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cthuwu's review against another edition
(cleaning out my kindle) dnf @ 11% remembered why i didn't finish this one the first time around: too wordy, too much exposition.
ellemir's review against another edition
3.0
Dieses Buch schlummerte schon eine ganze Weile auf meinem Reader vor sich hin und da wollte ich es mal erlösen. Tatsächlich fand ich es recht unterhaltsam, aber viel zu vorhersehbar. Der Schreibstil war angenehm, das Tempo zügig und das Setting (Steampunk-Version von London im 160. Jahr der Regentschaft von Königin Victoria) fand ich gelungen. Die Figuren waren allerdings sehr klischeehaft und nicht wirklich interessant geschildert.
Ob ich mir den Rest der Reihe ebenfalls zulege, weiß ich noch nicht so genau.
Ob ich mir den Rest der Reihe ebenfalls zulege, weiß ich noch nicht so genau.
coala's review against another edition
3.0
Für die Pax Britannia Reihe hat der Autor Jonathan Green eine spannende Steampunk Welt geschaffen, in der Fans in jedem Fall auf ihre Kosten kommen. Die Königin regiert noch, mittlerweile jedoch 160 Jahr e alt und durch Maschinen am Leben gehalten. Ebenso existieren noch die klassischen Gesellschaftsstrukturen wie im 18. Jahrhundert. Dazu leben Dinosaurier immer noch und es gibt Roboter, Differenzmaschinen, Kolonien auf dem Mars und und und. An fantastischen Ideen wurde hier bestimmt nicht gespaart.
Da es der erste Band der Reihe ist, wird besonders zu Anfang sehr viel erklärt und die Welt und die Schauplätze sehr detailiert beschrieben. Die Handlung braucht daher etwas länger, bis sie in Fahrt kommt. Dies wird jedoch besonders gegen Ende stets besser und das Finale ist mehr als entschädigend. Die Personen sind im Grunde interessant dargestellt. Allen voran natürlich Ulysses Quicksilver, der recht exzentrisch erscheint und definitiv seinen eigenen Sinn hat. Zudem hat er immer mal eine Ahnung, wenn es um Gefahren geht. Dazu gibt es den klassischen Buttler, der natprlich auch stehts mit Rat und Tat zur Seite steht. Ein klassisches Helden-Setting, aus dem man viel machen kann. Bisher blieben die Figuren allerdings noch etwas blass und könnten mehr Tiefe vertragen. Die Geschichte an sich war jedoch spannend, bisweilen etwas zu überzogen, konnte jedoch gut unterhalten.
Eine durchaus unterhaltsame Steampunkt Geschichte, die teils selbstironisch, teils etwas überzogen daher kommt. Die Ideen sind jedoch sehr gut und versprechen einiges für weitere Bände. Die Charaktere konnten ihr Potential jedoch nicht wirklich ausschöpfen.
Da es der erste Band der Reihe ist, wird besonders zu Anfang sehr viel erklärt und die Welt und die Schauplätze sehr detailiert beschrieben. Die Handlung braucht daher etwas länger, bis sie in Fahrt kommt. Dies wird jedoch besonders gegen Ende stets besser und das Finale ist mehr als entschädigend. Die Personen sind im Grunde interessant dargestellt. Allen voran natürlich Ulysses Quicksilver, der recht exzentrisch erscheint und definitiv seinen eigenen Sinn hat. Zudem hat er immer mal eine Ahnung, wenn es um Gefahren geht. Dazu gibt es den klassischen Buttler, der natprlich auch stehts mit Rat und Tat zur Seite steht. Ein klassisches Helden-Setting, aus dem man viel machen kann. Bisher blieben die Figuren allerdings noch etwas blass und könnten mehr Tiefe vertragen. Die Geschichte an sich war jedoch spannend, bisweilen etwas zu überzogen, konnte jedoch gut unterhalten.
Eine durchaus unterhaltsame Steampunkt Geschichte, die teils selbstironisch, teils etwas überzogen daher kommt. Die Ideen sind jedoch sehr gut und versprechen einiges für weitere Bände. Die Charaktere konnten ihr Potential jedoch nicht wirklich ausschöpfen.
shirezu's review against another edition
2.0
No, just no. This book was not good. I gave it two stars purely on the basis that I finished it and didn't throw it away even though every time I picked it up I fell asleep. The author took things from every different pulp fiction trope and jammed them together. The plot was a mess with multiple things coming up and then just disappearing. Quicksilver? Really? I just. This book annoyed me. Don't read it.
markyon's review against another edition
4.0
I was reminded recently that one of the joys of this genre we love is that there is such variety out there. Sometimes you want to read a book that’s just fun, that doesn’t take too much thinking about but is great entertainment. For me this was one. It takes a huge load of steampunk and Victoriana tropes, mixes them up and adds a James Bond-ian hero into the mix to tell a fast-paced, exciting story that’s not to be taken too seriously – and is great fun.
