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erazonasarah's review against another edition
3.0
I don't know what it is about these books, but I find it hard to get through them. A few chapters in and I get bored.
aunt13soc1al's review
5.0
Hodder recently won the Phillip K. Dick Award for the first in this series, The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack, and it is no wonder that this is a worthy follow-up to the first book. The story continues the tale of Sir Francis Burton, and his pals, as they become involved in the mysterious missing diamonds. The title character, one Clockwork Man, starts off this adventure, but other than a bit part, he doesn't play too heavily into the story. This is something I would have liked to see change. However, Hodder's skill at drawing a reader in to the story allows you to quickly forget that this isn't the story you thought it was going to be. It is all the better for that.
The events of the first book have changed things in Burton's England when this story picks up and Hodder delicately weaves the two together into one wonderful story. I can only hope the third in the series, which recently arrived on my doorstep, will round out this threesome into a wonderfully intriguing tale. Reminiscent of a Wilkie Collins mystery or a good Sherlock Holmes story, even if you are not a huge fan of steam punk, these are books worth reading. Hodder brings the world of Burton and Swinburne to life through the use of illuminating descriptions, and famous and infamous names from history, which only draw you deeper and deeper into his world.
Hodder leaves the second book at the perfect point. I couldn't wait to get my hands on the third in the series, and I believe that Hodder's ability to weave the three independent stories together so that they are at once their own book, and part of a whole makes this series one of the best I've read in a while.
The events of the first book have changed things in Burton's England when this story picks up and Hodder delicately weaves the two together into one wonderful story. I can only hope the third in the series, which recently arrived on my doorstep, will round out this threesome into a wonderfully intriguing tale. Reminiscent of a Wilkie Collins mystery or a good Sherlock Holmes story, even if you are not a huge fan of steam punk, these are books worth reading. Hodder brings the world of Burton and Swinburne to life through the use of illuminating descriptions, and famous and infamous names from history, which only draw you deeper and deeper into his world.
Hodder leaves the second book at the perfect point. I couldn't wait to get my hands on the third in the series, and I believe that Hodder's ability to weave the three independent stories together so that they are at once their own book, and part of a whole makes this series one of the best I've read in a while.
michaelcattigan's review
4.0
Okay.
I'm going to 'fess up here.
This is no great work of fiction. This is not a literary masterpiece. It is neither lyrical, resonant or thought-provoking - those three adjectives appearing more and more regularly on my blog as praise-words for novels. It does not sparkle with intriguing new metaphors; its prose does not ring with the clarity of a bell; its characters rarely emerge beyond sketchy two-dimensionality.
If you're looking for these things, you'll not find them in this book and you'll be disappointed.
If, however, you're looking for a good, rollicking, fun burst of inventiveness, you'll be happy.
This is the second of Hodder's Burton and Swinburne series and cracks straight on from the first, The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack. The same alternate reality Albertian London re-appears; the same range of inventively steampunk mechanisms and genetically engineered swans, dogs and parakeets return to fill its streets, run messages and transport people. This time, they are added to by insect carcasses, grown to immense sizes, hollowed out, powered by steam and used as public and personal transport. The VW Beetle becomes very literal! We are also re-acquainted with the familiar historical cameos of Lord Palmerston, Oscar Wylde, Charles Babbage, Isembard Kingdom Brunel and Florence Nightingale. These are now supplemented with Burke and Hare in a less grave-robbing incarnation than you might expect and the philosopher Herbert Spencer.
Hodder uses this second book to expand both the geography and mythology of his world: we see beyond London to the Tichborne estate; we learn of three giant black diamonds with mysterious and mystical powers. Fragments of these diamonds had been used in Spring-Heeled Jack's time travelling suit in the first book; two are recovered through this one. The third book is clearly set up as a rescue mission to recover the third and final diamond.
As to the core plot here, it revolves around the real legal scandal - for more details of which you can read here - in which a purportedly lost aristocrat returns to reclaim his title. Apparently, despite overwhelming evidence against him which led to both his claim failing and a criminal case for fraud against him, the affair roused popular opinions and the imposter received immense public support.
Hodder develops a unique explanation for the support his version of the Claimant received. An explanation which involves mediums, wraiths, a horde of abjectly apologetic and verbose zombies as well as the black diamonds.
The battle towards the end of the book where the "well dressed, debonair and faultlessly polite" walking dead - who are absent for most of the book - have their day, apologising all the while, is ridiculously fun.
"I'm mortified," one of them confessed as he jammed his fingers into a constable's eye sockets. "This really is most despicable behaviour and I offer my sincerest apologies."
Yes, the humour detracts from the tension in the climactic battle. But it's fun!
Hodder's imagination clearly steers towards the large-than-life and the grotesque - the Claimant himself is the obvious example. But he writes with enthusiasm and, I imagine, a broad grin. Is his dialogue convincing? No, not really. Is the description of Burton as "the famous explorer" too often repeated? Probably. Are his characters any more than over-drawn cardboard cutouts? Not particularly. Could you drive a horse and cart through plot holes? Probably, if you were so inclined.
