is sent insane from an attack by Spring-Heeled Jack, where he ripped open her bodice. Admittedly, he was a frightening character, but it's a reflection of the time to have such an extreme reaction to him.
All very entertaining, with mystery, the strangest characters, and plenty of action, all told in a style that, while it would never actually equate with the writers of the age, is reminiscent of it.
This is apparently the first of a series of "steampunk" novels, which I gather means they are set in an alternate nineteenth century where a bunch of steam-powered futuristic machines and inventions exist. The central characters are the adventurer Sir Richard Burton and the hedonistic poet Algernon Swinburne, who within the confines of these stories are friends who work together on investigations for the crown (Burton has been officially designated as a "king's agent".) This debut story concerns a case with two mysteries. The first is the legendary figure Spring Heeled Jack, a lanky, leaping phantom who randomly appears to London area citizens, then disappears. In this story, he is specifically assaulting young girls. The second mystery is the appearance of what seem to be wolf-men. Yeah, werewolves of London (shades of Warren Zevon.) Other historical characters who figure into the plot, and whose actions bear little or no resemblance to anything in their actual lives, include Charles Darwin, Florence Nightingale, Laurence Oliphant, and Oscar Wilde. I have to say I found the Spring Heeled Jack portion of the plot to be awfully clever, entertaining and ingeniously constructed. Hodder describes the splendor and the squalor of nineteenth century London so masterfully that I often felt like I could feel, hear and smell it. I'm ready to move on to the next in the series.
What a fun romp through Albertian England. Enjoyed the whole time loop business. Wish I had known a bit more about the characters going in, but now am imspired to read up on Burton's real accomplishments.