To illustrate this, let me quote Jonathan’s summary of his created world from the Introduction of the omnibus edition of this book:
“It’s the end of the 20th Century and Queen Victoria still reigns supreme, maintained by a Babbage-esque creation. The British Empire still covers most of the known world as well as the Moon and the nearer planets. However, on these worlds sedition and discontent are growing with the Martian separatist movement gaining in power and influence all the time. Everything you have read in Victorian gothic novels is true. People can be brought back from the dead, there are dinosaurs still living in remote parts of the world (and London Zoo!), and Darwin’s theory of evolution has been proved correct by a number of unstable, experimental scientists. Aristocratic vampire bloodlines hold sway over Eastern Europe and have sunk their claws into the Russian royal family (Russia being a princeling state of Magna Britannia), steam and clockwork robot-drudges work alongside the down-trodden under classes, whilst reasoning engines help the ruling classes maintain governance of this over-populated world. Railways bestride the world and there are cities on the ocean-bed. With much of the world united under British rule scientific advances have continued, in a retro-scientific fashion, beyond what we have achieved in our own world. Having mastered space-travel mankind is now tinkering with temporal-travel.
Into this setting we throw suave dandy and rogue Ulysses Lucian Quicksilver, sometime adventurer and agent of the throne, who works for shadowy masters desperately trying to maintain a regime that has lasted for over 150 years and which is falling apart from within, and who may not be all that they seem. He fights the arch-felons of the underworld... assisted by his unshakeable manservant Nimrod, as the clock of Big Ben counts down to the year 2000, and the end of the world.”
This book, as it is the first, introduces us to Ulysses and his faithful sidekick and servant Nimrod as they attempt to discover the disappearance of Professor Galapagos following a nasty murder at the Natural History Museum. Ulysses is asked to investigate, both by the London Constabulary, with its useless Inspector Allardyce, as well as by the mysterious Dark Order, the secret society which Ulysses is also working for. This brings him into contact with the seemingly lovely Genevieve, daughter of Professor Galapagos, and also leads Ulysses to meet his long-time nemesis again, the anarchist Jago Kane. As the story unwinds, we discover with Ulysses that it is a tale of weird science and really about mad science involving evolutionary regression, with Neanderthal like creatures and dinosaurs existing in this age of discovery and technological miracles. The rise of the Darwinian Dawn, as a terrorist group determined to bring down the empire of Magna Britannia, has its echoes elsewhere in history, I’m sure.
If the audacity of that enthusiastic precis by the author above doesn’t make you want to read the book (Dinosaurs in London! Zeppelins! Clockwork robots! Time travel!) then this is not for you.
If I was being picky, I guess I could say that there are moments when the language is a tad too contemporary – it is quite disconcerting to read of an old-fashioned character uttering the modern expletive “bullsh*t”, for example, although this is the late 20st century, after all!
There are also places in the plot when there’s too many plates spinning at once and when there’s one coincidence too many. And there’s always those pesky issues of empirical subjugation though colonial expansion and the male dominance of society, although these are addressed in the book.
At times it did read like the ramblings of a Brexiteer set in a steampunk world – which may be a point, although this was first published back in 2007:
But really the energy and the sense of wonder created is so enormous that I was happy to forgive such things. Unnatural History is great fun, ridiculously fast paced and was a great tonic for the January blues. Just don’t think about the plausibility too much…
To illustrate this, let me quote Jonathan’s summary of his created world from the Introduction of the omnibus edition of this book:
“It’s the end of the 20th Century and Queen Victoria still reigns supreme, maintained by a Babbage-esque creation. The British Empire still covers most of the known world as well as the Moon and the nearer planets. However, on these worlds sedition and discontent are growing with the Martian separatist movement gaining in power and influence all the time. Everything you have read in Victorian gothic novels is true. People can be brought back from the dead, there are dinosaurs still living in remote parts of the world (and London Zoo!), and Darwin’s theory of evolution has been proved correct by a number of unstable, experimental scientists. Aristocratic vampire bloodlines hold sway over Eastern Europe and have sunk their claws into the Russian royal family (Russia being a princeling state of Magna Britannia), steam and clockwork robot-drudges work alongside the down-trodden under classes, whilst reasoning engines help the ruling classes maintain governance of this over-populated world. Railways bestride the world and there are cities on the ocean-bed. With much of the world united under British rule scientific advances have continued, in a retro-scientific fashion, beyond what we have achieved in our own world. Having mastered space-travel mankind is now tinkering with temporal-travel.