Does it matter in this case?
Not a jot!
It reminds me of The Avengers: over-the-top, very silly in places and hugely enjoyable.
ericbuscemi's review
4.0
I got this at a Border's Going-out-of-Business sale (solely because it has the coolest cover art I've ever seen), only to later realize it was the second in a series, so I had to read the first one before reading this one. After finishing the first book, [b:The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack|7293120|The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack (Burton & Swinburne, #1)|Mark Hodder|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327931939s/7293120.jpg|8590363], I was even more excited to read this sequel.
It picked up right where the first left off, with a new case that echoed back to the events in the first book. Where the first book was a steam-punk book with some minor sci-fi elements, this second book is a sci-fi book set in a steam-punk world -- and despite the increase in sci-fi elements, it works brilliantly.
While the story elements were all over the map at various points, it all tied together at the end, and has me excited to read the conclusion of the trilogy that was just released, [b:Expedition to the Mountains of the Moon|11225502|Expedition to the Mountains of the Moon (Burton & Swinburne, #3)|Mark Hodder|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1320519474s/11225502.jpg|16151349] (which refers to mountains in Africa, not the actual moon).
My only complaint is that in two specific instances, the author tried to be too clever/cute for his own good: naming a police character Sergeant Slaughter, and having a Eugenist insect-shell-vehicle named the Folks Wagon Beetle.
It picked up right where the first left off, with a new case that echoed back to the events in the first book. Where the first book was a steam-punk book with some minor sci-fi elements, this second book is a sci-fi book set in a steam-punk world -- and despite the increase in sci-fi elements, it works brilliantly.
While the story elements were all over the map at various points, it all tied together at the end, and has me excited to read the conclusion of the trilogy that was just released, [b:Expedition to the Mountains of the Moon|11225502|Expedition to the Mountains of the Moon (Burton & Swinburne, #3)|Mark Hodder|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1320519474s/11225502.jpg|16151349] (which refers to mountains in Africa, not the actual moon).
My only complaint is that in two specific instances, the author tried to be too clever/cute for his own good: naming a police character Sergeant Slaughter, and having a Eugenist insect-shell-vehicle named the Folks Wagon Beetle.
nickyxxx's review
5.0
Grab a seat, strap yourself in, buckle up and hold yourself tight, because this is gonna be a wild ride!
Well, at least that’s what the book was. Burton and Swinburne return to us in a story about London in a different timeline than what we’re used to – after the first book, we all know that the England we are now reading about is a very different England from what it’s supposed to be. The adventures that Burton and Swinburne embarked upon in Spring Heeled Jack were definitely thrilling and mind-blowing, and yet Hodder proves that it can become even more thrilling and mind-blowing. That is however the thing I’m struggling a bit with. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the first book, I loved it, and I was super excited about this one. It doesn’t disappoint, either, because the adventures in this book are so well thought through and the creatures that arise make complete sense in a world as crazy as theirs. However, I’m not a very big lover of anything that doesn’t exist in our real world, and in general, fairies and witches and ghosts and zombies are things that I usually stay well away from. So when zombies entered the stage for the first time, I was sceptical at first because, well, I just don’t very much like flesh-eating walking dead. Mark Hodder did a great job building up to that point, but the whole world-building part just went all haywire around the 70% mark (hah, see what I did there). At that point I began to feel a little… not so much revulsed, because I did still like the book and I wanted to know how it ended, but I caught myself thinking “oh yeah right, suuureeee, zombies”.
Another thing that began to annoy me a little (just a little, I promise) was the grand and “decorative” manner of speaking and the word choice of the main characters. Of course, I know that they’re from a high social class and that they want to flex their vocabularies and their level of education. But I’m not sure if people really talked like that in 19-century London; forgive me if I’m wrong and they did, but during action-packed scenes like escapes their language kind of ruined the urgency and the pace, if you know what I mean. At times, it seemed a little as if Hodder just pulled up Thesaurus or Google and sought out the most fancy-sounding synonyms or literary constructions. And again, if that’s really what a geographer sounded like during that era (I reckon a poet certainly did) then I take it back, but if they didn’t, then to me it seems like those fancy words were just a little over the top and out-of-context.
That’s just really all that irked me about this book. In a way, it’s a wonderful sequel to Spring Heeled Jack, to which it has a very elaborate plot relation. The way in which Hodder uses his outstanding writing skills to interweave the insane amount of inspiration he had, is almost frightening, because it makes me afraid that after this, I will never find another book with such elaborate plotting. The storyline just works, even though there’s a mad amount of mythical creatures and technology that was never seen before or even thought of. I really admire his amazing planning skills and how he managed to make it all come together so well.
So all in all, I loved this book. I think in hindsight I enjoyed Spring Heeled Jack a little more, just because there were no zombies in there. And the creatures that did exist in that book, made a little more sense. But even despite that, this book is very worthy of 5 stars.
