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spencesational's review against another edition
3.0
I was really excited about reading this book. Indeed, I had all intents and purposes of giving it four out of five stars. However, around halfway through it became quite uninteresting and instead of reading chunks of it, I struggled through with twenty pages here and there. There were bouts of excitement in places and the steampunk concept was interesting but alas not enough to keep my interest piqued enough. The last forty or so pages were good but as per my rating score I didn't like it that much and it was OK, not one I will remember.
directorpurry's review against another edition
3.0
I actually found I preferred the world-building exposition to the primary plot, strangely enough. While generally a very good example of steampunk - with some very interesting takes on the setting - I really disliked the "othering" effect against non-white/Christian/what have you characters. Jews and Romani especially.
I found myself reading the chapters set in the Jewish quarter quite closely, waiting to see if anything overly uncomfortable happened. It didn't, so I assume none of the characterization was intentional, it was rather upsetting overall.
I found myself reading the chapters set in the Jewish quarter quite closely, waiting to see if anything overly uncomfortable happened. It didn't, so I assume none of the characterization was intentional, it was rather upsetting overall.
mackle13's review against another edition
2.0
This review is an example of why I should review things right away because, frankly, I forget a lot about this rather forgettable book already...
Anyway -
It's set in an AU universe where the Luddite rebellion was successful, and now Britain is split into two parts, one that embraces technology and one that doesn't, but there's also the Patent Office who seems to be worldwide, and their job is to limit "disruptive" technology, so, like, if technology is going to put people out of work, they limit the impact of that technology - without ever really addressing the rise and fall of technology and how tech which puts some people out of jobs also creates new jobs.
But, anyway.
Elizabeth poses as her non-existent twin-brother to work as an Intelligence Officer, after she is forced to flee from the part of the world where people can be slaves. (I don't remember the names, but the one part where London is is more progressive with tech but less with individual freedoms, and it's colorful and bohemian, and the other part is all repressed and grey clothed, but has more personal freedoms like not being a slave... )
She's hired to find a missing aristocrat, who also fled from the Empire place, and is forced to risk her personal safety by going to London to find him.
She gets mixed up in some political turmoil which never seems fully explored - the whole "Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire" doesn't even begin to get touched on in this book - and she becomes a person of interest to the Patent Office, who can, like, black bag and torture people.
But one of the Patent Officers inexplicably likes her and helps her, so it's ok...
Ugh.
Elizabeth, for all the derring-do of the book, doesn't seem to have much agency a lot of the time, and has to rely on other people to save her and help her get out of situations she seems to get herself into.
Also, I wouldn't, personally, call this book particularly steampunk. There's some tech and gadgets, but it's more background dressing than anything else. It's actually more focused on alchemy, and the creation of the elixir of life, and there's a lot of weirdly random hokum mixed in with the technological stuff.
Overall, as I said, a forgettable story that I will not be continuing with.
***
Oh, one last thing - there is a circus, at one point, but based on the title of the book I expected there to be a lot more circus type stuff than there was.
Anyway -
It's set in an AU universe where the Luddite rebellion was successful, and now Britain is split into two parts, one that embraces technology and one that doesn't, but there's also the Patent Office who seems to be worldwide, and their job is to limit "disruptive" technology, so, like, if technology is going to put people out of work, they limit the impact of that technology - without ever really addressing the rise and fall of technology and how tech which puts some people out of jobs also creates new jobs.
But, anyway.
Elizabeth poses as her non-existent twin-brother to work as an Intelligence Officer, after she is forced to flee from the part of the world where people can be slaves. (I don't remember the names, but the one part where London is is more progressive with tech but less with individual freedoms, and it's colorful and bohemian, and the other part is all repressed and grey clothed, but has more personal freedoms like not being a slave... )
She's hired to find a missing aristocrat, who also fled from the Empire place, and is forced to risk her personal safety by going to London to find him.
She gets mixed up in some political turmoil which never seems fully explored - the whole "Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire" doesn't even begin to get touched on in this book - and she becomes a person of interest to the Patent Office, who can, like, black bag and torture people.
But one of the Patent Officers inexplicably likes her and helps her, so it's ok...
Ugh.
Elizabeth, for all the derring-do of the book, doesn't seem to have much agency a lot of the time, and has to rely on other people to save her and help her get out of situations she seems to get herself into.
Also, I wouldn't, personally, call this book particularly steampunk. There's some tech and gadgets, but it's more background dressing than anything else. It's actually more focused on alchemy, and the creation of the elixir of life, and there's a lot of weirdly random hokum mixed in with the technological stuff.
Overall, as I said, a forgettable story that I will not be continuing with.
***
Oh, one last thing - there is a circus, at one point, but based on the title of the book I expected there to be a lot more circus type stuff than there was.
morganlethey's review against another edition
3.0
Probably a 3.5 rather than a 3.
I enjoyed the tale and world building, but, something just just doesn't sit right as it ended.
Good twists.
I enjoyed the tale and world building, but, something just just doesn't sit right as it ended.
Good twists.
amy_in_the_books's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
baptized_in_salt's review against another edition
2.0
An intriguing premise, but I couldn't immerse myself in the world. Just didn't feel real.
djwudi's review against another edition
4.0
Steampunk generally isn't one of my primary go-to genres, but this was enjoyable adventure incorporating alternate history, government-sanctioned arrested technological and cultural development, traveling carnivals, and survival through cross-dressing to allow a young woman to interact with society in the guise of a man. Not my personal pick for this year's PK Dick award, but a good nominee.
shanks1130's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-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
2.0
Not my cup of tea
The ending part took longer than the beginning which is very unusual. I just couldn't get through it and wanted it to end as quickly as possible. The only time I felt anything in the latter half, was when it seemed like Elizabeth was gonna be taken to the Duke.
tarabyt3's review against another edition
3.0
A fun bit of steampunk with a twist of mystery. I liked the overall idea of an illusionist sort of bible and the alternate universe. The writing wasn't amazing and I could have done with some more world-building, but overall it was entertaining. Not entertaining enough to earn an immediate green light on the series, but enough to make me ponder continuing. :)
gashlycrumb's review against another edition
3.0
The story was interesting, and I definitely liked the protagonist and hope she's around in the next one. However, I have to admit that the pervasive typographical errors in the book were incredibly distracting. This is obviously not a comment on the story itself, but if Angry Robot (the publisher) expects to be taken seriously in the industry they really need to step up their editing game.