Into this setting we throw suave dandy and rogue Ulysses Lucian Quicksilver, sometime adventurer and agent of the throne, who works for shadowy masters desperately trying to maintain a regime that has lasted for over 150 years and which is falling apart from within, and who may not be all that they seem. He fights the arch-felons of the underworld... assisted by his unshakeable manservant Nimrod, as the clock of Big Ben counts down to the year 2000, and the end of the world.”
This book, as it is the first, introduces us to Ulysses and his faithful sidekick and servant Nimrod as they attempt to discover the disappearance of Professor Galapagos following a nasty murder at the Natural History Museum. Ulysses is asked to investigate, both by the London Constabulary, with its useless Inspector Allardyce, as well as by the mysterious Dark Order, the secret society which Ulysses is also working for. This brings him into contact with the seemingly lovely Genevieve, daughter of Professor Galapagos, and also leads Ulysses to meet his long-time nemesis again, the anarchist Jago Kane. As the story unwinds, we discover with Ulysses that it is a tale of weird science and really about mad science involving evolutionary regression, with Neanderthal like creatures and dinosaurs existing in this age of discovery and technological miracles. The rise of the Darwinian Dawn, as a terrorist group determined to bring down the empire of Magna Britannia, has its echoes elsewhere in history, I’m sure.
If the audacity of that enthusiastic precis by the author above doesn’t make you want to read the book (Dinosaurs in London! Zeppelins! Clockwork robots! Time travel!) then this is not for you.
If I was being picky, I guess I could say that there are moments when the language is a tad too contemporary – it is quite disconcerting to read of an old-fashioned character uttering the modern expletive “bullsh*t”, for example, although this is the late 20st century, after all!
There are also places in the plot when there’s too many plates spinning at once and when there’s one coincidence too many. And there’s always those pesky issues of empirical subjugation though colonial expansion and the male dominance of society, although these are addressed in the book.
At times it did read like the ramblings of a Brexiteer set in a steampunk world – which may be a point, although this was first published back in 2007:
“To maintain the intrinsically corrupt status quo. Magna Britannia is morally and ethically moribund. After 160 years under the yoke of the corrupt, bloated ogre that is the British Empire, it is time for a change, in order to beat the social and moral stagnation and corruption that has infested this nation like a life-stealing cancer, and to welcome in a new age of freedom from the shackles of industrialism and Imperial rule. The old must make way for the new, so that social evolution can pursue its natural course.” (Chapter 9)
But really the energy and the sense of wonder created is so enormous that I was happy to forgive such things. Unnatural History is great fun, ridiculously fast paced and was a great tonic for the January blues. Just don’t think about the plausibility too much…
amelianicholebooks's review against another edition
4.0
If you enjoy pulp fiction heroes like Flash Gordon and John Carter, this novel is for you! This action packed, twisty thriller is filled with everything from steampunk gizmos to dinosaurs! I enjoyed most of the book, but after the last major twist, my interest started declining. The plot was interesting and the writing beautiful, I just didn't connect with the characters, but again they are written in a throwback style so I actually think this would work for someone who likes that style.
Spoiler
I may finish the last 30 minutes of the novel, but as soon as Ulysses explained he had no plan, it felt like the author didn't either and it was going to be a chance defeat of lucky circumstances.jessaminebooks's review
adventurous
mysterious
2.75
The writing kind of drags... Which is weird for me to say, because I LIKE long fiction and epic reads where it takes forever for anything to happen. Its very much a work of modern Victorian Gothic. The style has been EXCELLENTLY duplicated, perhaps to the point that it almost doesn't stand apart on its own.
Ulysses Quicksilver is Sherlock Holmes. Not just a Sherlockian figure, he is basically a duplicate of Holmes. He has his mannerisms, his speech patterns, his attitude... He says "the game is on" or "the game is afoot" four times though out the book. The man even returns from a presumed death. His butler Nimrod is ill-named, and a clear Watson stand-in: a well-groomed man of a lower class that serves as a moral guide to the detective figure. Genevieve Galapagos is a clear Irene Adler, the hidden femme-fatale that the good detective falls for. Its like Sherlock Holmes fanfic that has had the names replaced (except if it were fanfic, it would be a lot gayer).
