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sailorrosemoon14's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
badseedgirl's review against another edition
4.0
The subgenre of “Steampunk” is like many other subgenres subject to a wide range in the quality of the writing, and the skill in which the author is able to incorporate the mechanical aspects that are such a major part of the genre, are one of the major deciding factors for what can make or break a novel. Fortunately Pip Ballantine was able to do this with aplomb with her debut novel Phoenix Rising. This is the first novel in her “Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences” series featuring Agents Eliza D. Braun and Wellington Books.
These characters are absolutely wonderful. There is just the right amount of sexual chemistry between them, but the author was able to season it with comedy which allowed to story to move along without bogging it down with too much sexual tension. As is common with many in the “Steampunk” genre, the female agent is the “wild” one bucking but still managing to thrive in what could be oppressive Victorian morals.
When I first started reading the novel I was afraid that it was going to be just another piece of fluff. The tone of the novel was light and humorous, even though the agents were investigating a series of gruesome murders. But when Eliza and Wellington’s investigation leads them into attending a weekend with members of a secret society, the novel gets real serious real fast. This made the last part of the novel full of adventure and action. By the end of the novel the mystery gets solved to the satisfaction of the reader, but I was left with numerous questions about the characters. This was an excellent way to end this novel because it makes me desperate to read the next novel in the series so I can find out if any of the questions are answered.
These characters are absolutely wonderful. There is just the right amount of sexual chemistry between them, but the author was able to season it with comedy which allowed to story to move along without bogging it down with too much sexual tension. As is common with many in the “Steampunk” genre, the female agent is the “wild” one bucking but still managing to thrive in what could be oppressive Victorian morals.
When I first started reading the novel I was afraid that it was going to be just another piece of fluff. The tone of the novel was light and humorous, even though the agents were investigating a series of gruesome murders. But when Eliza and Wellington’s investigation leads them into attending a weekend with members of a secret society, the novel gets real serious real fast. This made the last part of the novel full of adventure and action. By the end of the novel the mystery gets solved to the satisfaction of the reader, but I was left with numerous questions about the characters. This was an excellent way to end this novel because it makes me desperate to read the next novel in the series so I can find out if any of the questions are answered.
katyanaish's review
3.0
****3.5****
This is the fun new start to a steampunk series. It was a slow-starter for me, but I liked the world building a lot, and I loved the main characters. It was fun seeing the usual dynamic turned on it's head: Eliza Braun was the ass-kicker, and Wellington Books was the brain (I am sure you could guess that from the names *laugh*). It was a lot of fun watching them banter.
I only wish that we'd gotten a little better groundwork laid, in terms of who the players are in this series. The bad guys seem to be very nebulous. We've got: the House of Usher (who seem to largely be irrelevant); the Phoenix Society; the mysterious shadowy bad guy at the end; Lord What's-his-butt trying to take down the Ministry; maybe Doc Sound (though I doubt it). Generally, the first book of a series at least lays out who your primary players are. I feel like this one only really introduced Books, Braun and Doctor Sound. But oh well.
The only other concern I have is... So I'd like to know what's going on there.
That said, will definitely continue the series. :)
This is the fun new start to a steampunk series. It was a slow-starter for me, but I liked the world building a lot, and I loved the main characters. It was fun seeing the usual dynamic turned on it's head: Eliza Braun was the ass-kicker, and Wellington Books was the brain (I am sure you could guess that from the names *laugh*). It was a lot of fun watching them banter.
I only wish that we'd gotten a little better groundwork laid, in terms of who the players are in this series. The bad guys seem to be very nebulous. We've got: the House of Usher (who seem to largely be irrelevant); the Phoenix Society; the mysterious shadowy bad guy at the end; Lord What's-his-butt trying to take down the Ministry; maybe Doc Sound (though I doubt it). Generally, the first book of a series at least lays out who your primary players are. I feel like this one only really introduced Books, Braun and Doctor Sound. But oh well.
The only other concern I have is...
Spoiler
what's up with Books? When he decides to be, he's a badass. When he was attacked by thugs on the street, and when he saved their lives at the end, he demonstrated that he can more than handle himself. My only real worry with that, is that the dynamic of the pair changes significantly if Books is really capable of that role. Because in that case, what's Eliza's role?That said, will definitely continue the series. :)
ngreads's review
4.0
This was my first taste of steampunk, and it definitely left a good impression.