Well, at least that’s what the book was. Burton and Swinburne return to us in a story about London in a different timeline than what we’re used to – after the first book, we all know that the England we are now reading about is a very different England from what it’s supposed to be. The adventures that Burton and Swinburne embarked upon in Spring Heeled Jack were definitely thrilling and mind-blowing, and yet Hodder proves that it can become even more thrilling and mind-blowing. That is however the thing I’m struggling a bit with. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the first book, I loved it, and I was super excited about this one. It doesn’t disappoint, either, because the adventures in this book are so well thought through and the creatures that arise make complete sense in a world as crazy as theirs. However, I’m not a very big lover of anything that doesn’t exist in our real world, and in general, fairies and witches and ghosts and zombies are things that I usually stay well away from. So when zombies entered the stage for the first time, I was sceptical at first because, well, I just don’t very much like flesh-eating walking dead. Mark Hodder did a great job building up to that point, but the whole world-building part just went all haywire around the 70% mark (hah, see what I did there). At that point I began to feel a little… not so much revulsed, because I did still like the book and I wanted to know how it ended, but I caught myself thinking “oh yeah right, suuureeee, zombies”.
Another thing that began to annoy me a little (just a little, I promise) was the grand and “decorative” manner of speaking and the word choice of the main characters. Of course, I know that they’re from a high social class and that they want to flex their vocabularies and their level of education. But I’m not sure if people really talked like that in 19-century London; forgive me if I’m wrong and they did, but during action-packed scenes like escapes their language kind of ruined the urgency and the pace, if you know what I mean. At times, it seemed a little as if Hodder just pulled up Thesaurus or Google and sought out the most fancy-sounding synonyms or literary constructions. And again, if that’s really what a geographer sounded like during that era (I reckon a poet certainly did) then I take it back, but if they didn’t, then to me it seems like those fancy words were just a little over the top and out-of-context.
That’s just really all that irked me about this book. In a way, it’s a wonderful sequel to Spring Heeled Jack, to which it has a very elaborate plot relation. The way in which Hodder uses his outstanding writing skills to interweave the insane amount of inspiration he had, is almost frightening, because it makes me afraid that after this, I will never find another book with such elaborate plotting. The storyline just works, even though there’s a mad amount of mythical creatures and technology that was never seen before or even thought of. I really admire his amazing planning skills and how he managed to make it all come together so well.
So all in all, I loved this book. I think in hindsight I enjoyed Spring Heeled Jack a little more, just because there were no zombies in there. And the creatures that did exist in that book, made a little more sense. But even despite that, this book is very worthy of 5 stars.
shane_tiernan's review
3.0
I enjoyed the first book in this series even though I hated the time travel aspects (which were a big part of the story), so I was looking forward to reading another book from Mr. Hodder, without time travel involved. Unfortunately (for me at least), this story did involve time travel and its many paradoxes. Other than that it seemed kind of disjointed, almost more like it was a couple of short stories and then a novella that tied them together.
Not bad though, lots of action and cool steampunk devices, many characters from real history included along with an appendix at the end that talks about what those characters really were like or what they really did.
Squeezed this one in about 10 PM on Dec 31st to fit it into 2021.
Not bad though, lots of action and cool steampunk devices, many characters from real history included along with an appendix at the end that talks about what those characters really were like or what they really did.
Squeezed this one in about 10 PM on Dec 31st to fit it into 2021.
adularia25's review
3.0
Much like the first book, the author takes so much time setting up the premise that he has to pack all the action into the end of the book. It reads really slow for the first two thirds, then everything is crammed into the end. It is still filled with historical character cameos, wacky inventions, and amusing character interactions, but the spaces between the action, and Richard Burton's expositions make it seem like the book is going nowhere fast.
tacanderson's review against another edition
4.0
This series is crazy. Crazy good but crazy. It's so fantastical and so unrealistic (even for steampunk) it's the only reason I don't give it 4 stars. At least in the end of this book they give a slight reason for why the mystical and "mediumistic powers" exist in this reality, but they don't account for the basic laws of physics.
Don't get me wrong, this is steampunk so pretty much anything goes but there's a lot going on in here. Literally the only thing this book doesn't have is aliens (but they still worked in an ancient lizard race).
Just for starters there's, ghosts, clockwork, genetic manipulation on a massive scale, sentient robots, zombies, faeries, insect cars, sadomasochism, time travel and anarchists.
They're loads of fun though.
Don't get me wrong, this is steampunk so pretty much anything goes but there's a lot going on in here. Literally the only thing this book doesn't have is aliens (but they still worked in an ancient lizard race).
Just for starters there's, ghosts, clockwork, genetic manipulation on a massive scale, sentient robots, zombies, faeries, insect cars, sadomasochism, time travel and anarchists.
They're loads of fun though.
rosekk's review against another edition
5.0
This second instalment is even better than the first. While the first built a solid foundation for this alternate timeline to work from, the second book takes all those opportunities and starts to run with them. I was surprised by the increasingly supernatural turn the story has taken, but it works, and doesn't detract from the steam-punk setting at all. The characters continue to be brilliant, and I am fond of the section at the end of the book that informs us of the real-world historical inspirations for some of the characters.
zanosgood's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0