That said, I think this has a lot of potential. The mystery was well executed. What makes this book stand apart is the fascinating world that it takes place in, but that's also the biggest frustration. The world is epic and intriguing and yet we learn nothing about how or why it works the way it does. HOW has Victorian come to live long enough to rule for over 150 years (the book provides an explanation for this, but not until the last few chapters and then not as thoroughly as I would like. She's mostly mechanical, but it doesn't exactly explain what she looks like, what mechanical parts she does and does not have, etc. etc)? How do dinosaurs and robots exist in the same time period? How is it that evolution occurs in some situations, but not in others? I really LIKE this world, because its interesting, but it doesn't serve a lot of PURPOSE in this story. I hate frivolous changes in steampunk for the sake of something shiny. In alternative history, every change that is made needs to have a REASON, and I couldn't find a single purpose for the dinosaurs.
Ulysses Quicksilver is Sherlock Holmes. Not just a Sherlockian figure, he is basically a duplicate of Holmes. He has his mannerisms, his speech patterns, his attitude... He says "the game is on" or "the game is afoot" four times though out the book. The man even returns from a presumed death. His butler Nimrod is ill-named, and a clear Watson stand-in: a well-groomed man of a lower class that serves as a moral guide to the detective figure. Genevieve Galapagos is a clear Irene Adler, the hidden femme-fatale that the good detective falls for. Its like Sherlock Holmes fanfic that has had the names replaced (except if it were fanfic, it would be a lot gayer).
That said, I think this has a lot of potential. The mystery was well executed. What makes this book stand apart is the fascinating world that it takes place in, but that's also the biggest frustration. The world is epic and intriguing and yet we learn nothing about how or why it works the way it does. HOW has Victorian come to live long enough to rule for over 150 years (the book provides an explanation for this, but not until the last few chapters and then not as thoroughly as I would like. She's mostly mechanical, but it doesn't exactly explain what she looks like, what mechanical parts she does and does not have, etc. etc)? How do dinosaurs and robots exist in the same time period? How is it that evolution occurs in some situations, but not in others? I really LIKE this world, because its interesting, but it doesn't serve a lot of PURPOSE in this story. I hate frivolous changes in steampunk for the sake of something shiny. In alternative history, every change that is made needs to have a REASON, and I couldn't find a single purpose for the dinosaurs.
wyvernfriend's review
4.0
It reads something like a late 19th/early 20th century story, and technically it is victorian. Victoria has been 160 years on the throne. A breakin in the Natural HIstory Museum with a murdered watchman and Ulysses Quicksilver is drawn into the investigation. He has to find out what's going on and try to protect the British Empire.
It's fun, you almost know what's going on but not quite, still I do want to read more in this series at some stage.
It's fun, you almost know what's going on but not quite, still I do want to read more in this series at some stage.
lordofthemoon's review
2.0
In a few months Britain and her colonies will celebrate the 160th anniversary of the rule of Queen Victoria, but there are those plotting to bring down London and the Empire with it. It's up to Ulysses Quicksilver, gentleman adventurer and Agent of the Throne, to trace the plot from its source at the break-in at the Natural History Museum to its horrifying conclusion.
This is a steampunk type book set in a 1990s where the British Empire never ended and Queen Victoria is still on the throne and first in the Pax Britannia series by an author more well-known for his adventure game books. The idea in this book was sound but the execution felt clumsy. The writing style felt like a new author still finding his feet, even though Green is by no means a novice. Quicksilver is likeable enough, but he seems to be walking through a land full of cliché, from the unflappable butler to the moustache-twirling villain and femme fatale. An all-round 'meh' then: could do better.
This is a steampunk type book set in a 1990s where the British Empire never ended and Queen Victoria is still on the throne and first in the Pax Britannia series by an author more well-known for his adventure game books. The idea in this book was sound but the execution felt clumsy. The writing style felt like a new author still finding his feet, even though Green is by no means a novice. Quicksilver is likeable enough, but he seems to be walking through a land full of cliché, from the unflappable butler to the moustache-twirling villain and femme fatale. An all-round 'meh' then: could do better.
dabnor's review
2.0
A bit dull, really.
Also, anyone who uses the old 'rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated' line should be punched in the mouth.
Also, anyone who uses the old 'rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated' line should be punched in the mouth.
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