Really fun story, awesome chemistry between the characters that lead to a lot of hilarious moments, and an interesting mystery to top it all off. Looking forward to seeing some more of the mischief Books and Braun get themselves into!
Really fun story, awesome chemistry between the characters that lead to a lot of hilarious moments, and an interesting mystery to top it all off. Looking forward to seeing some more of the mischief Books and Braun get themselves into!
mellhay's review
5.0
Wellington Thornhill Books meets the lovely Eliza D. Braun as she is saving his arse from being tortured, by booming the place. But Eliza has a secret about saving Wellington. Agents Books and Braun work for the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences in different fields of the company. They each have strong personalities and feelings for the areas they excel in. Street agents and the archivist see each other as two different components. But, for their exceedingly strong believes they are paired up as new partners, in "Books" archives. Yet Agent Braun wants nothing more than anything to be back in the field blowing up something with her favorite weapon, dynamite. Miss Eliza Braun has a hard time at adjusting to being in the Archives trying to file the many magical items and cases away, so Mr. Wellington Books takes her to show her something new deeper in the Archives ~ Cases of the Unknown. After seeing hundreds of cases classified as Cases of the Unknown (Books opinion of words) Agent Braun decides with her abilities in the field and Books intelligence here in the Archives and basic training, to take on these cases. When Eliza comes across a case in filing that she recognizes as one her last partner had worked and ended up in the mental hospital over, she decides to do as he had done and pick up the case on her personal time.
I think I can go on and on about this book. It was so well written and so many different aspects that I enjoyed.
The book starts right in with a bang with action and bullets flying every which direction as the main characters meet. Then we step back a bit to have the world of The Ministry drawn for us to understand what they do and the set up of it. We learn the Archives, in the basement of the Ministry's office building, is a library of sorts and storage area for many peculiar items and past case information, almost magical items. The Archives even reminds me a little of the television show Warehouse 13 on the SyFy channel with the warehousing of magical. While we are learning of the Archives we are also getting to know the characters and the rough blend of personalities, but I have to say I love the give and take in jabs between these two. Once they talk of the Cases of the Unknown we see how Eliza then Books get drawn to one particular case. Before they realize it they are eyeballs deep in the investigation. Then we have another addition to the mix as the House of Usher is after Agent Books for reasons we are not yet aware of.
The characters are fun! Books is the gentlemanly kind of man, not one who thinks of loads of weapons, but one to get lost in the design of things and the puzzle in figuring them out. Books is one that loves the steam machinery and pully machinery, which is ever present in this book. Eliza is a kick arse ask questions later kind of woman. Eliza is the one who loves weapons and to make things go boom. Books even references her once, to himself as he is so gentlemanly, as the Angel of Destruction.
Some might say the book has a slow start or moves slow after the bang of a beginning in the first chapter. However, I have to say it's a perfect balance of action, fun and case building/solving for me. And the dialect and writing styles is a pleasure to read. This is a book to sit down with and enjoy from all angles; world building, characters, case solving ~ all for the style, fun, and mystery of it.
I will be looking forward to the next book with these characters and steampunk world. But until then I will be listening to the podcasts of different cases in the Cases of the Unknown section of the Archives.
I think I can go on and on about this book. It was so well written and so many different aspects that I enjoyed.
The book starts right in with a bang with action and bullets flying every which direction as the main characters meet. Then we step back a bit to have the world of The Ministry drawn for us to understand what they do and the set up of it. We learn the Archives, in the basement of the Ministry's office building, is a library of sorts and storage area for many peculiar items and past case information, almost magical items. The Archives even reminds me a little of the television show Warehouse 13 on the SyFy channel with the warehousing of magical. While we are learning of the Archives we are also getting to know the characters and the rough blend of personalities, but I have to say I love the give and take in jabs between these two. Once they talk of the Cases of the Unknown we see how Eliza then Books get drawn to one particular case. Before they realize it they are eyeballs deep in the investigation. Then we have another addition to the mix as the House of Usher is after Agent Books for reasons we are not yet aware of.
The characters are fun! Books is the gentlemanly kind of man, not one who thinks of loads of weapons, but one to get lost in the design of things and the puzzle in figuring them out. Books is one that loves the steam machinery and pully machinery, which is ever present in this book. Eliza is a kick arse ask questions later kind of woman. Eliza is the one who loves weapons and to make things go boom. Books even references her once, to himself as he is so gentlemanly, as the Angel of Destruction.
Some might say the book has a slow start or moves slow after the bang of a beginning in the first chapter. However, I have to say it's a perfect balance of action, fun and case building/solving for me. And the dialect and writing styles is a pleasure to read. This is a book to sit down with and enjoy from all angles; world building, characters, case solving ~ all for the style, fun, and mystery of it.
I will be looking forward to the next book with these characters and steampunk world. But until then I will be listening to the podcasts of different cases in the Cases of the Unknown section of the Archives.
rollforlibrarian's review
3.0
I picked this book up in a second hand bookshop in Darwin so I'd have something to read at Yalara and on the Ghan. It was the first line of the blurb that got my attention - I'm a sucker for fantasy books with librarians...
'Evil is most assuredly afoot—and Britain’s fate rests in the hands of an alluring renegade . . . and a librarian.'
The dialogue was a lot of fun, there were gadgets aplenty and some very good storytelling in places. The degree of action most certainly did not disappoint. Plenty of the characters were a lot of fun too. It had a lot of fantastic things going for it. And yet I still haven't found that steampunk series to love.
The heroine, Eliza Braun, is possibly the biggest issue. The strong man, brainy woman trope has been taken and gender switched. To me that's not turning a trope on its head. It's becoming almost commonplace. It's a trope in itself. The degree of flamboyant feisty violence in full public view is fun but it just doesn't fly in the Victorian setting, fantasy or no. She'd be quite over the top even in modern settings.
In a related problem, some of the devices feel like twenty-first century technology with gears glued on. Not all - some of the devices were great. But enough that it felt like a problem. Modern solutions to the problems - just with more brass.
Also, an Australian called Bruce who speaks even more Ocker than Crocodile Dundee? From an Australian perspective I found this character jarring. He was at least a well fleshed out character, as were most. I found a couple of other issues, but... too spoilery.
None of these problems were abandon-the-book or throw-against-the-wall bad but they did hold a good book back from being an excellent one. I'm undecided as to whether or not I'll read the next book in the series. However, if you're a lover of steampunk books this one is worth a read.
'Evil is most assuredly afoot—and Britain’s fate rests in the hands of an alluring renegade . . . and a librarian.'
The dialogue was a lot of fun, there were gadgets aplenty and some very good storytelling in places. The degree of action most certainly did not disappoint. Plenty of the characters were a lot of fun too. It had a lot of fantastic things going for it. And yet I still haven't found that steampunk series to love.
The heroine, Eliza Braun, is possibly the biggest issue. The strong man, brainy woman trope has been taken and gender switched. To me that's not turning a trope on its head. It's becoming almost commonplace. It's a trope in itself. The degree of flamboyant feisty violence in full public view is fun but it just doesn't fly in the Victorian setting, fantasy or no. She'd be quite over the top even in modern settings.
In a related problem, some of the devices feel like twenty-first century technology with gears glued on. Not all - some of the devices were great. But enough that it felt like a problem. Modern solutions to the problems - just with more brass.
Also, an Australian called Bruce who speaks even more Ocker than Crocodile Dundee? From an Australian perspective I found this character jarring. He was at least a well fleshed out character, as were most. I found a couple of other issues, but... too spoilery.
None of these problems were abandon-the-book or throw-against-the-wall bad but they did hold a good book back from being an excellent one. I'm undecided as to whether or not I'll read the next book in the series. However, if you're a lover of steampunk books this one is worth a read.
sapeiffer's review
Frequent sentence structure mistakes, flat characters yet also with inconsistent patterns of behavior
stlorca's review
3.0
IO9 raves about Phoenix Rising, the first of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series. I am NOT impressed. It's supposed to be a fun, pulpy adventure set in a steampunk Victorian England. It frequently reads like mediocre fan fiction and it badly needs an editor who hasn't been taking bong hits while working. Clunky prose and stock characters (the uptight supervisor, the timid, uptight librarian, the ballsy female agent who shoots first, shoots again, shoots some more and then doesn't bother asking questions) make this book a chore. I might finish it, I might not. Instead, readers should try Charles Stross''s far superior "Laundry" series for British bureaucracy done right.
kraley's review
1.0
I only got about 20% into this book. I don't know if it was just me, but the dialogue was too painful to continue. Not for me, and I usually love Steampunk.